The (or a) Little gull lingers on

Little gull 1 adult on No.2 outflow. It was seen at 10:15, 11:20 and 13:40 at least.

Thanks to Kevin for picture.

Rock pipit, two together on Ocean Edge salt marsh.

No sign of Purple Sandpiper today.

Kingfisher - one found by this morning's junior "Watch" group behind the dipping pond Heysham Nature Reserve- an excellent record!

Friday

Purple Sandpiper - briefly, alone on No.2 outflow rails on ebbing tide (PM)

Middleton Nature Reserve

Great White Egret - 10:10 flew into golf club from south.

I like this picture with shadow of legs looking like something out of a Hammer Horror movie (MD)

Gadwall 25

Coot 1

Little grebe 1wp

Redwing c30

Fieldfare 2

Record Gadwall numbers?

Middleton Nature Reserve - mid afternoon
There were 34 Gadwall on the "no swimming" pond. I believe this is the highest ever count of adult birds for the reserve (MD).
Shoveler 2 male

Some of the Gadwall with the two Shoveler.

Whooper swan - 3 flew very low across the reserve west to east - honking all the way.

This was the only one above the tree line as they left reserve to east.

Pinkfoot three skiens together to south. 60, 44 & 71


Jack snipe 1 flitting around the salt marsh in morning.

Quantity not quality

Nothing scarce or rare could be eked out during the early morning coverage

Grounded
Goldcrest - 1
Blackcap - one ringed Middleton
Blackbird - 140-150
Song Thrush - 16
Redwing - see vis
Mistle Thrush - one flew inland at dawn
Woodcock - 2
Stonechat - female recycling centre road

Vis
Redwing - 140-150, mainly NE
Brambling - 1
Chaffinch - 44
Woodpigeon - 130
Meadow Pipit - 1
Bullfinch - 3
Greenfinch - 7
Long-tailed Tit - 14 south (some via mist net - unringed)
Redpoll - 1

Ex-roost
Starling - 4500

Great White Egret - 1 again heading east over Middleton Nature Reserve. 15:50. More to the north than last two days, it flew over the Tim Butler pond. Best viewed from field just north of top car park, where both north and south reserve boundaries are visible.

October ringing totals - a good effort time-wise but no huge catches (eg no sizeable Goldcrest falls):  Greenfinch (90), Goldcrest (60), Goldfinch (41), Chiffchaff (39), Chaffinch (38), Long-tailed Tit (30), Wren (26), Redwing (25), Reed Bunting (23), Blue Tit (21).  Unusual: Yellow-browed Warbler (3), Treecreeper (2), Cetti's Warbler (3) and Garden Warbler (2).   Just 11 Blackcap were ringed but this is still amazingly the species with the highest ringing total of the year with no previous year evidence that Goldfinch and Greenfinch will overtake it. The current ringing sites are not good for catching numbers of continental Blackbird, hence missing from the list

The autumn keeps giving scarcities but we need the big one!

Inshore/seawatch coverage
Eider - just two males and a very distant flock of 7 - the mussels have been washed off the main skeer after rising themselves up during a series of silt deposits, then washed away by a flood tide/freshwater flood
Snow Bunting - what seemed to be a male flew SSE low over the sea at right angles to the strong NE wind and seemed to be heading inshore around the Lune Estuary area, possibly Potts corner area on the same line.  Surprisingly obvious against the sea!
Geese, presumed Brent - untidy gaggle of ten-ish flew low and landed near Rampside in crystal clear visibility!
Med Gull - still one 1CY around
(No sign of the Shag gang or Little Gull)

Great White Egret(s)
One north past wooden jetty 11:00.
More interestingly, one, once again, over Middleton Nature Reserve late afternoon 15:45. This is 15 minutes later than yesterday, but suggests a routine. Today's bird came more from the north than yesterday's, but still ended up flying SE over main pond. Worth checking around this time tomorrow, and hopefully onwards (MD)

Firecrest

This was the predicted fare in these early November easterlies and a nice male.

