Small scale spring activity

Heysham Obs
Not sure what you call someone with a big lens, no binoculars or telescope and a loud tape of singing male Cetti's Warbler?  Cant find it in Bill Oddie's Little Black Book. 

Heysham NR
Good coverage by Ian today - thanks.  He arrived after the abovementioned and no sight nor sound of the Cetti's Warbler today but the first Snipe on HNR of the season

Middleton and south foreshore area (thanks Malcolm)
2 adult + 6 2CY mute
7 moorhen
1 pochard (m)
16 tufted
6 mallard
2 gadwall (pair)
5 teal
1 skylark (flushed)
1 pheasant (m)
1 little egret on OE.
113 wigeon
Cormorant on waterfall.

SD35Z
Great Tit - one by Gate 38 - mega - almost as unlikely as Fair Isle!
Song Thrush - one by Gate 38 - wintering bird from NHW or new arrival?

North harbour wall
Twite - 15
Chaffinch - female
At least 25 other finches, possibly including more Twite
Eider - 175+

Water Rail twitch

Heysham Obs
Busy today, but one of us 'needed' Water Rail for the year and it duly performed around the dipping pond. 

Middleton NR
Model Boat Pond:
Gadwall - 2prs
Tufted Duck - 4M, 3F
Mallard - 2prs
Mute Swan - 6 juvs
Moorhen - 1
Grey Heron - 1

Tim Butler Pond
Teal - 2M, 1F
Moorhen - 1

No Swimming Pond
Tufted Duck - 2M, 4F
Mute Swan - 2ad
Moorhen - 1

Fence Pond
Moorhen - 1

Other species of note (perhaps?): Kestrel 1

12th February

Heysham Obs
Cetti's warbler showing from the boardwalk this morning but no other news today

Mallard fest

Heysham Obs


Heysham NR
Mallard - pair and single male in Heysham NR marsh
Cetti's Warbler - started calling briefly in response to flushing the pair of Mallard - between the boardwalk and the dipping pond along the stream
Water Rail - 1


North Harbour wall
Small catch of finches surprisingly comprised four unringed Linnet, three unringed Goldfinch, one retrap Twite with previous 2014/5 history, another retrap not seen this winter and one new bird


Moths
New Dotted Border

Little coverage today

Heysham obs

Flock of three Siskin east
Cetti's warbler probably heard distantly

Dotted border in moth trap

Two year ticks for the area

Heysham obs
Another local Grey Wagtail seen today (thanks Janet) in the housing estate next to Heysham Moss.  Ringed on 14/9/14 at Middleton.

The way Pochard have been going down the pan in this area and the fact that it is very much an early year species suggested a possibility that we might miss out on it for the patchwork challenge. All change today with a male on the model boat pond

Cetti's calling behind dipping pond this morning and at least one water rail (two yesterday afternoon)

Pair of mute swans back on nesting pond - fence pond- at Middleton

Moth
Pale brindled beauty new for the year in trap

Fog and ringless Cettis

Heysham Obs
The fog relented just long enough to get the webs done and the reward was a new species for the patchwork challenge, albeit the lower end of the points scale - black-tailed godwit 

Here are the Grey Wagtail details for the bird seen this morning at Crook of Lune, Caton, 15km or so to the north-east.  This is the first record from the Lune valley, as opposed to Lancaster or south of on the estuarine part of the river:

Y966256  P/M:DKG/R
Ringed:  Heysham NR          Juvenile                   15/09/2012
Seen:  Crook of Lune   08/02/2015     Photo Jean Roberts

Cetti'sWarbler
I was a bit puzzled yesterday as inconclusive glimpses of the right leg on the Cetti's appeared to indicate there was no ring.  Brilliant views this morning behind the dipping pond- should have taken camera - indicated quite clearly it was un-ringed.  I suspect this isn't a two-bird theory, but the brief view of what appeared to be a right leg ring on the first day was clearly staining of some sort.  This, of course means it is definitely a different bird from the two Middleton and single Heysham records last autumn.   In close proximity to a Wren for quite a time and the two completely ignored each other!




Interesting how this species is getting treated now.  It doesn't qualify for the regional RBA, it's relegated to un-highlighted status on the Fleetwood and Fylde websites (but still worthy of individual daily mention) and it's about to come off the 'county description list'.  A bit of an also-ran at Leighton where presumably all the locals have already year-ticked it (song only??).  On the other hand it is Aldcliffe's "most wanted", its still a mega in Cumbria, it hasn't even turned up at Haweswater (Silverdale) yet and I think it is still a bit of a celebrity at Brockholes despite being 'down south' (or should that be the western outpost of East Lancs for regional year listing purposes?).   In other words, not to be taken for granted yet and no apologies for getting a bit excited about our first winter record.
 
Quite severe freezing fog this morning and still nowhere near cleared - no chance of WeBS count unless it improves, even with my 'inshore' (as opposed to salt marsh edge) roosts


Male Chaffinch giving the vaguely Chiffchaff - like contact call this morning as they do when setting up territories.  Otherwise, predictably not as much singing this morning but the Great-spotted Woodpeckers were active with a lot of calling and drumming


.

Pinkfeet with two agendas and Cettis warbler obliging

Heysham Obs
Interesting early morning - so much for the dawn start of work!


Cetti's Warbler
Calling a lot and showing well from the boardwalk below the classroom - now it is in this area, this is a very 'user-friendly' bird despite not being a singing male (call similar to quiet Great-spotted Woodpecker 'chit')


Red-throated Diver - two offshore but very distant


Eider - c300 offshore
  


Pink-footed Goose
Absolute minimum of 2,100 heading distantly over the golf course towards fields to the north of Heysham Moss - whether any carried on is unknown but.............


450 + 71 + 390 definitely north-west over the office heading across the bay on the usual migratory route






Moths
Single Dotted Border and rather late Dark Chestnut in hut trap

Friday 6th February

Heysham Obs
Sorry someone else was going to do the posting yesterday!

Med Gull - Czech bird north wall
Skylark - one high to east
Red-throated Diver - at least 5 in Kent channel about 3 hours before high tide in a narrow temporal window on the incoming tide (hopeless at high tide at present)
Cetti's Warbler - probably heard at a distance by two people (independently) along the eastern side of the marsh but 'drowned' by loads of singing birds, noisy Goldfinches and drumming & displaying Great-spotted Woodpeckers

Two Chiffchaff and a Peacock

Heysham Obs
More good stuff today:  Thanks to Janet for pics:

Middleton NR
Chiffchaff - two collybita types at the north western end towards anemometer/golf course edge

Peacock butterfly - one by red brick building

Heysham NR
No sign of Cetti's Warbler today
Siskin - 3

Offshore north harbour wall
Eider - 2 (male and femae) out
Pink-footed Goose - 8 north
Grey Wagtail - at feeding station
Linnet - 14 at feeding station
Meadow Pipit - 1