Winter Birding!

Friday seemed like winter birding was upon us, with a temperature drop, heavy clouds, some rain around, and windy too. I stuck my neck out and went to Heysham when it looked likely I might get a soaking, but in fact I got away with a dry shod visit to find 8 Mediterranean Gull, two adult on Red Nab, with four and two juvenile on No 2 outfall.

A small gull frustrated me, the only detail I got was a striking grey-black cap as I picked the bird up flying seaward down Heysham 2 outfall, but I was distracted by a tern, which I soon identified as a juvenile Arctic Tern. I then failed to pick up the small gull again, but have recorded it as the long stay adult Little Gull, though - as in the image of a 2nd winter bird above - my bird had a much bolder grey-black cap than I somehow felt the staying adult would have, apparently by now in winter plumage. 

On the beach at Half Moon Bay, I found 2 Rock Pipit, with 11 Ringed Plover on the shingle.

Common Tern Conder Pool 17 Aug 'clik the pik' Pete Woodruff 

On Conder Pool I found the fledged juvenile and one adult Common Tern. 

Common Tern Conder Pool 17 Aug 'clik the pik'  Ian Pinkerton

But I've yet to see the juvenile in flight, though IP did later in the day. 

Also 4 Greenshank, and a Common Sandpiper which I'm already beginning to think might be a/the wintering bird. Noted in the creeks, c.60 Redshank, 4 Dunlin, and a lone Black-tailed Godwit.

Thanks to Ian Mitchell for the excellent Sea Eagle header image, seen at Lochdon on the Isle of Mull.

Bay Birds....

....and the ramblings of a lunatic.

After an appointment at 2.00pm in Morecambe on Wednesday I decided to give a look into the bay for a couple of hours from Broadway to Teal Bay. Not the most exciting area of the bay for birds but an adult Mediterranean Gull at Teal Bay was a nice find, with 17 Bar-tailed Godwit and c.275 Dunlin coming in to feed as the tide dropped, a Little Egret could be seen at Hest Bank from here. 

Great-crested Grebe Astland Photography 

I saw 7 Great-crested Grebe along the way, also 4 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Eider, and 3 Goldeneye.

Siskin David Cookson 

Three Siskin visited our garden today, two had paid visits on 2/3 March 2013, so this is a peak count and an excellent garden record.

And the lunatic from the dark ages speaks out.   

With no names, no pack drill, and keywords highlighted by me. This is a letter to a Scottish newspaper recently from a man BIG in the world of 'Gun Sports'.  A dangerous combination of lack of knowledge and the misfortune of having been gifted with an inactive brain is shown here, the problem is....too many people listen and take note of what he says and does. These are the kind of dangerous people we need to continually worry about, and continually ask....what are we going to/can we do about them for the sake of our wildlife.

 Sea Eagle Martin Lofgren 

Sir,

Listening to and reading about the Sea Eagles, I found most of it incredible and so ‘too bad’ as far as the loss of lambs was concerned, they didn't even mention hogs or ewes.

Then, for Mr W to say....'Sea Eagles are here to stay'....surely it’s time for him to vacate his perch and if that is the view, what a precarious position hill sheep farmers and crofters are in.

Nothing short of complete eradication will do, and it is the same for the Pine Marten, both should be absolutely destroyed. The NSA, the CC, and the CF should be backing this to the hilt. 

Will Mr L or Mr W do anything about the Sea Eagle? No, they didn't even prick their ears until a danger to our native eagle was mentioned and, for Mr L to say they are a tremendous tourist attraction is rubbish. If, like me, he had spoken to tourists from all over the world over the last 20 years, he would know they don’t come for one attraction but to see as much as they possibly can. The oblivion of the Sea Eagle wouldn't matter and, indeed, would be an absolute blessing for the countryside and its animals.