As you were

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Ad & 2nd W Med Gull but no sign of any Purple Sandpiper

Ocean Edge
1+ Twite heard on the saltmarsh

Passage
180 Pink-footed Geese south c1130hrs

Reserve
Kingfisher flew from Obs T. pond towards NR marsh late afternoon

Middleton IE
Waterbirds included: 34 Snipe. 19 Teal, 5 Tufted Duck, female Pochard, 3 Goldeneye

Elsewhere
Purple Sandpiper Morecambe Stone jetty early morning
No sign Ruddy Duck Pine Lake
Greenshank and Spotted Redshank Conder Pool/estuary
Scaup - at least 2 on Glasson basin
Water Pipit elusively on Jackson
Chiffchaff by Jackson hide
Hawfinches Woodwell and Sizergh castle grounds
Bewick's Swan - two on the Lune near Glasson

Best of luck to everyone trying for a New Year's Day list. Giving it a miss for the first time for 15 or so years & concentrating on the 8 hr 10km square survey for SD66 before the weather/roads get tricky. Presumably Heysham records will feature tomorrow on people's day lists, please text them to me if you are not putting them on this or the LDBWS site. Some Twite food has been put out by the sandworks entrance

usual fare

Heysham Obs
North wall/harbour
Ad & 2nd W Med Gull
Dunnock by Gate "38" (35Z)

Passage
c50 Pink-footed Goose S early morning
c65 PFG S later in morning

Red Nab
Twite - 6 & presumably same flock along south harbour wall
Kingfisher
Wigeon - 75

Elsewhere
Light-bellied Brent Goose still by Regent Road groyne
Purple Sandpiper Stone jetty
Ad Med Gull Broadway area
See Fylde site for quite a few birds in/next to the overlap area with LDBWS

Short-lived seabird weather

Heysham Obs
Two lots of 30 mins seawatching; lunchtime and mid-afternoon. The latter half-hour, despite more promising conditions, produced zilch. No ferry at lunchtime to spice things up

Heysham North harbour wall/offshore
Kittiwake: 24 - 16 floating in on the water and 6+1+1 'in'
Little Gull: Ad gradually being blown into the bay
Red-throated Diver - one 'out'

No Meds or Purp Sands seen

Middleton IE
Teal 60, Goldeneye 5, Tufted Duck 4, Pochard 1, Mute Swan 2 but only 4 Coot have returned post-freeze & no Little Grebe

Elsewhere

Pale-bellied Brent Goose still at the Sunny Slopes groyne with 16 Reed Bunting nearby on the Regent Road groyne. Nothing of interest on Pine Lake. Two Greenshank and Spotted Redshank in the Conder area. Lots of wildfowl again on the Warton floods - surely a case here for a HLS scheme to retain these as wet meadows?

Wet Wet Wet

Heysham Obs
South harbour/outfalls area
Purple Sandpiper x2 inner end of Heysham One outfall, below sea wall, 1145 hrs (incoming tide).
Pink-footed Goose 54 SW 1015 hrs.
Twite 4, Goldfinch 5 and 1 Meadow Pipit SHW above harbour.
Great-crested Grebe 1 in harbour.
Cormorant 1 at intake (no Shag for several days).

North harbour wall
Same Pinkfeet - different observer!
2nd W Med Gull
Single Meadow Pipit on mound
Definitely no Purp S in careful check

Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Snipe - 6 flushed by tide
Jack Snipe - 2 on tide edge
Kingfisher

IOM ferry c1200hrs
2 x adult and one x 1st W Kittiwake but no Little Gull seen within viewing range of the north harbour wall. The Kitts made their way out of the Bay

Moth trap
One Chestnut - a very common 'hibernating' (unless its mild) species in well wooded areas but rare at Heysham

Elsewhere

Pale-bellied brent Goose still by Regent Road groyne on incoming tide. Drake Ruddy Duck (& several Goosander) feeding next to the watersport centre in NW corner Pine Lake but again no sign of hybrid Ferruginous x Pochard which disappeared this time last winter. Ad Med Gull on field next to Lancaster football ground (pres P96?).

Dull and dreary

Heysham Obs
IOM ferry
2 adult and 2 1st W Kittiwake and ad Little Gull in the wake but all but 1 1st W Kittiwake peeled off quickly & headed out of the Bay

North harbour wall at HT
2nd W Med Gull

Elsewhere
Canadian-ringed juv Pale-bellied Brent Goose still Regent Road groyne-Sunny Slopes but mobile - last seen Sunny Slopes end. 7+ Reed Bunting around Battery and Regent Road groynes
Purple Sand. at the Stone Jetty - only one seen today?
Med Gull 36W Broadway and P96 back on Lancaster City Football ground!
Water Pipit Jacksons hide, Leighton Moss
Nothing at all of interest on Pine Lake but Coot with whitish undertail AND whitish ends to the flight feathers - obviously a bit of leucism - beware!

The importance of ferries

........especially when there is one ferry entering port and not others leaving Fleetwood or even Heysham turning the trail of gulls around before they are within visual range. This was the case with the IOM passenger ferry today and will also be the same at c1200hrs for any NYD listers targeting at least Kittiwake

Heysham Obs
IOM passenger ferry
Good numbers of gulls trailing this ferry included:
Kittiwake - 7 adult
Little Gull - adult and 2nd W
These all motored out of the Bay as soon as the ferry reached the harbour, therefore timing very important

North wall/harbour/wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - Three - One in the Heysham One/wooden jetty area on the incoming tide and two on the Near Naze (rocks by the heliport) from at least 1115hrs which flew towards the harbour at
1220hrs
Twite - mixed flock with Goldfinch - at least 11 Twite including black over white colour-ringed bird = ringed here three winters ago.
Further confirmation that there are no Shag left in the area and no reappearance of the Black Guillemot
Med Gull - Ad & 2nd W and quite probably a different 2nd W (with less black) briefly behind the IOM ferry
Red-throated Diver - one out about 1205hrs

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Kingfisher - perhaps two again in this area
Just Common Snipe seen during the coverage of Ocean Edge saltmarsh by the tide (30ish?) plus a single Reed Bunting

Elsewhere
Pine Lake
Male Ruddy Duck new in - hope it stays for the New Year as this species is really tricky these days with the decline of the small breeding population at Leighton Moss
Female Ferruginous Duck x Pochard hybrid in exactly the same place as yesterday along the eastern side, just north of the big car parking area
Morecambe seafront
Couldnt find the Pale-bellied Brent as I also couldn't yesterday - the posting was from information earlier in the morning, but the mobile Polish-ringed Med. Gull (P96) was on the Regent Road groyne
Lune valley
Similar number of swans to yesterday but could not see any detail because of trees

A mobile Christmas!

Able to do a day's birding interrupted by work (Morecambe Groyne counts) and lots of two-way texts and calls. Pre-mobiles this would have been labelled as extreme, indeed selfish, anti-social Christmas behaviour.

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall & area
Mediterranean Gull - Ad & 2nd W on the railings
Twite - 27 around
Bar-tailed Godwit - 11 Half-Moon Bay was unusual
Kingfisher - probably 2

Red Nab/outfalls/Ocean Edge
Med Gull - one ad sat on the sea

Moth trap
One Winter Moth

Elsewhere
Pine Lake: Female Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid along the E. shore. Another odd Aythya (Tufted-type) female which may have some Ring-necked in ancestry (greyish suffused wingbar & head shape etc) but views distant & hampered by active feeding
Morecambe seafront: The new Sunny Slopes groyne is becoming a significant wader roost c/f 363 Redshank, 17 Ringed Plover, 11 Dunlin, 1670 Oystercatcher, 15 Knot, 1 Curlew (and a Kingfisher). The other major feature, other than the continued presence of the Pale-bellied Brent Goose, was 12 Reed Bunting (this is the coastal section in the middle of urban Morecambe!) by the Regent Road groyne on the rocks by the spartina. I seem to remember Jon Stagg having a similar figure a year or two ago but this is my first above the 'one-two' level. One Rock Pipit by the Battery groyne. Belgian-ringed Med Gull by the Strathmore
SD66: Quite a lot of good atlas records but nothing worthy of mention until a male Hen Harrier over Starkers Moor to the accompaniment of Bach's harpsichord Concerto in D minor (pseuds corner material?). Thrushgill was disappointing with the only finch being a single Bullfinch. No sign of the Snow Bunting yet again & presumed gone (or just displaced by a few hundred metres!)
Lune valley: At least 16 Whooper Swan still in the fields (with Mute Swan) between Melling and Hornby, viewable from the high point fo the A683

What a negative cold spell!

General
Reviewing the period of cold weather, now it has finally been broken, leads to a conclusion that there were no 'pluses' but a considerable number of 'minuses', leading to a pretty birdless North Lancs at the moment as regards the 'usual' scarcer odds and ends.

The cold spell apparently "got rid of " Great White Egret, all the Shag, Ringstones Snow Bunting and has been responsible for the lack of Kittiwake, Little Gull, Common Guillemot and other odds and ends associated with 'normal' winter weather. No additional species have materialised during this weather, with Pine Lake hosting the largest collection of wildfowl I have ever seen without any interesting feature (couldn't even find the Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid this afternoon), no extra Waxwings nationwide or movement by the ones in Scotland/NE England and nothing, other than a few extralimital records of species which are resident in the area, materialising from 'perfect' atlassing weather.

