Very light SE breeze early on, freshening and shifting to west after lunch. Sunshine all day.
Middleton Nature Reserve
Ringing report from Pete:
I think this morning was quite quiet as Middleton was in a pocket of still air. Two Lesser Redpoll were caught as soon as the net up but catching these things in civil twilight - when a lot can go over on clear mornings is just a little too early for me these days!
Ringing - new ringed:
Lesser Redpoll - 5
Blackcap - 4
Willow Warbler - 2
Goldfinch - 1
Sedge Warbler - 1
Nothing else of note other than two Teal and 2+3 Greylag
A check in the afternoon noted there were fewer warblers singing than of late, but all the recent birds were present.
Cetti's warbler 2, Sedge warbler 1, plus Blackcap, Willow warbler and Chiffchaff
The sun brought out the butterflies including the first emergence of the spring:
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| Speckled Wood 3 |
Also: Small Tortoiseshell 5, Peacock 3, Comma 3.
Pete also managed a brief check of coast from north wall:
Arctic Tern flock of 8 feeding then flew high to NNE
Sandwich Tern - 1 in
Quite a few Black headed Gull small gangs flying in
Nothing notable on water
South shore
Rock Pipits 2 - the ringed bird and a second bird squabbling near the lighthouse.
There were at least 8 terns feeding and flying into the bay at 11:00. Based on the predominantly white plumage and feeding style, I presumed that they were Sandwich, and they probably were, but they were just beyond firm identification with my optics. There are four on this clip, taken from the lighthouse as they were flying past the buoys out from the north wall (sorry about the blurry bit in the middle MD)
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| Janet spotted this Mistle Thrush on Heysham Village green |
Finally, there have been regular sightings of Roe deer this year. This female was on Middleton Nature Reserve. She saw me before I saw her, resulting it what must be the most common view of a Roe deer.
