Autumn nearly over for landbird passage?

Heysham Obs
The cloud cover grounded a small number of thrushes, mainly Blackbird along with a single rather 'grey and white' Chiffchaff which was giving collybita-like calls. Yet again, Goldcrests failed to materialise in any numbers in what looked pretty good conditions. Have they just passed us by or was the northern breeding season so bad? Previous poor autumn have followed high winter mortality and poor/non-existent spring passage. Not so this year.

North harbour wall area
Four Med Gulls still with two of the 2nd W birds being mainly high tide visitors these days. The adult, and especially the remaining 2nd W, can be found at most stages of the tide. No sign of the Black Guillemot today. 14 Goldfinches and 5 Linnets feeding on the thistles on the mound, 5 Meadow Pipits and 5 Pied Wagtails also on the mound.

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
A low tide visit saw a Kingfisher in the main saltmarsh channel at Ocean Edge

Middleton IE
Male Stonechat, 6 Reed Bunting, 2 Water Rail (at least), a funny call (WR could not be ruled out) and c35 Blackbird in the western and central marshes

Vis mig from by the office
Chaffinch 72,
Brambling 2
Greenfinch 64
Goldfinch 16
Siskin 11
Fieldfare 3
Redwing 9
Blackbird 10
Song Thrush 1
alba Wagtail 20
Grey Wagtail 1
Meadow Pipit 7
Reed Bunting 3
Starling 28
Chiffchaff 1
Goldcrest 1

Ringing
4 Chaffinch and 1 Greenfinch up to 11am but things picked up a little after that - details to be posted later.

Insects
Two new species for the year in the moth trap in the form of Red (typo, not an id error, Autumn Green has never occurred at Heysham) Green Carpet (rare here) and Feathered Thorn. Mottled Umber was also new for at least the autumn but there may have been one in January - will check

Elsewhere
Nothing of interest as yet from this area

High speed migrants

Heysham Obs
This was an odd morning. There is obviously a long history of clear mornings producing migrants very first thing but they soon melt away and you are left with nothing. Not, however, usually as quick as this morning which for 20 minutes or so looked as though it was going to be quite productive! The guillotine fell at 0900hrs and very little stirred thereafter other than the 25 or so off-passage Blackbird and a handful of Redwing and Song Thrush.

Vis mig from the office
Quite a bit was missed very first thing.

Total 349 birds, 19 species in 2hrs 15 mins (0745-1000):
Woodpigeon 12,
Skylark 7,
Meadow Pipit 1,
Grey Wagtail 1,
alba Wagtail 9,
Blackbird 35,
Fieldfare 18,
Redwing 33,
Mistle Thrush 6,
Carrion Crow 5,
Starling 25,
Chaffinch 58,
Brambling 16,
Greenfinch 71,
Goldfinch 20,
Siskin 22,
Redpoll 4,
Bullfinch 5,
Reed Bunting 1.

Most birds S but Carrion Crow, Starling, Mistle Thrush flew E.

Grounded
14 Goldcrest accompanied a very early morning Long-tailed Tit flock and a further 4-5 were seen. Approximately 50 'new' Blackbird which either disappeared south past the office or rose up and flew inland/SE - this left c25 off-passage birds noted during the afternoon. All Redwing have been added to the vis total other than c10 on the 'tank farm' and low single figures on the reserve in the afternoon

Ringing
Pretty dire.
New birds: 1 Redwing, 2 Blackbirds
Retraps: 1 Goldcrest, 1 Bullfinch

Harbour area/north wall
Low single figures of off-passage Meadow Pipit, Linnet, Pied Wagtail but no sign of any Twite. Black Guillemot showing very well in the early morning, including landing on the wooden jetty but was not to be found in the afternoon. Ad and 2 x 2nd W Med Gulls on the railings in the morning, "two Med Gulls" reported in the afternoon

Red Nab/Ocean Edge foreshore
Ad Med Gull on Red Nab, also 57 Wigeon and 375 Shelduck in the area. At least 40 Linnet on the edge of Ocean Edge saltmarsh but no Twite could be discerned with them

Insects
One Red Admiral in rapid transit and a Peacock, which should be hibernating, seen around the office. No sign of the Small Copper after a cold night. Just two Common Darter & no Migrant Hawker in a lunchtime walk in sunny conditions

Elsewhere
Excellent posting on a female Bittern eating a rat the front of Leighton Moss lower hide on the LDBWS site. Great White Egret seen this morning on the Allen/EM Pools

Autumn hawkbit sustains Small Copper

Heysham Obs

The highlights of today were a very late Small Copper and a reasonably late Swallow.