It can only get better - Cattle Egret would be a good start! Currently there is no chance of making 100 species on New Year's Day in the LDBWS recording area - we are missing far too many of the 10 or so species needed to reach the 100 mark. As a result, but also for a change, two of us who usually do dawn to dusk on 1/1 are going to do the fourth year of the eight hour 10km survey instead which will, of course, produce quite a few good Atlas records.

Heysham Obs
The only sighting of interest today was the usual Ad Med. Gull by the heliport just after HT.

Insects
See yesterdays late posting

Elsewhere
Pale-bellied Brent Goose on the northern side of the Morecambe Battery groyne at HT. Med Gull P96 back on Lancaster City Football Pitch after its cold weather sojourn on Morecambe seafront (surely Morecambe FC would be better quality, especially after yesterdays bull-bashing?). One Water Pipit seen at Leighton Moss. Thorough check of Pine Lake comprised 1000+ common wildfowl!

Saved by the Reeve

Heysham Obs
Despite a fair bit of early morning coverage, an extra day of calm frosty weather saw nothing at all doing (even Med Gulls) apart from a most unexpected Reeve accompanying a small group of Redshank at high tide on the shingle next to Ocean Edge saltmarsh. This is the first winter record from here.

Insects
A most unexpected Common Quaker in the moth trap!

Elsewhere
Canadian-ringed Pale-bellied Brent Goose by the Battery Groyne at high tide. Belgian-ringed adult Med Gull by Morecambe Broadway. Two Water Pipit Lilian's Hide Leighton Moss. No sign of the Snow Bunting in a short late-afternoon visit to Ringstones Lane (but pair of Stonechat still). Great Grey Shrike and Green-winged Teal still just outside the LDBWS recording area at Stock's Reservoir - the former very mobile. Just the sort of record to justify the Winter Atlas has been the presence of one or two of the red-listed Marsh Tit at feeders at Botton Mill and Lower Thrushgill (Upper Hindburn) - quite a range extension for a sedentary species on recent data. No known check of nearby Thrushgill plantation c/f Crossbill etc. in the last fortnight (anyone contradict?)

Pretty dead

Heysham Obs
Yes, enough of the frosty stuff, lets get a few more waifs and strays in the harbour area. Funny time of year this; some winter periods see Kittiwake and Little Gulls as low profile 'count fodder' but others, such as this last spell, elevate anything, whose occurrence remotely relates to periods of onshore winds, to highlight status

Today was pretty rock bottom on two north harbour wall/harbour mouth/offshore checks, with apologies to 22 Twite on a secret new feeding station (dont tell the pigeons) along with a solitary Goldfinch and the usual Czech-ringed adult Med Gull.

Elsewhere
Predictable sightings of at least one Water Pipit at Leighton Moss otherwise usual Saturday shortage of records. Just outside the area but nearer my house than Heysham = Green-winged Teal at Stocks Reservoir along with a sighting of Great Grey Shrike

Pinks on the move

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
2nd W Mediterranean Gull. There may have been two different 2nd W today and there were certainly two adults - the outfalls bird and the Czech-ringed north harbour wall bird. Also TWO Kingfisher. Twite (see below)



Ocean Edge saltmarsh - morning frost. This held c16 Snipe and a Reed Bunting but the only strictly coastal small finches logged today were 18 Twite near the sandworks entrance along the north harbour wall.

Harbour area
Negative news once again on any Shags and the Black Guillemot was not seen either today. No Purple Sandpipers located but these can be really elusive! Guillemot in the harbour

Vis mig
Flocks of 27 and 61 Pink-footed Geese heading south this early morning

Elsewhere
A sequence of low and intermediate tide counts along Morecambe foreshore revealed Polish-ringed Med Gull P96 on the Battery Groyne just after HT (it has been here before in the days when it was paired to the late 5HR but has latterly spent its time on or around Lancaster Football Club pitch! Obviously frost-displaced. A Little Egret by the Stone Jetty, before being chased off north by a gull was unusual at this site in winter (c1400hrs)

Blasts from the not too distant past

Heysham Obs
The male Black Guillemot (or at least an ad winter with similar habits) reappeared this morning and was found sitting on the wooden jetty mid-morning and then on the water in the harbour entrance at lunchtime. Last seen 4/11/07.

Purple Sandpiper on the rocks below the wooden jetty

11 or so Twite with 10 or so Goldfinch mobile between south and north harbour walls

At least one Water Rail in the Nature reserve marsh

41 Pink-footed Geese south mid -afternoon.

Definitely no Shag in the harbour at lunchtime (low tide) and no sightings of any Meds

Elsewhere
Continuing the theme, the female Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid was on Pine Lake close inshore on the eastern side just before dusk - this bird has been very hard to find this autumn/early winter. Purple Sandpiper by the Stone jetty, then flew to the old Sandylands sewer pipe.

No coverage?

Heysham Obs
Nothing as yet

Elsewhere
Brief flight-only views of the Ringstones Snow Bunting as it flew towards Loftshaw Moss on the east of Slaidburn Road at 0930hrs. Note the usual approach road through Barleybank was like a bobsleigh run this morning

What a struggle!

.......to find something to put on this site

Heysham Obs
Harbour/north wall
After c30 totally fruitless mins in the field, the usual Ad Med Gull was seen following the IOM ferry out of port. No Shags (despite a low tide check), no small passerines, no Purple Sands (see Elsewhere), no 2nd W Med.

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
c20 each of both Linnet and Twite on OE football pitch/saltmarsh respectively. Also 16 Snipe flushed from the saltmarsh

Ad Med Gull Heysham 2 outfall (the usual unringed bird on this side of the harbour) and 89 Shelduck on Red Nab along with the 'usual' Kingfisher.

Elsewhere
TWO Purple Sandpiper in the region of Morecambe Stone Jetty

..........and again

Heysham Obs
Three juv Shag in the harbour, again acting as 2+1. Ad & 2nd W Med Gulls north harbour wall. One Linnet behind the sandplant and a flock of c20 Goldfinch notable there early morning only.

Elsewhere
No reports of the GWE at Leighton Moss for the last few days and it was apparently not in the roost last night (9 Little Egret). Up to 8 Water Rails at Aldcliffe.

Another rapid check of the harbour area

Heysham Obs
Single juv Shag in the harbour and 2nd W Med Gull on the north harbour wall railings is all that today seemed to offer. No finches on the mound and no Purple Sandpiper along the base of the north harbour wall on the skeer [lunchtime visit]

Elsewhere
Snow Bunting seen well away from the road at lunchtime and it was certainly very elusive today. Digipic perusal appears to suggest that it is not a 1st W male but a female. Tail feather shape and structure, however, suggest a 1st winter! More on this soon. NNEW from Leighton Moss area. No sign of the Firecrest in Freeman's Wood.

Teal influx

Heysham Obs
A high count of Teal on Middleton for a mid-winter date

Middleton IE
1 Tufted Duck, 8 Snipe, 1 Pochard, 2 Mute Swan, 8 Coot, 6 Moorhen, 61 Teal. There were also 2 Fieldfare, a scarce bird in the Obs recording area in midwinter and a reflection of the cold(ish) weather "shifting a few thrushes around" [e.g. north Cheshire work site today]

North Harbour Wall
A short whistle-stop at about 0900hrs saw at least 10, probably more, Twite and an ad Med Gull on the beach - no time to check the skeers for Purple Sandpiper or the inner harbour

Elsewhere
Its Saturday, so, perhaps unsurprisingly, Otter at Leighton Lower Hide the only thing of interest on pagers/websites so far. A late check of Cockersands stubble on the way home from work saw: 24 Skylark, 6 Meadow Pipit, 4 Grey Partridge and 2 Reed Bunting.

Slight hint of cold weather displacement?

Heysham Obs
Having just accessed the Walney site & noted a minor thrush arrival, three rather 'tame' unringed Blackbird on the grass round the office may have been new in. More than usual Redshank (c30) and Oystercatcher (c50) were feeding over the high tide period on Ocean Edge south and west fields

Red Nab
3 Teal, displaced from a slightly frozen Middleton IE - usually rare on Red Nab?
Med Gull - adult, then flew towards Ocean Edge saltmarsh

Harbour
At least two, probably three juvenile Shag by the intake
Low double-figures of Twite were mobile between the north and south harbour walls/mound

North harbour wall
Ad & 2nd W Med Gulls in residence over the tide

Elsewhere
Firecrest with 3 mobile Goldcrest in hedges just to the south of Freeman's Wood. Pale-bellied Brent Goose by the Battery groyne. Snow Bunting still on Ringstones Lane. Please approach carefully on the bridle track so you dont flush it unnecessarily. Water Pipit Griesdale hide Leighton Moss (good week coming up for this species). Cetti's Warbler REPORTED via Leighton Moss book (but not put out anywhere else at all?) Lower Hide "in reeds" on 12th.

Another Thursday problem

Heysham Obs
No coverage today

Elsewhere
Snow Bunting still at the Slaidburn Road end of Ringstones Lane mid afternoon

Flying visit

Heysham Obs
The third "restructuring" of the Orange mobile mast in as many months has led to the office being out of mobile range, therefore not an ideal workplace at the moment. So finished the WeBS, checked the north wall, printed the LDBWS Newsletters and away.

