Grey wagtail autumn passage starts in earnest

Middleton NR
Grey wagtail - 9 se (8 ringed)
Tree pipit - one ringed
Meadow pipit - 2 se
No perceptible hirundine movement and only c10 ex-roost
Predictably, after the clear night, warblers were at a premium with 1-4 of the commoner species ringed, including garden warbler but not lesser whitethroat

Outfalls/red nab later stages of dropping tide
Med gull - just 4

Warbler wave

Middleton NR

A wave of Warblers passed through until 10am consisting of a minimum of the following:

Whitethroat 14 - some really heavy ones obviously ready for a long journey 

Garden Warbler 3

Chiffchaff 7

Blackcap 6

Lesser Whitethroat 3

Willow Warbler 1

Sedge Warbler 1

Other species today:

Kingfisher (1)

Jay (2)

Grey Wagtail (1)

Reed Bunting (1)

Long-tailed Tit (11)

Goldfinch (flock of 14)

No attempt was made to count the Med Gulls today.

JR

Routine

Med gull - 17 red nab (3 1cy)
Sandwich tern - one off skeers at low tide
Swallow - just 20 in roost
Gadwall - 5

Low tide med fest

Med gull - 17 red nab and outfalls (just two juv actually on outfalls)
Little gull - moulting ad
Sandwich tern - ad
Wheatear - 3

Minimal

little gull -ad

Med gull -6

Odds and ends Tuesday sightings

Marsh tit retrapped by office
Green woodpecker around
Three juvenile coal tit ringed by office
Two sedge warblers ringed by office

Outfalls etc
Sandwich tern - 2
Med gull - 11

Middleton
Quiet

Quite a few grounded

Middleton nr
Green Woodpecker briefly
Kingfisher - juv ringed
Garden Warbler - three ringed
Goldcrest - very early female ringed
Double figures of new whitethroat and willow warbler ringed
Grey wagtail - 1 south
No hirundine movement

Red Nab
Ocean Edge motto is about amazing experiences.  Many seemed happy with this this morning - taking selfies next to a doomed Range Rover ready for its second tidal dunking.  Trouble was the associated mutts were not impressed and the seagulls were scattered

Med - just four, later 6 (3 juvs)
Little Gull - moulting ad
Whimbrel - one

Heliport
High tide roost in offshore wind:
Redshank - 370
Oystercatcher - 2100
Lapwing - 6
Med Gull - Czech ad

Bits and bobs of migration

Grounded
Wheatear - 4
Whitethroat - 4 ringed HNR plus a single by wooden jetty

Vis mig
Greenshank - one heard flying over HN reserve
Grey Wagtail - 2 SE
Hirundines in very short supply

Misc
Goose spp - a flock over Middleton NR towards the coast late on (inaudible)
Med Gull - just 6 seen on late stages of incoming tide
Whimbrel - one red nab
Jay - group of three of unknown status HNR - prob local

Middleton pm
Sand Martin - at least one in roost
Swallow - only 35-40 in roost (28 of them ringed!)
Water Rail squealing
Barn Owl patrolling

Splashy tide

A reasonably strong WNW wind this morning, despite a tide height best described as a 'high neap', produced quite a bit of 'splash' on to the heliport seawall for the first time this autumn.  A compact roost of c4000 Oystercatcher earlier in the tide cycle 'lost' about 800 birds which headed south whilst the rest split into two main group as can be seen in this dreadful pic which also shows the darker wave-lashed bits of the seawall.

There was a small amount of Oystercatcher 'spillage' on to the top of the seawall but very little on to the 'grass' for the following reason:

Frome being largely confined to the old sand-works and surrounding area for many years,  Wild Parsnip has proliferated this year and carpeted the old heliport site and, presumably, via lorry wheels etc, spread quite some way along the verges of the Heysham bypass.  As some may already have found out, it can cause irritation to the skin, especially if the sun comes out directly after making contact with the stems, although it is not quite as bad as Giant Hogweed or even Stinging Nettle.  However, it catches people unawares as it is not on their 'nasty plant' radar e.g. any children playing along the seawall whilst their parents do some angling.  It is also a bit too tall for Oystercatchers to roost between the individual plants but this will change when they die and keel over later this autumn, especially if a north-westerly 'hooley' & 'spring' tide sends a load of seawater on to the heliport

Heliport roost
Oystercatcher - 4150 down to c3200 with wave splashing
Redshank - 290 tucked out of sight behind the nearest bit of seawall on the pic
Turnstone - 80 similarly (pushed off wooden jetty by sea)

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Sandwich tern - ad and juv
Med Gull - only 9 seen (3 juvs) at high tide

Offshore
Manx Shearwater - one!







   

Juv Meds proliferate

Outfalls/Red Nab
Once again a glaring silhouette job looking south, but plenty of stuff looking the other way

Med Gull - 14 juvs and at least 6 'white' ones
Little Egret - 3