The vagaries of migration

Heysham Obs
The start of a 'seagulls on the skeers' check as per yesterdays posting was interspersed by northbound specks passing through the scope.  Time to go into vis mig mode and what an excellent hour by recent standards/coverage before it all seemed to dry up at 0915.

**A female Hen Harrier was seen heading for our recording area over the sea by Barry Dyson from Lane Ends area at 1310hrs

North wall 0805-0930
Meadow Pipit - 177 plus c60 flying dots presumed to be this species
Yellow Wagtail - what a bonus and an early one at that - a calling 'cadbury's flake' male north at 0905hrs.  To put in perspective, there were no records in the recording area last year
Marsh Harrier - rather distant female/imm (with yellow 'headlights') being mobbed by gulls as it laboured north about at least a mile out at about 0855 - why was it doing this is over the 'sea' in a strong wind - not the first time this species has been seen taking the 'maritime route' in adverse conditions!
alba Wagtail - 21
Swallow - 2
Sand Martin - 3
Linnet - 27 plus a tight flock of 8 presumed this spp
Siskin - heard once (one bird?)
Common Gull - 57
Black-headed Gull - 16
Red-breasted Merganser - just 4
Large Gulls - c450
Eider - mostly hidden by skeers - not counted

Outfalls area low tide
Med Gull - yesterdays 2CY with blackish head?
Common Gull - an additional 38 to the above
Little Egret - 2

No evidence of any grounded passerines north wall or ocean edge (eg no Wheatear seen)

Middleton Nature reserve - late afternoon
6 mute
3 coot
4 moorhen
8 tufted
3 teal
1 gadwall (male)
1 mallard
1 Cetti's warbler (singing male at fence pond)
2 swallow (singles north

Low tide scrutiny

Heysham Obs
The low point of these spring tides exposes many otherwise covered food-rich skeers which are visible with a scope off the north wall.  The low tide channels are also quite productive.  Contrast this with high ide on a calm day when there is often zero.  More time to check than yesterday and some interest slowly winkled out.    A duffish day for migration though.

Offshore and overhead north wall - one hour
Lesser Redpoll - c13 north-east (& 2 HNR)
Meadow Pipit - c17 NE (& 3 HNR)
alba Wagtail - 6 NE
Linnet - 8 NE (& 2 HNR)
Mainly Herring Gull imms - c480 on skeers and sandbanks, more than yesterday
Scaup - female in 'second' channel
Red-breasted Merganser - 16 - definite influx
Eider - many 'behind' skers but looked to be 250ish
Med Gull - 2CY (not the bird of the other day)
Carrion Crow - one in-off then north (also 2 SE over Heysham NR)

Middleton NR
Cetti's Warbler - 2 singing males
Willow Warbler - 8 singing males

No Wheatears seen early am at Ocean Edge - 2 by 9.30

Male brimstone Heysham Nature reserve 2pm

Fair weather miscellany

Heysham Obs
Better than yesterday for migrants, but coverage of the early morning was a bit 'stretched' with a short sample of everything.  Thanks for the pics Janet - the decent ones - the wooden jetty is mine

Offshore
Whooper Swan - 4 on sandbank, then north
Common Scoter - female out
phyllosc on north harbour wall

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Wheatear - 12 early am
White Wagtail - 1 early am
Little Egret - 4

Vis mig
Meadow Pipit - high-flying trickle with about 53 in 1.5hrs
Linnet - 16
Siskin - 2
Redpoll sp - 1
Common Buzzard - presumed migrant very high to north along coast
Goldfinch - 14

Grounded migrants by office
Willow Warbler - at least 5 by office when arrived at 0700hrs 

Moth
Included Small Quaker - a very fresh specimen - not common at all here

Mammal
A huge Grey Seal scared all the seagulls off the wooden jetty!

 Incredible jumping Linnet!

