Aerial bombardment of the SPA

Heysham Obs
A real contrast this evening.  Loads of people and dog walkers on Ocean Edge caravan site and not one scrap of encroachment and disturbance of the high tide roost at Red Nab with many people reading the informative notices scattered along the seaward edge of the caravan site and coming to have a chat about Oystercatchers etc.

Contrast that with events further south at Potts Corner.  For the first time I can remember, Curlew and Oystercatcher were actually being displaced from the incoming tidal mudflats and flying back to join the Red Nab roost.  The movement on the incoming tide is invariably in the other direction.  Why?  An aerial "barrier" of two Paramotors and, further out on the mudflats (so they "don't disturb the residents of the caravan site") model aircraft which seemed to have a range of almost 1km were 'blocking' the flightline to Middleton saltmarsh.  The model aircraft area provided a focal point for numerous off-lead dogs as people wandered out there to have a look, leaving the mutts to charge all over the mudflats.   Why did they all remain over the high tide period when they were occupying a significant section if shoreline used at this time by waders - no sign of any of the usual Grey Plover/Knot/Dunlin etc which start to appear at this time?

As I have said before, there is absolutely no will on the part of the people who can influence access here - they have just turned up and paid lip service to meetings relating to the recent recreational disturbance study.   Twelve month licence conditions are also not being met (see below)

I've also mentioned before that I spent quite a bit of time changing the "car crash" prescriptive wording on informative notices on wildfowl and waders which been commissioned as a condition of  a 12 month licence for the caravan site.  I made them relevant to the area in general  and, in some cases,  the proposed location of the individual notice  along the shoreline.  Where are they?  Gathering dust because "it was decided to put them "all together" (!) by the Potts corner access.................but we cant do that because the wind-farm will be using it as their cable-laying base".   No need for me to comment again on this, but what a contrast between the attitudes of Ocean Edge and the Potts corner area, reflected in the respectful behaviour at Red Nab  

Red Nab circa high tide
Oystercatcher - 2500
Curlew - 350 (usually all gone towards Middleton by this stage of the tide)
Redshank - 160
Med Gull - 4 x ad, 2 x 2CY, 1 x juv
Little Gull - moulting ad briefly - seemed to fly over towards the Lune

Middleton evening fare

Heysham Obs

Middleton NR late pm
Water Rail still present and presumed to have bred
Singing male Grasshopper Warbler
Hardly any Swallows in the roost with 6 ringed and perhaps just another 6 roosting!

At least three recently fledged Sparrowhawk Heysham NR

Small Copper and second brood Common Blue seen Heysham NR

Udea lutealis in SD35 but the overnight actinics unfortunately chose this evening not to work properly!

Thanks to Janet for the following excellent pics taken today at Heysham and Middleton

Better

Heysham Obs
What seemed to be a going through the motions check of Red Nab, on recent form, was surprisingly good with e.g. a really high Med ration amongst the Black-headed Gulls.  On the downside, it doesn't appear that there is any food coming out of Heysham one outfall.  Anyone able to check the swallow roost numbers at Middleton tonight please (c2050 ish)?  Thanks.

Outfalls/Red Nab
Little Gull - moulting adult Red Nab
Med Gull - 6 x ad, 2 x 2CY and 3 x juv
Greenshank - one adult with Redshank OE saltmarsh
Redshank - 119
Swallow - loose flock of 16 heading south purposefully towards Potts corner
Whimbrel - at least 2 prob 3

Moths
Two traps checked, one the toilet, produced a heap of typical August noctuid dross with absolutely nothing worthy of mention (I find January more interesting than August for moths unless specialised habitat is targeted)

The last few days

Heysham Obs
Sorry for the lack of updates, been more involved with moth recording than specifically at Heysham.  The latest county moth Newsletter can be viewed on the Lancashire Moths website.  Trying to beat the midnight date deadline!

