Three Hawker Species

Sunny all day, with a light breeze starting in the east before switching to NW.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Report from Alan:

Just a couple of nets set this morning.  A total of 23 captures only, included four more Grey Wagtails colour ringed and a 'rare' Song Thrush - the only one caught so far this year at this site.  Meadow Pipits came to an MP3 player in small groups, 37 birds in total.   Just one flock of c 150 Pink-footed Geese seen flying south to the west of the reserve at 09.10 - these were probably recorded from Heysham also.  A group of ten Swallows also passed through southwards.

 

A Red Fox trotted across the road near my ringing position.

 

Meadow Pipit  5

Grey Wagtail  4

Chiffchaff  3 + 1 retrap

Great Tit  2 + 1 retrap of a nestbox bird from this year

Wren  1 + 1 retrap

Singles of  Robin, Song Thrush, Cetti's Warbler, Blackcap and Blue Tit 

This shot of Common Darter from yesterday will be the last from Janet for some while.
Shortly after taking this shot she took a nasty fall off the platform where the old brick
building used to be. Landing on the concrete below, breaking her wrist and cracking
ribs. Get well soon Janet!

I had a quick look this evening (Malcolm)

Mute Swan pair with a well grown cygnet - the other adult is now on the fence pond. The "no swimming" pond is 2m above its normal height.

Tufted Duck 11

Cetti's warbler 3 singing in the central marsh

This young pheasant walked into a dead end and didn't know what to do, other than whimper! (It could have flown away)

Common Darter several

Migrant Hawker 4

Male Migrant Hawker

Southern Hawker 1

Male Southern Hawker

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Jean did indeed see the 09:10 Pink-Footed goose skein and took this clip of them.

Today's report from Jean:

Today was a complete contrast to yesterday with clear skies, bright sunshine and virtually calm. Nothing much came on the feeders and there were no warblers so I only caught 8 birds - 2 retrapped Dunnocks, a Wren, a Greenfinch, a Goldfinch and the stars of the show - 3 Grey Wagtails. We've now colour ringed 45 Grey Wagtails this season which is very good. We try to get a sample of 50 Grey Wagtails and from those we usually get one or two sightings. Hopefully we'll get a few more Grey Wagtails this week.

Overhead vis consisted of about 4 Chaffinches and a total of 240 Pink-footed Geese in 3 flocks (the video shows the last of these at 09:10hrs). 

The only other bird of note was a Raven which upset the Carrion Crows on the pylon opposite the office.

South shore (Malcolm)

The same walk as yesterday out from the saltmarsh on the rising tide this morning. We are now back to full spring tides and the gulls soon learn that they will be moved on from the beach. There was a group of Black-Headed early on, but most of the gulls on Red Nab just flew directly towards the estuary when moved on. No Mediterranean gulls seen today.

Cetti's warbler 1 still singing just south of the caravan park.

Pink- Footed goose 320. The 09:10 Pinkfoot skein passed over, plus two other skeins south along the shipping lane. (So 410 for today with Jean's earlier skeins)

Shelduck 14

Shelduck with a Grey Plover above

Curlew 90

Oystercatcher 300 including some moved on from Red Nab

Bar-Tailed Godwit 95 - a small group were feeding on the waterline briefly, but were picked up by a larger flock heading south.

Knot 4

Dunlin 50

Grey Plover 8

Grey plover moulting from summer plumage

Closer to the saltmarsh 

Redshank 35

Lapwing 16

Lapwing just beyond the saltmarsh 

On Red Nab

Ringed Plover 12

Turnstone 2

Ringed Plover, Turnstone and an Oystercatcher on the red sandstone of Red Nab

Linnet 6 by the saltmarsh 

Linnet 

Wheatear 2 along the foreshore

Kingfisher 1 female fishing from above the culverted freshwater runoff along Red Nab sloping wall. The tide was full now and it caught one fish as I watched, unfortunately from a distance as the sea wall was closed for maintenance.

The breeze had been from the east and there were quite a lot of insects about.

Small White 7 between saltmarsh and Red Nab

Red Admiral 1 on foreshore rocks

Silver Y 1 along foreshore 

Common Darter 3 along foreshore 

In the Nature Park

Common Hawker 1 female

Female Common Hawker - first record here for over four years