Darters emerging, but no Red Veined yet.....

A light west breeze strengthened during the day. Very warm in the sun.

Middleton Nature Reserve
Ringing and moth trap records AD and JM
Another fairly low key session at Middleton this morning. A modest selection of warblers trapped and retrapped. Few juveniles again with only two each of Goldfinch, Chiffchaff and Dunnock plus one Great Tit.
An adult Grasshopper Warbler confirmed their presence in western marsh.

Moths included a decent record of a Bordered Sallow and two good records of Obscure Wainscot and Silver Hook (pictured below)

Two checks were made of the pools and ponds. A total of 7 teneral Common Darter were located, but no sign yet of Red Veined Darter.

Harbour/Heysham nature reserve circuit, (report and picture KE)
Butterflies seen:
Red Admiral 2
Small Tortoiseshell 2
Common Blue
Large Skipper
Large White
Speckled Wood 3
Burnet Companion moth.
One of The Red Admirals was on the track to the harbour, but all the others on the reserve.

Jay by the dipping pond. Presumably drying itself after a dip.

A better class of insects

Light breeze mainly from west. Still very warm, hot when the sun came out

The title refers to two insects
Hummingbird Hawkmoth Westmoor Grove this morning

Possible Southern Migrant Hawker male at Middleton NR at 1300. Seen by Dan H. The "possible" status, as this, very important, record would have to be formally verified.

Hopefully more later.

A quick check of the Lighthouse area confirmed the east wind is key to bringing insects in off the sea here. The tide was out, the temperature high, but the very light breeze was from the west.
No insects were moving. The only butterfly was a worn Common Blue which looked very like yesterday's male.

Suspect this male Common Blue's roving days are over

The sun brings out the insects

Warm light winds from the east and quite a bit of sunshine.

Lighthouse and south wall area
Low water 12:30 - When the tide is out and the temperature is high enough, an east wind draws in insects off the sea here. This is the aggregate of MD and KE records, no duplication.
Four- spotted chaser 1
Red Admiral 14
Small Tortoiseshell 9
Small white 2
Cinnabar 5
6 spot Burnet 2 - surprisingly, this is the first ever record for SD35

Another quick check at high water 18:00. (MD)
As expected, when the tide is in, less insect come ashore here, but there were still plenty, and drifting east, so not the same as the lunchtime insects.
Red Admiral 15
Painted lady 1
Small Tortoiseshell 3
Common blue 2 - only two, but they quickly found each other.

The male looks a bit warn, but it seems the flight was worth it

6 spot Burnet 1
Cinnabar 5
Seven spot Ladybird  c10

At first glance, I couldn't work out what this was, then I realised it was actually two insects, 7 spot Ladybird and a Cinnabar moth.

Rock Pipits - Two adult around nest site near lighthouse, one visited the hole. Another adult displaying near the waterfall.

Grey seal 1 fishing in No. 1 outflow

Middleton Nature Reserve - early afternoon (MD)
Wildfowl as yesterday except
Little grebe - three new chicks on the "no swimming " pond. This is the second family with three chicks this year, the earlier one was on Tim Butler.
Warblers - lots of newly fledged birds and contact calls, but males also still singing. Grasshopper not heard.

Chiffchaff singing

Insects:
Lots of dragonflies including;
4-spotter Chaser, Broad-bodied Chaser, Black- tailed Skimmer, Emperor and a small Hawker (did think Migrant, but Pete advises too early, worth another look),
Not so many butterflies,  1 Meadow Brown, 1 Large Skipper, were the best.

Large Skipper

This was later identified as Oak Eggar larva

a good lowland record

Still ticking over

Quite a strong blustery wind mainly from NNE. Generally overcast. Quite cool.

Middleton Nature Reserve late morning
Wildfowl and warbler status pretty much as yesterday.
Swift 2
Swallow 2
House martin 1
All above feeding over the main pond.

Stock Dove - very active today - two flying together seen several times. Once to SE followed less than a minute later with two (more?) also flying to SE. They would have had to have doubled back very quickly if it was only two birds. Also single birds seen a couple of times.

Meadow pipit - one very territorial bird

Very few insects seen in the cool windy weather, but this Burnet Companion was taking a high energy drink.

Rock Pipits - a much better showing today
Two feeding together near lighthouse, one following the other. Couldn't manage a good enough view to confirm ages (hopefully one juvenile)
One adult by waterfall
Janet reported one from Half Moon Bay, possibly one of those from John (D) report below.
Today on the Heysham Head shore there were two rock pipits foraging amongst the rocks, young birds I think. Another one flew past from Half Moon Bay towards the nest site so maybe a second brood is on the way.