Vis
224 birds, 15 species in 2 hrs (0730-0930):
Woodpigeon 2
Swallow 1
alba Wagtail 4
Redwing 4
Jackdaw 1
Carrion Crow 15
Starling 65
Chaffinch 43
Brambling 2
Greenfinch 42
Goldfinch 28
Siskin 10
Linnet 5
Bullfinch 1
Reed Bunting 1

Grounded
c50 Blackbirds and a few Redwing.

Ringing
New birds: 5 Chaffinch, 2Greenfinch, 1 Dunnock, 2 Blackbird, 1 Wren
Retraps: Long-tailed Tit, 2 Robins, Blackbird, Great Tit, Greenfinch.

North Harbour area
Black Guillemot, 2 2nd winter and 1 adult Med Gull but no sign of yesterday's 1st winter Med Gull.

Elsewhere
Great White Egret at Leighton Moss, Marsh Harrier in the Pilling area, 2 Scaup at Teal Bay

New first winter Med

Heysham obs
A fairly quiet morning with routine vis and much smaller numbers of grounded thrushes than yesterday in rather cloudy conditions with a SSE breeze.

Vismig
0700-0900
Redwing 15 (E and NE)
Fieldfare 6 (E)
Chaffinch 34 (S)
Pink-footed Goose 75 (N at 0755hrs) + 43 SE at 1500hrs
Siskin 4 (S)
Starling 474 (S)
alba Wagtail 6 (S)
Greenfinch 25 (S)
Brambling 1 (S)
Meadow Pipit 3 (S)

Grounded
7 Siskin in alders near the classroom. Blackbird numbers probably no more than 50.

North Harbour Wall
Early afternoon visit produced no Twite or Black Guillemot but a new first winter Mediterranean Gull with a poorly defined mask. Also present were 2 second winter and 1 adult Mediterranean Gull.

Red Nab area
43 Wigeon and 300 plus Shelduck on the mudflats. c10 000 Knot off Red Nab.

Elsewhere
A Great White Egret on the Allen Pool.

Blackbirds but not a lot else

Heysham Obs
..........especially when you forget to bring home the 'vis' figures. Apologies to the various contributors but as I was packing up I had to deal with an uncharacteristic incident at this site involving a dodgy off-lead bull terrier spp, terrified children and a lost purse. Thanks to a whole host of people for contributions today, pity it was a bit below par by recent standards

Grounded
The main feature today was a combination of grounded and vis in the form of at least 150 Blackbird on British Energy property during pre-dawn cloud cover and the gradual departure of these birds at a consistent angle of 45 degrees i.e. high to the east as the sun broke through after about 0900hrs. There were also at least 45 Redwing and 15 Song Thrush (fewer than recently in relation to other thrushes). The only other grounded migrants, however, during good coverage, were two Blackcap and just TWO Goldcrest. A few of the vis migs landed temporarily during the cloudy period, notably 5 Siskin. A Water Rail was calling in the wetland area.

Vis mig
Very 'mixed up' this morning with the only real consistency being 250+ Starling to the south and early morning thrushes comprising (I think!), 45 Redwing, 15 Fieldfare and about 8 Song Thrush. Finches were in very low numbers for the first time this week and the small fare was heading in all directions! Less than 10 Chaffinch were seen, excluding a distant flock of 21 which were either Chaffinch or Brambling. Another mixed flock of Rook and Jackdaw and small numbers of 'pure' Jackdaw flocks (details tomorrow). Two high-flying Coal Tit to the south and 14 Meadow Pipit was more than expected
Update:
Mistle Thrush 8 SW
Redwing 78 SE
Fieldfare 26 SE
Collared Dove 3 N, 2 SE
Rook 12 SE (with 7 Jackdaw)
Jackdaw 7 SE + 8 SE +48 NE + 15 SW
Corvid sp 14 E, 8 NE (probably Jackdaw)
Meadow Pipit 14 SE
Starling 312 S
Chaffinch 14 SW
Song Thrush 14 S
alba wagtail 3 SE, 1 N
Grey Wagtail 1 S
Goldfinch 1 S
Coal Tit 2 S
Finch sp 21 S (probably Chaffinch)
Reed Bunting 1 S
Siskin 5 S


