Meds getting near record levels

................but a very frustrating time with ring reading with a badly timed weather front and rain on glasses and optics

Med Gull - 49; 35 Ad/3CY, 8 2CY, 6 juv.  Absolute minimum of 7 colour-ringed birds: 3 x green ad, one x red ad, one x white ad, one x white juv, one ad with a ring with a 'pale' background.  None read today due to the best period being very wet

Sandwich Tern - one off Heysham skeer evening

To be added

Yet more Meds

Ad Med and Ad Little incoming tide this am

Unringed juv outfalls (thanks Malcolm)

Thanks to Richard for persevering in horrible conditions this morning with the attempted Med ring-reading
So far then:

R13E - returning French bird seen here in at least three late summers since 2011 - must have a decent life history now - white letters on green background

FS71953/R13E Nestling 15/06/2009 Oye Plage, Les Huttes d'Oye, Pas-de-Calais, FRANCE  50,59N 2,03E Seen 20/09/2009 Le Portel, Pas-de-Calais, FRANCE  50,42N 1,34E Seen 07/02/2010 Piriac-sur-Mer, Loire-Atlantique, FRANCE  47,23N 2,33W Seen 18/02/2010 Piriac-sur-Mer, Loire-Atlantique, FRANCE  47,23N 2,33W Seen 21/04/2010 Barbâtre, Polder de Sebastopol, Vendée, FRANCE  46,56N 2,09W Seen 27/04/2011 Barbâtre, Polder de Sebastopol, Vendée, FRANCE  46,56N 2,09W Seen 03/08/2011 Heysham outfalls Seen 21/07/2013 Heysham outfalls Seen 22/07/2013 Heysham outfalls Seen 31/12/2014 Noyalo, étang, Pont Grandic, Noyalo, Morbihan, FRANCE  47,37N 2,41W Seen 05/07/2015 Heysham outfalls Seen 23/07/2016 Heysham outfalls Seen 06/03/2017 Playa de El Rinconin, Gijón, Asturias, SPAIN  43,32N 5,38W Seen 28/07/2018 Heysham outfalls
ANLT - white letters on green background.  Another returning bird which has been re-ringed on the nest (German) 5405056/AKRS then replaced with ANLT from 22.05.2016 Nestling M 16.06.2012  Pionierinsel Lühe, Steinkirchen, Stade, Niedersachsen, GERMANY 53 34N 9 36E Seen 08.07.2013  Heysham outfalls Seen 13.07.2013  Heysham outfalls Seen 21.07.2013  Heysham outfalls Seen 14.05.2016  Pionierinsel Lühe, Steinkirchen, Stade, Niedersachsen, GERMANY 53 34N 9 36E Caught/nest 22.05.2016 Pionierinsel Lühe, Steinkirchen, Stade, Niedersachsen, GERMANY 53 34N 9 36E Seen 31.03.2017 Pionierinsel Lühe, Steinkirchen, Stade, Niedersachsen, GERMANY 53 34N 9 36E Seen 30.08.2017 Heysham outfalls Seen 28.07.2018 Heysham outfalls PKR4 - white letters on red background - Polish - no info yet Please do have a go at ring reading if you are down there - at least one more adult, one 3CY and two juvs seen in recent days which have not been read.   Low or early incoming tide probably best Reed Warbler - just received info of a Reed Warbler caught on 4/5/18 when there was a massive fall of migratory warblers, including two Belgian, one French and one British Sedge Warbler controls  (on a CES!).  This Reed Warbler has just recently been caught on territory at Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland where they are still pretty scarce and relatively recent colonists.   One previous example of a spring-ringed bird subsequently breeding elsewhere in the same season was just across the Bay at Barrow!! Richard's Donaghey's email this am: "I'm sure your guys will have picked up on this but we are very pleased to have our first Reed Warbler recovery. We only began ringing along the west shore of Lough Neagh last year with two visits and we were very pleased to ring c120 Sedge Warblers and an amazing 30 Reed Warblers, which from your time in NI, you'll know this is a massive total! We were very surprised that that we didn't get a single control from c150 acros, even on the way back north this spring. On the first visit this year that changed when we caught your Middleton Reed Warbler and  French Sedge Warbler, hopefully more to come" Little Gull - ad around Shag - wooden jetty Whimbrel - saltmarsh

