Friday 28 October 2011

Vis mig parrot exudes credibility

Heysham Obs
Quite a surge of early-morning vis mig, then the plug was pulled about 0830hrs with just bits and bats thereafter which did include a very purposeful, high-flying southbound Ring-necked/Rose-ringed Parakeet!  Grounded stuff was marginally better than the anticipated zero, especially Redwing.

Miscellany
Arctic Tern - juv Heysham one outfall (thanks Pete)
Twite - at least 42 including the red/white right-leg colour-ringed bird of unknown origin (due to not seeing what was on the other leg) which was the first Twite seen this autumn - it now been caught so will be traceable
Linnet - 4

Vis mig by the office 0715 onwards, intermittent after 0845hrs
Chaffinch - 95, mostly early and very high with very few grounded
alba Wagtail - 6
Grey Wagtail - 2+1 (late)
Sparrowhawk - male high to south
Reed Bunting - 1
Brambling - at least one
Meadow Pipit - 4 singletons
Siskin - heard once
Goldfinch - minimum of 47
Skylark - heard just the once
Pink-footed Goose - flock of 60 SE
Ring-necked Parakeet - one south at 1035hrs - watched flying straight over Ocean Edge without losing height, heading for Cockersands area.  This assumes there is only one species of green parakeet with a ring-neck!

Grounded by the office
Chiffchaff - unringed bird with a fat score of 3, definitely not a new arrival
Dunnock - one unringed
Goldcrest - 2 unringed
Blackcap - male seen- seemed to be unringed
Redwing - a surprising c40 first thing - headed inland - no ongoing passage
Blackbird - c30 first thing, c10 headed inland
Song Thrush - 5 headed inland early on
Coal Tit - although four unringed birds were caught - there was no obvious hyperactive behaviour, hence 'grounded' rather than 'vis'
Blue Tit - as above, a trickle of 5 'sedate' unringed birds caught

Ringing
Excluding Twite, unringed birds comprised: Redwing (3), Wren (1), Reed Bunting (1), Song Thrush (1), Blackbird (1), Blue Tit (5), Coal Tit (4), Goldcrest (2), Chiffchaff (1), Dunnock (1), Goldfinch (8), Greenfinch (3), Chaffinch (1), Bullfinch (1) 

Moths
A perhaps record single-night catch of 5 Feathered Thorn and a single Dark Chestnut, the latter not annual here

Butterflies
Red Admiral - 3