Summer is over as the Old Lady visits the toilet?

Heysham Obs
A fresh autumnal morning after quite a warm early part of the night saw a moth catch seriously reduced in species as we seriously hit the 'rustic' season

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Med Gull - at least 6 juvs, 3 adult, 3 2CY
Little Gull - adult
Whimbrel - one

Moths
Old Lady was new of the year in the 'toilet trap' and Bordered Beauty best of the rest which saw a significant increase in Flounced Rustic (36) and surely the last Straw Underwing and Heart and Dart of the year?

Plumes highlight a full moth trap

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab
A miscreant racing around the mudflats in a four-wheel drive (N957 FWY) followed by three dogs.
Med Gull - 10 juvs, 3 adult/3CY, 4 2CY
Little Gull - moulting adult
waders pushed too far away towards the Lune by above vehicle

Yesterdays Swallow roost ringing
Sunday evening's session at Middleton NR was pre-roost and another session yesterday evening led to a further 85 Swallow and one Sand Martin being ringed out of about 250 roosting in a nearby reedbed.  In addition, there was a Swallow bearing a brand new ring from elsewhere - Y519776.

Insects from Heysham Nature reserve north yesterday afternoon:

Comma have not been particularly common this year and Least Yellow Underwing is a regular day-time flier, usually seen whizzing about rather than quietly nectaring like this individual.  Thanks Janet.  

Moths

Todays catch was large and typically dominated by Sallow, Flounced Rustic, Square Spot Rustic and the 'back-end' of the Six-striped Rustic emergence.  The other two 'plague species' at this time of year are never common in this trap (Large Yellow Underwing) and are having a bad year (Common Rustic (agg)).  Highlights were a late Grass Emerald, Agriphila latistria (3), Cochylis dubitana, Dusky Plume (Oidaematophrus lithodactyla) and Ambtyptilia acanthadactyla

  

Reptilian mega

Heysham Obs
A non-bird day as the murk and mist of the morning failed to deliver - it was the wrong kind for Willow Warblers and the like.  It was also a little too wet and the Heysham CES was seriously affected.  However, the afternoon really produced the goods in the form of the first ever Slow Worm for the Heysham area in at least recent times, found on the boardwalk to the pagoda on Heysham reserve by Cameron Bell and photographed by Alex Simpson and Kirsten Bradley

Female Slow Worm Heysham NR taken by Kirsten Bradley

Ocean Edge/Red Nab incoming tide

Med Gull - 3 juvs

Grey Plover - 260 

Bar-tailed Godwit - 185

Butterflies

A nice emergence of Peacock in recent days with up to 5 on the office buddleia.  At least one Comma around the reserve and a small influx of Large White

Moths

Another Bordered Beauty, Herald, Epinotia tenerana and Agriphila latistria highlighted a rather small catch

Paragliders seriously disrupt roosting waders

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Half way through the wader check on the incoming tide, two paragliders appeared over Potts Corner and the effect on Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Dunlin and Knot was quite immediate and dramatic.  Despite being over 500m (horizontal distance) from the paragliders, all the above species towered up into the air and headed in the direction of Pilling/Knott End, high in the sky.  This was the most dramatic and far-reaching disturbance I have seen on this section of coast and it is to be hoped this does not become a regular event 'within range' of this major roost which will soon build up to internationally important numbers.  I am not sure how these people became airborne but they definitely landed on the shore by Potts Corner

Fast estimates of waders:
Grey Plover - 230
Bar-tailed Godwit - 190
Knot - 130
Dunlin - 65
Med Gull - just 4 juvs seen

Middleton CES
Slow with clear skies/very high cloud in the morning not conducive to major arrival!  Nevertheless a small number of Willow Warblers filtered through (9 ringed) and 4 juvenile Sedge Warbler, two juvenile Reed Warbler, three juvenile Whitethroat were ringed.  The only other warbler in the nets was a Blackcap.  No Grasshopper Warblers were seen/heard
Tree Pipit - one south
Pheasant - male in the western marsh
Swallow - c30 south

Heysham NR office ringing
A small arrival of Willow Warbler from about 0700hrs onwards (14 ringed), the first multiple capture of presumed migrant Robin (4), three Whitethroat and a few feeder-related odds and ends

Swallow roost Middleton NR
CES nets 2 and 3 were set and 64 Swallow, 2 Sand Martin and a few odds and ends including Linnet and Sedge Warbler were ringed prior to 2030hrs when the nets were taken down to avoid a heap of Swallows in fading light.  About 300 seemed to be roosting with 'quite a few' Sand Martin judging by calls, but too busy to really study the swirling birds

Moths
A much better catch with the highlights being the overdue first Bordered Beauty of the year, Currant Pug, a late Dingy Footman, Flame Carpet (rare here) and Cochylis atricapitana

Tidal mistiming and a decent drop of migrants

Heysham Obs
Plenty of Willow Warblers around this morning and a belated mist-netting session by the office is still proving productive at 1230hrs.  The record count attempt for juv Med Gulls needs to wait for another day as the tide was too far in yet still 12 were seen!