North harbour wall/harbour
Mixed finch flock comprising approximately 19 Twite and 2 Linnet, later fragmenting and possibly gathering "some more" Linnet. At least one of the Twite was ringed with a yellow c.r.
Med Gull: Ad and 2nd W on the railings
Shag: Three juv by the waterfall area near HT - acting as 2+1.

Moths
Mottled Umber

Elsewhere
Pale-bellied Brent Goose still by the Battery groyne. Ad Spotted Redshank still on the Strathmore groyne. Polish-ringed Med Gull still on Lancaster City Football ground

Belated WeBS

Heysham Obs
Most of the birding today was covering the Red Nab area pre-tide and the WeBS count, most of which was out of the recording area along Morecambe Prom.

North harbour/'waterfall' area/Heliport
Shag - Just the one juv seen in two visits either side of high tide.....but this site is at its best at low tide. Three Cormorant were also on the waterfall and one of these was noticeably smaller than the other two and perhaps accounts for the extra "possible Shag" yesterday.
Med. Gull - The usual 2nd W and Ad

No Purple Sandpiper but they have been difficult on the higher high tides
& see 'Elsewhere', quite possibly involving a NHW bird

Red Nab/Ocean Edge foreshore & saltmarsh
Snipe - 65, presumably reflecting the frozen overnight conditions on e.g. Middleton
Linnet 3
Ringed Plover 20
Dunlin c300
Grey Plover 25
Lapwing 103
Mistle Thrush 2
Wren 1

Med Gull - Probably the elusive 'other adult' on Red Nab
Wigeon 84
Kingfisher 1
Great Crested Grebe 2 off RN
Shelduck 9 'out' - one flock

Elsewhere
Rest of the Webs was quite productive (south to north order):
Purple Sandpiper - one roosting on the new Sunny Slopes groyne (46B)
Light-bellied Brent Goose - the Canadian colour-ringed bird was by the Battery Groyne
Rock Pipit - kleinschmitii-type on the Battery groyne
Med Gull - the Belgian-ringed adult was by the 'boats' groyne
Spotted Redshank - the veteran was roosting on the Strathmore groyne
No sign of any Yellow-legged Gulls on the Teal Bay groyne or area

Others
The male Snow Bunting was seen very briefly late afternoon at Ringstones Lane and the 'possible' location of the Shrike mentioned yesterday has been 'narrowed' down to New Barns in the middle of SD66Z

Lancashire's top Shag site

Heysham Obs
Gate 38/intake area
Late afternoon visit produced 3 juvenile Shag, 2 Cormorant and what was probably an adult Shag seen VERY briefly before being flushed by an angler out of the harbour. All associated with the 'waterfall'

North harbour wall/mound
The most surprising record was an increase of the 36V Wren population to 3 individuals! 9 Twite in the morning were welcome. Late afternoon saw a single Purple Sandpiper and the adult Mediterranean Gull along the north wall.
Also in 36V 4 Mistle Thrush on mound near feeding station.

Elsewhere
The male Snow Bunting was seen at Ringstones Lane in the afternoon and we have a secondhand report of a "shrike" in nearby SD66Z sometime in the last few days at least. Great White Egret at Leighton Moss and three Scaup still on Glasson Marina

A bird-filled 'eye'

Heysham Obs
In contrast to yesterday, the weather was positively balmy, even on the fells. There was also quite a bit around - especially along the north harbour wall:

Purple Sandpiper - THREE birds in the morning, one with plain lesser and median coverts and this remained during the afternoon with one of the other two long-staying birds
Med Gull - the ad and regular 2nd W were joined by another 2nd winter (with reduced black tips to the primaries) late afternoon
Red-throated Diver - one materialised very close inshore late afternoon, spending very little time on the surface!
Shag - juvenile on the wooden jetty in the morning, it or another flew into the harbour late afternoon.

Middleton IE WeBS
The main feature was a significant flock of c30 Meadow Pipit along with 2 Reed Bunting. 550 Pink-footed Geese also flew NE during the early morning. On/around the ponds: 2 Mute Swan, 6 Coot, 3 Moorhen, 9 Mallard, 11 Tufted Duck, 2 Goldeneye, 22 teal, 23 Snipe, 1 Water Rail, 2 Grey Heron.

Elsewhere


Snow Bunting Ringstones this afternoon - thanks Mark and Margaret

Great White Egret still at Leighton Moss. The male Snow Bunting was at Ringstones Lane until about 1100hrs whence it started calling and was joined briefly by TWO Snow Bunting, which flew in from the SE, before all three flew off to the west. However, the original bird returned. 4 Crossbill in Thrushgill plantation mid-morning which flew towards the western end. Ad Ring-billed Gull (with pale iris etc. seen) reported last Thursday with 500 mobile field-feeding gulls in the Clapham station area. c10 Snow Bunting on Ingleborough last Friday.

Field trip weather at its worst

Heysham Obs
This was fine for early morning coverage south of the harbour (thanks Malcolm) but not a lot of use for the "from 1000hrs" local RSPB/LDBWS field trip. There definitely appear to be TWO coastal Kingfisher - one in the Half Moon bay/NHW area and the other OE/Red Nab/outfalls. Yet another addition to 36V!

North harbour wall
NO Meds or Purple Sandpipers! Kingfisher on the Near Naze, then along the seawall by the sandplant entrance. Great-crested Grebe close inshore and single Meadow Pipit still on the mound

Harbour
Highlight for the RSPB trip was a juvenile Shag seen from the scenic "Gate 38" area which then swam out into the harbour and disappeared. No sign of the Guillemot. A 1st W Kittiwake was also present early morning only

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Mute Swan on the mudflats, single Kingfisher, 90 Wigeon and a high count of 5 Red-breasted Merganser on Red Nab

Elsewhere
The Ringstones Lane male Snow Bunting was sat on top of a 'right to roam' post at c0900hrs! Great White Egret seen en route to the usual roost at Leighton Moss late afternoon (from Lilian's Hide). Huge numbers of wildfowl on Pine Lake in late afternoon MAY have included the female Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid but it was only seen briefly and distantly in terrible light

Adventurous Treecreeper

Heysham Obs
The first 'mid' winter Treecreeper record for the Obs was found today in the Red Nab bushes during a squall, accompanying Long-tailed Tits - yes the observer was sheltering!

North harbour wall
The waif and stray tally has started to increase:
Shag: Yesterdays bird was by the heliport, then flew towards the harbour where it was found feeding under the waterfall late afternoon [also at least one Cormorant around here but they tend to be easily spooked]. A second juv was blown over the car on the end of the north harbour wall (no idea where from) and did a circuit of the harbour looking for somewhere to land before slowly flying out towards the wooden jetty
Guillemot: One in the intake area (by the waterfall/platforms) at least
1500hrs

Med Gull: ad on the beach late afternoon

Offshore
A short seawatch in WNW winds 0935-1005 produced 3 Kittiwake out together and a Guillemot out

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Wigeon - 61
Ringed Plover - 12
Red-breasted merganser 6 RN


Heliport
Knot - 6,500


Elsewhere
6 Kittiwake ahead of a squall Morecambe Stone Jetty. Great White Egret Leighton Moss, also 1+ Water Pipit. Ringtail Hen Harrier Foulshaw Moss. Great Blue Heron (at last!) on the Scillies.

Useless weather

Heysham Obs
It was virtually flat calm during the morning high tide period with not a 'white horse' in sight! Livened up a bit later.

North harbour wall
Shag - a visit at 1300hrs coincided with the star arrival of the day watched approaching from across the Bay, landing on the sea by the locked gate and later feeding in the harbour mouth - a juv. Note two Cormorant feeding=spending all but the odd second under the water by the 'Shag waterfall' (careful!).
Purple Sandpiper - one below the north harbour wall mid afternoon
Med. Gull - ad in the harbour and 2nd W intermittently patrolling
Linnet - 6 on the sandplant edge - unusual this late in the year.

Elsewhere
Nothing worthy of mention as yet.

Little time, but not windy enough for seabirds at this time of year?

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Brief visits during the morning and afternoon produced:

Purple Sandpiper - at least one, with morning sighting at the Near Naze (46A) and afternoon sighting beyond the locked gate (36V)
Med Gull - Just the 2nd W during the morning visit
Kittiwake - adult out in the afternoon

Stage 2 outfall
Just Black-headed Gulls during a morning scan from O. Edge

Elsewhere
Guillemot off the Stone jetty. Ringtail Hen Harrier and Great White Egret (& 9 Little Egret) Leighton Moss. Two Brambling at garden feeder near Thrushgill. NNEW on Ringstones lane Snow Bunting (see prev. postings)

Zero

Nothing doing today, it seems. First blank for a bit and only the third in twelve months. Thanks to all for what has been good coverage this year.

Elsewhere
Purple Sandpiper off the end of the Stone Jetty early morning

wet and the wrong kind of wind

Heysham Obs
......a north-westerly (despite Metcheck to the left - must have backed since I left).

