Calm weather activity

Heysham obs
Gave Heysham nr a good grilling this morning but ce up short as regards real interest eg no warblers

Heysham nr
Goldcrest - 4
Blackbird - 20
Goldfinch - 15
Water rail - 1
Coal tit - 2

North wall
Goldfinch - 18 13 caught 9 of these unringed
Med gull - adult but not certain whether czech bird

Moths
Single mottled umber and winter moth

WeBs and short walkies

Heysham Obs
To add to yesterday, a Cormorant was seen to eat a Rockling by the waterfall.  Today an imm Cormorant attacked a 1CY Great Black-backed Gull in its 'space' and the gull backed-off!

Harbour
Guillemot 1

Wooden jetty
Shag - 1 imm - the presumed 2CY, then disappeared

Red nab (thanks jenny)
Kingfisher - 1

North wall
Med Gull - Czech-ringed adult
Feeding site
Goldfinch - 18

Fishers roof
Runt Black-headed Gull - gave me a bit of a shock as couldn't see bill and nape on initial views - barely 2/3 size of adjoining birds at same angle

Middleton NR
Cetti's Warbler - one central marsh but very elusive even in perfect conditions
Water Rail - at least five
Tufted Duck - 7
Mallard - 7 model boat pond
Grey wagtail - colour ringed bird seen late afternoon on bottle dump ponds (orange over white with 2014 ring on left leg)

Waterproof birding

SATURDAY - thanks Malcolm - the rest of us were wimps

Nothing unpredictable, but not uninteresting. No sign of Cetti's.

MIddleton Nature reserve
adults + 2 juv mute swan
31 teal
7 tufted
3 mallard

Ocean Edge high tide
1 jack snipe
4 common snipe
9 linnet
1 reed bunting
1 meadow pipit
3 mallard

Red Nab
1 Kingfisher

Harbour
1 Guilemot

Midday ferry and extras

Heysham Obs

Harbour area
Kittiwake - 6 ad, 2 1CY behind ferry
Little Gull - ad behind ferry
Shag - imm prob 2CY harbour
Guillemot - 2 harbour - one very wary new arrival
Pintail - 7 in
Med Gull - adult harbour mouth and it/another earlier coming to garden bread in NE recording area

Feeding Site:
Linnet - 9
Goldfinch - 15

Ferry fare

Heysham Obs
Went to check the IOM passenger ferry from the 'gap' by gate 38 where you have no idea where it is until it looms into view round the wooden jetty......but you do get a good view of the 'whirlpool gulls' as it turns the corner.   A predicted headline on the Waiting for Godot theme (it was late) proved unjustified as time could be spent scrutinising a presumed 2CY Shag which was new in in the harbour mouth.  Nearly all records from here are obvious brown 1CY.

Harbour mouth area 1150-1220
Med Gull -  definitely two adults, one of which was earlier on Fisher's roof
Kittiwake - adult with damaged outer primaries on left wing - behind ferry
Shag - 2CY (presumed) in harbour mouth throughout
Red-breasted Merganser - male harbour
Great-crested Grebe - one harbour
Guillemot - one by waterfall as usual

Cettis and Merlin top the bill

Heysham Obs

Middleton NR (thanks Malcolm)
Cetti's Warbler - as yesterday in central marsh but similarly elusive
Grey geese - 80 S (distant and silent)
Merlin - male
Sparrowhawk - 2 female
Teal - 81 and others still in reeds
Tufted Duck - 6
Mute Swan - 4 ad & 2 juv grounded - 2 ad S
Long-tailed Tit - 20+
Snipe - 2

Harbour
Guillemot

Fairish weather fare

Heysham Obs

Middleton NR
Cetti's Warbler - one calling in central marsh just NW of overgrown central pond
Meadow Pipit - 1
Gadwall - pair but flew off
Grey Wagtail - one dropped into sewage works - legs not seen for rings
Mute Swan - pair plus two young MBP
Tufted Duck - 3 MBP
No Water Rail heard - water levels very high

Heysham NR
Moth
Mottled Umber in trap

Ferry fare

Heysham Obs
Going through the motions with a powerwalk to the south harbour mouth to check an incoming ferry was rather better than expected but would probably have been even better staying at the car with the scope to sort a distant skua.  Apologies for not putting this out at the time - no reception at the time or indeed until I reached home at 1600ish

Gate 38/south harbour 1135-1155
Great Skua - one behind freight ferry, then sat on sea
Skua spp - probably juv Pom - one flying out rather slowly - quite distant, then appeared top head across towards south Walney
Guillemot - usual bird
No Kittiwakes behind the ferry
Note this gate is locked

North wall
Goldfinch - 16 on seed

Moth
Dark Chestnut but this may have gone into the trap on the previous night

Angle shades of unknown origin

Heysham obs
A battered looking angle shades was in the moth trap along with single winter moth and mottled umber.   Is this migrant ?

Bird wise - quick check of the harbour and just offshore produced a cancelled IOM ferry and the usual guillemot

Pre-empting nothing else to say!

Heysham Obs
Desperate times when the 'highlight' is checking whether a Guillemot is still in the harbour - may not have time today so the only posting might be:

Moth trap
Unseasonal Daddy Long Legs, Dark Chestnut, 3 x Winter Moth and Mottled Umber

Not quite a birding blank - a break in the weather as the IOM ferry came in
Kittiwake - adult
Guillemot -1
Pink footed goose - 20 se