Black and white things emerge from the mist

Very poor visibility today, but the wall to wall overnight rain had failed to drop any night migrants eg Wheatear during the morning at least.  A search of the grassy areas for the potentially 'grounded' Chough also failed to produce.  However, Red Nab and the outfalls provided some publishable material, notably a pink-flushed ad summer Little Gull:

Little Gull - three - probably the recent on/off adult winter and new adult summer and a 3CY at Red Nab/outfalls at various times during the am
Brent Goose - todays lottery number was five pale-bellied (multiple observation of just four yesterday!)
Sandwich Tern - 13  came into Red Nab
Rock Pipit - petrosus type still lingering around the south lighthouse area - record shot later
Wheatear - 1
Cetti’s warbler - singing central marsh middleton

Cumbrian feeding frenzy

A couple of things over and above the routine today, most notably two Barn Owls briefly on Middleton NR

Gannet - two adults diving distantly in Cumbria
Barn Owl - two feeding on Middleton briefly during early am

Thanks Janet

Sandwich Tern - 14 similarly with the Gannets - no others seen!
Rock Pipit - one fairly 'dark' bird near the south lighthouse
Brent Goose - 4 pale-bellied today - on Red Nab throughout
Cetti's Warbler - two singing males at the same time on Middleton
Wheatear - just one
No notable vis (two each of Swallow and Meadow Pipit!)
No serious searches for the Chough we are aware of and not visible during a casual scan of the first two fields and sheep field 

Brent reconnection

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - 5 Red Nab
Little Gull - new adult on outfalls
Sandwich tern - 6 on outfalls railings, 38 in during 30 mins seawatching on dropping tide
Meadow Pipit - 26 recorded heading north
Swallow - 3 north during seawatch
Chough - no known reports today BUT was seen 'all yesterday afternoon' around the headland
Chiffchaff - two new birds with pollen above bill
Blackcap - one new bird
Goldcrest - one new bird
Sedge Warbler - one probably two Middleton
Cetti's Warbler - at least two Middleton but only one singing

Moth trap held Chestnut as well as the usual orthosias

Nuthatch!

Observatories, by virtual of the usual locations, are not Nuthatch-fests and despite decent habitat at Heysham Head, this is isolated and only the occasional bird makes it through, sometimes staying for quite a long time.  Noisy one this morning in the churchyard trees on the Head

Chough - heard this early morning by a pre-work dog walkers who is well used to it!  No sign later
Sandwich Tern - 42 sitting on the railings at the end of Heysham two outfall with a further 10 offshore - 24 were still there two hours later.  Not seen this before here
Red-throated Diver - one seen offshore
Little Gull - flying about off the end of the outfalls - ad in partial sp - but only there early am
Nuthatch - one Heysham Head at least 0900-0910

Fogbound rubbish then a very welcome sighting

Nothing seemed to move early on during the fog this morning, epitomised by the lack of any Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler in the nets at Heysham and the nets at Middleton either definitely or probably picking up returning breeding birds.  In this respect, three Willow Warbler males ringed in previous years were caught.

Nothing overhead of note either until:

Jean (at the nets) and myself (by the office) simultaneously uttered the word 'Chough' at 1109hrs as calls were heard high in the sky to the SW.  It flew over the top of the pylon line and spiralled down towards Half Moon Bay area.  It was not followed up immediately and could not be located later but it is clearly (assuming it is not a one-off passing through) seeing Heysham Head as a familiar 'clocking in location' whilst wandering about looking for a mate.  It does beg the question that surely it can be turning up any where within a thirty or so mile radius of Heysham, including its presumed former haunt of one of the Blackpool golf courses.  It does seem highly unlikely that it has flown as far as the Sefton coast with its observer saturation, but a key potential observer is currently absent from the Rossall area and the rest of the Fylde coast south of there is tricky to cover unless it goes inland over Marton or as far as Fairhaven.  As previously mentioned, it definitely flew over Knott End mid-am on 20th March

Goldcrest - three ringed at Heysham with at least one other there
Raven - one flew over Middleton - hard to find these days and mostly high-fliers

Chough - see above (not the pic, that's the Raven!)
Sandwich tern - 6 on or around the buoys off the north wall pm
Brent Goose - none seen in several checks off Knowlys
Red-throated Diver - 2 offshore
Common Buzzard - four seen soaring high to the east of Middleton (and four fighting over Heysham Moss in pm) 
Sparrowhawk - one probably migrant north
Meadow Pipit - just 10 recorded
Swallow - just two
Cetti's Warbler singing central marsh

Butterflies
Early Orange Tip seen nearby on Heysham Moss.  Otherwise the 'big four' hibernators were at large:

Thanks for all the pics Janet

An odd day plus a predictable afternoon Osprey

Every so often a migration day throws up the unexpected epitomised by six |House Martin (its only 8th April in a 'late' year) and up to 100 Swallow sitting around in bushes at Middleton!

all six house martin are on here - thanks Malcolm

Masses of Meadow Pipit and other odds and ends of vis mig flying north past the Stone Jetty yet no vis records whatsoever over Heysham NR

Lets go back to the other day when a mass of Meadow Pipits were grounded on Heysham head and the horse paddocks but very few were moving south over the reserve of sites to the south.  I wonder if this explains 500+Meadow Pipit over the Stone Jetty this am?

