Chough mobility and rising tides

Chough was quite mobile and elusive today ranging from the north-eastern end of the horse fields to Heysham Barrows and not spending much time along its favoured fence line

 

Offshore/North wall

Czech-ringed Med Gull on railings

Red-throated Diver - two offshore together early stages of dropping tide

Eider - well scattered due to anglers boats

Rock Pipit - on seawall by turbine

 

Watched tide up over OE

2 Jack Snipe

29 Common Snipe (I'm planning to watch Half Moon Bay rocks being covered on Monday)

3 Skylark (flew over low from south, presumably displaced somewhere towards Potts Corner. Appeared to land on grass behind foreshore)

1 Grey Plover

Salt marsh only partially covered. Tomorrow's tide will cover completely, but tonight's tide will too, so perhaps there will be little left in morning.

 

Lots of birds on Red Nab, but of the common variety

307 Wigeon

14 Shelduck

5 Red Breasted Merganser

3 Little Egret (unusually, all roosting on same rock)

 

 

Chough roams around heysham head

a lot of chough photographers today and some excellent pics around the internet, especially perhaps a good day for flight shots as the bird roamed between the horse fields and brief visits to the barrows

Offshore

Red throated diver - one distant towards the turbines and one closer at main eider flock range

Red breasted merganser - pair

NHWall
23 Linnet on feeding area.

More Chough

Still present today but by all accounts a bit less cooperative and flighty, not helped by Carrion Crow attention.

Thanks to Stan for this

 

Offshore/north wall

Little Gull - this was a big surprise today - a 1CY heading slowly into the bay with a small loose gang of BHG

Wigeon - 5 with the Eider

Eider - 'loads'!

No other ducks seen - RBMs are especially conspicuous by absence

Med Gull - ad flew past once



Chough still present

South west corner of horse fields north of Knowsly road also gets into grassy area to the west of the footpath the other side of the hedge and on nearby heysham village rooftops

Thanks very much for these Craig

Trying to attempt to age this bird using Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze suggests that this bird is an adult, but other references needed to see at what point in late autumn they might become very difficult on eg iris colour and tail shape/wear.  If it is definitely not a 1CY, this suggests an individual with a 'lengthy lost wanderer' status than a recent storm-blown bird, not that there is much evidence of IOM birds crossing the sea to the mainland, judging by lack of Cumbrian records and more on vagrancy distribution (and a Heysham ringing recovery) to suggest more terrestrial wandering from NW Wales.  However this (apart from the Welsh ringing recovery) is all idle speculation without more evidence and/or reference sources to check 

North wall
Small unidentified duck with/lost amongst the Eiders which were not counted today
Med Gull - usual ad patrolling
  

Chough

The fourth record since (including) the Heysham Barrows bird in 1977 was located the other side of the headland by Helen yesterday and showed really well on and off this morning allowing dog walkers, albeit the other side of the fence, within a metre!   Frequenting the field next to the footpath down to the prom at the western end of Knowsly Road (the one with the Strawberry gardens pub at the junction with the main Morecambe road).  Better pics undoubtedly forthcoming!

Offshore
Eider - 1520 in several groups in the area south of Heysham skeer (new record count but probably just due to favourable counting conditions)
Red-throated Diver - one very distantly towards Roa Island
Disappointingly, nothing else at all other than gulls and Cormorants located on the water in fairly good conditions with just a slight choppiness

Czech-ringed Med Gull was along the north wall

Only one Kittiwake

STOP PRESS:  Chough Heysham head north side

Checks offshore in increasing rough seas were unproductive and the lunchtime IOM ferry failed to perform in what seemed "good conditions" (but not for the passengers)

North wall
Eider - most ended up in a mass flight enabling 1250 to be counted and others still concealed on the rough sea
Nothing else other than a few Cormorant heads and necks could be located

IOM ferry
Kittiwake - one adult in tow

Snipe - back to last winter's tricks on a small scale - 14 flushed from seaweed covered rocks below the heliport all flew up into the grass

Long-tailed Duck

Some tricky conditions - weather and sea - to do a fairly lengthy low tide check before the eyes had had enough and a large squall enveloped the whole area.   However, what was seen suggests that as soon as we get any calmer seas, grilling of the low tide stuff from Heysham Head or north wall VPs could be well worth it.

North harbour wall
Long-tailed Duck - immature actively feeding about 300-400m further out than the yellow buoys before presumably drifting out whilst spending time trying to relocate the bird at the bottom of this posting
Eider - impossible to count but a rough block estimate saw  at least 1000
presumed Common Scoter  - 5 very distant in flight - landed on water and 'disappeared'
Great-crested Grebe - 2
Red-throated Diver - two distant birds together
Grebe - the reason for a lengthy stay - only seen once for about 4 seconds but only side on for about 2 of these - obviously would like another look but couldn't find it again after it dived and the weather turned pear shaped (suggestive of Red-necked - not a Slav or Great-crest (or RBM!))

Saturday coverage

Saturday Middleton

Checked out MNR again this morning. Quite a lot more activity, but nothing other than residents.
Blue and Great tits have joined the LTT feeding low on the branches of willow in flooded western marsh. Literally picking off the invertebrates that have climbed up to avoid rising water.
The Mute have spread out, but all 6 accounted for (including 1 x1cy on flooded central marsh with 4 Mallard.
The only other ducks were the Teal on Tim Butler. Counted 56 in one short flight, while others were still calling from pond.
At least 3 Water Rail calling.

Heard Cetti's singing from three locations (at least 2 birds): western scrape, east edge of fence pond (possibly the same bird) and NE corner of central marsh.

Checked the drainage situation of fence pond. The brick culverts are well below the water level, but no sign of water movement in either direction. I think it is just the very high water table that is preventing the marshes draining, rather than a blockage

More wet Middleton in pics

North wall incoming tide

Shag - 1CY flew on to wooden jetty and soon shuffled completely out of sight amongst the Cormorants!

Med Gull - pres Czech ad Fishers roof

 

Middleton (MD)

Had a walk around MNR this morning. Very little to report, except for the very high water table. The "no swimming" pond is now half way up the trees and much too deep for the mute to feed. The two adults have moved to the model boat pond and have displaced the resident pair to the periphery. Just the two cygnets, one Gadwall and a couple of Moorhens remain on the "no swimming" pond.

No sign of Tufted today. But plenty of Teal on Tim Butler (at least 40).

Water Rail calling from western marsh

All the low lying ground is covered with water. The attached images are "no swimming" pond, central marsh and western marsh.

A large LTT flock was feeding in willows above the water on western marsh. But no other tits or other birds with them.

Coastal bits and bobs

A bit of seawatching and ferry watching today produced the following

Little Gull - 1+2 adult out
Kittiwake - 5 ad and 1 1cy in
Red-throated Diver - 1CY did a tour of the harbour (dreadful record shot!)
Med Gull - 1CY outfalls
Pintail - flock of 4 out
Oystercatcher - 4200 heliport nearly all on grass at northern end
Redshank - just 320 heliport
Wigeon - 175 outfalls

Middleton NR

or Middleton Lake as it looks like now.

Snipe 2 at the very least. Flushed from close to the central track so no doubt plenty more if I’d waded into the marsh in waders.

Water Rail 1 squealing

Cetti’s Warbler 1singing 

North Harbour Wall 

Goldfinch 12 on the seed

MD/PM/JR