The Rock Pipits are not the only birds with a second brood in mind

This Dunnock was painstakingly gathering dog hairs from John's garden.

More observers, but still not much to observe

Middleton Nature Reserve - mid morning
Mute Swan - still 7 "interlopers" being held at bay by the resident male on the main pond

Meanwhile mum and the chicks seem to be enjoying themselves

Pair on "no swimming" pond with three young.

The male continues to harrass the mallard with her growing chicks

Coot - a pair with one quite mature chick on main pond. That is three breeding pairs this year, unless the pair from the Tim Butler have brought a chick to main pond
Little grebe 1
Stock Dove 2
The low meadow between the main and Tim Butler ponds is worth a visit, lots of meadow flowers and attendant insects (especially when it's warmer).

Including several Ragged- Robin plants

A fine testament to the reserve management work. (Q. How do you manage a meadow? A. You mow it every year)

Red Nab and surrounding shore approaching high water.
Curlew 126
Black-headed Gull 66
Common Gull 68
Little Egret 3
Rock Pipit 1 adult

Tide not high enough to flood the area were the fingerling bass were feeding yesterday.

Janet checked the high cliffs below Heysham Head. No sign of the Rock Pipits today, but two recently fledged Wren were being fed

Troglodytes troglodytes - the only Latin bird name I know, and quite apt here (MD)

A bit of barrel bottom scraping

Very little is happening at the moment, and few people watching it not happen.

The Lapwing numbers on the saltmarsh have swollen to three. Presumably failed breeders.

Having said that little is happening, this is potentially very exciting, but only if you are into marine biology (MD).
In 2013 the south wall and its extension out to sea was designated a Bass nursery. The warm outflow waters support Bass all through the year. All fishing in this area is prohibited. There has always been bass visiting the bay in summer, but it was not known where they bred or where the young developed.
About 5 years ago I caught (and returned) a 7cm bass in my shrimp push net. I'd never seen a young one before.
Today when the tide was flooding on the south shore the water was boiling with small fish between 7 - 10cm. Normally gathering like this are Grey Mullet. But mullet are basically herbivores and would either be grazing the algae off the mud or the protein laden spume off the surface. There was neither of these food sources today. These fish were hunting, presumably invertibrates flushed from the sea grass by the rising tide. They were in less that 2cm of water at some times, they were the right shape and colour for bass, but I couldn't see the distinctive dorsal fins (mullet tend to swim with the top of their dorsal fin out of the water, when in shallows). They must have been young bass, hundreds of them! I've never seen this before, it can't be a regular event, or the egrets would be waiting for them. That said I'll check again tomorrow

.

This is the typical area they were feeding.

This is a close up of the same image showing the water "boiling" - bass are a very slow growing species, fish this size would be 4/5 year old.

Just an aside. The Sea Holly seems to have taken a battering with this year's storms. There are normally plants at the top of the shingle around the saltmarsh, Red Nab and Half Moon Bay. But the only specimen that I am aware of at the moment, is this one further inshore near Red Nab.

Mute and people leaving Middleton

Light variable breeze and overcast for most of the day.

A visit to Middleton Nature Reserve, just after lunch found the car park empty. There were a few vehicles around on my completion of a circuit, but certainly the lowest number of visitors since travel to exercise was allowed.
Mute Swan 2 pairs with 3 and 5 chicks. 1 single bird on Tim Butler.
The visiting swans on the main pond, at one point totalled 22, but today they were down to 8. One theory about them, certainly fits the time line - Normally high numbers of swan on the Lune estuary supplement their diet with grain spilled when the grain cargo boats are unloaded at Glasson Dock. The cargo boats stopped when lockdown started, but have probably now resumed (MD),
Coot 4 - the pair on the "no swimming" pond have three chicks

Thanks Janet

Mallard 2

This female has done remarkably well with her chicks. She has been chased from pond to pond by the  resident  mute males. Yet she still has 10 of the original 12 chicks, and they are now quite well developed (she does look proud of herself).

No Gadwall!

House martin 1 - feeding over main pond
Stock Dove 1
Raven 1 - in dispute with the carrion crows in trees near waterworks.
All the warblers including Cetti's heard with the exception of Grasshopper warbler.

This Gannet was resting on Red Nab on Sunday - report and picture from Chris Thornton - thanks.

A freshly dead Gannet was found on the saltmarsh on Monday. It looks like this was its final resting place. The dead bird had no injuries so presumably succumbed to natural causes (MD)

Another ringing session

Light winds, overcast in the morning, but the sun came out later in the afternoon.

Pete has asked that all recorders check that they are aware of the complicated SD boundaries and intersections in the recording area. Some guidelines and a map have been added to the sidebar on the right - thanks.

