Sunday 13 June 2010

Green Woodpecker and Little Ringed Plover reappear

Heysham Obs
Most of the action was at Middleton IE with Ocean Edge gulls down to:
Black-headed Gull - 3
Common Gull - 5 x 2CY, 1 x 3CY

Middleton IE
CES ringing included one male Grasshopper Warbler (of at least four singing first thing), two lots of recently fledged Sedge Warbler, two new adult female Lesser Whitethroat, a female Swallow with a massive brood patch and what appears to be the sole remaining Lapwing chick

Other sightings included:
Green Woodpecker - recorded by Malcolm during the WeBS
Reed Warbler - at least 3 singing males
Little Ringed Plover - male, seemingly on its own just feeding on the edge of the model boat pond
Tufted Duck - now 5 on the model boat pond (4 males)
Coot - 7 chicks seen on the weBS
Mallard - 7 chicks seen on the WeBS
Little Grebe - recorded at three sites
On the downside, only one House Martin and one Swift were seen and no sign of any recently fledged Reed Bunting

Moths
Perhaps surprisingly, Small Clouded Brindle was the most numerous moth in an actinic catch at Middleton with Shaded Pug and Eudonia pallida also notable.  More Shaded Pugs in the Heysham NR hut trap.  The highlights from the hut trap were the first Shark for several years, along with the first Broad-barred White of the year

Another baby wader survives against the odds

Heysham Obs
No time to do the coastal stuff today

Middleton IE
Reed Warbler - 3 singing males, two western marsh, one central marsh
Lapwing - at least one young just about to fly by the model boat pond and the female seeming to be sitting on eggs again
Tufted Duck - pair doing nothing on model boat pond (nest failure by the local pair?)

Insects
Black-tailed Skimmer - one on model boat pond, but too windy for dragonflies
Shaded Pug - two in the Heysham trap - Heysham NR & Middleton IE the only regular Lancs sites