Heysham Obs
An early morning wader count, a tiny bit of seawatching and a bit of net-ride maintenance all suggested things were happening............as did the surprisingly good moth catch
Ocean Edge/outfalls area
Med Gull - 5 2CY, 3 ad and one juv at high tide, but many gulls too far away to the south
Little Gull - ad
Knot - increase to 3,600
Dunlin - seemingly as yesterday - about 2,500 but distant and some may have been e.g. Sanderling as they were the other day!
Bar-tailed Godwit - 270
Grey Plover - 230
Shelduck - increase to 52
Offshore
Arctic Skua - juv blogging quite distantly but enough to rule out Long-tailed
Late on yesterday during the last sample count, 4 Common Scoter flew out of the Bay
Office area 1050-1120
Goldcrest - 2
Chiffchaff - 2
Lesser Whitethroat - one
Meadow Pipit - 11 SE
alba Wagtail - 5 SE
Pink-footed Goose - flock heard to the west of the power station
Moths
A reasonable catch was maybe partly a function of the new 160watt blended bulb after the old one gave up the ghost yesterday. Apparently these lose their ultra-violet potency over time and certainly go 'yellower', suggesting this. What appeared to be a less than mind-boggling night actually produced 19 Treble Bar, 9 Silver Y and a late (for here) Diamond-back Moth amongst small numbers of the usual Square Spot/Flounced Rustic dross and the likes of Eudonia angustea and what we record as 'com/lat' - two Acleris which need genitalia determination but, as they have both been proven for here, we don't bother any more. Incidentally, along the same lines, I have just received the latest MapMate synch comprising highly experienced Lancashire moth-ers results for the last few weeks and all have been recording Copper Underwings as aggregates. Are we really back to square one without gen det?
The observatory was set up in 1980. It involves ringing,'vis mig' counts (including seabirds) and general monitoring in the Heysham Nature reserve/power stations/harbour area. The statutory moth trap is in place and also a daily log for butterflies, dragonflies etc. We share an office, kindly provided by EDF Energy, with the County Wildlife Trust. This is located next to the Nature Reserve car park. Do call in. Please leave sightings in the letterbox, ESPECIALLY 'fly-by' seabirds.