Ringed med at last

Thanks to pete woodruff for comprehensive coverage of the late afternoon tide

Med gull - 9 adult, one 3cy, four 2cy (one with white darvic)

Sand martin - two adults flew south over heysham nr in a purposeful manner - first southbound vis of the "autumn"?

Gulls head to the wet fields?

Male red-backed shrike recently reported flying across the car park and landing on top of a bush before flying off again.  At least the black tail and chestnut wing patches were seen.  Any more info on this please get in touch,  Thanks

Real lack of gulls on the outfalls today with bhg down by 80 per cent and only 4 meds ( 3 ads and a 3cy)

Nothing else of note other than a second brood early thorn - very early!

Adult med increase

Nine adult meds this am including a very small individual.   Also three 3cy and a single 2cy

One common sandpiper and three redshank

Little Gull new in

A decent catch of moths last night as the ideal pre-rain warm sector 'leading' cloud cover lasted well into the night and not unusually producing a wet trap check this morning.  50 species in actinic Middleton in sharp contrast to the meagre fare in the clear polar air on Monday night.  This is the hoped for target at this time of year: Silver Hook - a very localised species in damp areas at/near the coast in Lancs

A wet record shot in situ - thanks Justine 

Outfalls
A low tide check saw a 2CY Little Gull in the shipping channel off Heysham 2 outfall and about 5 Ad/3CY Meds flying around the seaward end of the outfalls, but the later count was thwarted by a mutt clearing all the gulls off Red Nab and nearby shore on the incoming tide but at the same time there seemed to be a big reduction of stuff on the outfalls

Heysham skeer
Little Egret - at least 16 (per Malcolm) but no sign of the 200 Eiders at low tide which had floated in the JB Point at high tide yesterday

Willow warblers and ringlets

Unusually high June number of 20 unringed willow warblers this morning with a mix of moulting adults and surprisingly advanced juveniles - almost like a catch in late July.   Other birds included a few unringed adult sedge warbler and two young grasshopper warbler

Outfalls

Med gull - 6 ads, 2 3cy, 2 2cy

Heysham skeer

Two adult common or Arctic tern early am

Middleton boat pond

Red veined darter - one tatty male

Sand martin - 1 ad

House martin - 4 ad

Swift - 3
Little grebe - ad catching small crayfish

Butterfly transect HNR

Ringlet have arrived at last (two in ne corner).  One burnet companion still and both burnet moths in low single figures.   Also about half a dozen small skipper

Med fest and mist net rides

Gave the outfalls a really good check on the incoming tide this morning using a scope from Ocean Edge caravan park

Med Gull - At least 6 adult, 3 3CY and 4 2CY - 10 of them were un-ringed unless there was a metal above the tarsus and four were not seen well enough to be sure.  I cannot remember a sample of 10 before where there were no darvic rings on show
Little Egret - 1
Eider - two females onshore in red nab channel

The mist net ride by the office was cleared as regards the ability to put up mist nets and the feeders  filled for the first time this 'autumn', but hadn't got the gear for lopping the tops off the branches.   Crutches make a useful rake, but it was really hard going and Jean, recovering from a broken toe, did most of it.  This is what happens when you couldn't do what you usually do last autumn/winter to keep on top of it.   Mist net ride maintenance should be part of a trainee permit - a lot of recent permit holders seem to think they look after themselves :-)

Routine

Still no sign of any seabirds despite a prolific fylde coast watch.

Outfalls
Med gull - ad and 2CY
Black headed gull - leucistic bird

Moth
Burnet companion still heyshsm nr

Worst ever seawatch in south-westerlies?

Nowt in about an hour on and off on incoming tide

Outfalls/Red Nab
Common Tern - a welcome Adult feeding and resting
Tern spp - very brief view facing away - think it flew into bay (yesterdays Sandwich?)
Med Gull - ad and 3CY but disappeared very quickly and not there after 0900
Redshank - 2

Thursday - bowl hopping fish

Some goldfish have been around for some time in the dog walk pond and seem to have hybridised with ?roach which have similarly been put in there.  Hope this springs wintering Bittern can find them in 2017/8

Thanks Malcolm

Outfalls/Red Nab near HT
Med Gull - 2-3 Ad and a different 3CY
Sandwich Tern - adult outfalls

Grey Seal - 1

Last day of red-veined heat?

Red-veined Darters
Perhaps the last throw of the dice for this year on the forecast
Mark Nightingale and Pete Kinsella had up to 5 males 1500-1600 - unusual so late in the day - wonder how many there were earlier?

Unfortunately it has been all very vague re-females this year with just the one seen ovipositing and only two other sightings, one on the same day as the ovipositing.  If any of the photographers out there have any info on females and ovipositing, please could you let us know.  Thanks.

Despite the seeming unlikelihood of them magically finding this place during influxes, the general consensus is that this year's early and mature male dominated influx (just one 'teneral' reported) is part of a national migratory invasion.  Feedback suggests there are still a lot of people who look for perched insects rather than scanning the rippled areas of the waterbody (in preference to calm bits) during light winds, often far from the shore, as the most likely means of making contact (especially with mature migrants?).  Therefore I suspect that many in such (perhaps transitory) mode have been missed on Lancashire's waterbodies 

Seagull census
A rather belated finish to the nesting seagull census today but I have not got the data to hand

Lots on Fisher's roof but unexpected lack of any GBBG success there

Outfalls/Red Nab
The outfalls held a new Med - below on Red Nab and easier to find than yesterdays 3CY!  Also the first (dispersing) baby Black-headed Gull of the year - early?  Late afternoon saw two adults at low tide.  Its starting to happen!