Going back to the hirundines, this was unprecedented in spring and Malcolm suggested that these were a product of overnight roosting, some in the reed mace as they had "fluff" stuck to their feathers equating to the friable reed mace seed.  They were reluctant to head north in the murky weather but gradually moved on in dribs and drabs with others arriving from the south similarly

The dropping tide received very little coverage at Heysham but as usual we trawl in any seabird passage and publish it here

Kittiwake - 5 out flock 41 in off SJ
Red-throated Diver - 7 SJ, just one Heysham
Guillemot - 2
Common Scoter - one in SJ
Brent Goose - 9 pale-bellied off horse paddocks early am presumably joined by the three dark-bellied seen flying south at SJ mid-am

Cetti's Warbler - one singing by no-swimming pond surely not same as central marsh bird?
Blackcap - 3 ringed plui at least 4 in field
Willow Warbler - one ringed, at least 10 in field
Chiffchaff - 3 ringed
Goldcrest - 2 ringed

OSPREY - south over Middleton 1530hrs (thanks Mario) 

Black-throated Diver

Coverage pre-dawn to c0910

This was just about within record shot range but with the light so bad and the bird diving most of the shots were fresh air and sea with the record shot being deemed to resemble an elephants trunk sticking out of Loch Ness.  Available to view on request

Black-throated Diver - not quite in full summer plumage but a nice bird!  Floating out on the tide and fishing
Red-throated Diver - two together floating out in the am  and Nick had 8-13 on the incoming tide off the SJ in the afternoon
Guillemot - one in winter plumage floating out
Meadow Pipit - 38 N before cloud arrived
Mute Swan - flock of 5 north
Goosander - three females flew north over Hey NR early am - rare here
Brent Goose - flock of 8 pale and two dark with two additional pale
Barn Owl - quartering Middleton early am
Cetti's Warbler - one burst of song from Midd central marsh
Great-crested grebe - at least three poss four pairs
Eider - much reduced (Nick had 130) and no Velvet Scoter
Kittiwake - 18 floating in past SJ in afternoon
Wheatear - 3
Single Blackcap and Willow Warbler ringed and control Goldfinch AACxxxx  

Migrant Trickle

Two fairly sheltered nets saw two overdue year ticks in the form of single (surprisingly female) Blackcap and Willow Warbler along with three Chiffchaff and two Goldcrest.  A single Sand Martin was an even more overdue year tick and the late afternoon hirundine movement recorded elsewhere brought two Swallows to the model boat pond

Velvet Scoter - Ad drake again off Heysham head north side readjusting its position in the outgoing tide race
Brent Goose - today's lottery number was five pale-bellied!
Gulls - masses of all shapes and sizes on the outfalls with the exception of anything remotely unusual.  Watch this space

Meadow Pipit - about 40 recorded in total overhead
Great crested Grebe - about 5 offshore (6 yesterday)

Grey Seal - two offshore - also seen yesterday

Pics posted tomorrow - thanks Janet

Osprey, Swallow and a returning Velvet Scoter

A piece of carelessness on my part not carefully checking what was a spike in the numbers of Eider at low tide but was distracted by an Osprey and an incoming phone call!  Thanks to Nick for picking out the Velvet Scoter on the dropping tide

Osprey - one flew up a central channel at c0930, hovering briefly over the centre of the channel before progressing north.  Cant understand why these innocuous fish-botherers cause so much mayhem - everything was up in the air, including large gulls and Oystercatchers, unless a Peregrine was targeting the high swirling Knot flock at the same time
Guillemot - the only auk seen today was a non-breeding plumaged Guillemot on both the incoming and dropping tide
Velvet Scoter - drake relocated on the dropping tide late afternoon - definitely been absent recently
Eider - at least 290 with an "additional" raft at low tide c/p the last week or so
Swallow - one north Middleton (IOY)
Coot - now 3
Gadwall - 7
Tufted Duck - 2 pairs
Teal - 3 pairs
Lots of Pheasant Middleton!
Chiffchaff - 5+ singing male Middleton
Wheatear - 2
Brent - 13 pale bellied today ( or strictly speaking 12 pale bellied together at low tide and one thought to be pale bellied joining them on the incoming tide

)

Razorbill influx and concentrated Meadow Pipit movement

Wheatear - 3
Meadow Pipit - 820 NE/grounding on Knowlys fields, many flushed from Heysham head grassland, others heading past out to sea. All just after heavy rain ceased and most passing in a continuous stream over 30 minutes.   Not replicated on the south side of the harbour with just 37 in same time period
alba Wagtail - just 4
Greylag - one north along coast
Shag - 2CY on rocks at base of wooden jetty at seaward end
Sandwich Tern - three fishing at yellow buoy range
Razorbill - 12 in (3, 2 or singletons) on sea
Guillemot - one in on sea
Great-crested Grebe - 6
Red-throated Diver - three together in on sea but distant
Goldcrest - 3 below obs tower
Green Woodpecker - one in non-op land
Chiffchaff - singing along dog track and at Middleton
Eider - 202
Red-breasted Merganser - 5
Little Gull - ad type outfalls

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - 7 at Red Nab (but only a gang of four seen off Knowlys earlier)
Siskin - one heard Heysham head