Office area
Willow Warbler - 30+
Whitethroat - at least 2
Swallow - c45 SE
Swift - two together south (late for here)

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Med Gull - 12 juveniles (no other birds seen!), mainly sat on the sea by Red Nab
Common Gull - 2 juvs
Common Sandpiper - one along the shore
Wheatear - at least three

Moths 
Another poor catch included a Silver Y

One man and his dog

A check of Red Nab on the incoming tide saw the above but not a lot else in good viewing position.  Certainly a good chance of beating the record count of juv meds in the next two-three days

Red Nab
Med Gull - 12 juvs, 2 2CY, one adult
Common Gull - 2 juvs (beware!)
Oystercatcher (high tide WeBS) 43
Tide and waves too high for any other waders roosting south of the harbour mouth/wooden jetty

Wooden jetty
Cormorant 24
Redshank 37
Turnstone - 41

Heliport
Oystercatcher - 350
Redshank - 52
Lapwing - 7

Moths
Rubbish - wind into the window

Dramatic increase in Meds

Heysham Obs
A late incoming tide check of Red Nab & Ocean Edge mudflats produced:

Med Gull:  13 juvenile, 5 ad/3CY, 4 2CY with about 400 gulls not checked as too far away
Little Gull - adult
No terns
Grey Plover - 180
Bar-tailed Godwit - 165
Dunlin - 320
Knot - 25
Rest of the waders not counted

A few early morning migrants

Heysham Obs
A dawn start with mist nets for an hour or so might have been profitable today.  Pretty hopeless after about 0745hrs with a strong easterly (but no low cloud) producing nothing new, despite three checks of the outfalls area

Office area
Willow Warbler - at least 10 calling at 0715hrs
Chiffchaff - at least 4 calling 0715hrs
Lesser Whitethroat - one by office
Tree Pipit - one south-east
Swallow - 4 SE

North wall
Goldfinch/Linnet - 10 or each on the north wall on thistles
Wheatear - one
Kestrel - one - seen there two days ago

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Med Gull - 4 2CY, 2 juv, 2 adult
Little Gull - adult
Grey Plover - 163
Knot - 85
Bar-tailed Godwit - 170
Dunlin - 185
all the above waders very distant along the tideline
Redshank - 419 - Ocean Edge saltmarsh creek/Red Nab
Oystercatcher - just 1950 Red Nab/OE beach

Moths
Brown Silver Line was a bit of a surprise this late in the season.  Double-lobed was new for the season in the hut trap.  Cochylis dubitana was also, I think, new for the year - a highly localised coastal species in VC60 with most records from here  Overnight sheet and light trapping below the classroom produced a Kitten which looks a candidate for Poplar - it is being checked out at the moment.  Also notable there were lesser Swallow Prominent (very rare in the hut trap!), Fen Wainscot x 2, Southern Wainscot and another Double Lobed

Butterflies
There was a Red Admiral next to the office yesterday and the north wall (SD36V) produced Peacock and Common Blue this morning with an excellent profusion of flowers - worth a moth trap session if they would switch the harbour lights off for a night!
 

Wader increase and a dribble of phylloscs

Heysham Obs
Rossall Point seawatching persistence seems to suggest we are missing a trick or two as the coverage has firmly revolved around checks of the outfalls/Red Nab area, a bit of routine monitoring ringing and moths.  Maybe we ought to start giving the sea (and overhead coastal vis) an hour or so each morning

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Med Gull - 5 2CY (all roosting together!), 3 juv, 2 ad or 3CY but at least half of the gulls too far away down the tideline towards Potts Corner
Little Gull - usual moulting ad
No terns
Bar-tailed Godwit - 260
Grey Plover - 172
Dunlin - 320
Sanderling - 1 adult
Redshank - c250 but some possibly missed on Red Nab
Curlew - 180
Oystercatcher - 3250 (75% on Red Nab)


Dog exercising statistics
A dog exerciser and a small child & a black lab-type were observed for 20 minutes on the tideline south of Ocean Edge just after high tide.  The action was to use a ball sling and throw it into the sea for the dog to fetch.  The child remained under 'close control' and was not an influence. Therefore all the movement was at right angles to the tideline.  Waders were displaced either side as follows
250m - Dunlin
300m - Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Black-headed Gull
400+m - possibly coincidence, but no Curlew within 400m
The remainder of the waders were not using that stretch of beach

I didnt see the walk out to the tideline but a previous check suggested that this was right in the centre of the feeding/roosting assemblage, hence equal numbers of the four main species either side of the activity


Office area
Trickle of migrant Willow Warbler (9 ringed), 3 Chiffchaff ringed (possibly migrants but a bit early) and, encapsulating the poor success during the recent breeding season, just the one Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat ringed.  No evidence of overhead passage with up to 30 House Martin and 25 Swallow probably just milling about.

Moths
Pristine Heart and Dart and True Lover's Knot were unexpected.  Another latish Dingy Shears

A bit of coastal coverage

Heysham Obs
No ringing this morning although the dumbed-down TV forecasts of "rain from the word go" did not happen. Always best to look at the fine detail in proper forecasts in this sort of weather

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Med Gull - 6 juvs, 3 2CY, one adult & could have been more with one large chunk of gulls too far away down the tideline to the south (locations a mixture of Red Nab and on the sands)
Little Gull - moulting ad Red Nab
Sandwich Tern - juv Red Nab
Grey Plover - 141
Bar-tailed Godwit - 75
Dunlin - 52
Whimbrel -1

Moths
Checked rather late (0900) and they were very flighty.  Square-spot Rustic new for the year and Dingy Footman getting a bit late