Mediterranean gull 2 near Red Nab this morning.
Rock pipit - the only one seen today was to the east of the saltmarsh.
Lapwing 2 on Ocean Edge football pitch. unseasonal birds here - possibly taking advantage of the lockdowned caravan park.

Middleton Nature Reserve - 05:20 - 09:20 AD and JM
A smallish mixed bag with a high proportion of retraps. Some juvenile birds around now with young Dunnock, Robin (2), Chiffchaff (3) and Blackcap ringed.

Swift - 30 appeared from an easterly direction at 09.30 and whizzed around over the reserve for ten minutes before moving towards the golf course and finally dispersing.

A moth trap that was set overnight cobtained a good catch, including a Straw Underwing, very early in the season for this species.


While we are talking moths. These Mullein moth caterpillars were feeding on a mullein plant in a garden in Heysham Village.

This species is very localised - Thanks Ray(S) via Janet.

Another mammal to end today's post, this one, at c5cm, a bit smaller than yesterday's Roebuck.
This young Field Vole came out from under the brambles near the waterfall.

I hope its survival instincts improve quickly! (MD)

Local stuff provides the entertainment, plus news of a wanderer

Light breeze mainly from north and east. Generally overcast.

The "wanderer" is a colour ringed Little Egret seen on Red Nab by Shaun in November. Not from the usual source, but a recent colony
  

 LITTLE EGRET REGISTER

   Colour rings - Left leg LAON(A).  Right leg RANW(U).  Ring number  GV75204  

Age   Date Time          Location                        Observer                Duration,  distance

1   22/05/18 14:00   Rossmere Park, Hartlepool    Eric Wood

3   22/06/18 00:00   Rossmere Park, Hartlepool    Unknown       31 days, 0 kilometres,

3   05/07/18 00:00    Rossmere Park, Hartlepool   Unknown        44 days, 0 kilometres,

3   19/07/18 00:00    Dorman's Pool, Teeside        Unknown        58 days, 6 kilometres,

4   03/11/19 00:00    Red Nab, Heysham             Shaun Coyle   530 days, 130 kilometres, 

4   22/01/20 00:00   Old Moor RSPB Reserve    Jeff Wragg       610 days, 126 kilometres,

4   21/03/20 00:00   Old Moor RSPB Reserve    Gerald Lax      669 days, 126 kilometres,

4   22/03/20 00:00   Old Moor RSPB Reserve    Gerald Lax      670 days, 126 kilometres,

Middleton Nature Reserve - mid morning

The warblers seemed to be singing with renewed vigour, with the exceptions of Sedge warbler, just a few half hearted bursts. Grasshopper warbler - not heard.

Common Whitethroat 

Lesser Whitethroat

These recently fledged Long-tailed tits were waiting to be fed

The food arrives 

I know the birders will be aware of this, but for those who are not - the bird bringing food may not be the young ones parent. Long-tailed tits regularly help to feed other birds young, if they have no young of their own. But they are likely to be closely related. (MD)

Kevin was experimenting with his new pocket camera and got some nice pictures, including these damselfly.

Common Bluetail - probably female C type (MD)

Pair of Common Blue

Remember when I said whereever you are on the reserve, you are likely to be being watched by a Roe deer.......

I think this fine buck was checking that I wasn't a rival. I backed away and he lost interest.

Mainly miscellany

The overnight winds turned towards the NW and eased quickly. I've not heard of anything of interest on the sea as yet (MD) - possibly more later

Lighthouse area - two short visits
Morning
Rock Pipits - 1 standing over nest site, plus 2 flying around with trailing bird constantly calling. Suggested adult with juvenile in tow, but I  didn't get a decent look.
Dunnock - resident birds have at least one newly fledged young.
Afternoon
Just the one sentinel Rock Pipit
A couple of moths sheltering from the wind. A Cinnabar plus this Yellow Shell

The worn wings are typical of insects seen in this area, which have normally arrived in off the sea.

A grey seal was slowly drifting with the ebbing tide, some way out. It appeared to be asleep.

But, it did manage a yawn - it really was that exciting!

These Lesser Black-Backed gull's chicks are well camouflaged on the ferry terminal roof. There are two, centre left.

Thanks Kevin

Heysham Nature Reserve - KE

This is a nice sheltered reserve, with plenty of flowering plants attracting many and varied insects.

The Bee Orchids are now showing well on the central plateau

Immature Red-legged Shieldbug

Female Common Blue

Toad in the hole

Janet took this on Middleton Nature Reserve - this Common Toad has puffed itself up to look intimidating - it works!