Miscellany
A flock of 12 Twite was briefly near the heliport - this is early but coincides with some at Cockersands. 14 were also reported on the north harbour wall mound flying off at 1030hrs (but a same-size flock of Linnet also reported!). Two 2nd W and one adult Med Gulls on the north harbour wall along with good numbers of Knot on the mudflats. The Black Guillemot is proving elusive and not seen by people there for a lengthy spell early-mid-morning or during the afternoon but has been belatedly registered alongside the wooden jetty by an observer at c1030. This suggests that it has a 'bolt hole' somewhere and not simply flying backwards and forwards offshore. Red-throated Diver off the north harbour wall.

Insects
Two Migrant Hawker still on the reserve late afternoon along with a worn Speckled Wood. c5 Red Admiral seen during the day.

Elsewhere
Nothing of major rarity notified in this area yet but plenty of reports of good numbers of thrushes, notably Blackbird & Fieldfare. Returning Polish-ringed Med Gull was seen for the first known occasion this autumn on Lancaster Cricket Club pitch

Corvid day

Heysham Obs
A slightly different theme every day just recently! This comment is obviously inviting people to come up with exceptions (please e-mail the link to the left) but it does appear at Heysham that the very occasional and by no means annual occurrence of a truly mixed corvid flock with approaching equal numbers of Jackdaw and large birds involves Rook. If the occurrence is a compact flock of Jackdaw trailed by half a dozen or so larger birds, these are almost always Carrion Crow, as are the vast majority of single or small group migrating large corvids. It needs to be added here that Heysham is fortunately Jackdaw-free and therefore migrant flocks are easy to identify

Vis mig from by the office
This was not very conscientious today for several reasons, most notably the birds were frequently very high in what were clear still conditions until late morning

Chaffinch - 128 mainly SW
Brambling - flock of 6 early morning
Siskin - 21 SE
Bullfinch - 2+1 S
Redwing - 67 SW
Greenfinch - 43 SW
Goldfinch - 59 SE in 13 small flocks
Song Thrush - 2 S
Carrion Crow - 14 S
Skylark - minimum of 4 S
Meadow Pipit - 9 SE
Jackdaw - 72+12+5+44+56+2 mainly (eventually) E
Rook - 57 mixed in with the 72 Jackdaw - these arrived from the N then swirled about before heading E. At least 2 adult Rook.
Woodpigeon - 7 SE
Pintail - 3 north - the first record over the site in calm weather - usually a 'highlight' of rubbishy autumnal seawatches in SW winds
Reed Bunting - 1 S
Starling - 13 S
alba Wagtail - 7 SE
Blackbird - 16 flew S past the office
Magpie - two birds flew very high to the NE
Lesser Redpoll - 6 SE
Linnet - 1 SE
Mistle Thrush - 1 S
Long-tailed Tit - flock of 7 without any 'baggage' such as Firecrest were seen to be unringed during their short stay in bushes by the office before heading S

No Fieldfare!

Grounded
Thanks to two visiting birders from Whitworth for checking the grounded bids around the reserve. A total of about 75 Blackbird, including c50 sill on the reserve mid-morning. 45-50 Redwing still remained mid-morning but the number of small night migrants was very poor with just two Goldcrest seen, no warbler species and a single unringed Robin trapped. The first (two) unringed Blue Tit for a bit were trapped.