North harbour wall
A brief visit at lunchtime saw Ad & 2nd W Med Gulls patrolling and a 1st W Kittiwake heading out close inshore

Elsewhere

Snow Bunting still on millet at Ringstones Lane/Slaidburn Road junction early pm (thanks Gavin). Purple Sandpiper still off the end of the Stone Jetty early morning. The "Warton flood" season has started with over 600 Black-tailed Godwits as well as other wildfowl/waders. View from Crag road. No sign of Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid on Pine Lake.

wet and no wind

Heysham Obs
As predicted, we were just too north of the wild and woolly weather and coverage comprised:

North harbour wall
Ad & 2nd W Med Gulls (Mark)

Middleton IE
Female Pochard, 2 Little Grebe, 34 Teal, 3 Tufted Duck, 28 Snipe, 2 Mute Swan, 2 Reed Bunting, 6 Mallard, 5 Coot, 7 Moorhen (Malcolm)

Elsewhere
Male Snow Bunting still on the millet put out at the junction of Ringstone Lane and Slaidburn Road at at least 1135hrs. Male Snow Bunting also still at Fluke Hall ramp morning and late afternoon at least. Great White Egret still Leighton Moss.

Whooper Swan added to the list

Distant Whooper Swan through spray and rain (photo courtesy of Blurred Guides!! aka PJM) (lyrics by Dan Haywood and Jean Roberts)

Heysham Obs

North Harbour Wall

Highlight of the day was an adult Whooper Swan which was seen on the sea in both 36V and 46A as observed from the North Harbour Wall.

A juvenile Shag spent a short time in the harbour mouth.

2 Kittiwakes flew out of the Bay, far offshore.

The usual 2 Mediterranean Gulls were seen

Elsewhere

Two flocks of Kittiwake off JB Point late afternoon. Great White Egret Leighton Moss and best of all a Snow Bunting by the ramp at Fluke Hall (for the second day - this is just in the LDBWS recording area). NNEW on the Tatham Fells bird.

Not strong or rough enough

Heysham Obs
The only small bird I remember seeing today was the Snow Bunting near my house! (see below). John had a few bits and bobs of useful tetrad records around the harbour but the only birds of individual note here were 11+8 Shelduck flying purposefully out, the 2nd W Med on the north wall and at least one Purple Sandpiper on the rocks below the heliport

Moths
A very mild night saw single Winter Moth and Light-brown Apple Moth in the trap

Elsewhere
The male Snow Bunting was alongside Aitkengill Road near the junction with Slaidburn Road this am, therefore in SD66T (all previous sightings in 66S?). The hybrid female Ferruginous Duck x Pochard was on Pine Lake along with just about all the inland water diving ducks in the Carnforth/Leighton area by the look of it! Purple Sandpiper by Morecambe Stone Jetty this morning. 47 Winter Moths noted at 30mph in driving rain on the Mealbank Road near Millhouses early evening! This is a superb road for early and late season moths.

We need some gales

Heysham Obs
The only observations of note today were the usual 2 Mediterranean Gulls on the North Harbour Wall and an adult Kittiwake briefly on Heysham 2 outfall before flying out of the Bay.

Elsewhere


Male Snow Bunting still alongside the Ringstones to Petersbottom Lane section of the Bentham to Cross of Greet Road (SD6765). Thanks to Tony Moreton for this photo taken today at 11:30hrs.

Red-throat saved a dreary day

Showing the unobtrusive Czech ring on the adult NHW Med. Several schemes e.g. with Turnstone place the rings above the tarsus to avoid corrosion. This can make them less easy to see and it is worth carefully examining any Med Gulls.

Heysham Obs

North Harbour Wall

Purple Sandpiper - 2 on the rocks at the Near Naze, Med Gull - adult and 2nd winter, Red-throated Diver - single floated in then flew out of the Bay mid-morning (rather belated additional species for SD35Z and 36V. Knot - 3000 to 4000 on the heliport. Goldfinch - 1 on the Mound. Meadow Pipit - 3 on the Mound.

Ocean Edge/Red Nab/Outfalls

Nothing worthy of mention.

Elsewhere

The Snow Bunting has been refound this last two days between Ringstones Lane and Petersbottom Road alongside the Bentham to Cross of Greet road. It was present at least this morning.

Snipe sensation for SD36V

Heysham Obs
north harbour wall/outer harbour 0945-1110 hrs
Twice round the NHW mound was going to be it until there was a short break in the weather which helped get things going a bit.
Wren 2 on mound + 1 near entrance to sand plant.
Robin 1 on mound + 1 by sand plant gate.
Meadow pipit 1 on mound
Pied wagtail 1 by sand plant entrance
Twite 6 over mound
Goldfinch 1 over
Starling c110 appeared to come in-off continuing south towards Obs.
Snipe 3 on inner harbour wall 36V - what a 'mega', John, completely unexpected
Shelduck 2 "out"
Magpie on wooden jetty (35Z)
Pink-footed goose 25 South
Eider 2 "in"
Med Gull adult over WJ
Knot 500 on Helipad but increasing as tide was coming in.
Gate "38": Robin & 4 Goldfinch

Elsewhere
Purple Sandpiper Morecambe Stone jetty.

RBMs drag the Light-bellied Brent into 36V!

Heysham Obs
North Harbour Wall 1320-1335hrs
A break from computer screens to do an intermediate tide count included a diversion to the NHW to recycle some mouldy bread in the direction of Med Gulls. Four sleeping "ducks" were offshore drifting out with the tide in dull light. One revealed itself as the Light-bellied Brent Goose [the Canadian-ringed juv usually to be found just to the north at Sunny Slopes] and so we waited for it to float into 36V. This it duly achieved [but see 'Elsewhere'], continuing the phenomenal run of scarce Lancs species in this tetrad since the Atlas commenced
Med Gull: the Czech-ringed adult and the usual 2nd W patrolling the north harbour wall
Purple Sandpiper: single bird along the seawall (46A section). Yesterday's information was incorrect. The location should have been the old lighthouse by the heliport = 46A, not 35Z.

Visible (or invisible) migration by the office 0930-1100ish
Skylark - 4 SE
Siskin 4 E
Starling N/NW 31,12,5,7,3,10,13 & 8. SW 46
Mistle Thrush 1 E
As we were leaving the office at 1720hrs, therefore 'well dark' at least one Redwing was heard flying over then appearing to fly in a circle (or more than one bird)

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Male Sparrowhawk and no small finches! 1st W Grey Plover close inshore

Elsewhere
Great White Egret still at Leighton Moss. Light-bellied Brent (see above) returned to the Sunny Slopes area as the tide uncovered the skeer at c1350hrs.

Disorientated Little Gull

Heysham Obs
Recorded from by the office 0930-1130
Little Gull 1st W 1000 hrs. This flew west past office and Obs. tower!
Sparrowhawk male on Reserve
Goldfinch 3 over
Starling 3 NW + 3W
Long-tailed Tit 4
Goldcrest 2
Pied Wagtail 1

South harbour wall
TWO Purple Sandpiper on rocks blow the lighthouse mid-morning.

North harbour wall
Just the usual adult and 2nd W Med Gulls with nothing on the sea other than 2 Great-crested Grebs and no small birds of note seen

Heliport
Ringed Plover 5
Knot c250
Oystercatcher c300

Thanks to Malcolm, Mark and John.

Elsewhere
Great White Egret Leighton Moss, including coming in to roost with 10(+?) Little Egret. Belgian-ringed Ad Med Gull Morecambe Broadway. Guillemot floating in on the tide past Cockersands (this is presumably a long-staying bird irregularly reported). [Ad Iceland Gull seen at Walney today, unfortunately heading north up the open sea side]

winter fare

Heysham Obs

North Harbour Wall
A couple of snapshots, the first in the rain at high tide, the second on the dropping early afternoon tide:
Little Gull: adult offshore, 1045hrs
Shag: juvenile on wooden jetty with 41 Cormorant 1045hrs
Purple Sandpiper: single on North Harbour Wall on both visits
Med Gull: adult and possibly 2 second winters patrolling the North Harbour Wall - no time to thoroughly check

Ocean Edge foreshore
Jack Snipe 1,
Common Snipe 3
Twite: Flock of 38 may have been all this species, certainly those examined were,
Linnet/Twite: Mixed flock of 40 separate from the above

Red Nab
Kingfisher

Middleton I E
Woodcock - 2 birds flushed from different areas
Snipe - 10, Tufted Duck - 5, Teal - 3, Goldeneye - 1, Mallard - 4, Coot - 7 & huge flock of Long-tailed Tits comprising at least 40 birds

Elsewhere
Adult and 1st winter Little Gulls at Jenny Brown's Point. Great White Egret seen from Leighton Moss causeway.

nice sunny day - not a lot happening

Heysham Obs
A walk round the reserve during the morning saw very few Blackbirds remaining from the influx earlier this week as is typical after a clear night going into morning

North harbour wall
Twite - 5 briefly at the entrance to the sandworks
Goldfinch 1+
Meadow Pipit 1
Wren 1
Robin 2
Purple Sandpiper - 1 there at HT on the seawall c100m south of the sandworks entrance
Med Gull - Ad & 2nd W patrolling

Nothing on the sea at HT

Nothing on Red Nab/Ocean Edge & saltmarsh/outfalls during a check in late afternoon at LT

No moths/dragonflies/butterflies (but a wasp, possibly queen, yesterday flying along the north harbour wall!)

Elsewhere
One Purple Sand on the Stone Jetty rocks. One Water Pipit by Leighton public hide (up to 2 have been seen there, mainly during management work in otherwise inaccessible areas). Ad Med Gull Claughton with the hordes of gulls and Starlings by the Brookhouse junction at c0900hrs (SD56 something!)

