Another Hummer

Heysham Obs
What a good year it is for Humming-bird Hawk moth.  They have been all over the place recently and its been a case of checking buddleias etc to see if you can find one, not just the 'once a year at best jam-in'

Middleton NR
Decent ringing session by this year's standards with double-figures totals of Willow Warbler and Whitethroat and a trickle of other things, notably a single Grasshopper Warbler
Common Buzzard - two circling overhead in mid-afternoon (no vis mig in the morning)

Heysham NR and area
Humming-bird Hawk-moth - one on buddleia near Ocean Edge in the Nature park
Comma - at least four with the above - a good total for here
Red Admiral - one nature park, one NR on transect

Moths
Another decent catch including 3 x Bordered Beauty, a very late Dingy Shears, Barred Rivulet, Campion (rare here) and a less welcome first Square spot Rustic of the year

TUESDAY 11th August

Heysham Obs

A Red Nab session early morning saw the elusive Little Gull being exactly that and only seen very briefly during four hours of observation - I'm sure its heading for the Lune estuary for quite a chunk of time around high tide along with some of the Meds

Red Nab
Whimbrel - 2
Bar-tailed Godwit - 1
Med Gull - 4-5 adult, 2 x 2CY
Little Gull - adult

Ringing next to the office saw a steady number of birds, mainly a mixture of warblers and Greenfinches

Thanks to Janet for these pics.  Please note that Janet also specialises in photos of pets, especially dogs.  Contact:  janetpac@talktalk.net

 

Mothfest

The Heysham toilet trap was full this morning with what might be referred to by some as dross.  In amongst the hordes were a record 21 dingy footman, a welcome sandy carpet ( very scarce all over north lancs this year), a couple of golden rod pug and the first canary shouldered thorn of the year.

Birds
Juv med outfalls, ad med red nab
Swallow - 8 flew south in 15 min early pm

Some excellent pics from Janet will be uploaded tomorrow when on proper computer. Thanks for these.

Poor coverage

Heysham Obs

Office area
Willow Warbler - 5+
Swift - 16 south in 20 mins

Outfalls area
Med Gull - just 2 x 2CY but birds sat on mud between H2 and H1 outfalls not checked
Little Egret - 1
Whimbrel - 2

Moths
Time-consuming mass of brown noctuids topped by 33 Flounced Rustic.  Single White-line Dart the only one of 'note'

Warblers creep and Swifts sweep through

Heysham Obs
Weather: clear, calm to start with then light southerly and a few clouds building up. c16C

Middleton NR
More Willow Warblers, Sedge Warbler, Blackcaps, Lesser Whitethroats and Whitethroat were ringed at Middleton NR again but fewer than yesterday (only 21 birds in 4.5 hours with 6 nets).  The clear night was probably to blame!
Diurnal migration was happening but not much went through 07:00-11:30:
Swallow - 30
Swift - 13
Sand Martin - 1
House Martin - 1

Heysham NR vis 1335-1415
Swift - 74
Swallow - 10
House Martin - 1

Short circuit round reserve yielded:
Reed Warbler - 1 singing (in reedbed, funnily enough)
Chiffhaff - 1 calling from alder copse
Sparrowhawk - 3 juvs calling and flying about
Butterflies:
Small Copper - 1
Red Admiral - 1
Common Blue - 4 male, 2 female
Small White - 2
Dragonflies:
Brown Hawker in car park

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.