Middleton IE
Numbers of wildfowl are rather low at present, suggesting disturbance over and above the 'routine'. Highlighted by a Common Buzzard flying west (the first definite record from the Obs recording area this year) and the first Jack Snipe of the autumn. 9 Pink-footed Geese flew NE

North wall/harbour mouth
The Black Guillemot was present at least early morning along with at least one 2nd W Med Gull

Insects
Two Red Admiral and a Comma by the office & Small Tortoiseshell on Middleton IE

Elsewhere
Great White Egret Leighton area. For what it is worth, Eagle Owl, which has already zapped at least one local Tawny, still at Ingleton

Unhelpful cloud spilling in high from the west

Heysham Obs
A little disappointing by recent standards with cloud cover streaming in from the west inhibiting vis, with Fieldfare not reaching this area in any numbers by 1100hrs at least. A young Reed Warbler with a fat score of 3, indicating it was not a new arrival, was, off the top of my head, probably the second latest record for here


Reed Warbler. Thanks Alan.


Vis mig from by the office 0745-1100
Chaffinch - 198 SW
Greenfinch - 69 SW
alba Wagtail - 19 SE
Fieldfare - 16 SW
Song thrush - 8 S
Great-spotted Woodpecker - one which appeared to be heading south
Starling - 220 SW
Linnet - 1 SE
Redwing - 46 SW
Lesser Redpoll - 4 SE
Reed Bunting - 5 S
Woodpigeon - 24 SE
Goldfinch - 28 SE
Siskin - 38 plus a flock heard but not seen SE
Brambling - 4 SW
Bullfinch - 1+1 high to the SE
Skylark - 3 SE
Carrion Crow - 2 SE
Mistle Thrush - 6 high to the SW
Collared Dove - 2S
Grey Wagtail - 1S
Rook - adult south
Coal Tit - 1S

No Meadow Pipit!


Grounded migrants
Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff (collybita calls), Goldcrest c10, Blackbird c40, Song Thrush c15, Reed Bunting 1. Quite a few trilling Dunnock but no obvious visible migration, however a lightweight unringed bird was trapped. A single lightweight unringed Robin was also trapped. About 20 birds were ringed, mainly Greenfinch but including 4 Goldcrest


Miscellaneous
Late news indicating that FOUR Meds were still coming to bread on the north wall on 17th Oct (2 2nd W, 2 Ad)


Elsewhere
Some good 'vis' over Bolton-le -Sands (see LDBWS site). Surprisingly little moving over the Trough of Bowland or Barbondale based on two other LDBWS site postings, but at least 12 grounded Brambling near Tower Lodge (Trough). Great White Egret at Leighton Moss. Lingering waders included 2 Curlew Sandpiper on the Lune Estuary.

Worth the effort

Heysham Obs
A painfully slow start was speeded up by a swig of lemon, honey and presumably all sorts of remedial chemicals. Hopefully they were not hallucinogenic as this certainly appeared to be a very good morning. The lateness did not appear to be a problem as most of the action was after 0900hrs as it warmed up. A decision was taken not to set any nets and concentrate on the 'vis'. This was probably an error as, amongst several birds in the catching area, before disappearing into the inaccessible tank farm, were two Jays and an unresolved (legs not seen but presumably the same bird as the other day) Lesser Whitethroat. 65 species were recorded from the vis mig seat in two hours...........and didnt include Starling or any wildfowl/waders!

Grounded
A Lesser Whitethroat was heard calling and then seen before disappearing towards the net ride/tankfarm area behind the office. Legs not visible but plumage looked the same as the other day.

At 1025 a male Firecrest gave superb views, especially when it raised its crown feathers during a handbags with a Great Tit over whose branch it was. This moved through the bushes opposite the office with a Long-tailed Tit-led flock and was last seen disappearing below the Obs Tower. Other grounded birds within audible range of the office included a Chiffchaff, c10 Goldcrest, c10 Blackbird and 2 Continental Song Thrush

