Peregrine on the move

Thanks Mark - todays Med

Heysham Obs
A Peregrine headed north over the Bay

North harbour wall
Red-throated Diver - one out
Peregrine - one north across the bay without deviating at all
Skylark - 2 north
Twite - 38 on the feeder
a few Black-headed & Common Gull heading into the bay
Med Gull - adult to bread mid-afternoon

Wooden Jetty
Purple Sandpiper - at least 2
Turnstone - 52

Red Nab
Wigeon - 48

Insects
First Bombus terrestris i.e. a bumble bee of the year careering around the car park. The Twenty-plume moth yesterday was found to be a 'jamjar-hopper' i.e. it was brought in over the weekend for identification from suburban Morecambe, escaped in the office & presumably crawled under the door towards the only light in the place after dusk!!!

Elsewhere
6 Waxwing A6 end of Rutland Avenue, Lancaster (the 6?). The (expletive deleted) Great Grey Shrike was by the trig point again at 1500hrs. Ad & 3CY Med Gulls at Leighton Moss but not interacting. A perhaps elderly Bittern was attempting to boom at Leighton Moss at 1850hrs

30 minute guillotine

Heysham Obs
North wall 0930-0945
Common Scoter - 10 very distant 'out and across'
Kittiwake - 3 in
No obvious sign of Twite
Wooden jetty not checked

Ocean Edge 0950-0955
Med Gull - adult summer roosting on the sea 'above' the saltmarsh

Moths
In the trap: Dotted Border and Twenty-plume moth - looks a bit like "Double-striped pug meets shredder"

Elsewhere
Avocets a bit slow at the Allen/EM Pools e.g. c/p Marshside but a single there this afternoon. 2-3 on the Lune Estuary this pm (Sunderland side). Drake Scaup Glasson basin. Have the extra Waxwings 'dragged off' the resident at Leighton Drive?

This looks worth purchasing:
http://birdblog.merseyblogs.co.uk/archives/2009/03/wild_merseyside.html

Meagre rough weather fare

Heysham Obs
A good number of immature large gulls around, but nothing with them at least 0900-1000. A few distant seawatch bits and bobs.

North harbour wall 0900-0945
Kittiwake - flock of c30 lifted off the sea, then landed again 0910, one 'in' 0925
Common Scoter - one 'out', then landed on sea 0930
Auk spp - one seen very briefly before landing
No Twite, with the feeding station a 'wind tunnel'

Rednab
92 wigeon

South harbour wall/harbour 0940-1155 hrs

Red-throated Diver 3 'out' 0958 hrs fairly high + 1 'in' and came down
Eider M offshore
Great crested grebe 2 off harbour
Peregrine North from harbour lost to sight in scope, quite low.

Purple Sandpiper 3 middle section wooden jetty 1145 hrs.

Elsewhere
25+55+60 Kittiwake, Little Gull and 3 Common Scoter Jenny Brown's Point. Late news for yesterday: SIX Waxwing at Leighton Drive, Lancaster at 1000hrs and 6 today briefly at 1045hrs

Twite increase

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Twite - 19
Purple Sandpiper - 3 wooden jetty
Skylark - one north

Heliport
Ringed Plover - pair on territory

Middleton Industrial Est
2 mute
15 coot
7 moorhen
9 mallard
11 tufted
2 pochard (male & female)
3 goldeneye (1 male)
5 teal
2 little grebe (turning to summer plumage)
1 heron

Moths
2 Dotted Border and a Hebrew Character in the trap

Elsewhere
Waxwing still Leighton Drive, Lancaster

Is the whole Waxwing flock still around?

Heysham Obs

Mixed bag of birds

Purple Sandpiper - 3 below wooden jetty
Twite - same 8 at the feeder (7/8 ringed at Heysham)
Red-throated Diver 1 offshore

Pink-footed Goose 45 North from Fylde area
Waxwing - single bird at Jenny Nook at 1615hrs - just a single brief search (that is known about) earlier in the day

Mammals

Offshore Grey Seal was the only animate object on the sea during 30 minutes late afternoon seawatch

Elsewhere

Bittern grunting/booming at Leighton from last night. Great Grey Shrike Dalton Crag by the trig point. Waxwing still Leighton Drive, Lancaster. [No Sand Martin Pine Lake in evening check!]

