Three little gull

A flock of three little gull flew out rather distantly mid am

Eight pale and two dark bellied Brent Geese on the usual routine

2Cy Gull photographed which looked interesting but couldn’t get close enough before it was displaced by the tide.  It was definitely a 2CY and the (escape) flight view suggested Caspian or hybrid but by the time I had driven to the closest point to Red Nab it had already taken off as I was driving and I couldn't swing the car round fast enough to get a phonescope of escape flight.  I'll have a look for it tomorrow

 

Bits

Whooper - flock 17 North
Red throated diver - 4 North
Pale bellied Brent - flock of 10
Dark bellied Brent - 2
Meadow pipit - c10
Med gull - 2cy near red nab by pipeline
Snipe - 8 on heliport seawall ht
Robin - two lightweight birds ringed
Cetti’s warbler - one southern end central marsh
Buzzard - two over middleton prob local

Little Gull

A few bits and bobs from a fairly early start this am, most of them in these better pics - original deleted!

 

 

 

Thanks Janet - Red Nab; some of the pale-bellied Brent plus the Little Gull

 

Brent Goose - Two dark-bellied and eight pale-bellied Red Nab on the incoming tide (with 6 (of these??) off the children's play area as seen from Knowlys road earlier)

Little Gull - adult winter on outfalls then on Red Nab then around rest of day
Blackcap - male Red Nab bushes - first of year

Red-throated Diver - 3 sp birds in
Rock Pipit - 1

Meadow Pipit - no more than 26 overhead

Siskin - 2 north

Goldcrest - 2 ringed

No sign Iceland Gull first thing despite loads of gulls on waterfall and area

 

Grey Seal - one offshore

Nags are back in the paddocks off Knowlys road  

Negative news negligence

Told off twice today for not saying on here that birds were not seen as opposed to not mentioning them!   Need to show more awareness of our responsibilities to target birders

Chough - a big NO during normal working hours but it may still be roosting on the Head, leaving early and returning late
Velvet Scoter - a slightly smaller NO as there is a big vast expanse of sea out there but the "guiding" large Eider flock has broken up
Iceland Gull - the 3rd S was sitting on a lamp stand on building just south of waterfall at high tide 0900ish
Common Scoter - pair out
Meadow Pipit - single figures north
Goldcrest - at least one!

Scandinavian Rock Pipit - one in summer plumage briefly on Half Moon Bay shore in am
Brent Goose - 15-17 on Red Nab at high tide (3 dark bellied), 17 definitely flew to the north side of the headland as the tide dropped and distant binocular views suggested at least 15 pale-bellied.  So in theory one dark-bellied left on its own on Red Nab and this has happened before!  Goodness knows how we are going to write these up accurately starting with are they the same birds as prior to the few days without any sightings or are they commuting regularly across the Bay!   We should really be studying and photographing each individual to compare plumage minutae but is it really worth it?

Little Grebe - one on fence pond

Small Tortoiseshell - one Heysham old village
Much reduced numbers of Oystercatcher today on the heliport roost

Minimal coverage

Iceland Gull - 3rd S on rocks by wooden jetty am
Kitiwake - ad on Heysham two outfall same time

Meadow Pipits push north

Fog was a problem until 10:35 but once it lifted grounded Meadow Pipits headed north or east in numbers.

Iceland Gull - 3S in harbour all day by waterfall - the only scarcity seen today
Velvet Scoter - negative on low tide scan but just 168 Eider present
Green Woodpecker - noisy individual around Heysham NR most of am

Meadow Pipits - 975 mainly NE over three different flightlines in the morning
 

Heysham Nature Reserve

Visible migration 07:30 - 12:30

Meadow Pipit 444

Alba Wagtail 4

Grey Wagtail 1

Sparrowhawk 3 high NE together whilst regulars displaying

Buzzard 1 NE

Reed Bunting 1

Skylark 1

Pink-footed Goose 1flock heard plus a single bird lost in the fog.

Ocean Edge foreshore/Middleton west
Meadow Pipit - 331
Wheatear - male
Skylark - 1
Merlin - male

Middleton
Not sure what was seen other than 200 Meadow Pipit and a Cetti's Warbler was caught which was ringed last autumn - not the one we were expecting if indeed it was the singing male!
 

