Low tide eider morning

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall low tide
Med Gull - one adult
Eider - c140 offshore in two flocks
Red-breasted Merganser - 8 as above
Great-crested grebe - 6 as above
Twite - 102, at least 4 unringed
Linnet - 5
Goldfinch - 2
No obvious sign of Kittiwake H32 which was definitely present yesterday

Off heliport
A mindless mutt was allowed to chase all the subroosting waders off the intertidal next to the heliport - a surprising number for so early in the incoming tide cycle.  The mutt resembled a sheep (white and curly, medium size) and the owner straight off the 118 moustache advert.  Fleeing waders comprised 520 Knot and about 2,500 Oystercatcher - therefore a significant assemblage for this stage of the tide
and all in resting subroost mode.

Office area
Redwing - 1

White leading edge

Heysham Obs
Janet's purple patch with local mammal photography continued today - cannot remember any other Grey Seal pics as they are usually blobs at quite long range. Taken by the harbour 'waterfall'.

Absolutely vile this morning - a leading edge of an atlantic weather front blizzard which turned to equally horizontal rain as the temperature crept just above freezing.  The sea wasn't properly visible, neither were the outfalls from the comfort of a car.  The Twite were just about manageable!  Wimpish behaviour and put to shame by Janet's results from a bracing walk to the harbour mouth.

North harbour wall
Med Gull - two adults patrolling - the head markings being the only sign of spring today:

Thanks to Ian and Janet

Twite - 81, including 3 unringed and the presumed usual Machrihanish-ringed bird

Linnet - 1

Goldfinch - 1



Solitary Sanderling and tree rat invasion

Heysham Obs
A late posting after a lot of computer trouble today

North wall
Twite - nervous and uncooperative with 90-100 around
Red-breasted Merganser - 14 offshore at low tide

Outfalls
Kittiwake - 2 x 2CY
Little Gull - just the one 2CY

Harbour
Kittiwake - H32 still present but looking rather sickly

Mudflats to south of Ocean Edge
Little Egret - 1
Sanderling - 1 with Dunlin

Knot - 12,570

Dunlin - 4,850

Bar-tailed Godwit - 2,810

Grey Plover - 141

Redshank - 215

 

Mammals
Grey Seal - one offshore
Grey Squirrel - at least 2 around the reserve

Moth
Dotted Border

 Guilty-looking Grey Squirrel



Same again

Heysham Obs
Nothing new today, other than very distant Common Scoter, that we know  of during some reasonable coverage

Inshore & offshore areas
Little Gull -2 x 2CYoutfalls
Kittiwake -  ad harbour
Med Gull - ad north wall
Twite - 105 on seed in morning, 4 unringed
Linnet -  5 as above
Goldfinch - 3 as above
Rock Pipit - one south harbour wall
Red-throated Diver - at least 3 offshore
Common Scoter - 2 very distant offshore
Snipe - 3 Ocean Edge saltmarsh foreshore (arrived too late for maximum snipe numbers)

Increase in grebes and divers

Heysham Obs
Just the two routine species, but in better numbers than for a bit as per 30 minutes incoming tide seawatching

North harbour wall
Twite - good long look at 101 with just 4 unringed and one Machrihanish bird (presumably the usual one with red/white r.l., metal over green/white l.l.)
Linnet -  7
Goldfinch - 3
Red-throated Diver - minimum 9, maximum 13
Great-crested Grebe - minimum 11, maximum 21
Guillemot - 2
Rock Pipit - 1
Purple Sandpiper - reported by visiting birder as being along the base of the seawall
Med Gull -  Czech adult on railings, none on Fisher's roof

South of harbour (but gate 38 area not checked)
Little Gull -2 x 2CY outfalls
Mute Swan - 2 ad (one HC6) on sea by OE saltmarsh
Jack Snipe - one flushed out by tide OE saltmarsh
Snipe - 11 flushed out by tide but possibly others earlier

Middleton model boat pond
Med Gull -  adult briefly
Pochard - 4
Goldeneye - 1
Mute Swan -2 ads and 4 juvs - male chasing one of juvs off
Oystercatcher - 5 in 'communal display mode' on spit

Moth
Dotted Border

Murky miscellany

Heysham Obs
A ringing session next to the office competed with the national decibel competition on the nearby non-op land, where they seemed to be breaking up containers (anyone want a asbo-proof bird hide?).  This put the Greenfinches off the feeder but drove a few odds and ends out of the tank farm, including a surprising unringed female Bullfinch

North harbour wall
Twite - a good view of 89 on the seed revealed what was presumably the usual Machrihanish-ringed bird and just 4 unringed birds
Med Gull - Czech-ringed adult on the railings, ad on fisher's roof
Goldfinch - one on seed
Too murky to see anything offshore

HNR Office area
Blackbird - unringed continental female caught
Robin - unringed bird caught
Bullfinch - unringed female caught

Middleton NR (thanks Malcolm)
Jack Snipe - 1
Teal   54, mainly Tim Butler pond
Gadwall - pair TB pond, female model boat pond
Goldeneye -  1
Mallard 13
Tufted Duck 6
Pochard - 4 males
Mute  Swan - 7 (just 3 juvs left)
Little Grebe - singles on TB pond and fence pond
Coot   5
Moorhen -  4+

Stage 2 outfall
Little Gull - 2 2CY late afternoon

Moths
2 Dotted Border and a Chestnut

Major Pinkfoot exodus

Heysham Observatory
At least 4,000 and probably 5,000 Pink-footed Geese headed purposefully north over the bay about 0925hrs, but an accurate count was not possible due to Twite ringing duties.  A single northbound Grey Wagtail was a clear-cut example of early 'vis'.  The darvic-ringed Kittiwake is still around.

