Hazy thing in Cumbria

Heysham Obs
Visibility just not good enough to sort out a gull flying into the bay way over on the north side about "level" with Bardsea area - just about ruled out imm Mute Swan!!!  Wingbeats suggested imm Glaucous but absolutely no detail seen other than it 'didn't have a long neck' and looked uniformly pale coffee coloured with 'white outer primaries'.   It appeared to land or flew too low to see. Could someone alert Fizzer et al on the Cumbrian side, please - I've left a message with Lou?


Inshore/offshore coverage
Little Gull - 4 x 2CY outfalls
Med Gull - 3CY outfalls, ad harbour area
Kittiwake - just one adult seen in harbour
Guillemot - 3 'brown' ones as per yesterday in harbour
Finches - 61 straight into the sun on the feeder - majority of calls were Twite
Eider - 56 offshore

Pre-rain check

Heysham Obs
This was a low tide check and a whole lot more productive than the high tide walk yesterday


Middleton NR
Teal - c30
Grey wagtail - 1
Little Grebe -1 on the flooded central marsh, the rest of the stuff on model boat pond
Scaup - 2CY male
Pochard - 4 males and female
Tufted  Duck - 12
The Mute Swans adults are really hammering the young, especially two of them.  Best to stop feeding and allow them to disperse naturally


North harbour wall
Med Gull - 2 adult
Eider - c25
Red-breasted Merganser - 8
Twite - c30
Other finches - at least 15


Harbour/outfalls
Little Gull - 3 x 2CY, 1 x 3CY, 1 x Ad outfalls (poss 4 2CY)
Kittiwake - 2 ad & 2 2CY harbour
Guillemot - 3 "small brown ones" harbour
Med Gull - 3CY seaward end stage one

Green Woodpecker added to year list

Heysham Obs
Scaup 2CY male - Middleton Nature Reserve
Ringed Plover 29 - Heliport
Mediterranean Gull 3 adults - harbour area
Kittiwake 2 x 2CY and 2 adults - harbour
Twite c30 - North Harbour Wall
HIGHLIGHT - Green Woodpecker - Tank Farm then flew to golf course

Yesterday
4-5 Goldcrests at Northern end of Heysham Nature Reserve

Some of the same

Heysham Obs


Scaup - 2CY Middleton model boat pond
Little Gull - 2CY outfalls pm
Kittiwake - 2CYharbour
Twite - 32
Med Gull - 2 adults
Guillemot - two in harbour - one larger and darker than the other
Cormorant - 44

Ocean Edge Ringed Plover.

Heysham Harbour Guillemot and Kittiwake

Black Redstart reappears

Heysham Obs


Morning observations included:


Black Redstart - female type Red Nab area. chased by Robin
Med Gull - 3CY outfalls, 3 adults north wall area
Little Gull - 2CY outfalls
Kittiwake - 3 adults in harbour
Guillemot - 3 in harbour - one showing chars of nominate form - larger and blacker
Twite - c15, mainly ringed
Linnet - c10
Goldfinch - c8
Ringed Plover - 28 heliport


Photos Janet Packham

Guillemot photo.Janet Packham.

A day for the sea defences

A high tide (10.5m) and high winds meant the waves were crashing over the sea wall in places, especially along the 'promenade' below the power station. 

Outfalls
Little Gull 3 x 2CY
Mediterranean Gull 1 x 3CY

Ocean Edge
Ringed Plover 25
Little Egret 1
Pink-footed Goose 1

North Harbour Wall
Mediterranean Gull 2 adults
No Twite (no food) but 3 Linnets later on.

Heliport
Ringed Plover 37

Middleton NR
Scaup 1
Jack Snipe 1
Mute Swan  4 adults, 7 juvs
Teal 21
Tufted Duck 20
Mallard 4
Pochard 6
Gadwall 9
Meadow Pipit 1
Pheasant 1


Mammals
Nature Park
Common Shrew

Harbour
Grey Seal

Before the deluge

A quick trawl round while it was dry revealed the following:

Outfalls
Little Gull 1 x 2cY

Harbour
Guillemot 2
Kittiwake 1 adult

North Harbour Wall
65 finches - a mixture of Twite, Linnet and Goldfinch.  Got halfway through counting Twite when the flock flew off so a minimum of 34 Twite

Ocean Edge
Snipe 21

Middleton NR - Model Boat Pond
Scaup 1 x 2CY
Pochard 4 male and 1 female

Then it poured down for the rest of the day.

Observers - PeteMarsh, Malcolm Downham

Meds and Twite

Heysham Obs

North Harbour Wall
All three adult Med Gulls showing well on the railings early afternoon.
50+ Finches around feeding area including
Twite 25+
Linnet 15+
Goldfinch 10+

Middleton model boat pond
Scaup 2CY male
Tufted Duck x 5
Pochard male

JM

Wigeon at the old jetty near the outfalls

Siskin surprise

Heysham obs
A flock of c30 Siskin were alongside the wetland area on Heysham nr before flying towards ocean edge.

Middleton Nr
Scaup - 2cy
Pochard - 4
Gadwall - 4
Teal - c30
Grey wagtail
Skylark again - hope it is a local bird

North wall
A mixed catch of linnet and twite were mainly unringed birds with the twite catch including two machrihanish- ringed birds, one from autumn 2013

North wall linnet invasion

Heysham obs

North harbour wall
Linnet - flock of 25 plus at least 3 others
Twite - flock of 26

Model boat pond
Scaup - 2cy