Awayday

Most of the usual observers were out of the area today but Janet took a pic of one of the Herring Gulls:

Note the colour ring.  It may be a bird from Walney but we await details.

Quick Visit

Just a quick visit early afternoon to top up food and feeders.
North Harbour Wall
32 Twite
2 Goldfinch
These competing for food with 4 Feral Pigeons.
Also unringed Adult Med Gull

Belgian-ringed 3CY Med nearly 'sorted'

Heysham Obs
The 3CY Med Gull saga took a positive step today with the reading of the last two numbers (91) and two lines of rather small vertical writing between the end numbers and the butt of the ring = 1000 Brussels. Thanks Renaud.

North harbour wall
Twite - 101, including at least 6 unringed and Machrihanish-ringed bird

Thanks Janet

Med Gull - 2 adults and 3CY
Guillemot - 1
Red-throated Diver - 1, but offshore visibility poor

Heysham Nature reserve
Lesser Redpoll - one north
Siskin - Four grounded along the dog track

Routine odds and ends

Heysham Obs
The 3CY Med Gull showed the butt end of its ring today and there might be another number to add to the painful process of reading it when the pics are scrutinised!  Thanks Janet

North harbour wall late stages of dropping tide
Red-throated Diver - 1
Eider - just 131 - tide not as low as yesterday
Med Gull - 2 Ads in the morning, 3CY in the afternoon
Twite - at least 81
Guillemot - 1

Eiders top 200

Heysham Obs

North wall low tide
Eider - 245
Red-throated Diver - 2 together
Great-crested Grebe - 7
Med Gull - adult
Twite - 70+ but light bad

Moth
One Chestnut

Low tide routine

Heysham Obs

North harbour wall
Med Gull - 2 adult
Twite - c80
Linnet - 1
Blackbird - female
Goldfinch - 2
Eider - c140 offshore
Wigeon - 63 visible off outfalls

An E and a 92 but nothing else!

Heysham Obs
Why do people ring gulls above the tarsus when surely most of the returns will be from telescope observations?  Can understand it with waders where longevity of the ring is the priority c/f subsequent captures.  The 3CY Med behaved today, but there were hordes of people walking doen the seawall at the wrong times and it was never fully read.  It starts with an E but is not a British ring and there is a consecutive 92 somewhere along the number.

North harbour wall
Med Gull - 2 ad & 3CY
Twite - c60
Linnet - 2+
Guillemot - 1
Kittiwake - 3 2CY

Middleton NR
Gadwall - now 6 - 3 pairs
Goldeneye - 1
Pochard - 4
Tufted Duck - 10
Teal - 21
Little Grebe - 1
Coot - 10

Moths
Chestnut, Dotted Border and the first March Moth of the year (c/p Millhouses trap checked earlier which had 5 Small Brindled Beauty, 31 Pale Brindled Beauty, Dotted Border, 9 March Moth, 2 Spring Usher and Chestnut)

Low tide eider morning

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall low tide
Med Gull - one adult
Eider - c140 offshore in two flocks
Red-breasted Merganser - 8 as above
Great-crested grebe - 6 as above
Twite - 102, at least 4 unringed
Linnet - 5
Goldfinch - 2
No obvious sign of Kittiwake H32 which was definitely present yesterday

Off heliport
A mindless mutt was allowed to chase all the subroosting waders off the intertidal next to the heliport - a surprising number for so early in the incoming tide cycle.  The mutt resembled a sheep (white and curly, medium size) and the owner straight off the 118 moustache advert.  Fleeing waders comprised 520 Knot and about 2,500 Oystercatcher - therefore a significant assemblage for this stage of the tide
and all in resting subroost mode.

Office area
Redwing - 1

White leading edge

Heysham Obs
Janet's purple patch with local mammal photography continued today - cannot remember any other Grey Seal pics as they are usually blobs at quite long range. Taken by the harbour 'waterfall'.

Absolutely vile this morning - a leading edge of an atlantic weather front blizzard which turned to equally horizontal rain as the temperature crept just above freezing.  The sea wasn't properly visible, neither were the outfalls from the comfort of a car.  The Twite were just about manageable!  Wimpish behaviour and put to shame by Janet's results from a bracing walk to the harbour mouth.

North harbour wall
Med Gull - two adults patrolling - the head markings being the only sign of spring today:

Thanks to Ian and Janet

Twite - 81, including 3 unringed and the presumed usual Machrihanish-ringed bird

Linnet - 1

Goldfinch - 1



Solitary Sanderling and tree rat invasion

Heysham Obs
A late posting after a lot of computer trouble today

North wall
Twite - nervous and uncooperative with 90-100 around
Red-breasted Merganser - 14 offshore at low tide

Outfalls
Kittiwake - 2 x 2CY
Little Gull - just the one 2CY

Harbour
Kittiwake - H32 still present but looking rather sickly

Mudflats to south of Ocean Edge
Little Egret - 1
Sanderling - 1 with Dunlin

Knot - 12,570

Dunlin - 4,850

Bar-tailed Godwit - 2,810

Grey Plover - 141

Redshank - 215

 

Mammals
Grey Seal - one offshore
Grey Squirrel - at least 2 around the reserve

Moth
Dotted Border

 Guilty-looking Grey Squirrel