More Meds

Med Gull - totals for the day saw minimum 35 adult/3CY, one 3CY, 7 2CY and three juvs = 46
Little Gull - adult
Shag - 2CY wooden jetty
Dunlin - 400 or so
Curlew - 180 plus including bird with red flag above tarsus left leg

Migrant Hawker by wooden jetty

Little Grebe & young Middleton

Latish Poplar Hawk-moth in trap

Ringed Meds

Med Gull: At least five with darvic rings - many sat and legs not viewable -  Adults with green darvic (3), unspecified pale colour (1) and red (1) with juv seen very briefly with a 'pale colour ring' on Red Nab on incoming tide - very frustrating as couldn't quite read any of them with my eyes, but Pete had more luck with at least one of them

At least 23 Med in total (3 juv, 4 2cy, one obvious 3cy, rest ad/3cy)

Dunlin - unexpected invasion of 1,100-1,200 - nearly all in summer plumage - some flew off, but many stayed on the outer edge of Red Nab on the incoming tide

Little Ringed Plover - adult again by slipway on OE
Common Sandpiper - one by wooden jetty
Wheatear - first of autumn along OE foreshore
Coal Tit - juvenile ringed by Heysham NR office
Reed Warbler - juv ringed by Hey NR office

Another young Cetti’s warbler

Ringing at Middleton saw a decent selection of mainly warblers with young Cetti’s and young Garden Warbler notable - the latter certainly did not breed within song-audible range of the usual areas covered this year.   No Grasshopper Warbler though

The shore fractionally after high tide held 22 Med Gulls, all adult or 3cy apart from two 2cy and just one Juv

The Middleton Webs saw the first two Snipe of the autumn, one Coot, Little Grebe with young and a welcome reduction to just four Mute Swans.  About 17 Gadwall were visible

The low key office Moth trap is turning up a few odds and ends and Catoptria margaritella was an unexpected visitor from the moors this am

Juv med influx and Treecreeper at last

One of these has a darvic with black letters on a dark background but I just can’t quite read it. Another seen more briefly before it sat down had white lettering on a 'dark' background.  Five in total and 18 Meds altogether on Red Nab.  None of the older birds where the legs were visible (8) appeared to be ringed, so if you are down there, please concentrate on juvs.  Thanks.

Greenshank and summer plum Knot

Ad Little Gull which promptly disappeared!

Shag - 2cy feeding off Throbshaw Point (Heysham Head rocks) at high water.
Rock pipit - still at least three between Half Moon Bay and Heysham Head
Tree creeper - juvenile ringed by HNR office

High tide check

Shag - 2CY on wooden jetty - moulting in to more adult-type body plumage

Little Gull - ad summer (re)appears

Med Gull - 13 scattered on sand flats to south or (just 3) on Red Nab - no juvs seen
Whimbrel - one heliport seawall. Four Ocean Edge
Redshank - 270 heliport seawall
Common Sandpiper - one wooden jetty area

Office area
Juvenile Swallow with brand new ring caught Z7593xx

Moths
The Middleton actinic held a Mompha, either substrigella or sturnipennella TBC.  At the other size extreme, an Old Lady and the SD45-infrequent Lesser Swallow and Pale Prominents.  Straw Underwing, as usual topping the Heysham trap catch with 8 and nothing special in there .

More bits and pieces

Only about 10 scattered Swallows at the roost tonight but 19 Swift flew south in the hour before dusk

Five Little Egret and two Whimbrel Red Nab

This Holly Blue and a Garden Tiger on vegetation near Red Nab (thanks Malcolm)

Nice mix

Ringing saw the first rather belated juvenile Cetti’s Warbler of the year.  Next best we’re two juvenile  Grasshopper Warblers ringed and the Green Sandpiper reappeared on the Tim Butler pond

Little grebe plus young seen again as were the 27 Gadwall

At least five adult and two Juv Med gulls on outfalls

Two rock pipit of unknown age were on half moon bay beach

Middleton Moth trap held five species of Wainscot and a Pale Prominent