Early morning sampling

Heysham Obs
Could do with another early morning birder this week as we are a bit short-handed if I'm tied down by mist net supervision.  Grasshopper Warbler retrap by the office of last year's territorial male the highlight




Vis mig on and off plus two sessions on the sea
Arctic Tern - 3+14 'in'
Kittiwake - one adult in
Swallow - early movement with 92 between 0600-0700, fewer later with blocking cloud to the south
alba Wagtail - 17 NE
Meadow Pipit - 4 NE
Tree Pipit - one NE
Carrion Crow - flock of 4 NE
Redpoll - just the one NE
Sparrowhawk - possible migrant high and purposeful but to the south!




Grounded
Willow Warbler - probably about 30 grounded by office
Whitethroat - at least two extras by the office
Grasshopper Warbler - migrant singing male by classroom briefly early am
Whinchat - male Middleton afternoon (IOY)
Common Sandpiper - one model boat pond shore afternoon (IOY)
House Martin - one Middleton pm (IOY)
Snipe - late one central marsh Middleton

Retrieval of sorts highlighted by another Osprey

Heysham Obs
Another early morning no-show due to other commitments, but, even if the bulk of a promising morning was missed in a mixture of tasty cloud cover and light easterly (contra forecast), some decent odds and ends were seen later


Grounded
Arrival at 0900hrs saw the last 15 minute or so of the cloudy murky light winds and a couple of hastily-erected nets caught a couple of Willow Warbler.  Then, as often happens as soon as (especially late) nets are set, the conditions suddenly went 'mid-morningish' with bright sunlight, a developing breeze and melting away migrants


Redstart - female by office 0910 at least, probably another at south end of tank farm 1200hrs
Whitethroat - at least 3 moved quickly through 0900-0920
Willow Warbler - c6 migrants by office in the first half-hour
Grasshopper Warbler - singing male in the tank farm to mid-morning only


Vis mig
Very little post 0900 other than hirundines and a trickle of Meadow Pipit (no redpoll recorded)


Arctic Tern - 3+2+1 'in' 0845-0900 but no others seen
Arctic Skua - dark morph on then in at c1030
Osprey - one high up the Bay chased by gulls at 1125
Meadow Pipit - c15 north
Swallow - reached 120/hr north by late morning
Siskin - one NE

Middleton NR
Grasshopper Warbler - four singing males this evening
Reed Warbler - singing male this evening -first of year

 A very difficult to photograph ringed grasshopper warbler at MNR

Two hour window missed

Heysham Obs
Decided to enter the national Patchwork Challenge.  This reflects the activities of several people who extensively cover Middleton NR and Heysham EDF Energy land on a regular basis, notably Malcolm and Janet.  The challenge is limited to 3km square or a shape equating to 3KM square or less.  Bearing in mind the design includes any possible vantage point for offshore 'seen-froms', the remainder reflects the likely hot-spots which are visited as part of a circuit.  

A frosty start at home was accompanied by redpoll flying overhead but unfortunately as soon as the single mist net was set at Heysham at 0700 (with a flock of 5 Redpoll passing over), the forecasted cloud cover arrived, the wind got up and nothing happened.  The net was soon taken down






In the meantime a text received from Janet re-two singing male Grasshopper Warbler on Heysham Moss following yesterday's male Pied Flycatcher passing through there.   This prompted a circuit of both Middleton and Heysham NR and the results indicated that there was a significant male Willow Warbler passage, in contrast to yesterday, and also Middleton hosted two singing male Grasshopper Warbler




Another seawatch prior to midday as a heavy cloud was approaching from the south produced a flock of 7 Arctic Tern, which appeared to drop out of the sky before heading up the Bay


An osprey was seen heading past Heysham low over the sea at about 1635hrs





Vis mig on and off from 0700
Redpoll spp - flock of 5 NE at 0700 and no more
Meadow Pipit - 11
Swallow - 41
Sand Martin- 2
Arctic Tern - 7 in about 1140hrs
Osprey - one watched flying low over the sea towards Heysham along the west side of Middleton saltmarsh c1630hrs



Grounded
Willow Warbler - two quick circuits revealed 11 singing males on Heysham NR and 15 singing males on Middleton, way above the local breeding population
Common Whitethroat - one singing by HNR office new in
Wheatear - one north wall
Grasshopper Warbler - two presumed territorial birds arrived at Middleton


Misc
Guillemot - one harbour mouth
Common Gull - 115 outfalls

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