Coastal areas dawn to 1200hrs
Kittiwake - 5-6 around the harbour/outfalls, including the darvic-ringed bird
Little Gull - 2 x 2CY outfalls
Guillemot - 3 offshore, including one in summer plumage
Red-throated Diver - one offshore
Med Gull - 2 x ad, 1 x 3CY Fishers roof - the same bird as on Middleton the other day.  3CY by the heliport.
Pink-footed Goose - 4000-5000 N at c0925 in one straggling flock, 63 NW later
No sign Purple Sandpiper

Twite - at least 70 - 11 unringed birds caught, all but two of the 30 retraps were from this current winter period
Goldfinch - 2 unringed and 2 ringed birds caught
Linnet - at least 2 around
Grey Wagtail - one purposefully north

Moth
Dotted Border  

First Duddon Twite of the winter

Heysham Obs
A Twite bearing a yellow site ring was seen briefly this morning - unfortunately no other details could be obtained before the birds were flushed due to obscuring by other individuals

North harbour wall
Med Gull - 2 ad
Guillemot - one harbour mouth
Kittiwake - c10 harbour mouth, ad by waterfall
Twite - 70ish
Linnet - 3+

Outfalls area
Little Gull - 2 ads & 2 2CY (thanks for the pics Janet - taken today)

Kittiwake - ad

Offshore near low tide
Eider - 71
Red-throated Diver - probably 2
Great-crested Grebe - 10-12

Ringing
A fairly mundane session by the office saw about 11 new birds, mainly Greenfinch but also including single Blue and Great Tit

Mammal
Grey Seal  harbour mouth

Interesting veteran ringed Kittiwake?

Heysham Obs
Just a few leftovers today as the wind went firmly into the north. Late yesterday afternoon produced what seemed to be a routine darvic-ringed Kittiwake, expertly 'nailed' in flight by Janet.  We ended up sorting out not just the Heysham sighting but also an additional sighting at Seaforth.  It's about 24 years old.  However, we have been urged to exercise caution here as it seems unlikely that the original darvic ring would have lasted for 24 years and there is a possibility that it was a re-ring/duplicate.  This is why the 2008 sightings is probably very important, acting as an interim sightings of what was certainly metal-ringed bird on the other leg.  Hopefully it will not turn out like the example a few years ago from Heysham Harbour of what could only be "traced" to someone putting a pigeon-type ring on an easily accessible nestling on a pier or whereever:

The bird (Yellow H32) was ringed as a pullus in Waterford, Ireland in 1989 and was first seen at Seaforth on 25/5/1991 and subsequently on 11/6/1991 and 16/8/1998.  It transpires that it was also seen at Seaforth on 23/8/08 and now Heysham on 5/2/13.

Top = One of two shots used to try and determine the ring number at Heysham yesterday.  Thanks Janet.  Bottom = the pic taken of the same bird at Seaforth on 23/8/08.  Thanks Gavin 

North harbour wall

Twite - 81 min

Linnet - at least 5

Goldfinch - at least 7

Great-crested Grebe - 10 visible, including a gang of 8

Kittiwake - 350 gulls far offshore included a tight cluster of 37 sitting on the water which all seemed to be this species - the rest (more scattered) mainly flying birds appeared to be Black-headed. Single adult by the waterfall

Med Gull - 2 adults behind outgoing ferry
Rock Pipit - 1

Outfalls

Little Gull - 8 (5 2CY) on a quick long-range check but could have been others resting on the mud

Decent influx in strong winds

Heysham Obs
The Little Gulls were all at long-range apart from the harbour birds and for 'adult', read 'adult or 3CY'

Thanks Janet

North harbour wall 0900-0930
Kittiwake - flock of 17 blogging offhore
Little Gull - 2 adults far offshore heading out
Red-throated Diver - 2 out
Guillemot - 3, one close inshore
Auk spp - one out far offshore
Med Gull - adult and 3CY (latter on beach by heliport)
Twite - present but not checked properly

Harbour 0945-0955
Kittiwake - 2 Ad and 2CY by waterfall
Little Gull - 2 ads blogging in harbour mouth

Outfalls 1000-1010
Little Gull - 21 adults and presumably the same 7 2CY as yesterday - the adults were mainly at the seaward end.  Therefore 32 Little Gulls seen in total this morning
Kittiwake - 2-3 2CY
There may have been other Kitts and Little Gulls resting on beach with BHG, but not visible from O Edge

IOM passenger ferry followers 1215ish
Nice idea in theory but subhorizontal heavy sleet straight into the optics & poor visibility rendered it pretty impossible.  c15 Kittiwakes in the murk (but could have been 100), at least one ad little gull, presumably one already recorded

Middleton NR model boat pond late pm
Little Gull - ad, 3CY and 2CY
Med Gull - new 3CY - very faintly-marked wingtips

Mammal
Grey Seal in the harbour mouth