Migration delayed by the murk

Heysham Obs

The rain shower mid-morning did the trick and dropped three Lesser Whitethroat (one HNR, two Middleton) - the earliest ever records here but following one at Aldcliffe yesterday.  A trickle of phylloscs was most apparent on Middleton although 5 Chiffchaffs were ringed HNR along with the first Willow Warbler of the ringing year.  Thanks to Malcolm for extensive coverage.

Heysham NR (vis mig session 1200-1300 as it cleared)

Meadow Pipit - 56 NE - started moving as soon as started to clear

alba Wagtail - 12 NE

Redpoll spp - one ringed early (Lesser) and one NE early pm

Carrion Crow & Jackdaw - mixed flock north early on but don't know exact numbers (8+ Jackdaw) - very unusual in spring

Lesser Whitethroat - singing male appeared 1330hrs

Goldcrest - 2 ringed

Chiffchaff - 5 ringed

Middleton NR

2 lesser whitethroat

1 willow warbler

14 chiffchaff heard + several CC/WW seen only

1 singing skylark

Tufted Duck - 19 (5 obvious pairs) 

5 gadwall (4 males)

2 mallard

6 teal

2 shelduck

Mute Swan: 2 on boating pond, 1 sitting on Tim Butler pond, 1 sitting on Fence pond + mate

6 coot

5 moorhen

1 little grebe

2 lapwing

2 snipe

2 pheasant

2 reed bunting

24 linnet

 

Ocean Edge

1 little egret

2 snipe

4 greylag low to SE

5 wheatear

12 meadow pipit grounded - 1 parachuting

North harbour wall in mist first thing

Linnet - 8

Robin - migrant at the end which flew across the harbour

Otherwise totally dead with useless offshore visibility

There early but coverage one-dimensional

Heysham Obs
Bare minimum this morning as sole observer (with work to get on with) and the wrong decision.  The 'lure' of Mealy Redpoll, never mind a high percentage of Lessers already ringed in distant parts, led to a single net & tape.  This meant I couldn't do the rounds and the hour's coverage comprised some vis and whatever night migrants were round the office.  Result - zero redpoll, despite patchy clear sky encouraging other vis.  There were a few drops of very 'muddy' rain!

Vis mig office area 0715-0815
Meadow Pipit - 73
alba Wagtail - 22
Siskin - 3
Swallow - 1
Pink-footed Goose - flock of c97 north over golf course
Carrion Crow - 3 north - chased by locals
Linnet - 16 north
Chiffchaff - at least 3 'silent' migrants
Goldcrest - two noisy migrants
Blackcap - very lightweight female ringed
Great Tit - unringed one trapped
Blue Tit - unringed one trapped, surprisingly an adult

No further coverage from me, but Janet texted (thanks):
Wheatear - 6 Ocean Edge

Moths
Mass break-out of Common Quaker by Heysham standards with 7!

Wheatear(6) and Linnet (2)at Ocean Edge

The classic departure night

Heysham Obs
Set off yesterday evening with the intention of setting a moth trap in a limestone woodland near Dalton, then go on to Leighton Moss for dusk in the hope of seeing migrant Bittern departure in similar conditions to last year's fest at this time.  Unfortunately got delayed setting the trap as it was difficult to site in a leafless wood without being visible from a road, it reached 8.15pm and I wrongly thought, after another 10 minute journey, I would be too late and missed what is one of the great birding spectacles in this area (6 seen to leave)

The early overnight weather was relevant here as it prompted the Scaup to move on at last.  Birding was otherwise low-key today with perhaps the last (two) rather flighty Twite of the spring, leaving Guillemot in the harbour as the only remaining 'winter target'

Mainly North harbour wall 0830-0930
Meadow Pipit - 162 NE
alba Wagtail - 13 NE
Linnet - 16 NE (& 7 on seed|)
Siskin - heard once NE
Twite - two arrived in the vicinity of the seed from the south, at least one unringed
Eider - couldn't see properly due to foreign dust in the air, but at least 300
Great-crested Grebe - two displaying pairs in channel!
No night migrants on the mound/sandworks
Outfalls not checked at low tide

Gate 38 area
House Sparrow - male chirping away in the willow there - this is the second time this has been seen - what's going on!
Guillemot - 2 in harbour but no Kittiwake

Ocean Edge
Wheatear - 2

Moths
Included Double-striped Pug, Early Thorn and a late Chestnut in more ways than one (it was in a spider's web but not there yesterday!)

Chiffchaff, Gadwall and Reed Bunting at Middleton today, and a very bad tempered Swan!!

