Sunday 16 May 2010

Not enough showers!

Heysham Obs
After getting soaked checking rather moth-deficient national m.n. traps, the conditions for the seawatch were a bit disappointing with high fluffy cloud.  Dont think the early morning/low tide seawatchers saw anything of note.

Sea 0915-1015
Shelduck - flock of 8 out
Dunlin - flock of 36 out
Arctic tern - one in
Arctic Skua - dark morph out then landed on sea 0940hrs
Skua spp. - light morph seen in flight for about a second, then landed on sea in Kent channel.  Very hard to follow on sea with incoming tide & higher waves but glimpses suggested a Pom, but too far/not enough of a flight view to be certain.  NO-ONE at the Leighton/JBP end had their mobiles switched on - I did try!

Middleton industrial estate WeBS count:
2 Mute Swan, 8 Coot plus 8 chicks (3 broods of 2+2+4), 2 Moorhen, 6 Mallard (5 males, 1 female), 12 Tufted Duck ( 7 males, 5 females), 5 Little Grebe

Moths
NMN in the hut trap produced Eyed Hawk & Rustic Shoulder Knot - both new for the year

Elsewhere
Jenny Brown's Point:
0920hrs 1 dark phase Arctic Skua
1225hrs 1 Great Skua
1310hrs 1 Great Skua
1400hrs 1 Great Skua
Arctic Tern - 3