Grounded
Blackbird - 104 comprising birds on the tank farm, those flying inland from dawn and those grounded to the north of the office.  There were no grounded thrushes on Middleton mid-am
Firecrest - 1 caught below the old Obs Tower site
Goldcrest - 1 new bird
Song Thrush - 4
Redwing - 27
Woodcock - 1
Meadow Pipit - always a few grounded around the coast in early November - rather odd:  Photo from Kevin:

Vis
Mistle Thrush - 2+7 north
Woodpigeon - 159 S (flock 140)
Pink-footed Goose - 66 S
Redwing - 13 high flyers
Chaffinch - 27
Brambling - 1
Bullfinch - 3
Goldfinch - 5
Carrion Crow - 3

Middleton Nature Reserve - mid afternoon
No sign of Goldeneye or Pochard,
Gadwall 23
Tufted 1 male
Teal 2 (m&f)
Shoveler only the male seen
Little grebe 2 (1 partial sp on Tim Butler plus juv/wp bird on "no swimming" pond.)

Redwing c60 grounded

Great White Egret 1 flew east from golfclub direction leaving the Reserve over the main pond (MD)

Bits and bobs from Sunday

Little Egret - colour ringed bird Red Nab - our first
Shag - ad and 1CY in the inner harbour
Ad Little Gull
Med - 2 x 1CY - not seen recently

More later

Early morning rounds quite productive but where are the cuddy ducks?

Middleton main pond
Goldeneye - male but flew off
Pochard - male and female (IOA)

Low tide channels from Knowlys
Great-crested Grebe - 24 in second channel
Red-breasted Merganser - 4 in second channel
Shag - 4 - three feeding close together and synchronously amongst the more individually feeding Cormorants off the Head. These all looked to be 1cy.
Later, one adult flew into the inner harbour.

Mute Swan - Pair and three young on the sea
Red-throated Diver - one out distantly
Meadow Pipit - 5 horse paddock
Rock Pipit - one heard calling from beach area by horse paddock

Outfalls
Little Gull - ad
Purple Sandpiper reported by an unknown couple as being on the skeer by the harbour

Agonopterix heracliana on office door

Middleton Nature Reserve - rest of stuff
Mute 5 adult 7 juvenile
Gadwall 23
Shoveler 3
Mallard 2
Moorhen c10
Little grebe 1
Woodcock 1
Common snipe 1
Jack snipe 1
Water rail 1

Cetti's warbler 2
Meadow pipit 3
Reed bunting 2

Thrushes
Lots feeding on hawthorn in NW corner before drifting off south.
Minimum numbers:
Redwing 30
Fieldfare 17
Blackbird 12
Song Thrush 2

Robin resumes acquaintance

Not a lot happening today.
Robin caught on Heysham Nature Reserve - first ringed as a juvenile in 2012.

Shelduck are feeding in large numbers between Red Nab and Pott's corner, c 200

The Wigeon flock gathered at No.1 outflow as tide started flooding. A count produces a, frustratingly, round number of 150.

Woodcock new for autumn

Office area from dawn
Woodcock - one in flight by the office
Brambling - one
Grey Wagtail - 1
Blackbird - c20 inland
Redwing - c10
Siskin - 2
Chaffinch - 20
Fieldfare - 2
Song Thrush - 4+
Lesser Redpoll - one ringed

Miscellany
Med Gull - at least one around including this following the ferry in (not the Czech bird)

Little gull 1 adult No.2 outflow and sitting on seawall
Either this is not the same bird as the returning moulting adult or something, maybe health, is stopping it behave as normal

Rock pipit 1 on Ocean Edge foreshore
Skylark - one OE saltmarsh
BH Gull - TMIC harbour
Eider - 20 lt channel
Great crest Grebe - 3 lt channel