Another sunshine-and-cloud lunchtime high tide at Ainsdale saw the horizon turned into heat haze jelly and the sea striped with the shadows of the broken cloud above….and not much was on the move (again), but I gave it a go from the dunes anyway from 1245-1345.
Frustrating as the wind was still good, strong and from the right direction.
Bazzo fared better down at Formby (see comment on previous entry), but it was very quiet off Ainsdale.
At least the terns were closer in today, with up to 18 Sandwich Terns moving up and down the coast, although the highlight was a nice tight flock of five Arctic Terns heading south (wrong direction guys) about 200 metres out.
Fewer Gannets today – perhaps 20 close enough in to rise above being big white blobs in the shimmering horizon, and 19 Common Scoter still resolutely riding the swell…non-breeders I guess.
I spent this afternoon down at Nel’s, where the summer-plumage Curlew Sandpiper took a little finding. A beautiful bird, worth the effort, even though its general flightiness and the attention of a Peregrine (twice) meant it needed re-finding several times. Amongst the other attractions that meant a four-hour stint passed very quickly were a Whimbrel, hundreds of hirundines charging about the place, half a dozen Avocets chasing off a Mute swan, and a pair of Reed Warblers playing peek-a-boo just to the left of the hide. A lovely afternoon.
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I had half an hour immediately post high tide over lunch on Monday at Birkdale; 10+ Gannet, 6 Manx Shearwater and just 4 Common Scoter. No Terns at all. The Manxies arced and banked their way north in a small group. Only small numbers of waders as the tide was too high.
My first Wheatear for a while at Birkdale today (Weld Road), also a couple of Swallows ploughed north.
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Risley Moss – Saturday 23rd May
3 x Hobby
3 x Buzzard
1 x Kestrel
2 x Swift
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