Distant blob on the sea, flock of Waxwing and an ermine!

Heysham Obs
A good day! At least five minutes spent identifying a distant blob in a line between the harbour wall and the southern tip of Walney. This involved a mixture of two lengthy dives and awkward surfacing angles before a decent lateral view indicated it was a Great Northern Diver. Two Red-throated Diver were nearby for size comparison.

It drifted/swam/dived further out and was lost after about 10 minutes. Checking from the OE side produced the first 'mudflat heathaze' of the year and there was no chance of relocation. Worth checking incoming tide?

Heysham Mossgate estate
Waxwing: Thanks to an observant Mrs Hamilton, 10 located on Jenny Nook, off Meldon Road late morning, increasing to 12 by 1420hrs. These were at the top of a tall tree at 1220hrs and a short back-track enabled them to be 'seen-from' within the recording area! Feeding in nearby back gardens out of sight and returning to tops of nearby tall trees at the end of Jenny Nook

North wall
On a flat calm sea, the following were seen
Great Northern Diver - one offshore from at least 0940-0955hrs, then lost. All observations were almost certainly in Cumbria. What appears to be the same bird was seen again, equally distantly, for 20 minutes or so just after midday, but unfortunately not 'put out' at the time.
Red-throated Diver - two on the same 'line' as the above, neither showing any sign of s.p.
Eider - pair
Twite - 8, presumably same birds as yesterday

Wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - two on the outermost section of skeer underneath the jetty as yesterday

Ocean Edge mudflats
Lots of gulls around, especially increase in LBB. At least 52 Wigeon still around
Med Gull - adult summer on mudflats to the south during late afternoon visit

Stage One outfall
Good news - water is flowing through and gulls are starting to accumulate on the seaward end for the first time for ?16 months. This is especially good for transient birds later in the spring e.g. 1st S Meds, Arctic Tern flocks

Mammals
A glimpse of a 'thin white thing' a few days ago was resolved as a Stoat in ermine crossed the nature reserve entrance road at about 1210hrs. This is the first record for the reserve of a stoat in ermine

Elsewhere
Single Waxwing still at Leighton Drive, Lancaster this morning. Rough-legged Buzzard late afternoon brushing the eastern side of SD66 between Stocks along Bowland Knotts via the ridge. At least one Long-eared Owl Freeman's Pool along with Barn & Short-eared Owl

Meds gone?

Heysham Obs
No sign of any adult Med Gulls at the optimum time of IOM ferry arrival

Wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - 2 right at the end of the outer section on skeer

Offshore
Red-throated Diver - 2

North wall
Twite - 8 at feeder (one unringed, one from Jan 2009, one from 31/10/08, 5 from unspec. autumn 2008 - all Heysham-ringed)
Eider - male inshore

Elsewhere
Avocet Lune estuary & drake Scaup Conder pool. "Nothing" with c820 Pink-footed Geese along Heysham bypass by 'resident' Peugeot

Saved by a Stonechat

Heysham Obs
Near the heliport
Male Stonechat, obviously on passage at this site

North wall
Twite - 11
Purple Sandpiper - 1+ on wooden jetty - too wet to open gate (wimp?)

South of harbour (morning and late afternoon visits)
Wigeon - 70
Lots of common seagulls and waders

Broadgate garage area (Middleton road)
Little Egret - one flew over towards the Lune (roost?) late afternoon (no idea where from, but definitely in recording area). Sneaky behaviour this winter with many deserting the saltmarsh creeks for obscure inland ditches

Elsewhere
Waxwing still Leighton Drive am. Spotted Redshank in creek on west side of Sunderland tidal road late afternoon. "A lot of PF geese" in the most awkward field possible along the Heysham bypass clearway about 3 view-blocking hedges south of MFI/Wickes and 4 blocking hedges north of the first available farm access track

A Quiet Monday

No records so far from obs.

Moths

Single Dotted Border and March Moth (picture below)

Heysham Obs.

2 Purple Sandpiper on middle section of wooden jetty at high tide; one on top and one on angled beam about halfway down.