Purple Sands showing very well

One of the Purps at the base of the sea wall

Med Gull at the top of the sea wall. Thanks to Keith Kellet for these photos.

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Purple Sandpiper: Fingers crossed for these birds, and those at the Stone Jetty, staying all winter. They were both showing very well on the sloping seawall just south of the sandworks entrance this morning.
Med Gull: Czech-ringed adult and the usual 2nd W patrolling

Unfortunately, the only passerines on the mound were the resident Robin and Wren.

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Presumably 'the' Little Egret's head was sticking up out of a channel on the saltmarsh, the first ever degree of any suggestion of some form of residency in the Obs recording area! A visit just after high tide surprisingly failed to produce any finch flocks but the touring park end of the saltmarsh was not visited. The Red Nab Wigeon numbered 68 and three RB Merg were in the region

Moths
The first Winter Moth of the year and a late Feathered Thorn

Elsewhere
One Purple Sandpiper Morecambe Stone Jetty. Great White Egret briefly on EM Pools before flying NE - clearly this site is not the attractive food source it was during the autumn.

No Great Northern Diver, but plenty of other birds!

First winter male Snow Bunting. Wing length 113mm, weight 36g. Thanks to Keith Kellet for this photo.

Heysham Obs
SD36V excelled itself today with yet another new species - a male Snow Bunting which was later fortuitously trapped and ringed as it wandered into the Twite ringing site. This bird provided yet another behavioural first. It was treated like a Wryneck i.e. a mammalian predator, or just something odd, by the local Wren and Robin - both of which 'mobbed' it from a respectable distance of about 2 metres for at least 20 minutes as it shuffled along. I have not seen birds react to a Snow Bunting in this manner before. Photos should be available soon.

Just to put this morning in perspective, a lunchtime prowl round the same North wall/Ocean Edge/Red Nab/Outfalls circuit just a few days ago produced nothing worthy of log entry - not even a Med!

North harbour wall/sea
No sign of the Great Northern Diver on a 'millpond' but:
Purple Sandpiper: Two together on the seawall which had flown in from the direction of the heliport
Med. Gull: Czech-ringed adult and 2nd W patrolling the north wall

North harbour mound area
Following two Meadow Pipit and a Reed Bunting in SD66I whilst emptying the moth trap (27 December Moth!), indicating late passage, there was an influx of 6 additional Meadow Pipit grounded on the north wall, with three further birds arriving mid-morning. Norfolk also apparently experienced a late Meadow Pipit passage this morning. With these birds was the abovementioned Snow Bunting, a flock of c34 Twite and 3 Goldfinch. All except the Snow Bunting moved on mid-morning and unfortunately none of the Twite were trapped (by us) and all 11, where the legs were clearly seen, were unringed birds (all SD36V).

Ocean Edge foreshore
Twite: The flock of 34 weas relocated here as a separate entity to the established finch flock on the saltmarsh. This appeared to consist of c40 birds, equally split between Twite and Linnet i.e. a lot more Twite than in recent days.
Little Egret: they ARE rare here and it was good to see one feeding in the saltmarsh channel and not flying off when disturbed (SD45E)

Elsewhere
TWO Purple Sandpiper by the Stone Jetty - definitely different birds to those at Heysham - one has very uniform lesser and median coverts.

SD36V strikes again

Record shot in poor early morning light with a dark piece of sea giving a White-billed illusion! Thanks Reuben

Heysham Obs
The outer north harbour wall tetrad is certainly THE best in the area for picking up odds and ends. Already Black Guillemot, Guillemot, Razorbill, Black Redstart, Twite, Linnet, Little Gull, Rock Pipit, Shag, Med Gull have been 'dotted' since the start of the Atlas on 1/11. Lets hope December is similar to last year (Grey Phalarope, Leach's Petrel, Little Auk & Glaucous Gull!). Today:

Great Northern Diver: Juvenile close inshore off the north wall by the sandworks entrance gradually drifted north (into SD46A) and was present, but very difficult to keep track of when feeding, from at least 0915hrs to at least 1300hrs. An interesting behavioural observation involved a female Red-breasted Merganser. This suddenly shot up into the air and flew off, immediately followed by an Orca-like emergence of the GND from the exact spot vacated by the RBM. It lifted off the water with wings aloft and head and neck outstretched pointing forwards. Presumably some form of territorial behaviour, but I've not seen this before, despite several years of daily sightings in a former abode.
Purple Sandpiper - one was feeding along the rocks by the sandworks entrance for a short period around lunchtime before vanishing!
Med. Gull - 2nd W and adult patrolling the north wall
Rock Pipit - one kleinschmittii/petrosus type (sooty with very dusky outer tail feathers) along the north harbour wall near the end early morning, then flew over the harbour [36V, 35Z] (single Meadow Pipit still on the mound)

Elsewhere
The most significant record is the continued presence of the Ad Yellow-legged Gull at Glasson - no details as to whether the behaviour is as per the late summer individual. Purple Sandpiper still off the end of the Stone jetty. NNEW Great White Egret

Pics from last Thursdays conservation day (not a lot seen today!)

This is conservation work at Middleton IE undertaken by the Ecological Appraisal and Biodiversity Teams from the Environment Agency as part of their 2 days per year environmental leave. Here Reed Mace is being "reined in" i.e. retaining a fringe providing nesting habitat/cover for Little Grebe etc. but not being allowed to spread over the open water area. The other "tall stuff" (top pic) is Common Reed and this will be allowed to colonise approximately 40% of this shallow pond with a very indented water/reed interface. This pond was formerly wall-to-wall reedmace (and drying out due to dead vegetation accumulation) and the reedmace was removed in 2003 using a JCB, increasing the water depth. The southern edge was planted with Common Reed from Leighton Moss in 2004 and, as you can see, it is doing very well. This pond is superb for dragonflies with for e.g. three-figure counts of 4-spotted Chaser and last year it hosted a Yellow-winged Darter

The other main task was to retain the status quo of scattered willow and hawthorn scrub in the northern section of the western marsh, THE best site for Grasshopper Warbler in this area. Every third willow bush in was coppiced and the branches further chopped to form habitat piles.

Anyone wishing to take part in any conservation work, please contact Reuben (see left of the page) - management days are regular on a Thursday and the first Sunday of the month but please ring first to make sure. Thanks to the EA team and everyone else who has helped with conservation work.

Heysham Obs
Just a few titbits in passing today - the only systematic search was in early afternoon for any NHW Purple Sandpipers and this was negative.

Mammals
A Seal spp. pup was located along the NHW mid-afternoon but could not be found later on - possibly more to come on this.

Bird sightings comprised:
2nd W Med Gull patrolling the NHW late afternoon
Two Ravens on the pylons by the office mid-morning
Siskin over the office late afternoon

Elsewhere
Ad Yellow-legged Gull still at Glasson - surely this is not the returning late summer bird breaking the habit of a lifetime? Purple Sandpiper still at Morecambe Stone Jetty - seen 1245hrs. NNEW Great White Egret

Purple heys

At least one of the Purps (& Knot) at record shot range. Thanks Mario & Rosie

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall and area
Purple Sandpiper on the rocks between the locked gate and harbour entrance, later TWO there around midday on the large skeer by the sandworks entrance. These looked like 1st W birds (e.g. Collin's Guide criteria) BUT this has been thown into some disarray by known-age older birds looking 'similar' (broad white edgings to lesser & median coverts etc). Will research and re-post on this issue in the near future. Otherwise very disappointing with just one early morning sighting of 2nd W Med Gull and no auks or anything else of 'log interest'.

Heysham Nature Reserve
A collybita-type Chiffchaff was new for the winter Atlas (45E) and last seen around the Obs Tower pond. Blackbirds were fewer than yesterday with a count of 47 on BE properties with 23 of these on the reserve.

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Three Twite were on the south field but not able to see the ring status. 175 Shelduck and a high count of 57 Lapwing on Red Nab. NO gulls of interest

Elsewhere
Purple Sandpiper still on the Stone Jetty - at least 10 years since there were three birds in this area. Unringed ad Med Gull on the Lune in the vicinity of Carlisle railway bridge and the Belgian-ringed bird still by Morecambe Strathmore area. Great White Egret seen at various places around Leighton Moss but no reports from yesterdays Cumbrian site. Two Water Pipits seen at Leighton Moss on at least 16th

Blackbird arrival.......and some vis

Heysham Obs

Vis by the office 0930-0935
Starling - 120 south in three flocks in just 5 minutes. No time for any longer!

North harbour wall
Meadow Pipit still on the mound along with Robin and Pied Wagtail (36V). One 2nd W Med seen

Reserve
20 Blackbird on the grass/in nearby bushes by the NR car park at 0930hrs - definite arrival, supported by accompanying 2 Redwing. A further 15 Blackbirds were flushed from the roadside between the reserve entrance and OE.

Miscellaneous
Saker or hybrid with jesses on the pylon by the office briefly mid-morning - flew towards Power Station but no bird scaring operations taking place on there.

