Monday, 20 October 2025

Another YBW

A dry day till mid afternoon showers began. A light breeze SE to begin with ending NE.

Heysham Nature Reserve 
Report by Pete:

Doodling around yesterday evening checking XC, Metcheck, Ventursky etc seemed to show the approaching depression grinding to a halt and contorting itself amoeba-like producing (for Heysham) a slack, hopefully dry-ish east-south-easterly at least seeming to reach the east coast.  This was supposed to be day two of the great wet and windy lie-in but Jean and I decided to go for the pre-dawn ringing start. Probably a mixture of odds and ends dropped by yesterday’s wet southeasterly and this mornings arrivals saw Yellow-browed Warbler in the first net of the first mist net round!  The decent little session also produced a late Garden Warbler.  Really grateful for detailed weather forecasts suggesting this successful option - ok sometimes they are wrong like yesterdays eight hour rain delay but sometimes the jackpot like this morning

New birds ringed this am:

Yellow-browed Warbler -1

Chiffchaff - 10

Goldcrest - 8

Blackcap - 6

Garden Warbler - 1

Chaffinch - 1

Goldfinch - 1

Greenfinch - 5

Coal Tit - 2

Great Tit - 1

Blackbird - 1

Yellow-browed warbler 

Only notable vis was a flock of 47 Woodpigeon south and 11 Jackdaw ‘purposefully’ south.  Just low single figures of common finch species and thrushes with perhaps a spike of c20 Blackbird grounded.  Incidentally the absence of Wrens in the nets has been puzzling although we are not complaining. Only 8 ringed all year at Heysham NR and the forecast suggests that might be it for migrant ringing this autumn


Middleton Nature Reserve
Shaun Coyle had a good look around 0815-1015:

Teal 9 on No Swimming Pond.

Tufted Duck 4 and Gadwall 6 on the main pond.

Goosander 3 female types over heading west quite high.

Woodpigeon 24 heading south.

Great Spotted Woodpecker pair 

Cetti's Warbler 3 singing.

Blackcap 6

Chiffchaff 5

Goldcrest just 1

Three tit flocks with 22 Long-tailed Tits and 3 Coal Tits.

Blackbird 40

Song Thrush 6

Redwing 35

Chaffinch 12 SW

Reed Bunting 2 dropped down then headed off SW high.


Had a scout around Moneyclose car park and nature park area but nothing calling/found, except a Chiffchaff and a Blackcap.


Imperial Rd (Malcolm) 10:30 - 11:00

Woodpigeon 35, feeding not moving through

Pheasant 1 male

Kestrel 1

Stonechat 1 female type

Stonechat

Long-tailed Tits 8

Roebuck 3 - 1 mature plus 2 youngsters together 

Mature Roebuck, his antlers are quite large

This is one of this year's males, he is not sat down but beyond the crest
of a slope. He only has tiny antler buds

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 14:30 - 15:30
Eider 104 probably more

They were on the sea in all directions some close in others distant.
There were always some on the move too. Making accurate counts difficult 
Red-breasted Merganser 6
Red-breasted Mergansers

Great Crested Grebe 6
Shag at least one juvenile fishing

Little Egret 8

Oystercatcher 500

Curlew 20

Black-Tailed Godwit 5 north


Black-Tailed Godwits flying towards the inner bay

Redshank 250

Knot 100

Turnstone 45



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