Wanted : experienced seawatcher(s) to cover Monday 20th & probably Tuesday 21st from the north harbour wall - early morning to 1000ish (or part of this period). No-one available at this end.
Heysham Obs
No observer until 0830hrs this morning due to early morning work. The Rossall seawatch stuff hadn't yet kicked in on the pager [Little Tern, 3 Arctic Skua 12 Arctic Tern by 0730hrs] & it seemed to be "dead", therefore just about to make a beeline for the nearest coffee when a Gannet flew in.....give it another 5 minutes or so. The reward was the biggest (and one of the closest) flock of Arctic Skua I have ever seen from here. No sign yet again of the Black Guillemot.
North harbour wall 0830-0945
Arctic Skua - flock of 7 (3 lm) in at 0850hrs, just inside the line of the yellow buoys - picked up again off north Morecambe at 0915hrs (following phone calls), whence they circled high and disappeared in a NW direction into the haze (just south of Humphrey Head)
Gannet - one in at 0845hrs
Arctic Tern - flock of 16 in at 0900hrs
Sandwich Tern - 5 in with the above Arctic Terns & one out at 0920hrs
Purple Sandpiper - 3 together below the wooden jetty and almost certainly an additional singleton with the Turnstone below the NHW by the gate
Turnstone - 392
Swallow - 26 NE
Linnet - 8 NE
Meadow Pipit - 5 NE
Elsewhere
See above for same flock of Arctic Skua off Bare. Curlew Sandpiper again Allen/EM Pool and adult Spoonbill at Leighton Moss. Stunningly routine on the Lune & north Fylde.
The observatory was set up in 1980. It involves ringing,'vis mig' counts (including seabirds) and general monitoring in the Heysham Nature reserve/power stations/harbour area. The statutory moth trap is in place and also a daily log for butterflies, dragonflies etc. We share an office, kindly provided by EDF Energy, with the County Wildlife Trust. This is located next to the Nature Reserve car park. Do call in. Please leave sightings in the letterbox, ESPECIALLY 'fly-by' seabirds.