Tuesday 4th August
Med Gull - adult and two juvs outfalls

Monday 3rd August
Stock Dove - one Middleton
Female Southern Hawker dragonfly HNR top path

Sunday 2nd August
Northern Spinach in the moth trap

Ringing by the office produced a wandering young Reed Warbler and 3 Lesser Whitethroat but no numbers of migrants - this is heading towards being an almost unbelievably bad year for ringing with the exception of one quality day in spring at HNR with Firecrest and Ring Ouzel and one at Middleton this spring with e.g. Redstart ringed at Portland Bill

1st august

Heysham Obs
The only action today was to check the Red Nab/Ocean Edge high tide roost and this produced 117 Redshank and two Whimbrel - the seagulls had flown off on the spring tide height.  Moths included nothing more interesting than a mass break-out (for here) of eight Scalloped Oak.

No blue moon surprises

Heysham obs

Red nab incoming tide
Med gull - four ad and two 2cy
Little egret - 1
Whimbrel - 3

Moths
Late dingy shears a surprise, marbled beauty scarce here. Best of the rest slender pug and ruby tiger

Greenshank tops the bill

Heysham obs
Lengthy coverage of red nab over the tide saw:

Greenshank - one in rapid transit to the south
Med gull - 7 x ad, 1 x 3cy, 1 x 2cy
Little gull - no sign

Moths
Slender pug the best of an unremarkable catch

Butterfly transect
Highlight was a male common hawker dragonfly on the top path. Dominated by gatekeeper and dwindling numbers of meadow brown and small skipper with a couple of tatty large skipper. Three red admiral seen, one on transect , two on office buddliea and one comma in the ne corner

More coastal stuff

Heysham Obs
Not quite as good a day as yesterday but a decent array of gulls and Curlew etc down the tideline towards Potts Corner as it is too early in the day for the chronic disturbance at this running sore of an access point.  Unfortunately its all talk and no action down at Potts Corner with the informative notices carefully designed as part of the 12 month licence for the caravan site "hidden away because the proposed wind-farm cable route would be in the way of where they need to be sited"  What rubbish - they were designed to be spread along the coastal strip there as per the slightly different wording for each location.  Last weekend saw massive disturbance over the afternoon neap high tides with vehicle access as far as the creek at Ocean Edge (the tyre marks are still there), pony and trap careering through flocks of Curlew and Oystercatchers trying to roost and model aircraft being flown near the neap high tide mark "because further inshore they disturb the caravan site residents".  Is it any wonder that there have been none of the more sensitive wader species along this section yet - Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit and even Dunlin - they are usually present by this stage of the autumn.  

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Little Gull - adult along the tideline
Med Gull - 4 adults
Redshank - c40 Red Nab
Turnstone - c9 Red Nab
Whimbrel - 4

Moths
Ruby Tiger the best of a mediocre bunch with Straw Underwing top dog as usual at this time of year

Another little gull?

Heysham obs
A good look round red nab and off ocean edge just after high tide was quite productive

Outfalls/red nab/oe foreshore
Little gull - summer adult
Med gull - four ads
Turnstone - 9
Whimbrel - 5
Little egret - 2

No moths of real interest

Last day of Red-veined Darter?

Heysham Obs
The first date for Red-veined Darter was a male photographed on 27th June (thanks Stan), not 'three weeks before' the previously assumed first.  A visit to Middleton at lunchtime saw cloud forming just before it reached the sun and it took a good half-hour to receive proper sunlight at which time the wind had increased.  So conditions not perfect

Middleton NR model boat pond lunchtime
Red-veined Darter - single male seen well and photographed by visitors.  Another male was seen over the water and was briefly "in cop" with (or holding) an ovipositing female which looked like Red-veined. 
Common Darter - 10+
Brown Hawker - 1
Emperor - 3
Black-tailed Skimmer - 7-9

Outfalls
Two adult Meds discerned through the heat haze

Butterflies
Single Comma, Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell on the office buddleia which has resurrected itself after a year off being cut to ground level to to anticipated works

Moth trap
Bordered Beauty and Six-striped Rustic new for the year and White-line Dart, White Satin, Slender Pug and Garden Carpet of note - the latter is scarce here