Routine stuff

Heysham Obs
A stiff easterly breeze restricted the mist netting but there didn't seem to be any great number of migrants around, although perhaps Willow Warblers were missed very first thing.  Moths were similarly knocked on the head as the trap window faces east

Red Nab/outfalls/Ocean Edge dropping tide
Grey Plover 93
Bar-tailed Godwit 86
Dunlin - 32
Redshank - 168
Med Gull - 2 ads and a juv

Moths
Best were single White-line Dart, Barred Rivulet and (for here) Ruby Tiger

Great weather at last for the butterflies

Heysham Obs
The flower-rich grassland next to the office was a hive of activity today with Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Common Blue in good numbers.  Ten years ago for Gatekeeper you would have read Wall Brown, but the latter seems to have mysteriously disappeared from this area.  Warblers seem to be moving around a bit with the retrap evidence suggesting at least some of this involves dispersal of locally born birds.  Unusually, two Whitethroat and a Reed Warbler ringed as recently fledged juveniles about 1.5km away at Middleton NR in July have been caught next to the office in the last two days.  In the absence of rings, these would have been labelled as 'early migrants'

Office area
Unringed Sedge warbler, Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler (3) and Chiffchaff but not many Greenfinch today

Red Nab/Ocean Edge well before high tide
Med Gull - at least 4 juvs, 2 x 2CY and at least one adult

Moths
A nice mixed catch including a rather late Barred Red (uncommon here), Barred Rivulet, White-line Dart, 3 Dingy Footman, Dingy Shears, Agriphila latistria.  Of the specialities, Bordered Beauty conspicuous by its absence - maybe its having a late emergence like a few other species

'Enjoy your birding' or see it as a challenge?

Heysham Obs
There were 760 small gulls on Ocean Edge beach, mostly asleep, mostly facing in all directions, mostly in various stages of moult, mostly 'into the sun' and all in a shimmering heat-haze.  It took about 8 slow 'pans' with the newly cataract-free eye to sort them out.  All due to a ginger and white spaniel-type-thing flushing them from the more observer-friendly Red Nab

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Grey Plover - c110 silhouettes along the tideline
Redshank - c230 as above
Oystercatcher - c2950 as above
Med Gull - 5 juvs (these were easy!), 2 ad and 2 2CY
Common Gull - one juv
No sign of Little Gull or any tern spp

Office area
Quite a bit of movement in the context so far of this low-key post-breeding season with 3-4 Whitethroat the first for over a week!  About 40 birds were ringed, including two juv Bullfinch, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warbler, one Chiffchaff, 4 Swallow and about 15 Greenfinch.  11 Swift recorded flying south in the afternoon

Moths
Quite autumnal with the first Sallow, Rosy Minor and a local speciality Agriphila latistria   

Butterflies & dragonflies
A walk round the reserve saw c40 Meadow Brown, 15 Common Blue and a few Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Skipper.  Best were two Peacock (scarce recently), Red Admiral, Small Copper, Large White.  Single Emperor, Brown Hawker and a notable three Common Hawker

Meds, two terns and some moths

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab/outfalls
Med Gull - now 5 x juv, 2 x 2CY and at least 1 x ad
Common Gull - first juv of the autumn
Little Gull - adult early morning
Arctic Tern - adult
Sandwich Tern - adult
Ringed Plover - 3 - possibly the local breeding birds as they were seen yesterday within the power station grounds (thanks for the info, Mark)
Oystercatcher - 2400
Redshank - 216
Grey Plover - c105 but very distant

Moths
Small Wainscot was new for the year with the best of the rest for here being:  Golden Rod Pug, Southern Wainscot and a Dingy Footman.  Micros included Garden Rose Tortrix and Cydia splendana

Moths and Oystercatchers dominate the numbers

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Little Gull - adult
Kittiwake - 2CY
Med Gull - 4 juvs, ad & 2CY (Czech-ringed adult seen a week last Sunday along the north wall)
Oystercatcher - 2100
Redshank - 206

Dragonflies
Single Common & Brown Hawker & male Emperor on the dog-walk pond

Moths
About 200 of 54 species including the long-awaited Barred Rivulet, Lime-speck Pug (not so common these days), Eudonia pallida, Agonopterix ocellana, Dingy Shears and Pebble Prominent

Fault-barred CES

Heysham Obs
Middleton CES
Predictably rather poor with a couple of juv Sedge Warblers caught with massive fault-bars on the tail, undoubtedly a product of a weather-induced pretty rough ride in the nest which presumably led to the vast majority of breeding attempts failing.  So far, our impressions are that the species which has suffered the most from the awful breeding season weather has been Whitethroat and the singleton ringed this morning does nothing to alter that.  Willow Warblers on the other hand seem to have done "OK" by comparison, no vast numbers but a steady trickle of unringed adults and juveniles.  The question was asked the other day and repeated here - where are the tit flocks - is the absence of especially Long-tailed Tit just a 'Heysham problem'?

