Just a wee bit late

The highlight was the first SINGING Cetti's Warbler for Heysham Nature Reserve (others have contact called or be seen on passage but this is the first one to sing)

Offshore at low tide - perfect conditions for viewing but no Slavonian Grebe

Eider - 510

Common Scoter - 2F together and 1M further out

Great Crested Grebe - 6

Vis 0800 - 0900

Blackbird - 60 moving inland through the bushes, all had gone by 11am

Song Thrush - 1

Mistle Thrush - 2 SE

Starling - 155 N

Redwing 3 N

Fieldfare 3 E

Chaffinch - 10N

Reed Bunting 1 S

alba wagtail - 1SE

Jackdaw - 1N

Raven - 1 "messing about"

Grounded

Blackcap - 1

Goldcrest - 1

Coal Tit - 1

Reedbed 

Water Rail - 1

Moths
Two Silver Y and a Winter Moth graced the office lights

Grey seal off Heysham Head close inshore 

Slavonian Grebe

A Slavonian Grebe was located this morning quite close inshore working its way south diving repeatedly. It was lost behind trees from the Knowlys VP and couldn’t be relocated in the swirling incoming tide
Common Scoter - flock of two m and two f
Great crested Grebe - at least four
Starling - bizarre sighting. One flying erratically over the sea landed for about 30 secs looking quite buoyant before carrying on flying into the Bay (cant think of anything else sensible it could be as it was all dark)

Top ten Ringing totals for the month were saved by the finches caught using Chaffinch MP3 which also attracted migrant Greenfinch.  Other Greenfinch along with Goldfinch and most of the Blue/Great tits were on the feeder.  Migrant Coal Tit were attracted to the Yellow-browed Warbler MP3.

Greenfinch (139), Chaffinch (90), Blue Tit (56), Goldfinch (48), Chiffchaff (44), Long-tailed Tit (44), Goldcrest (40), Coal Tit (38), Redwing (28) and Great Tit (27)

Only remotely unusual Ringing activity: Treecreeper (3), Yellow-browed Warbler (1), Tree Sparrow (1) and Cetti’s Warbler (3 - one Heysham NR, the other two the first new Birds for ages at Middleton where they breed)

Weak weather front blocks not drops

This rather unimpressive month trickled along today with yet another minor first light fall, again mainly Blackbird heading north into the wind and mainly avoiding the mist nets.

Grounded/vis
Chiffchaff - the resident Male Still by office
Blackbird - about 75 seen (50N and 25 grounded)
Redwing - 10 (6N, 4 grounded)
Raven - 1
Chaffinch - c25 north
Coal tit - three together
alba wagtail = 2 north
Bullfinch - 2 north
Goldcrest - 2 grounded
Treecreeper - the recently (22nd) ringed bird and a new one
Starling - 2000 ex roost headed SE
Teal - 2 on the newly cleared area by the boardwalk
Grey Wagtail -1 also on the newly cleared area late morning

Offshore
Didn’t manage to count the Eider but:
Common Scoter - the same two female close inshore and two Male much further out
Great crested Grebe - 8

Rock Pipit
At least one below Heysham Head - pic posted tomorrow

A few surprises

Another chilly day (0C at 0700hrs) but with less wind and hopes that the easterly component in the ENE wind would bring a few migrants. Few was the operative word. After an intial explosion of birds at dawn there then followed the smallest of trickles.

Heysham NR
Vis 07:00-12:00 with the vast majority before 08:00hrs Birds in order of appearance and all north unless stated:
Redwing 3 heard in the dark then 37 departed
Woodcock 1
Blackbird 16N, 2 S
Chaffinch 49
Brambling 5
Snipe 1
Long-tailed Tit 20
Starling 700
Carrion Crow 3
Coal Tit 4
Meadow Pipit 4 S
Jackdaw 4
alba wagtail 1
Skylark 3 over the reserve but 74 seen between Red Nab and Potts Corner

In the low tide channels
Eider 954
Goldeneye 1 female/immature
Wigeon 2
Gadwall 3
Common Scoter 2 females
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Great-crested Grebe 6

Over the sea
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - 3 flew down the middle of the Bay then headed towards Rampside
Swan sp., probably Whooper, - 1

In the sea
Grey Seal

Blackbird bonanza but virtually everything going the 'wrong way'!

Large numbers of birds for the first two hours or so this morning, both overhead and (in the case of Blackbird), low-level 'vis'.   The main thing was that virtually everything was heading north straight over the top of our mist nets from the tank farm over the reserve.  Therefore the actual ringing part of today was unremarkable.

Vis mig HNR office with some also Middleton NR
Chaffinch - 77
Brambling - 2
Meadow Pipit - 2
Blackbird - 270 plus 16 grounded later
Redwing - 19
Woodpigeon - 265
Jackdaw - 153
Rook - 11
Whooper Swan - 3
Greenfinch - 14
Starling - 589
Bullfinch - 1
Tree Sparrow - 1
Skylark - 5
Siskin - 4
Pink-footed Goose - c500
Coal Tit - heard quite high but not seen plus 3 unringed birds caught
Linnet - 1
Lesser Redpoll - 4

Middleton NR late am
Woodcock - 1
Jack Snipe - 2
Common Snipe - 1
Mute Swan - 9
Teal - 8

Heliport
Anyone time to count the Redshank?  Thanks Jim

Insects
Migrant Hawker & 2 Common Darter Middleton NR

Last daylight low spring tide for a bit

Too windy from a horrible direction for any Ringing so the plan was to check the low tide channels off Heysham Head.  It wasn’t easy with a lot of orange sky silhouettes and a significant “heat”haze.

Eider - absolute minimum of 710 and probably at least another hundred.   No chance of discerning anything in the main mass in the second channel
Common Scoter - two females close inshore
Great crested Grebe - at least one
Med gull - presumed Czech adult North wall

Chaffinch - 10 south, the only perceived vis

Green Woodpecker present by hnr office last Thursday

Friday - not quite nothing

Northwesterlies continue. Hopefully turning more northerly tomorrow.

Jackdaw 36 south
Common buzzard 1 south

Still a few dragonflies in afternoon sun on Middleton:
Common darter 4 (all males)
Migrant hawker 1

Wildfowl status similar to previous, but Shoveler not showing today.

North westerlies continue

Whooper Swan - 8 south
Shoveler - 1cy Male still Middleton
Cetti’s warbler - possibly up to three singing males middleton
Wigeon - 144 red nab

Landbird migration
No perceptible vis hnr but a late start
13 unringed Greenfinch, 2 unringed Goldcrest, unringed Coal Tit and a few other odds and ends in the nets but no Chaffinch passage today

Wednesday

to be added

Don’t give up yet!

The weather today was a heap of rubbish which failed to deliver any seabirds, vis or grounded.  The Ben was checked and failed to deliver Kittiwakes but:

Med Gull - ad and 2cy behind incoming ferry

A red line Quaker was in the Moth trap