Thursday 27 January 2011

Twite tonnage

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Twite - 103 - the highest count this winter.  At least 16 unringed, at least 10 red/white from winter 2009/10, one Machrihanish-ringed bird but only 7(/21) could be found of those ringed yesterday.  Very unusual to see so many at low tide as a proportion often utilise Ocean Edge saltmarsh - maybe there is no food left there?
Mistle Thrush - one in SD36V, then by the Twite feeder on the 46A side

Middleton NR
Pochard - 7 (one female) on the model boat pond
Teal - pair model boat pond
Wren - at least 3 in the wetland areas
Pink-footed Goose - skeins of 61 & 47 high to the NW, 450 or so blogging to the east over the bypass fields

Ringing recoveries
Another wadge received by NLRG yesterday & these are the most interesting involving Heysham, although the Twite locality is the equivalent of a Sedge Warbler at Icklesham!   Remember the Lesser Redpoll passage was very early this last spring and therefore the date is not "too early" for rapid transit passage:

Lesser Redpoll

X438172   4     13.04.10    Heysham Obs
Caught by Ringer  23.11.10 Queen Mary Reservoir (Surrey) 334 km

Twite
V240409  4M  08.03.10 Heysham north harbour wall
Caught by Ringer 20.07.10 Sanda Island (Argyll & Bute) 220 km


Moth
The first of the 'new 2011' moths, as opposed to last year's 'leftovers'/hibernators, in the form of a single Dotted Border