A quiet day

Heysham Obs
An early morning trawl north and south of the harbour checking the sea for 30 mins & OE foreshore & stage 2 outfall. A lunchtime seawatch/paper read/Purp Sand check between 1130 and 1215. A brief attempt to intercept a Common Scoter flock mid afternoon produced a few more terns. Weather SSE 1 high cloud to c0830, veering SW 2-3 and clearing, then clouding over 1115 onwards with intermittent rain and wind dropping to SW1-2.

Sea/vis from the north harbour wall 0745-0815/1130-1215
Sandwich Tern - 11 out am/9 out lunchtime/4 out mid afternoon
Swallow - 3 in/1 in
Meadow Pipit - one in
Linnet - 6 in & 2 on the nyger seed
Black Guillemot - sat offshore between wooden jetty & sandplant entrance at least 0745-0815/on the sea next to the inner wooden jetty
Common Scoter - 3 out 1135
Skua spp. - nothing to suggest it was not Arctic, probably pale morph - one very distantly in flight heading 'in', then landed on sea & lost c1150hrs
Purple Sandpiper - at least one on the wooden jetty
Guillemot - 1 out 1200
Arctic Tern - 2 out mid-afternoon

Stage 2 Outfall 0820-0825/1220-1225
Ad summer Little Gull on the seaward end, not there later
Arctic Tern - Just ONE on the outfalls, not there later
Common Gull - min 188
Black-headed Gull - min 26

Intermittent Vis mig whilst on the move 0930-1100, some of this along Morecambe Promenade
Goldfinch - c40 NE
Siskin - 5 (flock) NE
Swallow 16 NE
Meadow Pipit - 1 NE
alba Wagtail 2 NE
Linnet - 7 NE

All these were during the clear spell of weather with F2-3 breeze and a lot was probably missed

No sign of any Wheatear but the ball-slinging dog walkers were there first

Moths
First Powdered Quaker of the year

Elsewhere
Pale-bellied Brent Goose offshore from Morecambe Stone Jetty early morning. Legs not seen c/f Sunny Slopes bird last seen about a week ago & again no sign at the usual haunts at high tide. Chough seen Warton Crag quarry this morning (roosted last night).