There is only one Brent

Heysham Obs
........and not a lot else either as a niggling wind was probably a bit too far to the south and soon became too strong for effective use of mist-nets


Sea
Brent Goose - one dark-bellied on offshore sandbank at low tide
No passage


Vis mig 0630-0930 on and off
Meadow Pipit - 47 NE
Redpoll spp - at least 19 (6 ringed were all Lesser) NE
alba Wagtail - 17 NE
Linnet - 12 NE
Goldfinch - 3 NE


Grounded
Very few Willow Warbler this am (only 2 ringed), 4 Blackcap ringed, one Chiffchaff ringed.  Two Wheatear along north wall.  Nothing else obviously new in

Much more like it..........

Heysham Obs
A morning which was mostly concentrated by the Heysham NR office with a short seawatch just after low tide.  Alan produced a Common Redpoll out of the nets before dawn and a couple of Avocet heading north up the bay were (eventually!) identified - must spend more time at Leighton Moss.  A few other odds and ends of migrants - not bad for a clear moon-ridden morning

Office area
Common Redpoll - male caught and ringed at 0600hrs - see pics and note the 'barbie doll pink' on this species on the sides of the head and breast c/p the deeper red on most lesser males
Lesser Redpoll - at least 37 with 18 ringed - amazingly none already bearing rings..........until as soon as I posted this the next round produced L978xxx!
Redstart - female by office briefly
Blackcap - 4-5 moved through
Willow Warbler - very difficult as they whizzed through just after dawn with bits of temporary song from various sites - 20-30?
Lesser Whitethroat - newly arrived singing male by office, almost certainly the bird seen dropping out of the sky just previous to song registration (yesterdays bird did not stay)
Meadow Pipit - 18 NE, prob more - very high
Common Whitethroat - male appeared at lunchtime
Siskin - 5 NE
Collared Dove - flock of 3 NE
Tree Pipit - one NE

Sea
Swallow - 15 NE
Avocet - 2 north
Eider - 221
Red-throated Diver - one on

Orange Tip kick-start

Heysham Obs
A rubbishy north-westerly this morning and the coverage was limited to 30 minutes on the cold north harbour wall


Guillemot - one on
Red-throated Diver - 2 out
Swallow - 15 in (loose flock of 13)
Meadow Pipit - 26 NE
Common Gull - 48 NE
Large gulls - a procession out, mainly 2CY Herring, totalling 160


Lesser Whitethroat in song by Heysham NR office


Middleton (thanks Malcolm)

6 mute (2 sitting)

3 coot

2 moorhen

4 mallard

7 tufted

2 gadwall (male)

1 teal (female)

2 shelduck

2 greylag

2 little egrets

3 little grebe

1 lapwing

1 pheasant

7 meadow pipit

6 reed bunting

Great spotted woodpecker drumming

8 Swallow (north 1s & 2s)

Warblers heard singing

8 chiffchaff

8 willow warbler

1 lesser whitethroat

Butterfly

Orange Tip - 5 males

5 orange tip

Brent sensation

Heysham Obs
A distinctly un-lively seawatch this morning at least produced some quality.  Brent Goose status is odd.  Both light and dark-bellied a routine feature just out of visual range over the Bay (including a Black Brant the last two winters) but they are pretty scarce on this side, especially a flock.  Something to do with eel-grass?




Sea 0730-1010ish (thanks Mark, Jean and Pete)
Dark-bellied Brent Goose - flock flew along the tideline from south of Red Nab, then turned north past the wooden jetty and apparently split into 2+5 as entered the Bay
Arctic Skua - Dark morph distantly at c0755 sat on the water and floated in.  Presumably different was an in-bound dark morph at 0855hrs and a dark morph out at 0955 was presumably one of the two
Common Scoter - 5 on the water
Red-throated Diver - 2 in and 6 out
Mute Swan - 2 'in-off' from Barrow direction to Red Nab direction
Meadow Pipit - one north!