Two Buzzards were displaying over to the east.

A fox made an appearance near the office.

More pics from Janet to follow but having problems downloading

Early morning fare

Taken as it flew SE over Middleton NR today - the first time it has been seen over there. Thanks Janet

Interesting perception this lunchtime from a 'camera no binoculars' type.  "Why is the Velvet Scoter publicised when it is impossible to get a photograph of it".  My response was that it was up to him to convey this to the snapper community as it had been made repeatedly clear on here for birders that a good telescope zoom lens or 35 x + fixed lens was required to connect!  Have the snappers as opposed to photographer/birders got their own Facebook/website?

The most regular observer of this bird (Jean Roberts doing vis mig from Heysham Head) routinely uses 30-35 x to locate and 60 x to double-check.  Very occasionally identifiable whilst asleep on 20 x if close inshore.  Obviously if it flaps or flies to readjust its position on the dropping tide, even binoculars will identify it, but you need to find the right bird in the right flock of Eider in the first place to see if it flaps!

Pink-footed Goose - c75 north
Velvet Scoter - ad drake offshore with Eider:  too repeat (see above) 35 x plus scope needed to see this bird properly
Iceland Gull - 3S still in sw corner of harbour
Tawny Owl - calling Heysham Head
Raven - at least one and probably two heard flying high to north (scarce again around here now)
Carrion Crow - 17 on shore then east
Jackdaw - 5+2 east over HNR/OE
Redpoll - 3 N
Siskin - 1 N
Meadow Pipit - c10 N
Alba Wagtail 2 N
Goldfinch 2 N
Linnet 5 N
Chough - flew over Middleton NR just after 0900 heading SE - the only sighting this am despite presence in the area since 0700.  Suspect it went on to the golf course early am.  It then flew north over Heysham village east side late afternoon, the last known sighting to at least the 28th
Cetti's Warbler singing Middleton central marsh
Barn Owl - hunting early am at Middleton NR
Goldcrest - two ringed Middleton

It’s back!

Chough seen and photographed on beach this am and in first field north of café at 1230
Iceland gull - 3s in harbour south end
Velvet scoter - offshore with eider
Red- throated diver - 8 circling up and heading over Barrow
Whooper swan - 5 North
Med gull - 3cy outfalls early am
Cetti’s warbler - singing central marsh near fence pond
Kittiwake - flock of c40 floating in on the sea
Brent goose - 12 on distant skeer just after low tide
Goldeneye - f/imm off north wall
Barn Owl - one Middleton again late afternoon - thanks Janet

Not a bad mainly on-going haul to compensate for a rubbishy migration day!!

Bits
alba Wag - 5 N
Meadow Pipit - 34 N
Grey Wagtail - 1 N
Robin - 4 in-ringed birds early am but not particularly light weight
Goldcrest - just two reported
Chiffchaff - singing HNR
Carrion Crow - 4 in-off then NE, 18 together Midldeton

Seabird passage

About 1/3 of the incoming tide was covered for seabirds this am and it didn't disappoint by our standards

Kittiwake - 211 in about 10 flocks increasing in size with a max of 40 at the end of the watch; two ads on the outfalls briefly after the watch had finished
Red-throated Diver - 4-5
Razorbill - one out
Guillemot - one out close inshore
Little Gull - adult flying steadily out
Velvet Scoter - ad drake in main Eider gang at low tide at least
Iceland Gull -  3rd S - Seen quite a few times this morning with the seawatching being undertaken from the back of the harbour and again on Red Nab early pm
Brent Goose - 10 pbb flew into Red Nab from the north mid pm

Chiffchaff - one by Obs tower pond HNR

Barn Owl - quartering Middleton late afternoon

Choughless

No sign of the Chough again 😢

3S Iceland Gull at the “waterfall” in the inner harbour again.

Ad M Velvet Scoter in the low tide channel with 306 Eider as were
8 Red-breasted Merganser and
1 Great-crested Grebe
4 Wigeon

Little gull - adult briefly off the outfalls then out as freight ferry leaving

10-11 Pale-bellied Brent and 1Dark-bellied Brent flew in from the north to the north side of Heysham Head early am

1 Meadow Pipit on Heysham Head.