Evening update
A further 7 Whimbrel and 3 Dunlin to add to the tallies below, plus Rock Pipits feeding young. Here’s Dad keeping an eye out for approaching humans and other potential predators:
Seabirds, waders and gulls:
Arctic Tern - 17 +15 +10 in
Sandwich Tern 6 in, 2 on the buoys and 1 chased by a skua (see below)
Red-throated Diver - 3 in
Guillemot - 1 out
Razorbill - 1 out
Auk sp - 2 in
Arctic Skua - 1 dark-morph at 0918hrs chasing a Sandwich Tern
Common Scoter - 1 floating in
Dunlin - 281 plus others distantly
Golden Plover - 3
Grey Plover 21
Ringed Plover 13 on Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Bar tailed Godwit -2
Mediterranean Gull - 1 2cy
Common Gull - 181
Leucistic Common Gull pretending to be an Iceland Gull. The photos, although not good because they are heavily cropped, show a white Gull but closer inspection shows that the wing tips are actually grey.
Vis:
Swallow - 8
House Martin - 3 over Ocean Edge, 5 over Heysham Moss and 1 over Middleton NR
Tree Pipit - 1
Linnet (may be resident?) - 2
Grounded:
Greenland Wheatear - 2
Whimbrel - 29 on Red Nab
One of the two Wheatears. Presumed ‘Greenland’ type as it was larger than the ones that passed through last month.
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.