Elsewhere
No sign of the LBBrent during a low tide count, therefore careful search, but it was back at high tide - "LB Brent off Sandylands near new block of flats - Old Grosvenor Hotel at about 3 pm" (thanks Rosie). Two female Common Scoter of Sunny Slopes. Great White Egret located in Cumbria in a ditch opposite the Wildlife Park along the A6 c500m north of the Lancs border and the bird flew off towards the Leighton Moss roost at about 1530hrs. No sign of the SD66S Snow Bunting in careful search.....but rather a lot of suitable habitat!

bits and bobs

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
A brief visit saw the 1st W Med Gull along with the regular 2nd W

Vis mig from the office
Woodpigeon - 40+53 SW then the two flocks combined headed NE a few minuts later. Subsequently: 30 SW in dribs and drabs
Starling - 23S 17NW
Fieldfare - a solitary bird flew in from the NE and landed on the reserve (unusual)

Heysham south harbour wall (SD35Z)
A few bits and bobs new for the tetrad comprised: Goldfinch (2), Linnet (1), Robin (1), Wren (1)

Outfalls/Red Nab
Little Gull - the 2nd W was on Heysham 2 outfall early morning
Shelduck - 76 Red Nab

Ringing
Two nets by the office produced a lot of retraps and the following new birds: 7 Greenfinch, 1 Chaffinch and (surprisingly) 1 Robin

Insects
No insects the last two days of any note, despite lengthy presence at Middleton yesterday and sunny spells today

Elsewhere
Highlighted by a male Snow Bunting at the junction of Ringstones Lane and the Bentham to Cross of Greet road late afternoon - present for at least 45 minutes. NNEW on the Great White Egret & no Purple Sandpiper reports

More Woodpigeon

Heysham Obs
All the observations today were from Middleton IE as the shackles of Great-crested Newt legislation were cast aside at last and some conservation work could be undertaken in extremely fortunate low water levels

Vis from Middleton 1015-1530 intermittently
Woodpigeon - c730 north high, a majority of these comprising a loose flock of c400 at c1130 hrs. All on a line to the east of Middleton (c 1mile)
Meadow Pipit - 8 south high (unexpected)
Skylark - 2 south
Starling - 66 south

Nothing unexpected on the site itself but sightings did include:
Ad Med Gull at the sewage works late afternoon. Three Reed Bunting in the morning only may have been passing through (c/f one also at the Stone Jetty bushes)

Elsewhere
Great White Egret Leighton Moss area.

Woodpigeon mystery and return of the Meds

Heysham Obs
The main feature of the day only fringed Heysham and this involved a massive northerly movement of Woodpigeons. The late posting was due to waiting (in vain) for further info. on the movement over this area. Perhaps the most interesting reply on the national vis mig group was from Clive Mackay:

"Reverse" movement of Wood Pigeons is on-going here in Angus. They ALL went SW til 30 Oct, and since 1 Nov have ALL been going NE! The same pattern was observed last year, but the switch over date was much later (16th November). This return movement seems to be a feature of WP autumn movements, e.g.. also recorded by Keith Clarkson in Sheffield over many years. It's possible that depending on the geography of a particular site that movement will only be picked up in one direction. e.g. Keith mostly records S movement, whereas here I get more or less equal numbers SW and then NE. Does the geography of the Morecambe site favour picking up N movement or movement in both directions?

Answer: this is the first time any major northerly movements have been observed in this area - or can you contradict this John from any Crag Bank observations?
The only N/NE movement of woodpigeon I have had from Crag Bank was a total of 471 on 5 dates in spring 2006 ie none in autumn, (see L&DBWS Annual Report).

Vis mig by the office to about 1015hrs
Woodpigeon: Flocks of 220, 60 and 200 high and purposefully to the north. These were rather distant and over the golf course and therefore there was no coastal movement as such. It also means that some, possibly loads, could have been missed c/f c3,000 high to the north over north Morecambe and significant numbers, which would not have included these birds, over NE Torrisholme
Starling - 8 S

Ocean Edge
House Sparrow - Pair by Ocean Edge entrance - most unexpected
Linnet - c60 on the football field and surrounds

North harbour wall
Med Gull: FOUR. The 1st W with a poorly defined mask put in a reppearance, sitting on the fence with the others as though it hadnt been away. Also a returnee was one of the 2nd W birds along with the usual 2nd W and Czech-ringed adult. Combination of calm weather and loads of anglers?

Moths
Single Mottled Umber and Feathered Thorn graced the trap

Elsewhere
The Great White Egret is back and roosted on the island at the northern end of Leighton Moss! An adult Purple Sandpiper was new in at the Morecambe stone jetty and the Belgian-ringed Med Gull (usually favouring to the north of here) was seen. 16 Whooper Swan on the Melling field but no sign of any geese

Little Gull new in

Czech-ringed adult Med (above tarsus right leg). Thanks Mark

Heysham Obs
The only new bird found today was a Little Gull

Outfalls and area
Little Gull - 2nd W early morning but could not be found at HT
Med Gull - large adult Ocean Edge saltmarsh at HT
Twite - at least 11 OE saltmarsh and probably comprising some of the 15 'small finches' seen distantly flying south over the outfalls hide early morning
Linnet - c20 OE saltmarsh (not with Twite)
Knot - about 15,000 on this side (including Middleton) courtesy of the same or yet another dog walker on the heliport seawall

From Knowsley Road (north side of Heysham Head)
Light-bellied Brent in the region of the Sunny Slopes groyne

North wall
Ad and 2nd W Med Gulls (see pic above)

Elsewhere
Shock horror, NO SIGN of the Great White Egret at Leighton Moss (until dusk). Four Little Egret Middleton saltmarsh along with 2 (Scandinavian) Rock Pipit. Bean Goose reported in the Melling maize field with up to 14 Whoopers sometime in the last day or so - will check tomorrow am. View this field ONLY from the layby on the southbound side of the raised section of the A683 - anything else is very dangerous. Up to 5 Green Sandpiper in the 'last day or so' on the Lune oxbows in the region of the railway line just N of Melling but some of these (at least) may be on private land

Bits and bobs of late migration....& Purple Sand.

The two current NHW Meds - thanks Mark

Heysham Obs
A calm morning and a little bit of late vis and ringing of late migrants

Vis from by the office 0830-1030hrs
Redwing 20 E
Woodpigeon 28 SW + 12 N
Jackdaw 2 NE
Mistle Thrush 2 N
Siskin 1 SE
Starling 8 NW + 1 SE

North harbour wall etc.
The bad news was an assertion that "dog walkers could now walk along the seawall by the heliport as it is a right of way" - one did and all the waders were flushed towards Middleton. I will follow this up next Monday when the relevant person is available.


Purple Sandpiper - one flew from the north and landed briefly on the seawall before flying round towards the harbour (SD36V atlas record)
Guillemot - 2 offshore - both SD36V
Ad and 2nd W Med seen (see photos above)
Kingfisher (SD36V)

Ringing
A session at Middleton targeting Reed Bunting produced: 3 Reed Bunting, one Lesser Redpoll (presumably on passage), one Linnet, one Goldfinch plus a few other bits and bobs of a more resident nature.

The ringing details on the Light Bellied Brent were rather good:

Red right leg & letter B, Blue left leg & letter S
Ringed: De la Beche Bay, SW Bathurst Island, Arctic Canada as a juvenile male on 08 August 2007
Read in field: Off N Heysham/S Morecambe coast from at least 4/11-12/11/07 SD415626

There may be interim sightings which have not been processed yet.

Moths
TWO December Moth - lucky to get one of these in a year

December Moth - thanks Reuben

Elsewhere
Great White Egret still at Leighton Moss. Another titbit of migration in the form of a Tree Sparrow in the Stone Jetty bushes. Crossbill heard but not seen Thrushgill in briefish visit but 26 Redpoll were grilled and all were Lesser. No sign of the Great Grey Shrike at Dalton Crags in 10 minute scan.

Guillemot 'atlased'

Heysham Obs
A few less auks at Heysham than where I was for an hour and a half on the way to work on the other side of the country (=goodness knows how many Little Auks plus a very surprising 2 x Storm Petrel (there have been several of these seen in the last few days from E coast sites - which population are they from?))

Sea early morning North harbour wall (thanks Mark)
Raven - two blogging around the area (SD36V & 35Z)
Guillemot - one offshore (SD36V & 35Z)
Med Gull - just the one 2nd W - I think the other 2 regular & further irregular 2nd Ws went a few days ago (as the same birds did about this time last year as 1st Ws?)

North of Heysham Head
Colour-ringed 1st W Pale-bellied Brent by the Sunny slopes groyne near HT, then moved north as the tide dropped

Elsewhere
Great White Egret plus 12 Little Egret at the Leighton Moss roost. Guillemot off Crook Farm still. Three Scaup Glasson Basin. 18 Whooper Swan Wenning Foot, Lune valley. Very poor considering all the activity today (WeBS etc. etc.) and compared to last Sunday [e.g. no Crossbill or GG Shrike reports]

Meagre WeBS fare

Please could you text or e-mail any sightings tomorrow (or put on LDBWS site, if you prefer), even routine stuff like the Meds. Three key observers will be away. See contact details to the left. Thanks.

