Red-lister back from the dead

Heysham Obs
Following a second-hand report last year, two Grey Partridge were discovered in the recording area on Middleton this morning.  Hopefully they will nest successfully.  A male Yellow Wagtail also flew over Middleton but the downside this morning was almost unbelievably bad fortune intercepting the Lesser Redpoll passage, but at least one of the three already bore a ring from elsewhere = Rishton Bird Observatory near Blackburn!  It was ringed on 16/2 and retrapped there on 19/3 and 10/4




Vis mig (from three sites with no duplication (also low tide)) 0700-1000
Lesser Redpoll - c35 NE
Meadow Pipit - 37 NE
alba Wagtail - 11 NE
Goldfinch - 3 NE
Swallow - 8 NE
Sand Martin - 2 NE
Yellow Wagtail - male N
Sandwich Tern - 6
Red-throated Diver - one
Linnet - 6 NE


Middleton NR (thanks Malcolm and Pete)
Whitethroat - 5 singing males
Sedge Warbler - 2 singing males (neither of them early morning arrivals/songsters)
Lesser Whitethroat - 3 singing males
Little Grebe - 2
Greylag - up to 11 blogging
Grey Partridge -  two at the south-western end


Grounded migrants
No evidence of anything other than a surprising 6 'new' Blackcap Heysham NR.  Migrant Willow Warbler 'non-existent' with just territorial birds seen and it is very unusual to get Blackcap moving without simultaneous larger Willow Warbler movements

Seen one birdless sunrise...................

Heysham Obs
Not a lot happening in freezing cold, moonlit conditions this morning with a rising sun untroubled by any cloud cover.  Vis mig did not get going in any form until about 0700 and then only a trickle


Grounded
Willow Warbler - at least 6 passed through by the office very early on
Lesser Whitethroat - one as above
Redstart - male by office very briefly as chased by Robin


Vis mig
Lesser Redpoll - 8 (6 ringed) NE
alba Wagtail - 16 NE
Meadow Pipit - 9 NE
Goldfinch - c15 NE


Miscellany
Greylag Goose - two visited the pond above the office


No chance of me checking anywhere else today

A very poor distant shot of Redstart in HNR and a Blackcap.

Comma and Female Orange Tip at HNR

Stock Dove highlight

Heysham Obs
Not a lot today


Middleton MB pond
Stock Dove - one on spit
Jackdaw - two collecting material on spit
Gadwall - two males


Offshore
One over the horizon adult Gannet


Ocean Edge
Wheatear - one

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