Osprey and Blackcap lead the way

Heysham Obs
Osprey
Alerted by Dan Haywood on the other side of the Lune where it was a very distant 'shape' in and out of the cloud over Lades Marsh.  Then a 'bigger-than -Buzzard-raptor' flashing pale underparts and showing a gull-like 'arm' caused mayhem amongst (and giving size-comparison with) the Middleton roof-nesting gulls and even spooked what looked like the 5 Gadwall (as seen from miles away by Heysham NR office).  This disappeared behind a building/golf course trees and the final part of the trilogy was an angler on a bike who said 'someone with binoculars' had seen an Osprey over Middleton at about 1130.  I think we can go for it! 
Jackdaw - one north over HNR office
Scaup - 2CY male still Middleton (for its 92nd consecutive day on this pond)
Blackcap - male ringed (IOY)
Goldcrest - at least 4 migrants Heysham NR
Rock Pipit - one Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Wheatear - how many were there please, Janet?
Meadow Pipit - no more than 5 per hour!

Todays selection at Middleton and Ocean Edge (thanks Janet)

Wheatear at Ocean Edge

Kestrels at Heysham

Scaup at the Boating pond Middleton

Great Crested Newt at Middleton

The lord mayor's side-show with a bit of saharan dust

Heysham Obs
It wasn't entirely useless today, but a bit of a contrast to yesterday. 

Offshore
Eider - 379

Heysham NR
Low single-figures of Chiffchaff (mainly males) and Goldcrest (mainly females) were ringed, two Lesser Redpoll were ringed and at least 8 Siskin flew over.  A Greenfinch ringed elsewhere was caught.

North wall morning vis mig
Details to follow

Meadow Pipit fest and Magpie migration

Heysham Obs
Sample counts were the order of the day today in what was a phenomenal movement:


Vis mig 'casually' to 0830, systematically from NHW 0830-1030, sample from HNR office 1030-1045, Tank farm and area 1145-1220
Meadow Pipit - c200, 1812 (906 per hour 0830-1030) , 58, 119 respectively, also 250 grounded Ocean Edge at 0845hrs.
All the rest of the counts 0830-1030 north harbour wall
alba Wagtail -  22
Linnet - 52
Siskin - min 18
Goldfinch - 8
Grey Wagtail - 1
Magpie - 1+1 in off the sea from SW then carrying on inland high!
Sand Martin - 7
Swallow - 1
Chaffinch - 1
Skylark - 1
Wheatear - all 9 recorded flew 'in-off' from the SW and carried on quickly moving through


Grounded north wall
Goldcrest - 2
Twite - at least 3, possibly more
Linnet - running total of 12
Grey Wagtail (not the vis bird) - definitely unringed


Heysham Head
Wheatear - 5
Chiffchaff - 2


Heysham NR grounded
Goldcrest - 20+
Chiffchaff - at least 6 migrants
Robin - at least 3 migrants


Ocean Edge
Wheatear - 7


Middleton NR
Scaup seen by visiting birders, thanks for this
Green Woodpecker - prob same bird on golf course, then Middleton later
Swallow - 5 late afternoon
Barn Owl - still

Ringing
This included 17 Goldcrest and 9 Chiffchaff - all the latter appeared to be males

Nice low vis in strong easterly

Heysham Obs
A bit of coverage prior to work


Vis mig office & north wall 0715-0930
Meadow Pipit - 841 NE
Siskin - 14 NE
alba Wagtail - 39 NE
Reed Bunting - 5 NE
Linnet - 1 NE
Goldfinch - min 18 NE
Carrion Crow - flock of 9 NE
Redwing - one descended from height on to the reserve
Greenfinch - absolute min 2 NE


Grounded
Twite - 8 on feeder
Linnet - at least 17 on feeder
Coal Tit - one passing through HNR
Stock Dove - one with three Woodpigeon HNR - flew towards golf course

Walked from OE to Harbour and back again 10:20 to 12:10 (Malcolm).

Steady Meadow pipit migration totalling 477 birds. Small low groups most between 3 & 7 with a couple up to 14.

Count peaked between 11 & 11:50 which accounted for 337 birds. However the peak might be attributed to location rather than time. This was the period between No 1 outflow, harbour & back. That said there were reasonable numbers coming over OE foreshore, but very few over the saltmash.

Also numbers must have been increasing 151 birds first leg, 326 on way back. 

