Not really

Heysham Obs
The cloud and murk was a little too early today and it ended up a working day with just a short amount of coverage early doors

Cumulative total of stuff of note
Arctic Skua - dark morph in then landed on sea
Common Scoter - 4 in
Red-throated Diver - 1+1+2 in
Wheatear - 3
Little Egret - 3
Lesser Redpoll - 1 N
House Martin - 2 N

Grey Seal - large male jumping out of the water trying to grab mobbing seagulls.  Beware anyone swimming in the Heysham area!

Middleton
Quick visit saw the usual 2 pairs of lingering Tufted Duck and one of the Cetti's Warblers singing, but none of the expected hirundines over the water bodies in this sort of weather

Moths
The 'big four' all put in an appearance:  Clouded Drab, Common Quaker, Powdered Quaker and Hebrew Character

April ringing
Take away the 40 tape-lured Lesser Redpoll (& 3 already ringed) and the worst April ever - a combination of unavailability/rain risk on the best mornings and a dreadful final week for migration.  Particularly poor were Robin (1), Willow Warbler (16), Chiffchaff (12) and, in the context of where are all the Scandinavian birds from last autumn, Goldcrest (11).    A few highlights, notably two Cetti's Warbler plus a retrap male from last autumn and a Great Tit bearing a ring from elsewhere which does not appear to be from any of our immediate neighbours

Is tonight going to produce the goods?

Heysham Obs
Perhaps worth an early start tomorrow with 3 hours or so of south-easterlyish winds prior to a weather front and a southerly clear corridor overnight.  Timing is always critical in these conditions but we'll see and should have vis migger/seawatchers/grounded migrant searchers on the prowl.  Unfortunately Monday morning has gone a bit pear-shaped for here compared to the prognosis a few days ago with the early hours wind too far to the south - we'll see if anything materialises.  Today saw an away-day for most observers, but Janet and Malcolm gave some welcome coverage at Middleton.

Middleton NR
Cetti's Warbler - singing by the western end of the fence pond
Grasshopper Warbler - 2 singing males
Lesser Whitethroat - three singing males
Mute Swan - a record four breeding pairs coming up if the rogue dogs and foxes allow
No Reed Warbler reported as yet
Swallow - 9 south in 30 minutes

Heysham NR
Presumed migrant (non-singing) Grasshopper Warbler photographed on Heysham NR (SD46A bit) late afternoon

Back end of the morning tide

Heysham obs

Sea 0700 -0745 north wall/ocean edge
Gannet - 3 out
Fulmar - 1 out
Whimbrel - 2 in
Plus a rock bottom 'observation' of a probable Manx when optics covered in rain!

Middleton
Little grebe plus two young
Cetti's singing by gate w end fence pond
Tufted duck - 4 model boat pond

Moth
Amazingly a single Hebrew character

Late Merlin highlights

Heysham Obs
Real Jekyll and Hyde weather today with a very rapid change from one to the other as a polar low descended on us, swirling the already very cold air around.  Good news for the Scottish ski resorts I suspect

Ocean Edge area during the nice weather
A quick check of Ocean Edge 8:45. Male Merlin flew in low from Potts Corner, over salt marsh then over caravans to NW. (MD)
Also:
1 wheatear
2 little egret

Sea in the nasty weather late morning
Arctic Skua - dark morph meandered out - may have come in behind the Seacat and about-turned
Eider - two inshore
Gannet - one possibly two in and out of the murk

Pics during the nice weather (thanks Janet)

Elusive warblers

The only records so far today come from an evening stroll around Middleton Nature Reserve. The  initial impression was of a marked reduction of singing warblers. But on completion of a circuit, at least one each of the regular birds was accounted for, with the notable exceptions of chiffchaff and blackcap. (MD)
3 sedge warbler
2 lesser whitethroat
2 willow warbler
2 Cetti's warbler (fence & "no swimming" pond)
1 grasshopper warbler
1 common whitethroat

Also:
8 mute
4 tufted
3 mallard
1 little grebe feeding 2 chicks
2 pheasant
1 swallow (north)

Cold clear start

Early records from walk along south shore. (MD).
2 wheatear - Ocean Edge
1 whimbrel - between Red Nab & No.2 outflow
4 little egret

2 blackcap and 1 chiffchaff in wooded area at Red Nab

Partial coverage

Middleton Nature reserve (MD)
Just the fence pond Cetti's warbler heard singing this morning.
Summary:
8 mute
4 tufted
2 mallard
2 adult little grebe with 2 chicks
1 Cetti's warbler
1 grasshopper warbler
Also 4 sedge, 1 lesser + 2 common whitethroat, 3 blackcap, 2 chiffchaff & c10 willow warbler.
1 skylark
1 swallow (north)
1 house martin (north)

North wall
11 sandwich tern (1 flock)

Meagre fare

Heysham Obs

Sea
A low tide check from the north wall saw the careful scrutiny of upwards of 400 mainly immature gulls on and around the skeers but nothing of interest was located.  The only birds worth individual mention were:

Whimbrel - 8 in, 2 out
Little Egret - 5 on/around Red Nab
Wheatear - 2 Ocean Edge
Swallow - 5 north

Office area
The forecast didn't promise much in the way of migrants and that was what happened.
A light shower might have produced something but that didn't happen either.
A token mist netting session from dawn until 9.30 produced 2 Lesser Redpolls and little else.
A trickle of Swallows was moving northwards intermittently.

Moths
A couple of Common Quaker and a Powdered Quaker were the only moths in the hut trap

Saturday sightings

Heysham Obs
Bits of coverage early morning produced:

Sandwich Tern - 4
Swallow - 17 north
Grasshopper Warbler - new lightweight bird trapped and ringed at Middleton where there were 3-4 singing males
Cetti's Warbler - one singing eastern end of fence pond
Wheatear - 3 Ocean Edge














.

The east wind performs on the turning tide

Heysham Obs
Great start to the day - albeit not until 0750hrs, so perhaps deserved to see a big fat zero.  A hard life being a musician and the hours we have to keep.   Unfortunately no-one else available early doors other than a visiting birder checking the outfalls.   The second part of a good day was a wader fest over high tide

Some nice pics from Janet taken over the last few days at Middleton

North wall  0750-0915(with 10 minute break)
Slavonian Grebe - one in full summer plumage flew in from the south and landed next to a skeer near a gang of Eiders.  Fortunately no heat haze by that stage and the features were immediately obvious in superb light (for those of us who scratch their heads on the flight views - not being used to them!).  Began feeding and disappeared behind a skeer when distracted by Arctic Tern movement.  Hopefully can be found further up the Bay
Arctic Tern - 46 in (5+7+16+7+11)
Sandwich Tern - NONE!!
Eider - c280 (count distracted)
Swallow - c45
House Martin - 1
Sand Martin - 5
Black-headed Gull - 35 purposefully in - dribs and drabs
Little Gull - summer adult in with BHG
Purple Sandpiper - feeding below seawall with Turnstone then moved towards harbour entrance

Grounded
Willow Warbler - gang of 5 in the bushes by the sandworks - flew into centrica
Wheatear - 2 north wall, 4 Ocean Edge
Whinchat - two males together reported by birder in Nature park - not there mid-morning
No time to really search round

Others
Sanderling - 1 Red Nab
Dunlin - 280 Red Nab near high tide
Knot - one Red Nab
Whimbrel - 7 Red Nab, then north
Turnstone - 350-400 wooden jetty