Mammal
Grey Seal offshore

Early shift seabirds, late shift seagulls

Heysham Obs
A few seabirds early morning but the pre-high tide late shift was like watching paint dry


Sea 0745-1015
Arctic Skua - dark morph in, intermediate morph out
Red-throated Diver - 16 seen, including flock of 4
Gannet - 13 out, 3 in, all adults and including flock of 8
Common Scoter - flock of 5 in, one on the sea close inshore
No Kittiwake or terns
Passerine vis mig at the same time non-existent in mod/fresh SW wind


Moths
Nine species, including Herald

Early morning routine

Heysham Obs
To windy from a nasty direction for the office mist nets until 0720, so a bit of sea/vis


Sea
Dead 0650-0720


Vis mig north wall then office 0650-0750 on and off
Meadow Pipit - 32 NE
Golden Plover - one high to east (rare here)
Siskin - at least 5 NE
Redpoll spp - 10 NE
alba Wagtail - 13 NE
Linnet - 7 NE


Moths
Another Herald was the highlight along with Parsnip Moth

The 15 minute 'coverage'

Heysham Obs
Lots to do after checking moth traps this morning, so little time for coverage.  One of those annoying mornings where things are obviously happening but not necessarily funnelled through a coastal obs.  I had three Willow Warbler near home which were not there yesterday plus a singing Redstart but nothing appeared to be concentrated at Heysham


Seawatch 0900-0915
Sandwich Tern -1 out
Red-throated Diver - one in
Carrion Crow - 9 north
Meadow Pipit - 5 north


Moths
Decent catch included two  Shoulder Stripe, a late March Moth and two Powdered Quaker

Herald and Arctic Skua new for the year

Heysham Obs


Sea 0730-0830ish (thanks Pete C)
Arctic Skua - flock of three dark morph headed 'in' at 0750, close inshore at Yellow Buoy range
Lots of imm large gulls around but nothing could be found with them


No other seabirds!


Vis mig comprised 4 Meadow Pipit over the space of about an hour.  Dead!


Nothing grounded Wheatear-wise early morning


Afternoon (thanks Janet)
Swallow - three north
Wheatear - one Ocean Edge

Birds seen on Ocean Edge

Moths & butterflies

Herald new for the year
The first Speckled Wood of the year was seen as well as the first Green-veined White of the year (pic)

Great Northern Diver and Fulmar and Gannet at last!

Heysham Obs
NB Early morning seawatching looks a decent option tomorrow


Unfortunately held up by traffic this am, much earlier in the morning than usual and the seawatch was limited to 0745-0830.  Highlighted by close views of a 2CY/winter adult Great Northern Diver which flew south, then about 15 minutes later what was presumably the same bird/species was seen at extreme range towards the windfarm and appeared to land.  Decent numbers of Red-throated Diver, including a flock of 5.  Oddly no first Gannet of the year and amazingly no Kittiwake flocks in the 45 min seawatch, especially as a couple of casual glances by a non-seawatching birder later in the morning produced four Gannet and there were loads off Blackpool


Sea 0745-0830
Great Northern Diver - one 'out' at c0750, then perhaps the same very distantly at c0815.  Probably a 2CY as no sign of summer plumage coming through
Red-throated Diver - absolute minimum of 11, probably 14 and possibly 20, mainly 'in', including flock of 5
Fulmar - one in and across was rather unexpected at 0820
Little Gull - 2 x 2CY 'in'
Lots of LBBG and Common Gull moving but no obvious pattern
Gannet - four later in the morning offshore

Harbour
Guillemot still by waterfall
Turnstone - 50 wooden jetty

Red Nab 0835
Little Egret - one
Good lot of imm large gulls around wooden jetty/outfalls but nothing of interest


Moths
Good catch, perhaps surprisingly including first Powdered Quaker of year

Bits and bobs

Heysham Obs
Yesterday there were no birds, today was a bit of a priorities struggle for a single observer as stuff was obviously around in the bit of a window from early morning till about 10 when some nasty wet drizzly stuff filled the air.  A belated hour of ringing saw just one net operated with threatening rain and this catch included a Reed Bunting


Vis Mig north wall 0755-0825
Meadow Pipit - 18 NE
alba Wagtail - 8 NE
Redpoll spp - 7 NE, including flock of 5
Swallow - 2 NE
Wheatear - 2 heliport
Nothing obvious offshore


Ocean Edge
Wheatear - 6


Heysham NR office area
Goldcrest - one
Willow Warbler -  at least 2