 

Also:

11 wheatear - OE

2 guillemot - Harbour

2 adult kittiwake - Harbour

Afternoon at Middleton (Justine)

Highlighted by

Swallow - 1 (IOY)

Barn Owl - 1

Meadow Pipit by this stage mainly grounded, including parachuting birds

Lots of migration

Heysham Obs
...............but little time to cover it.  Thanks to Malcolm and Justine for Middleton and other coverage

North wall early on plus office area until 1015hrs
Meadow Pipit - at least 467 north 0800-1000 with at least 10 minutes not covered at all and 30 minutes only 'casually'.
Siskin - 7 NE
Redpoll spp - 1 NE
Sand Martin - 2 N (IOY)
alba Wagtail - 45 N
Goldfinch - 8 N and one unringed bird
Greenfinch - 4 unringed birds caught in very short single mist-net session
Chaffinch - 6 north and one unringed bird
Twite - 4 north out to sea as seen from the north wall, 7 around feeder
Linnet - 4 grounded briefly by HNR office, at least 19 around seed on nhw
Tree Sparrow - flock of 3 north-east
Wheatear - 2 on mound

Ocean Edge and area

6 wheatear (2 each mature male, 2cy male and female)

2 linnet (pair) appeared to have just come in (these were the only linnet I saw in full walk)

1 mute

4 RB merganser

6 ringed plover

2 Chiffchaff heard (one in Red Nab copse and one in scrub on east side).

 

Middleton Nature reserve

Mute Swan - nesting pair on fence pond, 3 fighting on boating pond and pair on Tim Butler

2 Moorhen

8 coot

5 gadwall

1 mallard

16 tufted duck

1 scaup

4 teal (2 x 2)

1 little grebe (fence pond)

1 common snipe

2 oystercatcher

2 pheasants

12 meadow pipit (max 3 together) - including 1 parachuting

8 chiffchaff (all heard)

6 greenfinch

1 bullfinch (m)

1 sand martin.

Displaying pair of Kestrel

PS - an Osprey probably flew north along the coast at about 1200hrs but remains unconfirmed

Twa owls

Heysham Obs
The first Short-eared Owl headed north over the bay into the stratosphere at 0720 and there was 'no way' according to the observer it was a the bird flying low over Heysham NR two hours later

Quite a few male Chiffchaff passing through this morning with 6 ringed, at least 8 singing on Middleton and ones and twos in obscure locations in the area subject to survey work today

The other feature was a huge flock of waders off Middleton, including 10,500 Knot.

Short-eared Owl
One appeared from the south over the wooden jetty then spiralled up and headed north over the bay until lost from sight at 0720hrs.  At 0900hrs, one appeared in low-level flight by HNR office and went behind trees and may have landed

Middleton NR
Scaup - 2CY male
Tufted Duck - 14
Mute Swan - the 6 imms have disappeared but 5 adults, including breeding pair seen
Where, however, are the Little Grebes, they seem to have seriously crashed on here along with Coot
Gadwall - 7
Skylark - 1

Heysham NR
Meadow Pipit - in the region of 240 0700-1000 heading north
alba Wagtail - 10+ north
Goldcrest - three unringed birds

Harbour
Singles of Ad Kittiwake and Guillemot

Feeder
Linnet - 19
Twite - 8

Near miss
One male Ring Ouzel just east of the recording area between the telecom tower road and Heysham Moss mid morning

White Stork highlight

Heysham Obs
At last I've seen a stork in the Lancaster & District BWS recording area (previous experiences very painful, especially Black - almost as bad as the Ross's Gull!), albeit rather distant views of one located by Jean Roberts coming in-off at the north harbour wall.  It did its best, behaviour-wise, to lessen the "unknown origin" caveat as it circled inland just south of Heysham Two power station (as seen from the NR office) and headed to the south-east over Middleton NR.  Quite a productive vis mig session for Jean on the north wall:


North harbour wall 0740-0930
White Stork - came in-off 0850, circled and flew 'behind' Heysham 2 power station where it was picked up distantly from the NR office area
Meadow Pipit - 157 north
Kittiwake - 10+20 in & ad still in harbour
alba Wagtail - 13 north
Siskin - 3
Reed Bunting - 2
Wheatear - one grounded
Common Gull - c35
Black-headed Gull - small movement into the bay with 49 'in'
Red-throated Diver - one in
Linnet - 23 on seed
Twite - 8 on seed


Heysham NR
Meadow Pipit - c100 N
Sparrowhawk - one north, chased by local male


Moths
First Chestnut and Early Thorn of the year

Wheatear at Ocean Edge.Apologies for poor quality of pics my Nikon is being cleaned at the moment.  Janet Packham