Saturday 1 November 2008

Long-eared Owl heads varied cast

............but predictably no sign of the Arctic Tern during early morning calm, clear, frosty conditions.

North Harbour wall
Twite - 44 ringed the last two mornings with 4 retraps from February 2008. NO birds have been seen at all from previous years from a minimum of 89 birds checked (all together on the fence on 30/10)
Linnet - still a few around with 3 ringed this morning, one yesterday and 11 seen on 30/10
Pink-footed Goose - 650-700 north, with some of these splitting off & heading NE first thing (shooting on the Fylde?)
Rock Pipit - one
Meadow Pipit - one

Ocean Edge/outfalls/offshore
Goldeneye - first of the autumn
Eider - 9
Twite - c24
Linnet - c6
Rock Pipit -1

Grounded on reserve/non-operational land/Moneyclose Lane
Long-eared Owl - one in the tank farm - harassed by Magpies - probably still present but NO access
Blackbird - c80
Redwing - c40
Song Thrush - c10
Treecreeper - 1
Jay - 2, probably migrants
Woodcock - one, quite possibly 2

Middleton IE
Jack Snipe - 2
Snipe - 14
Pochard - 2
Little Grebe - 5
Tufted Duck - 6
Goldeneye - 2
Blackbird - at least 20 migrants
Redwing - 18
Bullfinch - 3
Coot - 14

Vis mig
Quite a bit to the east of here, mostly thrushes and Starlings heading north. When birds are travelling in this direction, the skies over Heysham tend to be a no-go area and this was the case this morning. Cursory glances at the sky between 0730 & 1030 produced:
Chaffinch - 18 N
Redwing - 24 N
Fieldfare - 36 N
Starling - 240 N
plus the abovementioned PFG

Elsewhere
Two Waxwing late afternoon Riverside caravan park at west end alongside the River Wenning. Fieldfare - 2,000 N in 90 minutes Hala (S Lancaster) plus 250 Redwing - a narrow corridor of birds today over Lancaster and apparently also including a flightline down the Lune valley