Sunday 2 November 2008

Advance notice of weather

Anyone able to spend any time covering the Heysham area for migrant passerines during especially Tuesday to Thursday this week could be rewarded (Friday is too late unless there are 'leftovers') - the conditions are superb, especially if we get intermittent drizzle as suggested for Tuesday & Wednesday. Good coverage should definitely produce Firecrest and Black Red., with a real chance of something more interesting such as Pallas's. The previous Pallas's and Dusky Warbler records from Heysham were on 5/11 and 4/11 respectively.....

Quiet morning unless you are a dredger

A discrete image of a semi-buoyant dredger and attendees. Thanks John

Heysham Obs
Pretty low-key coverage today & using Blackbird numbers as an indicator, much quieter than yesterday.

Grounded
Blackbird - c40
Song Thrush - 3
Redwing - 5

Ocean Edge etc
Twite - 23
Linnet - 7
Med Gull - adult off the outfalls

North harbour wall
Other than the sinking dredger (oil sealed from spillage):
Twite - max of 19 - see North Lancs Ringing Group link for a bird which had not been ringed here
Goldfinch - 5
Med Gull - 2 ads & 1st winter
Shag - two juvs on the wooden jetty at high tide

Vis
Nothing discernable but no-one here in the first hour of daylight

Elsewhere
A slow trawl from High Tatham to Lancaster resulted in 20 minutes 'vis' from the Post House (by M6): Fieldfare - 255 N, Redwing 87 NNW in several small groups. This is consistent with the line taken yesterday - no other movement noted other than 14 Redwing N in 30 minutes at High Tatham. No apparent sign of the Waxwings at High Bentham