Heysham Obs
The only known birding in the area was the WeBS. Couldn't find anything to write the figures on until a huge expanse of pallid flesh was revealed on the back page of the Daily Mirror - Wayne Rooney mouthing the 'f'' word ('focus', of course). The unique feature of the day was the first ever, in my knowledge, half hour seawatching slot from Heysham north harbour wall when nothing at all flew or swam through the optics which were pointing towards Barrow. This momentous event took place between 1010 and 1040am

Seawatching 1000-1040hrs (see above)
Kittiwake - 3 out (2 Ad & 1st W) 1006hrs (36V, then 35Z)
Razorbill - 2 out together at 1010hrs (36V, then 35Z)

North wall
Ad & one 2nd W Med Gulls. A passerine was seen extremely briefly on the mound with the smart money on Robin. Also 2 x Pied Wagtail (36V)

Heliport
Biggest number of Knot yet this autumn = c22,000

Visible from Heysham head looking north
Colour-ringed 1st W Light-bellied Brent Goose by the Sunny Slopes
groyne

Ocean Edge saltmarsh/S. foreshore
Notable was a roost of 27 Ringed Plover and the Linnet flock still numbers c30

Moth
Surprising was a definitely different late Large Wainscot from the one caught two days ago

Elsewhere
Great White Egret Leighton Moss area. 5 Barnacle Geese NW past JB Point. 1st W Kittiwake JB Point. Nothing of interest Pine Lake (2 Goosander)

north-westerly dross

Heysham Obs
Nothing doing during a brief search by two observers - I should perhaps have done a bit of vis this morning as it was calmer than forecast

Med Gull - Czech-ringed ad following the Pilot Boat into port
Twite - single unringed bird on the mound
Water Rail - at least three Middleton IE

Elsewhere
No sign of the Black-necked Grebe. NNEW on Pale-bellied Brent. Nothing of interest on Pine Lake. Great White Egret Leighton Moss. Adult Great Grey Shrike still on Dalton Crags, viewable from the pull-in 400m along the right turn after the picnic area (leading to Keer bridge & Arkholme) late morning, looking NE with 50 x wide-angle. It was low-down just to the east of the N-S dry stone wall and only noticed when disturbed by a Mistle Thrush. Along Morecambe Prom, pair of Scaup off Scalestones Point and adult Spotted Redshank roosting on the Strathmore groyne along with Belgian-ringed adult Med Gull. 10-15 Brambling grounded on beech mast near Tower Lodge, Trough of Bowland.

Desultory sea-watching before the wind goes North-west

Heysham Obs

Sea 0745-0915
Razorbill 1 out close inshore, 1 out more distantly
Common Scoter male landed on sea
Shelduck 10 out
Shag juvenile by the harbour "waterfall" early on, 1 flew into the Bay close inshore at c0845hrs, juv again present by the "waterfall" early afternoon but not later.

Middleton WeBS
15 Snipe, 7 Mallard, 5 Teal, 3 Tufted Duck, 1 Goldeneye, 7 Moorhen, 6 Coot, 4 Mute Swan.

Outfalls
1st winter Kittiwake (SD45E)

Ocean Edge saltmarsh
20-30 Linnet

Moths
Major surprise in the form of a late Large Wainscot (the 2nd of the year), also 1 Feathered Thorn.

Elsewhere
Great White Egret, Leighton Moss, but no further information on yesterday's belatedly reported Firecrest. One or two Leach's Petrels off Jenny Brown's Point at at least 1030hrs, unfortunately more belated news. NNEW Black-necked Grebe, Pale-bellied Brent.

Brent Goose unpuzzled

Heysham Obs
OK it wasnt seen from the recording area today but for continuities sake.......the Brent was read at the new Grosvenor Groyne and the right leg was RED with letter B and the left leg BLUE with letter S. These rings are rather large and deemed sufficient without a metal ring (presumably assuming almost all recoveries would benefit from maximum 'read in field' facilitation and not from birds being found dead without a (metal ring) address to send to). Ringed as part of the Canada-Iceland-Ireland flyway study - we'll know the details soon.

North harbour wall
Ad & 2 x 2nd W Med Gulls. No obvious sign of Black Redstart (or resident Robin!) in windy weather.

Harbour intake area
1st W Kittiwake (SD35Z record)

Moths
A very worn and ancient Red-line Quaker and single Light-brown Apple Moth in the trap.

Elsewhere
Breaking news at 1900hrs - Firecrest in Leighton Moss "main car park" - no time of day or indeed is this the car park over the road or between the centre and Lilians? Black-necked Grebe on borrow pit end of Lancaster Quay but elusive. Great White Egret and (for this time of year) an unprecedented 5 Spotted Redshank on the EM Pool. Adult Spotted Redshank Stone Jetty groyne.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose puzzle

Long-distance shots so a bit blurred but no metal ring discernable.

Heysham Obs
The Brent Goose entered the 'seen from' category again today (below "Sunny Slopes") and was found to be colour-ringed as the legs were seen at last. Unfortunately all the close-up views were through 'functional' binoculars and a Peregrine flushing everything to the receding tideline prevented any great detail once the scopes arrived.

The rings appear to be red or dark pink on the right and bright palish blue on the left with no obvious sign of a metal ring (but above tarsus??). Bearing in mind it is a bird of the year, it has presumably either been ringed at or near Svalbard/Canadian breeding grounds or the Icelandic passage sites.............or its an escapee with no metal ring. Hopefully it will cooperate tomorrow.

Heysham north harbour wall
A lull as the wind changed direction mid afternoon saw some activity in the Centrica compound when first the Robin and then the adult male Black Redstart emerged from their spider etc-filled rubber tyre 'piles' and covered pallets.......but not for long. The Robin showed for 30 seconds and the Black Redstart for 25 seconds during a half-hour vigil!

Ad & 2 x 2nd winter Med Gulls patrolling

Ocean Edge saltmarsh
16 Snipe, 1 Jack Snipe, 40 Linnet, 3 Meadow Pipit (45E)

Red Nab area
Kingfisher
Ad Med Gull
92 Wigeon

Vis mig from by the office
Not a lot and highlighted by 6 Woodpigeon (will add figures tomorrow)

Elsewhere
Guillemot on the Lune Estuary is a good Atlas addition. Great White Egret still Leighton Moss. "Stubble-burning" at Cockersands produced:
2 Stonechat, 2 Reed Bunting, 9 Snipe, 25 Skylark, 4 Meadow Pipit. Very late Wheatear in a recent cut maize field at Melling, Lune valley - a notable inland record and very unexpected 'winter bird' for SD57!

Harbour area-fest

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall area
Black Redstart: The adult male was seen between the sand plant and the centrica storage area mid-morning, then a Bk Red was flushed from the gravel alongside the centrica s.a. before flying under some pallets at 1310hrs. The views were brief and almost exclusively rear-end but it didnt appear to be an adult male!!
Little Gull - adult blogging offshore mid morning. This is the first for some time in the absence of a regular outfalls bird this autumn
Shag - juvenile on the wooden jetty
Twite - up to 5
Med Gull - 2 x 2nd W & adult

Red Nab/outfalls
230 Black-headed Gull, 89 Wigeon and an adult Med Gull

Insects
Mottled Umber and Light brown Apple Moth in the trap

Elsewhere
The light-bellied Brent Goose was again off Sunny Slopes. The Black-necked Grebe still on the borrow pit at the end of Lancaster Quay. Great White Egret still Leighton Moss

A very good day's birding in this area.............

Heysham Obs
...........with Heysham Obs playing a full part

Thanks for the early posting, John.
Highlights
Black Redstart: adult male Heysham NHW found by John Wood at 1130 hrs just past gate adjacent to sand plant using mounded earth, fence and sea wall between many feeding flights. Unfortunately could not be found in the afternoon but may have flown across the harbour to other suitable habitat (SD36V Atlas record)
Black Guillemot: on and around the wooden jetty (SD35Z Atlas record)
Pale-bellied Brent Goose: A 'seen-from' juvenile just to the north of Heysham Head on the skeer off Sunny Slopes. A bit of a sense of shame with this bird as it was surely the same one recorded on the HT WeBS in mid-October by the Regent road groyne. Poor coverage! (46B)

North harbour wall
Twite: 3 at feeding station - two with blue over yellow rings, indicating old birds ringed in the 2002/3 winter. Also on mound were: 5 Goldfinch, 8 Meadow Pipit, 2 Robin and one Wren (SD36V). Adult and just one 2nd W Med around

Sea
The only observation was: Shelduck 11 'in'. Might improve later this week (Pom Skua??)

Vis from the Obs 0800 - 1000 hrs.
Woodpigeon 131 W/SW, 21 NW, 3 E, 2 S
Starling 126 N/NW, 11 S/SW
Carrion crow 3 S, 5 SW then E with 7 Jackdaw (SW then E)
Jackdaw (see above)
Siskin 4 NE
Greenfinch 15 S
Chaffinch 2 S
Mistle thrush 2 S
Skylark 2 E
Grey wagtail 1 W
Sparrowhawk 2 over Reserve at same time, one low SW, one NE at pylon height.

In addition, 5 Whooper Swan flew south past the north harbour wall at about 0745hrs

Middleton IE
4 Mute Swan, 6 Coot, 8 Moorhen, 7 teal, 5 Tufted Duck, 1 male Pochard, 29 Snipe (45E)

Insects
Migrant Hawker on Middleton IE - first November record. Two Common Darter NR dipping pond. NNEW moth trap but White Speck trapped JUST outside the recording ares at 342 Heysham Road. Definitely a potential 'seen from'!

