Recent records

Heysham Obs
Sorry getting a bit behind with this


Dark-bellied Brent Goose - one flew 'out' past half moon bay on 31st May (thanks Malcolm)


A pretty thorough check of the gulls yesterday produced a typical result - nothing - other than about 675-700 common seagulls with fewer Common but more Black-headed than previously.  Still looking good!

Tuesday 3rd June

Heysham Obs
Not perfect, but a bit better look at the gulls today produced 675 with about 350 2CY Common - a very late influx after very few at the usual time earlier in the spring

The only 'oddity' was a 2CY Med - unringed

Moths
6 Burnet Companion recorded on the butterfly transect at various places around Heysham NR.  The trap held an increasing variety of common early summer species, but none of the local specialities.  By far the best was a single Figure of 80 - just about annual here

Game on

Heysham Obs

A very early influx of gulls on to the outfalls - not sure whether these were around yesterday (coverage didn't seem to include this area).

Outfalls low tide mid morning
Mixed Black-headed/2CY Common - c600-700
Med Gull - moulting adult (first of autumn)
Little Gull - 2CY
Common/Arctic Tern - one in heat haze

Many of these could not be seen well due to heat haze and the fact they were miles away on the outer shoreline by Stage one

ACCESS

ONLY via the Nature Park/Red Nab and you can walk as far along the seawall as Heysham Two Outfall

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!!