Sat and sun

22 September 2018

Heysham NR
Vis 08:50-12:00
Pink-footed Goose - 428 south
Meadow Pipit - 2
Swallow - 4
Grounded
Goldcrest - 1

Red Nab
Sandwich Tern - 2 (adult and juv)
Mediterranean Gull - 15 at least

Harbour
Guillemot - 2

Ocean Edge
Ringed Plover - 32
Grey Plover - 420

Middleton NR
Gadwall - 27
Mallard - 2
Teal - 1
Coot - 2
Water Rail - 3
Stock Dove - 2

Heysham Moss
Woodpigeon - flock of 70

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23 September 2018

Heysham NR

Vis 06:45 - 12:00
Meadow Pipit - 35
Pink-footed Goose - 1736
Chaffinch - 25
alba wagtail - 3
Jackdaw - 1
Grey Wagtail - 3
House Martin - 1
Swallow - 1
Mistle Thrush - 1
Song Thrush - 1

Wooden Jetty
Shag

Harbour
Guillemot

Wind okayish in the bay but not in the bigger picture Irish Sea

Nothing to push birds in overnight and a marginal wind on the tide produced very little with just one Leach’s after a cumulative 100 square miles of scanning from various VPs over four hours.  Didn’t realise IOM ferry was in business until it reached the harbour and some followers undoubtedly missed

Leach’s Petrel - one cut across from north side then headed out beyond the yellow buoys
Great Skua - one flew north west through the scope as it was trained towards Knott end from ocean edge
Sandwich tern - loose gang of 13 out, three red nab and two later on outfalls in squall
Common Tern - ad behind ferry
Arctic Tern - 1cy behind ferry
Pintail - flock of three out
Kittiwake - two 1cy early on then at least seven behind IOM ferry
Little gull - usual ad red nab over tide
Med gull - min of 19 including 5 Juv red nab then 25-30 by wooden jetty including the above Belgian or French Juv and German ANLT
Guillemot - one harbour area, one dead on water
Shag - flew towards heyshsm head close inshore

Rock pipit 1-2 Heysham head shore
Low double figures of swallow and meadow pipit struggling south

Small shearwater

One of the vagrant small shearwater species off Heysham this am then Rossall an hour later.   Not necessarily Barolo but unlikely to be fully documented and specified unless we get some point blank views and pics further down the coast.   What an amazing sighting though, initially at only c350m range.  More later.

Shag - usual bird
Leachs petrel - one out distantly 0810
Sandwich Tern - two north wall, 7 red nab

Long gaps between highlights!

One of these days lists with decent variety but quite hard work.   The morning tide was predictably useless in the southerly but the cold front saw a change to SW.  A few bits as the tide came in

Seawatching stuff
Leach’s petrel - one out 1635 at medium range, another out and across about 1710. A further 8 seen past SJ, all but one distant bird after 1730
Black Tern - Juv out past north wall mid afternoon
Sandwich Tern - at least 5 out
Gannet - two out early am
Common Scoter - Drake offshore
Guillemot or Razorbill - four out together
Guillemot - two singletons close inshore
Shelduck - 5 plus 11 out
Kittiwake - three out together (one ad), ad and Juv blogging by harbour

Other
Med gull - 23 ad/2cy red nab plus Juv outfalls
Little gull - usual ad red nab
Wheatear - 2

Terns

Unfortunately a rapidly inbound probably black tern in particularly foul weather this am couldn’t be clinched but single juvenile Arctic and Common and a flock of four Sandwich tern were seen rather better although also in transit

Guillemot - two together out and one in harbour mouth later

17 Med Gulls on the mud near the wooden jetty

A house Martin decided to fly through the wake of the IOM ferry as it was turning to enter port!

Two swallows similarly struggling over the rough sea

Five Pinkfeet out

Eider - at least 196 on sea off Heysham Head - 70 per cent ad m

All about flightlines and virtually nothing grounded

Today's south-easterly would in normal circumstances have seen reasonable numbers of vis mig species at both Heysham and Middleton NRs but it didn't really happen that way with, for example, the Meadow Pipit tape on Middleton catching and attracting down zero.  As is often the case at Heysham NR, the south-easterly sent a significant number of birds crossing the Bay round the north side of the Power Station and there was a reasonable trickle of stuff heading down the coast from Heysham Head over the reserve

Vis mig
alba Wagtail - just 14 SE
Meadow Pipit - 142 SE
Chaffinch - first big movement of the autumn - 84 S/SW
Grey Wagtail - 21 SE
Linnet - 8 SE
Dunnock - one S - very high!
Pink-footed Goose - 26 N, 10 S
Great White Egret - 1 S at 0848
Swallow - 80
House Martin - 1
Coal Tit - flock of 4
Magpie - one in-off amd a flock of 3 high to south
Common Buzzard - one low to E

Grounded HNR
Goldcrest - 2
Chiffchaff - 2
Blackcap - 2

Grounded Middleton
Willow Warbler - 1
Garden Warbler - 1
Blackcap - 2 

Ringing combined:  Grey Wagtail (11), Chaffinch (12), Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap (3), Garden Warbler, Greenfinch (2), Goldfinch (6), Blue Tit (6|), Great Tit (2)

Moths
Small Dusty Wave new for year

More geese

Pink-footed Goose - 660 S
House Martin - 1
Swallow - 5
Raven - 2

Pinks pile in

A day of proper early morning migration coverage at last but it did not include anything over the sea so the Pink-foot count was very high in the circumstances.  The first two migrant Goldcrest of the autumn appeared in the net at Middleton and there was a variety of late warbler species as well as the more seasonal trickle of Chiffchaff and Blackcap.  In summary, better than recently but in the context of a normal September, nothing special, as to be expected with the light WSW wind and rain fortunately just to the south until lunchtime

Ringing/grounded
Chiffchaff - just three (2 ringed)
Willow warbler - one ringed Heysham NR
Blackcap - three ringed
Reed Warbler - one ringed Middleton
Garden Warbler - one ringed Middleton
Goldcrest - two together ringed Middleton
Robin - 4 lightweight presumed migrants ringed

Vis mig until midday
Pink-footed Goose - 840 S
Sparrowhawk - on east high - prob in-off
Golden Plover - one high to SE
Carrion Crow - flock of 7 east
Swallow - just 14
Grey Wagtail - at least 6 (5 ringed which included 4 out of a flock of 5)
alba Wagtail - just two and no sign of any ex-roost early on
Meadow Pipit - 205 SE
Tree Pipit - one SE
Chaffinch - 9 S
Linnet - flock of 4 SE
Reed Bunting - 1 S over HNR (one ringed Middleton where conspicuously absent recently)

Inshore stuff on tide
Med gull c14 - less than recently
Little Gull - usual ad

Rock Pipit
Two by the south harbour late pm. Six along the shoreline from half-moon bay to Heysham Head - difficult to be certain of origin now but appeared to be two groups of three, including at least three adult and at least one juv and nothing in the plumage to suggest other than petrosus

Moths
First Pink-barred Sallow of year

More later on incoming tide stuff red nab/outfalls

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