Car potato Chough and Brent surprise

A wet Sunday am and a short bit of mobile hide birding

Chough - in the field just to the north of half moon bay café at least 0945-0956
Turnstone - 67 heliport seawall
Med Gull - Czech adult around the nhw anglers

Ocean Edge and area (Malcolm)
Brent Goose - probably pale-bellied - 3 flew south from OE towards Potts Corner mid-am (per Malcolm)
Common Snipe - 23 OE saltmarsh
Jack Snipe - at least one OE saltmarsh (rather low high tide)
Skylark - one OE saltmarsh

More Chough circuitary

Info from Malcolm this am               
I was out for two hours this morning and located the Chough three times.

Chough time line:

9:55 on Heysham Head cliff tops

10:00 - 10:15 feeding on under cliff of high cliffs at Heysham Head (more on this below)

 

10:25 "cavorting" over rooftops on Worborrow Road (seen from barrows wood)

No sign on horse paddocks

11:05 On fence on south end of Heysham Head sheep field

11:06 Flew into sheep field

11.49 Still in sheep field as scoped from south end of heliport seawall!

No further known observations

Other sightings

Under high steps Half Moon Bay

Rock Pipit 1 - not there at 9:15 but showing well by 11:00

Meadow Pipit -at least 1

Stonechat 1 (female)

PS this is a nice new years day collection of a tricky trio as well as the Chough!

61 Pinkfoot to SE (11:15)

Bit more information about feeding location on high undercliffs:

I thought these high under cliffs would be a good location. There are lots of feeding spots similar to the one at Half Moon Bay, but much more secluded. To this end, I went down to the shore to check from below. I had just got there when the Chough briefly flew over the cliff top then back to the Head. I waited a while but it didn't return. So I climbed out. The Chough was just on the grass above the cliffs. As soon as I got there, it flew to the under cliff. The implication is that it didn't fly there earlier, because I was at the base of the cliffs. This is not in line with my experience at HMB where it came into feed whilst I was much closer than I was today, but perhaps it was just more expectant of people at HMB. 

By the time I got to the point where I could see under cliffs again, I couldn't find chough. I went down to the shore again, but still couldn't locate (there are lots of nooks and crannies here than can only be viewed from certain angles. Presuming that I had missed it moving on, I climbed up to the Head again. It then flew out from under cliffs and headed over the Barrows. It would have been feeding for 15 minutes then, and presuming a similar success rate to HMB it would have a belly full of food to digest.

My advise to birders would be to check these cliffs out from the lower ground to the north of them. The image attached is a view from this point. The good news is that it is very vocal when flying in and out. If they do decide to watch from the shore, they should be aware of tide times. At current heights, there is not a danger of drowning, but easy access and egress can be cut off

Camera shy Chough

Plenty of people about today but no Chough seen today until it appeared along the horse paddock fence at about 1530hrs (thanks June)

Stonechat - the mobile female wandering up and down the low cliffs at half moon bay
Meadow Pipit - 2 in same place
Med Gull - unfamiliar ad with yellow-tipped bill by half moon bay café
Knot - 1200 heliport seawall

Otherwise not a lot - didn't cover the afternoon low tide

Rapidly downhill

The coverage started well with a nice bowl of Jade's soup in HMB café accompanied by views of the Chough in the field just to the north.  Subsequently:

Seawatch - zilch apart from a/the 1CY Shag alongside the north wall.  Too rough to check seaduck

IOM ferry - followed in by common big seagulls

Outfalls - zilch

Middleton model boat pond - zilch

Chough hidy hole

The reason why birders this last couple of days have not been able to find the Chough by concentrating on the horse paddocks and the headland.  It has been feeding below the under'cliff' just to the south of the tall steps leading down to Half Moon Bay and accessible from the Half Moon Bay café end.  Thanks Malcolm for sorting this out (pics taken today).   Obviously please don't 'park the bus' on its feeding area if its not there when you arrive

Stonechat - one female same general area

Chough swops sides again

Chough
On Half Moon Bay foreshore and then up in the sheep field above H M Bay this am

Med Gull
Adult north wall (Czech bird)

Nothing obvious offshore with Eiders

Monday

Offshore
Eider - lots!
RB Merganser - 5
Great crested Grebe - 3

North wall
Med Gull - TWO adults patrolling

Heysham Head
Stonechat - 2
Chough - only seen around paddocks at 1130 otherwise several people couldn't find it

Middleton
Frozen
Teal - 35
Water Rail - 2
Common Snipe - 2
Cettis singing western marsh
Goldcrest - 1

Eider hit a new high but not a lot with them today

Chough
Along the footpath fence at SW corner of horse paddock at least just before 10am

North wall
Nothing doing on sandworks circuit (16 Linnet)
Eider - 1710
Common Scoter - 1 poss 2 female
Great-crested Grebe - 2

Outfalls area
Grey Seal - 1

Nice selection on a quick trawl round

Nowt seen yesterday, with the reason being the tide was half way in and the Chough wasn't in easy to watch locations

Chough
Along the fence in the horse paddock about 1000hrs

North wall offshore
Eider - 1675
Scaup - ad m, 1CYm, 2 f
Goldeneye - 2f
Red-breasted Merganser - 6
Great-crested Grebe - 3
distant unidentified black things x 5 were probably Common Scoter

Red Nab
Med Gull - large bird - not the Czech ad

Office feeders
Brambling - at least one

Mammals
Grey Seal - one offshore
Weasel - one shot across the nice smooth surface on Moneyclose Lane

Chough back with the horses

Horse paddock knowlys road
Chough - about 1130 at least

Fishers Roof
Med Gull - one ad, prob Czech bird

Middleton NR
Jack Snipe - 1
Tufted duck - 1 male
Single Water Rail and Cetti's Warbler (central marsh)
Gate 38 area
Woodcock - one flushed from scrub by south quay!  First record for SD35Z
Song Thrush - as above