Pinks trickle in

Czech Med Gull on north wall:

Present every non-breeding season since arriving as 1CY in 2003

Useless seawatching today with a great big clear slot over the whole of the Irish Sea at the optimum time we needed a few squally showers over the tide:  This synopsis would be fine in spring when you are looking for a north-easterly corridor for northbound seabirds, but no good when you are wanting rough weather to blow things back against the direction they want to go [synopsis one hour pre-high tide].  In late afternoon Nick informed of a close Leach's Petrel heading for the recording area past the Stone Jetty.  In retrospect looked along the wrong line and should have seen all the kite surfers at the Battery a bit earlier - they must have sent it way out.   However the visit to the north wall was not fruitless as the Czech Med Gull perched very close and the ring re-read - first time definitely seen this autumn although a 'metal on right above tarsus' was seen on the south side about a month ago

Pink-footed Goose - 20+30+81+162
Little Gull - adult & juv out, usual adult outfalls
Kittiwake - two adults behind IOM ferry, juv appeared soon after briefly
Guillemot - 1CY harbour mouth for short time
Shag - 2cy harbour; flushed by tug and flew out
Med Gull - 30, including 5 juvs behind IOM ferry and 25 (I juv) by the wooden jetty late pm
Curlew - 370 Red Nab
Great Skua - one on sea?, then flew towards Walney late afternoon

A rather unconvincing report that the "Chough was back" which didn't seem to go much further than a 'black bird'

Latish Manx Shearwater

Hopefully get chance to do some seawatching tomorrow and the forecasted showers play ball and compensate for the below par wind speed.

Manx shearwater - one out close inshore - chased by outfalls gulls
Kittiwake - Juv out
Med gull - at least 24 on Red Nab mid am and a Juv on outfalls (5 Juv in total)
Little gull - usual ad red nab mid am

Grey wagtail ringed this am then ground staff had to do some work by the ride.   Hopefully Saturday will allow some more comprehensive Ringing

Meds and Little and miniscule vis

Meds and Little in the evening sun thanks Malcolm

 

Med Gull - 15 red nab am

Little Gull - ad seen am and pm

Grey Wag - at least one SE

Meadow Pipit - at least 3 SE

Sandwich tern - one RN am



Little Gulls but little else

Too gentle today - indeed the feeder net was operable this afternoon (three Goldfinch ringed and a few retraps).  Annoying to see the peak passage birds at Portland today was Grey Wagtail and we can do nothing about the study in this weather.  At this rate we are going to be lucky to ring many more this autumn

Middleton NR
Gadwall - 18
Mute Swan - 6
Tufted Duck - 3
Water Rail
no waders or coot seen

Offshore
Gannet - 2 ad

Inshore
Shag - 2CY at waterfall
Med Gull - max of 15 on Red Nab early incoming tide (four juvs plus white darvic and green darvic and metal ringed ads around)
Sandwich Tern - once
Little Gull - ad flew south past Red Nab whilst regular bird was roosting there.  Juv in harbour in pm

Thanks Malcolm

Tufted Duck

A 1cy Male Tufted Duck off the harbour mouth was a new species for SD35Z!

Med gull - at least 33 today including ANLT and four juvs
Little gull - ad outfalls near HT
Sandwich Tern - 3 red nab
Guillemot - one in harbour early evening

Nothing seen in intermittent seawatches

Seawatching

A small petrel was seen very briefly but enough to see it wasn’t a Leavh’s (or a house Martin, green sand, Black Tern etc!) and looked like a Storm Petrel.  A great wadge of poor visibility soon after locating it knocked the record on the head

Most of the early morning seawatching was from the stone jetty between 8 and 11(thanks Nick)

Sea 0815 to 1245 (Heysham unless stated)
Arctic Skua - two off sj, one in at lunchtime
Fulmar - one sj
Kittiwake - flock of 5
Gannet - 11 or so off Sj
Sandwich tern - two
Guillemot - one sj
Little gull - ad heysham two before ht
Med gull - ad, 2cy and 1cy outfalls/Red Nab

Landbird wise totally dead as also confirmed by Colin on Walney - the forecast doesn’t look too good  with only next Thursday looking possible in the next fortnight and Thursday is always the most difficult day for coverage.

Wet webs

Sandwich Tern - 11 red nab including distant one with white darvic, four flew out this evening
Turnstone - 112 red nab plus 109 heliport but no Pirple Sand
Redshank - 495 heliport plus c150 south of harbour
Little Egret - 10!
Med gull - 19 by wooden jetty this on ores includes the 3x2cy and 1x1cy on red nab at ht
Eider - 9 inshore
Rock pipit - one near wooden jetty in evening

No migrants reported

Pics will be posted tomorrow

Moths included Agriphila geniculea again but haven’t managed to record our speciality Agriphila latistria this late summer

Even better tidal display

However - it isn't really what we are about this time of year and the forecast for the foreseeable future has migrant mediocrity written all over it and doesn't look like providing the back-up ringing to getting up early to catch and colour ring a handful of Grey Wagtail.  We'll see - could really do with a howling gale if it is going to be unhelpful weather

Purple Sandpiper - adult moulting out of summer plumage on Red Nab - disappeared behind a rock and I lost it in the incoming tide mayhem - loosely with Turnstone
Sanderling - c6 Red Nab
Dunlin - 500 Red Nab then flushed by tide
Med Gull - 25 by the wooden jetty feeding on tube worms this evening (ANLT amongst them)

Rhomboid Tortrix in moth trap I think is new for year

Good early morning neap tidal display

Inshore
Spotted redshank - Juv oe creek then along inner shore to south
Grey plover - 369 many in summer plumage
Dunlin - 1870
Bar-tailed Godwit -  411
Sandwich Tern - 4 red nab
Med gull - 3x 2cy 1x Juv Red Nab, then 9 by wooden jetty in evening including metal ringed Ad and German green ANLT (thanks Malcolm)
Shag - 2cy by then on wooden jetty
Cormorant - 135 wooden jetty at least

Vis 08:00-10:00
Reed Bunting 1
Swallow 18
Dunnock 1
Grey Wagtail 1
Meadow Pipit 1
Chaffinch 2

Ringing
Very slow
Robin 2 up to 10am and several blank round

Middleton NR
Teal 8 (2 Tim Butler 6 no swimming ponds)
Tufted single male still in eclipse
Gadwall 15
No sign of Coot, but they are sometimes elusive.
Water Rail - one calling from low ground between main pond and Tim Butler pond. Presumably a new arrival.
Common Snipe 1

Southern hawker on golf club strip. Probably same insect as previous sighting.
Common darters ovipositing, including in remnants of new ponds.

More Ringing in the crystal clear

This was a very odd day where there was just about one of everything but absolutely no numbers other than perhaps Swallow.   Despite a clear corridor there seemed to be zero cross bay vis mig!

Tree pipit - one se

Grey wagtail - 5 ringed

Singles or twos of Whitethroat, blackcap, willow warbler, lesser whitethroat, chiffchaff and a few robins ringed.  Jay also ringed!

Vis mig 
In addition to the Tree Pipit and Grey Wagtails -
Chaffinch 16
Swallow 21
Linnet 2
Meadow Pipit 1