 Dunlin

 Knot

 Wooden jetty at high tide - big mass of Redshank and Turnstone on far right of first section

Clear night clearout

Heysham Obs
Yesterday's 'headwind fall' melted away overnight and predictably replaced by not a great deal (apart from the mixed pickle clearance sale at the local shop)

North wall/low tide offshore
Large gulls - c450, high proportion of immatures, on the offshore skeers
Eider - 260
Great-crested Grebe - 2
Red-breasted merganser - 2
Sandwich tern - 2'

Grounded
Wheatear - just 4 OE foreshore
single Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler ringed by office

Vis mig
Desperate
Meadow Pipit - 15
alba Wagtail - 5
Jackdaw - 1
Woodpigeon - 13
Lesser Redpoll -4
Linnet - 6
Swallow - 4

Middleton model boat pond
Tufted Duck - 13
Gadwall - male
Little Grebe - 1
Coot seem to have disappeared

Miscellany
5 Little Egret OE/Red Nab
Cetti's Warbler - both singing males - one by no swimming pond the other  singing from brambles between fence pond and fence at west end
Common Gull - 10 seaward end Heysham one outfall
Willow warbler - at least 4 Middleton

Black Redstart

Heysham Obs

Thanks Janet

Female type Black Redstart showing well along edge of Ocean Edge salt marsh. (MD) - all morning and afternoon.
Also 13 wheatear
Please remember that this area is on private land. Access only around foreshore perimeter.
Thanks

Arctic Skua and marine mammal fest

Heysham Obs
A bit of coverage today not without interest, although the sea would surely have been better but for the ring of turbines in the outer bay funnelling stuff to the west of them

Sea on and off to 1030hrs
Arctic Skua - dark morph in at a vast rate of knots at 0925hrs
Gannet - 1+1+1+1+3 out once it cleared

Miscellany
Siskin - at least 4 on the feeders by the office
Wheatear - Ocean Edge: gang of three males moved rapidly inland over the caravans followed by two more later
Ringed Plover - 38 Ocean Edge grass
Dunlin - 10 Ocean Edge grass

Mammals
Harbour Porpoise - one off the north wall at 0740
Grey Seal - one south wall area high tide

Strong west wind

Middleton Nature reserve
Just the Cetti's warbler by the "no swimming" pond (see yesterday for detail) heard singing today. But both territories were only visited briefly. Several chiffchaff singing but no willow warbler heard. (MD)
10 tufted, 1 gadwall and 2 shelduck on model boat pond.
1 little grebe on fence pond
2 swallow (south!)
3 wheatear

Ocean Edge
2 little egret
10 wheatear
7 ringed plover

0930-1000 circuit
Gannet - one wheeling ' over the horizon'
Twite - male giving burst of song north wall with 6 linnet nearby
No wheatear around at this stage

A Tale of Two Cetti's

Cetti's warblers singing from two locations on Middleton Nature reserve this morning. Northern edge of the pond just west of the model boat pond, plus resident bird near Fence pond. Several alternating visits to these two locations strongly suggest two, rather than one highly mobile bird. (MD)
Other MNR records
6 mute
6 coot
2 moorhen
10 tufted
3 gadwall (1 female)
3 mallard
1 little grebe
1 water rail
2 Cetti's warbler
2 willow warbler (singing)
5 chiffchaff (singing)
4 wheatear
3 swallow (north)

Heysham NR
A rather desperate ringing session from dawn this morning proved what was expected after a night of heavy cloud and continuous drizzle - no grounded migrants and little early vis.
The only Goldcrest trapped was a bird ringed yesterday and only one Chiffchaff was ringed.
The remainder of the catch consisted of finches at the hut feeders, but did include an adult female Bullfinch.

NHWall
A number of brief visits during the morning produced no sightings of note.

Sandwich Tern

Heysham Obs
Coverage mainly around mist nets this morning with just a small sample of vis mig and short late morning visit to outfalls area

Vis mig
Lesser Redpoll - 2 caught - one a control D848 sequence
Siskin - at least one N
Meadow Pipit - sample of 51 NE in 20 minutes
alba Wagtail - 5 as above
Linnet - 13 as above
Reed Bunting - passage male caught

Grounded
Meagre fare with fat scores suggesting many of the newly ringed 5 Goldcrest and 3 Chiffchaff were not new arrivals

No Wheatear seen (early morning and late morning coverage of Ocean Edge)

Outfalls/offshore
Big influx of large gulls with good numbers of imms - a good white-winger recipe - 280-300 around outfalls
Med Gull - 2CY tideline
Common Gull - 35 ish
Black-headed Gull - 6
Sandwich Tern - one flew out along the shipping lane .

Moths
March Moth a surprise in the context of this year!

Low key coverage

Heysham obs
Just half a dozen each of pied wagtail and meadow pipit grounded ocean edge along with three wheatear. No further coverage other than topping up feeders!