Sunday 20 May 2012

First Spotted Flycatcher ringed this millenium!

Heysham Obs
Sea 0500-0645
Light morph adult Pomarine Skua close in, then turned north-west and headed high towards Black Combe at 0523hrs
Mute Swan - 3 in
Gannet - 3 out
Sandwich Tern - 1

Office area
Two Spotted Flycatcher Obs Tower pond fence 0530hrs and a ridiculous ringing statistic (we had ringed 79 between 1980 and 1999) was revised at last with one in the net at about 0915hrs
Lesser Redpoll - 2 north, 1 later

Not much else by 1000 as report-writing/mist net checking/short break to post this was the order of the day with no time for pure observation.   Minor interest provided by a grey/olive-green migrant female Willow warbler in the nets and the first "1J" of the year, a speckled Robin, presumably from the office-area pair, which includes a partially-leucistic female

A text message indicated 9 Dotterel on Ingleborough - worth checking the local tops for this delayed passage?

Ringing recoveries
The following of interest.  The Coal Tit was one of three lengthy movements for this species involving north Lancs, perhaps all related to autumnal movement out of upland conifer origins.  The Blackcap shows that the odd admin. error can be made at Observatories which receive more birds than here - always worth checking your old ringing data for such omissions!

Shag
145062-          1                 04.06.11                       Puffin Island
Sighted            5                 18.02.12                       Heysham 109 km

Meadow Pipit
L742790        3                 15.10.11                       Sowley Pond (Hampshire)
Controlled      5                 24.03.12                       Heysham 376 km

Blackcap
R716088        3J               18.07.04                       Heysham
Controlled      5M             15.05.05                       Bardsey Is (Gwynedd) 190km

Coal Tit
L333947        3                 23.09.10                       Heysham
Controlled      6                 28.01.12                       Topthorn Barn (Cumbria) 40 km

Blue Tit
Y470538        5                 23.02.12                       Heysham
Controlled      5                 25.02.12                       Brookhouse 15 km in 2 days
Y333136        3                 14.10.11                       Heysham
Controlled      5                 11.02.12                       Bowerham 8 km

Twite
L999092        3                 20.09.11                       Machrihanish B.O (Argyll & Bute)
Controlled      5F              03.02.12                       Heysham              239 km
L999067        3                 20.09.11                       Machrihanish B.O (Argyll & Bute)
Controlled      5F              16.3.&25.2.12               Heysham

Reed Bunting
T825950        4F              13.08.08                       South Walney
Controlled      6F              16.03.12                       Heysham 19 km

Moths
An incredible grand total of 19 moths of 10 species in the trap for the WHOLE of May so far.  Not helped, of course, by the trap entrance facing east.  This morning excelled itself with three moths, including a late Common Quaker and an iconic Brown House Moth