Dont write your species accounts until the end of the year!

Heysham Obs
Grandiose pronouncements like "no intertidal Teal this year" were in dire need of revision after today and there were quite a few other additions to already "completed" accounts

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Wigeon -98
Red-breasted Merganser - 4
Little Egret - one roosting on Red Nab at high tide
Mallard - 4 off Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Teal - male and three females on sea off Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Shelduck - 68

North harbour wall
Skylark - 1 east
Twite -  29-31
Linnet - 1-3
Goldfinch - 6
Meadow Pipit - 1
Song Thrush - 1
Red-throated Diver - 4 offshore in one sweep mid-morning
Med Gull - ad & 2CY
Wren - 1
Robin - 4

Mammal
Grey Seal off north harbour wall

Red-throat influx

Heysham Obs

North harbour wall dropping tide spot check 1045hrs
Red-throated Diver - 7
Great-crested Grebe - 1
Eider - 1
Twite - at least 23
Linnet - at least 2
Goldfinch - 6
Song Thrush - 1
Robin - 2

Heysham N Reserve circuit (excluding obs tower path)
Blackbird - 14 scattered around
Song Thrush - 1

Walking the wind corridors and Goldeneye surprise

Heysham Obs
A blustery wind greeted a couple of circuits around the north and south harbours

North harbour wall
Twite - c15
Linnet - c6
Goldfinch - c9
Meadow Pipit - 2
Med Gull - 2 ads and 2CY
Goldeneye - a short watch offshore saw a male flying out - very scarce off here these days now the sewage outfalls have gone!

South harbour wall
Zero other than one of the Meds flying past - quite a contrast with this time last year

Birds still on the move in the pre-frontal calm

Heysham Obs
Two activity 'threads' to today; a lengthy Twite-ringing session and a power walk circuit from the office back to the office via the harbour/south wall/outfalls/dogwalk track

North harbour wall
Meadow Pipit - 2
Little Egret - on on the rocks below the wall - very rare between Red Nab and north Morecambe
Twite - 22 unringed birds caught, just 12 retraps and the regular Machrihanish-ringed bird.  All present during the morning were thought to have been caught.  A bit of a change of personnel from yesterday, based on ring or lack of details
Goldfinch - 9 unringed birds caught and just one retrap
Linnet - unringed bird caught
Robin - 4 different birds seen during the morning around the feeder
Wren - 1

Harbour circuit
No sign of the seal
Med Gull - 2CY on mudflats by wooden jetty
Waxwing - heard twice whilst negotiating the steps near where the Obs tower was - either in the tank farm or around the nearby power station security lodge.  No sign when reached the bottom of steps, but did not search this access-restricted area
Blackbird - c15 either side of the steps below the Obs tower site
Redwing - one with above
Meadow Pipit - two flew from the non-op land over the dog track towards the golf course - presumably part of/ the remaining birds from the small flock which has been around for a few weeks

Pink-footed Geese
112 - flying south-east
285 - north, then east
Two other 'large flocks' heading north offshore and perhaps yet another flock heard but not seen during the Twite ringing session

Moths
Two Winter Moth in trap

Yet more on the north wall

Heysham Obs
Just the Twite feeding session spent outside today

Twite - 39, including 15 unringed, rest Heysham-ringed (no Machrihanish birds)
Goldfinch - 15 - about half ringed
Linnet - 7 (3 ringed)
Med Gull - 2 adults
Meadow Pipit - one in sandworks

Moth
Yet another Winter Moth

Finches, then it lashes down!

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Twite - 41
Linnet - 7
Goldfinch - c16
Meadow Pipit - 1
Robin - 2

These were all along the feeder corridor, no 'power walk' today and no search for the seal in worsening conditions

Med Gull - 2CY

Moths
One Winter Moth

Mammalian mystery

Heysham Obs
Two brief views of a small seal in the harbour, hugging the edge and disappearing under the wooden columns appeared to indicate that it was a Common Seal, but it needs confirmation

North harbour wall
Twite - 29-30
Goldfinch - 11
Meadow Pipit - 1
Linnet - 1+

Heysham NR office area
Chiffchaff - called twice distantly in the 'tank farm' mid-pm
Goldcrest - 1

Moths
2 Winter Moth in trap

Mammal
See above

Finches galore, including some ringing recoveries

Heysham Obs
***Chiffchaff calling several times by the office at 1440hrs - sounded like collybita but not seen

Good numbers of finches on the north harbour wall today, courtesy of lack of any obvious disturbance prior to my arrival

North wall late morning
Twite - 34, at least 9 unringed (9/14 examined were unringed, this group also included Machrihanish-ringed bird with red/white right leg and metal over green/white left leg)
Linnet - 6 (3 ringed, 2 ll, one rl)
Goldfinch - 19, at least 7 unringed
Robin - ringed bird plus unringed 1CY briefly, another on mound
Song Thrush - usual bird
Wren - 1
Meadow Pipit - just the one located
Med Gull - adult and 2CY
Rock Pipit - one heard over the south side of harbour

Ringing recoveries
The most interesting feature here was the mode of recovery of the Greenfinch - very mid-20th century or earlier

Greenfinch
Ringed:  Heysham Obs                3F                13/10/11
Dead in coal shed:  Thoralby, Leyburn, N Yorks  25/10/12  66km ENE

A typical origin for migrant Greenfinch ringed at Heysham in October

Goldfinch
Ringed:     Port e vullen, Isle of Man       4F            16/10/12    1500hrs
Caught:     Heysham Obs                                          19/10/12   1200hrs  98km ESE

This could have made it from the IOM on vis mig setting off as late as early morning of 19/10, but is highly unlikely to have left there after ringing as late as 1500hrs on 16/10.  I suspect the bird moved to Cumbria on 17/10 or 18/10 and thence to Heysham.  It was caught there at the feeder, not tape-lured on vis mig.

Goldcrest
Ringed:   Heysham Obs                          3M                1/10/12 (0800hrs)
Caught:  Embley Wood, Hants                                     13/10/12 (0800hrs)  354km SSE

Was it still on migration?   The last time we asked this question with respect to a Heysham-ringed Goldcrest caught later in the autumn (Doncaster), the bird was retrapped in midwinter, answering the question

Moths
Mottled Umber & Winter moth in trap, 2 Winter moths between res gate and traffic lights last night (one in SD45E, the other in SD46A)

December windchill

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Chickened out of doing the circuit in a skinny jumper as a cold north-westerly blasted in from the sea
Twite - 33, at least 6 unringed
Goldfinch - 17
Linnet - 1
Meadow Pipit - 1
Med Gull - 2CY and adult

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Wigeon - 99
Med gull - ad

Heysham NR circuit
Blackbird - 2
Very mid-wintry!

Twite Influx

Heysham Obs
A visit to Ocean Edge saltmarsh saw no small finches and the impression that a lot of the available food might have been frozen in.  This might explain the increase in birds on the north harbour wall, this despite the usual Sunday 'traffic', albeit without any anglers in residence actually by the feeding station

North harbour wall lunchtime
Med Gull - 2 adult, 2CY
Linnet - 1
Goldfinch - 9
Twite - 31 with 10 unringed, one Machrihanish-ringed bird and the rest seemingly Heysham-ringed
Meadow Pipit - 1
Dunnock - 1

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Thousands of waders along the foreshore towards Potts Corner - THE best wader spectacle in the Bay
Wigeon - 101 Red Nab
Med Gull - ad Red Nab
Litle Egret - 1 Red Nab