Saturday 1 May 2010

Typical bits and bobs at a local patch

Heysham Obs
Vis mig/seawatching/miscellany during the light winds 0630-0930
Gannet - 3 in
Whimbrel - 4 in
Sandwich tern - 12 blogging
Common Scoter - 5 in
Red-throated Diver - 2 in, one floating in mid pm
Arctic tern - 1+7+2 in
House Martin - 1
Swallow - 48
Meadow Pipit - 4 late migrants
alba Wagtail - 1
Linnet - 6
Goldfinch - 2
Lesser Redpoll - 4
Turnstone - 118 on the rocks
Greylag - 4 on Middleton IE flying about between ponds
Grasshopper Warbler - at least 6 on Middleton but singing quite intermittently
Whinchat - 2 males early morning at Middleton IE, one in the BE 'finger' of land, putting it on the business challenge list!
Little Egret - one flew east to the souh of Middleton IE
Goosander - in keeping with the theme of odd sightings of strictly local interest, two males flew out of the bay during a very short seawatch to see if the early stages of the NE wind was producing anything
Arctic Skua - bearing in mind a great swathe of the incoming tide was un-watched at Heysham, it is not surprising we missed the two dark-morph Arctic Skua seen at JB Point at c1500hrs

Ringing by the office/Middleton
Seven Bullfinches were a major surprise, especially as three of these (2 x 2CY male & one 2CY female) were unringed.  Other birds included 3 unringed Lesser Whitethroat and a couple of Willow Warbler.   Middleton ringing was highlighted by a Moorhen, a Sedge Warbler ringed elsewhere and a top shelf Mallard which escaped

Mammals
Grey Seal off the north wall

Moths
Common Wave new for the year

Elsewhere
2 Dotterel Abbeystead Lane first thing at least.  Bearing in mind the 15 Dotterel on Ward's Stone on at least 23/4, it was interesting to note that 15 were on Ingleborough this morning - the next 'mountain-hop' to the north-east