Elsewhere
Black-necked Grebe still on the borrow pit at the end of Lancaster Quay. Great Grey Shrike adult Dalton Crag. At least 29 Common Crossbill Thrushgill (possibly 38). Great White Egret came to roost on the island mere, Leighton Moss, at 1650 and there were 13 Little Egrets also roosting there. Polish-ringed Med Gull P96 on Lancaster City football pitch and Belgian-ringed 36W north Morecambe promenade. Via the Fylde BC website: near-adult Yellow-legged Gull Glasson (for SECOND day)

Migration continues

Heysham Obs
Vis mig from by the office
0745 - 1045 hrs. All SW unless stated:

Starling 571 NW; 157 SW; 8 E (high up). A total of 28 flocks.
Greenfinch 18
Jackdaw 11 SE (late for this species to be on the move still)
Chaffinch 5
Woodpigeon 9
Mistle thrush 8 + 3 E
Kestrel 2 N
Mute swan 2 N
Skylark 3 SE
Great spotted woodpecker 3 SW
Siskin 4 E
Goldfinch 1 & others (<10) 'blogging' (or were they? - a tricky species to document) Raven on one of pylons (46A)

Moneyclose Lane/Ocean Edge/Red Nab area
Redwing - 5 on Moneyclose Lane (45E)
Linnet - 27 on Ocean Edge south field (45E)
Twite - 6 on Ocean Edge south field in separate flock to above (45E)
Med Gull - the large Ad sat on the sand off OE saltmarsh (45E)
Rock Pipit - one on OE saltmarsh (45E)

North harbour wall
Windswept in the morning with just one 2nd W Med seen

Insects
5 Feathered Thorn and a White-shouldered House Moth in the trap. Two active wasps near the feeder

Elsewhere
A quality new arrival in the form of a Black-necked Grebe on the new 'borrow' pit between the Lune and Freeman's Wood at the south end of Lancaster Quay. Great White Egret from Griesdale Hide Leighton Moss. Hawfinch at Woodwell. A late afternoon visit to Thrushgill was too late but Crossbill and Redpoll spp. heard. Late news concerns a Waxwing seen well sitting on a tree, loosely associated with Fieldfare and Redwing, on the west = golf-course side of the road between Leighton reception and the causeway late afternoon on Thursday 1st Nov (per two Scottish birders).

Atlasing in SD36V!

Heysham Obs
The first visit since the dawning of the new Atlas. SD36V was given the treatment - this is a tetrad where the only high tide land is the sandworks section of the north harbour wall. It can be very birdless in mid-winter so it was important to snaffle some lingering seed eaters etc.!

North harbour wall (SD36V)
Highlighted by a Wren, a Linnet, 7 very short-staying Twite (no good for photography this autumn - very skittish in the absence of a proper feeding station which has been hijacked by feral pigeon), 8 Goldfinch with the usual also-rans including 3 (Ad & 2 x 2nd W) Med Gull and the resident Robin. Three Whooper Swan flew south-east over Heysham head.

No sign of the Black Guillemot or any Shag.

Heysham reserve and area
The open-aspect non-op land failed to register any Black Redstart although 3 Meadow Pipit were useful for the Atlas, along with a Bullfinch on the tank farm. The main feature was the virtual lack of thrushes compared to the end of October, with Blackbird particularly reduced and just a single Redwing seen

Ocean Edge
36 Linnet on the football pitch and area

Forgot to check the moth trap in the rush to beat the traffic/check Thrushgill in daylight

Elsewhere
At least 17 Common Crossbill (a flock of 17 seen, then a flock of 11 which was assumed to involve some of the same birds), 36 Lesser (or unident in some cases) Redpoll, 11 Siskin in Thrushgill plantation with an abundance of cones this year. Good stuff for the Atlas!
Very few thrushes in upper Hindburn with just one flock of 36 Fieldfare and 4 Redwing encountered. This is a contrast with reports of abundance in the yew-filled limestone woodlands around Arnside/Silverdale. Great White Egret Leighton Moss.

October summary

Heysham Obs
Three key observers unavailable today and the weather in northern England was what was supposed to be in southern Scotland (e.g. A1 awful between Angel o.t.n. and S. Corner early afternoon, never mind the west coast) so ringing was not an option. The only news item so far was a Light Brown Apple Moth and Angle Shades in the moth trap. Am I really going to trail up to North Uist this evening/early morning.......[Mourning Dove at Clachan]

Here is a summary for October:

Systematic observation took place at Heysham Obs on all but two days (4th, when Flamborough was a better option and 11th when the weather was rubbish). This usually involved an attempt to census grounded night migrants (+/- mist netting) and an average of two hours per day counting visible migrants. Also the usual routine checks of the coastal areas counting Mediterranean Gulls, checking for Black Guillemot etc..

The theme of this month was the rapid transit by many of the migrants as periods of clear weather on most nights allowed birds to move on, as did a fair nunmber of clear, calm sunny days. Therefore I would be extremely wary of wording such as Redwing and Fieldfares "arrived at" as opposed to "passed through" when assessing the nature of this month's migration. For example, there were several mornings late in the month with "50+ or 50-60 Blackbird" and it would be easy to dismiss them as being "in residence, having discovered the hawthorn berries". Careful observation, however, especially of those within range of the vis mig site by the office, revealed that there was a continuous 'through-put' of birds with individuals occasionally taking off and flying high inland, others moving, usually in a generally SE direction through the bushes to be replaced by a new gang of berry eaters.....and so on. This period was punctuated by much larger influxes on 21st and 28th which helped to confirm the impressions as four Blackbirds at any one time in a given hawthorn bush suddenly became eight on those two mornings!

Another theme was a few species which are not normally conspicuous on vis mig. In this respect, only the high-flying individuals were logged - some of the other sightings may also have been birds on more than a 'local circuit'. The main species were Great Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Jay and especially Bullfinch. See vis mig list below for actual total.

One species which IS conspicuous on vis and which occurred in good numbers (although nothing like nearby Walney) was Jackdaw - this species does not nest at Heysham and therefore migrants can be easily discerned The other noticeable theme concerned the number of species which were either way above par or conspicuous by their absence - very few species seemed to be occurring in "average" numbers for the 27 year dataset Species conspicuous by their absence on the ground were: Wren (usually a noticeable passage early-mid month), Blackcap (no birds accompanying the thrush passage late in the month) and Goldcrest (just no mornings producing more than 20 individuals - this was most unexpected following a good spring passage and does imply a very poor breeding season) Conspicuous by their absence on vis mig were Redwing and Fieldfare, yet there were plenty flying over more inland sites - this is the way it goes some autumns - the grand total for both species has been beaten by single migratory flock on many occasions in previous Octobers

It was quite a good month for scarce species without coming up with a major rarity: Treecreeper - one on 10th, Yellow-browed Warbler - one ringed on 7th, almost certainly another on 8th (almost certainly not ringed). Suitable conditions for one often produce another with this species - indeed the first record for Heysham involved three individuals. Garden Warbler - late bird on 7th. Black Redstart - one for a couple of hours on 15th. Lesser Whitethroat - latest ever records for here - one ringed on 14th and perhaps the same on 18th - sadly not one of the eastern forms. Common Buzzard - one on 20th . Reed Warbler - late bird on 19th. Firecrest - male with a LTT flock on 18th. Woodcock - migrant on 27th. Ring Ouzel - 1st winter male with migrant Blackbirds on 26th

Vis mig totals for the month saw record numbers of common finch species. Most of these birds were flying S or SW:
Pink-footed Goose 4593
Starling 3019
Chaffinch 2322
Greenfinch 1028
Meadow Pipit 742
Goldfinch 611
Redwing 503
Siskin 497
Jackdaw 452
alba Wagtail 405*
Woodpigeon 190
Fieldfare 164
Skylark 122
Linnet 116
Blackbird 115**
Song Thrush 102**
Mistle Thrush 96
Carrion Crow 87
Brambling 76
Rook 71
Long-tailed Tit 68***
Bullfinch 42
Swallow 36
Grey Wagtail 32
Reed Bunting 31
Collared Dove 29
Coal Tit 29***
Great Spotted Woodp. 13
Jay 12
Crossbill 11
Dunnock 10***
House Martin 7
Kestrel 4***
Whooper Swan 4
Sparrowhawk 4***
Cormorant 4***
Pintail 3
Tree Sparrow 3
House Sparrow 3
Grey Heron 1
Twite 1
Merlin 1
Rock Pipit 1
Green Woodpecker 1
Golden Plover 1

* many specifically identified as White
** many more than usual either flying over high or rising out of bushes and heading off general SE high. These were all, of course, presumed to be continental birds
***Only the most obvious "purposeful high-flying birds" included in this category. Cormorant are very rare over this site and all 4 were together and this is the first Pintail record actually over the 'vis' site.

In conclusion, Heysham is not a particularly special location for migrants but it is a good site for combining all aspects of migration (seabirds/vis/ringing/counting grounded birds) and the systematic coverage provides very useful comparative information which can be entered on national or even international visible migration sites and, at the end of the year, it provides consistent annually-comparative data which can be used in county and local bird reports

Thanks to the team for ensuring such good coverage this autumn - pity about the (lack of) Leach's Petrels and other storm-blown seabirds - no storms!