Early morning fare

Heysham Obs
Now May is behind us, the worst migration month I can remember here, a murky calm morning at High Tatham seemed to suggest a session at Middleton might just produce something, as well as getting another tedious early season CES out of the way.  So as soon as I arrived the skies cleared and a northerly breeze set in!


Middleton NR 0515-0900
Highlight was the return of V901330 - a Reed Warbler which was first encountered here as an adult male in 2010 and has bred every year since.  Three un-ringed presumed male Sedge Warblers were a bit unexpected - presumably on foraging trips from elsewhere, not late migrants


Otherwise three Greylag flew over, a couple of Jackdaw were seen and Pheasant were high profile compared to recent years with at least two calling.  No Grasshopper warbler sang this morning


Moths
A decent night, but sun blazing into the window and many were certainly lost.  Nothing bettered the "usual" Shaded Pug and Treble Bar, however.

Brief check of Ocean Edge and outfalls

Heysham Obs

Outfalls/Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Med Gull - black-headed 2CY - again could not see legs properly for rings - seen in flight or right on the low tide edge
Common Tern - one seaward end of Heysham Two outfall
Wheatear - smallish female near slipway

Moths
Marbled Minor agg new for the year and two Shaded Pug of note

Marsh Harrier

Heysham Obs

Marsh Harrier - one with some cream on the crown headed across the bay from the SSE to NNW about 745ish this morning
Wheatear - 'enormous' female on the north wall sandworks
Swallow - 6 NE

Moths
Actinic in SD36 produced two new 10k square records: Common Swift and Cyclamen Tortrix and three yet to be identified micros....also a Tawny Shears of note

Mostly insects

Heysham Obs
A few insect-dominated observations from the past few days


Today
Wall Brown butterfly by the bottle dump on Middleton (ex Tim Butler area) - really rare around here at the moment, but this area seems the best!
Elachista argentella also seen Middleton
Reed Warbler - a newly-arrived singing male at Middleton was ringed elsewhere (Y954 sequence)
No vis mig (e.g. hirundines) observed
Sedge Warbler singing by Heysham NR office was new in, I think


Yesterday (with Anne Smith and Mike Bloomfield)
Bioblitz of Heysham SD36V part two
Common Blue butterfly - at least 12
Small White - at least 4
Wheatear - one passed through rapidly - seemingly came in-off
Swallow - at least 24 in 1.5 hours north
Cauchas rufimitrella - this seemed to be an out of habitat puzzle, but communication with Steve Palmer indicated that it does occur in this sort of area (e.g. by the sandwinning plant at Marshside) with the larval foodplants also including Scurvy Grass spp.
Celypha lacunana was new for 10km square!!!
Grapholita compositella new for 10k square
Triangle Plume (the coltsfoot one) - four of these were found and were new for the 10k square

Although there have been several Four-spotted Chaser so far this month, as might be expected (the other widespread early species, Broad-bodied Chaser, is scarce here), this appears to be a teneral Black-tailed Skimmer which is very early (Thanks Janet)

Very late Little Gull flock

Heysham Obs
A bit of sea coverage this morning - not ideal as the tide was dropping but.........


Little Gull - flock of 11 'in' - 9 ads & 2 2CY - at 0615hrs
Black-headed Gull -  flock of 38 2CY in
Arctic Tern - flock of 16 'in'
Swallow - c20 NE


possibly more to come from the early morning watcher


Ocean Edge
Wheatear - 2


Middleton NR
Little Ringed Plover still on territory
Stock Dove - 2 seen
House Martin -2


Insects
Common Heath moth female found on Middleton along with Triangle Plume (the coltsfoot one)

Another good morning missed

Heysham Obs
Bits and bobs from post-lunch coverage suggested quite a bit was missed earlier on, as did the weather synopsis and the 'fetch' on the SE wind.  Highlighted numerically by a heavy Swallow passage.




However, the "worst coverage of potentially the best mornings (in May)" since I can remember continues - a mixture of unavailability (especially of one key observer) and bad decision-making (on my part!) and too much turning up early doors in clear useless weather and getting disheartened.  The problem is that simplistically the best mornings were down as "wet", but in reality there were early morning weather windows available suitable for extra-careful mist-netting.  This unavailability is unfortunately going to be much worse for  the remainder of the month.  Therefore the pretence to be covering migration this month ends here and any future postings will not be a poor attempt to try and present "coverage", but will just be random odds and ends of interesting sightings.  Hopefully this will be a temporary blip, but it really brings home how much we e.g.  especially rely on one unavailable individual for the seawatching & associated vis




North wall on and off lunchtime-mid afternoon
Swallow - 27 N in 5 minutes, then 75 N in 30 minutes
House Martin - 2 north
Garden Warbler - one in sea buckthorn allowing i.d. as it moved between two clumps
Wheatear - 4 (3 on heliport)




Heysham NR
A trawl round produced:
Spotted Flycatcher - two together in NE corner sycamore




Ocean Edge
Med Gull - black-headed individual again along tideline towards Potts corner
Wheatear - 7 (11 YESTERDAY here plus 4 on heliport)
Whimbrel - 2 on outer Red Nab




Insects
SD36V
Green-veined White female, 4 Common Blue (3 male, one female). YESTERDAY: Small White, 3 Common Blue, Light-brown apple moth
Heysham NR
Burnet Companion - at least one along the entrance road bank (thanks Janet)




Middleton NR
Interesting micro - more later!

Interesting Micro!!

Common Tern at last

Heysham Obs
The early morning migrant coverage has been awful so far this month - just the way it goes with observer availability and there really has been no incentive at all for any seawatching.

There is some really tasty weather coming up this week - perhaps more likely to produce a rare wader somewhere where they wont be chased off by Avocets, or hirundine/tern over an inland water, but also the possibility of a decent passerine. 

North wall 0645-0730
Common Tern - one on the seaward end of Heysham one for 5 minutes or so
Med Gull - black-headed 2CY as above but only for two feeding 'sweeps'
Gannet - adult out
Swallow - 17 in
House Martin - 4 in

Middleton NR
Wall Brown butterfly

Heysham NR
Elephant Hawk-moth

17th May

Heysham Obs
A near-miss with a Red Kite and a Shaded Pug in the moth trap

The Mute Swans have waddled across to the model boat pond and the cygnets have had their first taste of (albeit quality) bread - apparently apple and beetroot infused!

Other Middleton sightings included a Grey Pug and singing Skylark

Cuckoo a very welcome addition to year list

Heysham Obs
Very few recent records of Cuckoo from here. One calling male lingering on Middleton NR and adjoining golf course until at least midday

Three migrant Willow warbler ringed this morning, but the only other morning migrant evidence was three Wheatear on Middleton and a 'possible' with respect to at least one of the three Blackcaps ringed

Some murk came in late morning prompting a thrash round:
Spotted Flycatcher - two on fence at southern end of tank farm near the big tree and one 'behind' the dipping pond on hnr
Reed Warbler - one HNR NE corner - new arrival or migrant?
Willow Warbler - one presumed migrant tank farm
Wheatear - 5 power station non-op land
Great Black-back Gull - nesting pair on grey store

Small Copper new for the year and 2-3 4-spotted Chaser seen Middleton

A plague of micros around the gorse on the 'tank farm' proved to be Cydia ulicetana - at least 200 seen!

No known coastal coverage today!

Common Blue at MNR