Vis mig from by the office 0840-1040
Swallow - 1 S
Whooper Swan - 4 S
Pink-footed Goose - 93 S
Chaffinch - 146 SW
Greenfinch - 89 SW (many dropping on to feeding station)
Goldfinch - 39 SE
Meadow Pipit - 36 SE
Grey Wagtail - 5 SE
alba Wagtail - 8 SE
Rook - one high to the NE on its own calling all the time
Brambling - 4 SW
Twite - 1 S
Fieldfare - 3 SW
Siskin - 93 SE
Lesser Redpoll - 9 SE
Bullfinch - 1 S
Carrion Crow - 6 high to the east
Woodpigeon - 18 SSE
Skylark - 25 SE
Kestrel - 1 E
Jay - 3 S
Coal Tit - 3+4+1 S (no other tit species showing irruptive movement)
Song Thrush - 4 together high to the south
Redwing - 7 SW
Mistle Thrush - 15 (eventually) high to the SW. Some of the vis on this species has been queried, often due to the habit of landing on pylons before heading off (usually) SE. This flock of 15 was in a different league - at least twice the height of the pylons and arriving from the NE before circling around calling and then eventually heading SW. Both these and the Song Thrush flock pitfalls for the unwary c/f recording as Redwing and Fieldfare.
Jackdaw - two incredibly high flocks (barely visible with the naked eye) of 67 and 74 heading NE
Collared Dove - 1 SW
Dunnock - 2 S
Crossbill - 2 together high to the south about 1000hrs
Linnet - just one S
Great-spotted Woodpecker - one purposefully high to the south
Tree Sparrow - flock of 3 S

...........but no Starlings - this is often the case in clear weather

Elsewhere
The above PFG correlated with c100 seen over Bare. 11 Whooper tracked from Leighton to Blea Tarn reservoir late morning. Great White Egret reportedly seen at Leighton Moss. Up to 10 Bearded Tit have been on the grit trays along the causeway but no reports of the Cetti's Warbler in ideal conditions

Better than the weather suggested!

Heysham Obs
A stiff, cold, north-westerly blasting into the previously regularly sheltered vis mig watchpoint. One hour was long enough but this was not without routine interest. Similarly the odds were very much agaonst a new moth species for the year............or indeed the first Speckled Wood for a few days!

Vis by the office 0815-0915
Chaffinch - 42 SW
Greenfinch - 37 (descending on to the peanuts at last!) SWish
Meadow Pipit - 1 SE
Woodpigeon 37 (including flock of 31) S
Mistle Thrush - 17 SE
Redwing - 23 SW
Goldfinch - 5 SE
Golden Plover - one high to the south - scarce here!
Carrion Crow - 3 S
Song Thrush - 3 SE

Grounded
An 'open' morning saw very few thrushes with perhaps 10 Blackbird and 5 Song Thrush, most of which headed inland over the golf course. There were 6-7 Goldcrest by the office at 0815 but no further sightings in that area.

Miscellaneous
Adult Med Gull Red Nab, adult and 2nd W Med Gulls north harbour wall. We seem to have lost the other two regular 2nd W birds...........exactly the same thing happened last October when they (?) were 1st winters. A real pity these were not colour ringed prior to departure, so that data on subsequent wintering as well as possible breeding site could perhaps accrue - maybe next year now we presumably know the occurence pattern.

Insects
A Large Wainscot was new for the year in the moth trap and a Speckled Wood was struggling acroos the car park mid afternoon

Elsewhere
Great White Egret Leighton Moss. 3 Spotted Redshank reported at Teal Bay following 5 on the EM Pool yesterday - this species is certainly getting more common in this area

Blackbird bonanza

Heysham obs

Overnight rain seemed to have grounded quite a few thrushes, with 41 Blackbirds and 27 Song Thrushes emerging from the bushes after 0830hrs.

Vis 0830-1000hrs
Blackbird 50 all south
Song Thrush 30 all south
Redwing 2 south
Starling 3 s
Woodpigeon 11 se
Carrion Crow 6 se
Jay 3 s
Chaffinch 68 sw
Greenfinch 34 sw
Goldfinch 5 se
alba wagtail 6 se
Siskin 4 se
Linnet 1 se
Reed Bunting 1 s

North Wall
unringed Twite briefly on the mound at the North Harbour Wall
1 Linnet on nyjer seed at the mound.
Black Guillemot off the harbour
adult and 2nd winter Med Gulls at the North Harbour Wall