Sunday 16 March 2008

Blocking north-easterly

Heysham Obs
Stage 2 outfall
1st W Little Gull and two ad Kittiwake

Wooden jetty area
Purple Sandpiper - 2 on rocks below wooden jetty

Heysham NR
Female Stonechat by the office

North harbour wall
Meadow Pipit - just 4 north in about 30 minutes
Twite - 10 on the nyger seed but easily disturbed, 11 there late afternoon (6 unringed!).
Swan spp - flock of 6 NW very distantly & high over the Bay at 1115hrs, probably Whooper on jizz.

Elsewhere
Taiga Bean Goose with 1080 PFG 'next to' Pilling Lane Ends car park in fields. Barnacle Goose [with 500 or so PFG] and two Whooper Swan Aldcliffe Marsh -easily visible from the Golden Ball side, also ad Med Gull with bill pattern matching bird seen at Battery the other day. Another ad Med Gull in fsp at Holmere. 20+ Sand Martin Pine Lake am but none late afternoon [but 10 at Leighton Moss]. 2 Little Egret Heaton Marsh. Flock of 44 migrant Golden Plover at White Moss, upper Hindburndale [also 4 Meadow Pipit N in 30 minutes -see above!]. Canadian-ringed 1W Pale-bellied Brent Goose still on the tide edge by Sunny Slopes groyne at low tide [with 50-60 Eider]. Chough present in Warton Crag quarry for most of the day, on and off & was showing well at 1715hrs. First Belted Beauty moth of the year (male) at Sunderland Point/Middleton saltmarsh