Mid week hiatus

Not much seen/reported today.

14 Mediterranean gulls on Red Nab, no juveniles. Just two by wooden jetty this morning, none on ebbing tide.

Middleton Nature Reserve
Quite a lot of insect activity in afternoon sun, particularly in sheltered areas, but not the variety of late.
Dragonflies: lots of Common darter, 2 Brown hawker, 2 (presumed Migrant) hawker.
Butterflies: mainly Speckled wood and small white. Also 2 Comma and 1 Red Admiral.

Birds.
1 Green sandpiper - this is showing well on Tim Butler pond most visits, but viewing points are few. Best from high ground on western end looking along pond.
1 Common snipe
c20 Gadwall
1 Tufted

(Report MD)

Razorbill a big surprise

Local patches often feature birds which the locals get excited about, but the big wide world thinks is no big deal, especially as in this case it was at least on the sea.  Razorbill in the harbour at this time of year is completely unprecedented - indeed, unlike the regular Guillemot, limited to just the occasional winter storm bird on its last legs

Inshore stuff
Little Gull - ad outfalls

Razorbill - in harbour - several different comments on age of this bird

 Med Gull - about 14 including a reappearance of German ASRE which we had thought had moved on

 Ringing
The less said about the triple ringing session, including the CES the better although it did include the autumn's first Grey Wagtail.   The office nets only caught one bird in addition to feeder fare - a Chiffchaff! 

Middleton
Green Sandpiper - 1 Tim Butler pond

Ringing recoveries just received
Sedge Warbler
ADA2692           Juv            25/07/18              Middleton NR
Recaptured                        09/08/18              Squires Down (Dorset) 341 km S 15 days

Greenfinch

NY22612            1st W F         26/10/17              Heysham NR

Killed by Sparrowhawk        07/08/18              Bolton (Gt. Manchester) 62 km SSE 285 days

Nothing much reported so far on the sea but welcome Ravens

Kittiwake - c15 associated with IOM ferry at lunchtime - five in distantly ahead of ferry, 5 out again when reached red buoy and c5 following it into harbour (50% ad) - one juv lingering
Med Gull - 16 Red Nab and area, including two juvs (bit by jetty covered when checked RN).  Additional juv in harbour mouth later (the other two flew south)
Little Gull - ad
Raven - two Red Nab
1 Wheatear

The regular German ANLT

was next to the wooden jetty early am.  Thanks Malcolm

Nothing much pre-frontal

Little Gull
One of the individual birds with a unique status in this area, indeed possibly, with this species, in the whole of NW England, is this presumed returning adult which moults whilst it feeds in the region of Heysham Power Station outfalls late July to early/mid October whence it presumably 'goes pelagic'.  Thanks to Janice for this composition of it in active moult today:

 
The front was probably a bit too west to east rather than approaching from the south to produce a fall.  Indeed the perhaps surprising number of birds around yesterday seemed to have gone in the perfect departure conditions yesterday evening with fewer net arrivals this am.  A rather belated session at Middleton (should have been dawn onwards) was limited to two rounds before the rain alarm correctly advised it was time to take down

Middleton earlyish am
Ringing saw: 2 x Blackcap, 1 x Whitethroat & a 'retrap' ringed Heysham NR yesterday, 2 x Willow warbler and 1 x Lesser Whitethroat (annual total now 66 new birds - could be a record year)

Meadow Pipit - first 3 of autumn flew south
Cetti's warbler singing central marsh otherwise absolutely no sight nor sound of any wetland warblers
Pheasant - at least 2

Outfalls/Red Nab/harbour
15 un-ringed Meds by the wooden jetty in the usual area, 13 on Red Nab included a white-ringed LL darvic and a green-ringed RL darvic - both probably long-stayers and the latter certainly one of the German birds (Axxx).  Just one juv around
Little Gull - ad around per Janice
Eider - female with 5 large young in harbour

Early morning calm missed!

Belated mist netting produced three Robins, single Sedge and three Whitethroat out of 15 new birds but the wind showed itself soon after the nets were put up!

Middleton Nature reserve
Green sandpiper - Tim Butler pond
Common sandpiper - main pond
1 Tufted plus c15 Gadwall - "No swimming" pond

South wall near wooden jetty -evening
19 Mediterranean gulls
1 Rock pipit

A few pics from the last couple of days - first one is unique - advertising Stena line!  Thanks to Janet and Malcolm

General airflow too North westerly

Arctic  Tern -Juv briefly

Kittiwake - Juv late pm 

Med gull - at least 7 red nab

Little gull - ad
Wheatear 1 Ocean Edge foreshore

Bonus ringing session

Decent catch by the office this morning courtesy of the Goldfinch plague, a few Greenfinch and yet another Reed Warbler which is having a record out of habitat year.   Robin, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler completed the migrant line-up

About 15 different Meds around including what appears to be the Czech-ringed bird and a frustratingly not quite close enough green ring which looks like a new one

Shag in harbour

The Rock Pipit pair around the harbour seem to have elusively produced one young

More tomorrow am including pics

The second pair of rock pipits back on the agenda

These are so awkward to monitor compared to the straightforward scenario on Heysham Head.  Up to three have been seen and pics taken which seem to show a young bird

Med gull- About 40 around but only one Juv seen
Sandwich Tern - 7 red nab am tide
Dunlin - I think jean counted 650 on Red Nab
Little egret - 5
Shag - seen today
Rick pipit - probably three birds seen

Moths
Cochylis atricapitana and agriphila geniculea in office trap

TUESDAY sightings - a varied day!

Two raptors flew over very high mid-am about 30 mins after each other but seemingly very different agendas.  One was an Osprey, the other seemingly either a lost hacked or locally flown (investigation in progress) black form of Gyr Falcon, as bred by falconers (reminds me of the white Mandarin with some fancy self-indulgent avicultural name which was around my house until recently)
Other vis:
Swallow - c70
Sand Martin - 4
Swift - 1

Ringing at Middleton
This was quite interesting with a little flurry first thing, then quiet, then another flurry from mid-am.  Hardly any phylloscs left from yesterdays presumed arrival - they sometimes linger at Middleton and the highest warbler new bird total was 9 Lesser Whitethroat taking us well into the 60s for new-ringed birds.  What a shame the rest of this month does not look good for Middleton ringing or we could have been seeing record totals.  Still no Blue Tit flocks (just two out of 70 new birds)

Red nab just after tide
Sandwich tern - 22
Med Gull - at least 4
Ring-necked Parakeet - one in-off, then east

Miscellany
Wheatear 9 late afternoon. 3 on south wall roundhead, 6 Ocean Edge foreshore
Rock Pipit - at least one on south jetty - possibly a juv but cant be certain

Little Grebe - juv eating crayfish Middleton model boat pond

Unforecasted local rain drops the birds

An early start was thwarted by rain and poor visibility and all effort was around the office, either 'paperwork' or monitoring the three nets nearby once the rain stopped at 1000

There were quite a few migrants around even as late as 1000, although an impression was that any decent numbers of Willow Warblers had already slipped inland during the rain, judging by species composition and numbers  at other Irish Sea sites

50 new birds were ringed between 1000 and mid afternoon, including three out of habitat Reed Warbler and a selection of the usual Sylvias (including Garden) and Phylloscs.  Two Starlings were also ringed - an unusual event here!

Along the coast just a single-figure handful of Med Gulls of note and a single Common Sandpiper but the visibility did not help

Unfortunately no other morning migrant coverage in the recording area