Outfalls
A high tide check saw two juvenile Med Gulls on the outfalls

Moths
Purple Thorn provided the second record for the site

Nothing new other than a swift trickle

Heysham Obs
The most exciting thing this morning was a Common Hawker in a mist net - successfully extracted

Ocean Edge/Red Nab incoming tide
Grey Plover - c95
Bar-tailed Godwit - c20 - this and the above very distant along tideline
Med Gull - 4 juveniles (all unringed), adult and 2 2CY
Little Gull - no obvious sign
Sandwich Tern - two adults

Office area
Pretty dead - not a single 'sylvia' seen/heard, reflecting the dreadful breeding season - at this time of year we normally have to beware of Whitethroats 'using' the moth trap
Willow Warbler - one new bird ringed
Swift c15 S 0930-1130
Swallow - 10 S plus others blogging 0930-1130

Insects
Common Hawker by office - unusual here
Moths were mundane with a bit of an influx of Antlers and the 'highlights' being Carcina quercana and another Elachista atricomella

New moth, juv Med influx and afternoon Swift passage

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/Ocean Edge
More people on quad bikes surveying and disturbing birds on the incoming tide.
Med Gull - 4 juvs (all unringed), one adult, three 2CY (one metal-ringed on right leg) Red Nab
Little Gull - adult Red Nab, now showing white forehead
Oystercatcher - 2,650
Whimbrel - 2
Curlew - only 15 (flushed?)
No Redshank - all flushed prior to my arrival
Similarly no other visible wader spp along the tideline

Office area 1415-1515
Grasshopper Warbler - still singing very distantly in tank farm
Swift - 77 south in one hour, including gang of 17
House Martin - at least 3 seemed to be moving south
Swallow - mainly if not exclusively 'blogging'


Moths
A Twin-spot Carpet was a long-expected addition to the moth list this morning.  This species is scarce on the coast in this area (and perhaps confused occasionally with Barred Rivulet, a species which has surprisingly not kicked off its 2012 account yet here).  A nice catch dominated by weak-flying species after a calm rather clear night which knocked the noctuids on the head (e.g. only 12 Straw Underwing).  Other species included Caloptilia stigmatella, Ebulea crocealis, White Satin, Chinese Character, 3 Dingy Footman, Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet and Bee Moth.  The latter has been in good numbers at various trap sites this year

A sprinkling of new species for the autumn

Heysham Obs
A couple of recent moths of interest:

The first is Agonopterix liturosa which is a case of "at last" (to quote Steve Palmer) with respect to Heysham and indeed VC60 this millenium as there is plenty of the larval foodplant, St John's Wort species, here.  The second is Elachista atricomella, perhaps a consequence of the cataract operations as regards actually noticing it.  Thanks to Alan Draper and Janet respectively for the pics 

Office area
Garden Warbler - one ringed (do not breed here) - first of the autumn
Grasshopper Warbler - again singing from the tank farm
Willow Warbler - low single figures of presumed migrants around (2 ringed)
Grey Wagtail - first of the autumn south
Swallow - c20 perhaps southbound migrants

Red Nab/Ocean Edge area incoming tide
Disruption from a gang of surveyors on quad bikes etc. seemed to displace all the Redshank
Med Gull - 2 juvs (unringed), 2 adults, 2 2CY
Little Gull - no sign
Grey Plover - now up to 116
Bar-tailed Godwit - 18
Dunlin - c25 small waders at extreme range seemed to be these
Little Egret - one Red Nab - first of the autumn

Moths
New for the autumn were Orange Swift and Ruby Tiger with the most 'notable' being single Dingy Footman, Dingy Shears and White Satin

Blotchy adult Spotted Redshank almost slips under the radar

Heysham Obs
A quick visit to Ocean Edge/Red Nab at high tide was almost too quick, indeed very much under the label of 'must do better'.  A large Redshank roost on Ocean Edge saltmarsh was 'block-counted', determined to be the largest roost of the autumn so far and therefore deserving a more detailed count.  It was only at this level of scrutiny that the moulting adult Spotted Redshank was located, albeit partially obscured.  Need to spend more time on the other side of the Lune with the experts on picking this species out!

Ocean Edge/Red Nab just before high tide
Oystercatcher - 1,750
Redshank - 465 (only 4 juvs seen)
Spotted Redshank - adult well into winter plumage but still fairly blotchy on the underparts, therefore not standing out as a 'pale' bird - flew south approaching high tide with about 1/4 of Redshank.  Rare here, but second in two years
Little Gull - adult
Med Gull - unringed juvenile on saltmarsh, 2CY on saltmarsh, adult Red Nab

Some interesting ringing recoveries received yesterday
Sedge Warbler
Ringed as juvenile at Middleton NR on 26/6/11
Caught by another ringer at Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire on 5/5/12  285km

Lesser Whitethroat
Ringed as juvenile at Middleton NR on 27/7/11
Caught by another ringer at Icklesham, Sussex on the very odd date of 5/6/12  423km

Lesser Redpoll
Ringed as a young male at Heysham on 1/4/12 (tape lured on vis mig)
Caught by another ringer at Bidston, Wirral on 7/4/12  72 km south!

So much for all the spring vis mig seeming to be of birds heading north!

Moths
At last a bit of east in the wind knocking the catch on the head - nothing of real interest with the best being Agapeta hamana