Friday 11 October 2013

More Redwing eventually get going

Heysham Obs
Thanks very much to Andrew Cornall this morning.  Invaluable coverage as the rest of us had to go and do other things, one of them unscheduled.  So sorry you were left on your own with tricky multi-height Redwing passing north on both the seaward and landward sides.  Single observer concentration on the landward side movements was the only sensible option, but inevitably some were missed on the other side

Vis mig dawnish to 1200hrs
Redwing - 4,125 north (see above), a majority after 0935 and virtually none between the dawn birds (c200) and 0900.  Then a further 780 in the evening (or noticed that they had started again in the evening on a reserve circuit) - including high straggling flock of 420 -all still heading north although the last 25 landed in the tank farm = 4,905 recorded during the day will little/no observation 1200-1700
Fieldfare - 111 (none in evening flurry)
Mistle Thrush - 14
Chaffinch - 50
alba Wagtail - 10
Blackbird - 20+ at dawn, just the one high-flying migrant
Meadow Pipit - 29
Goldfinch - 7
Siskin - 9
Pink-footed Goose - 13
Whooper Swan - 3+9

Grounded
Blackbird - see above, but zero left by evenng
Song Thrush - 5
Goldcrest - 3
Chiffchaff - 1
Water Rail - 1

Inshore
Med Gull - 2 ad & 2 x 2CY