Tuesday 14 April 2009

Flurry of early morning migrants

Heysham Obs
A 0715hrs start would have been a waste of time on the NHW yesterday but landfalled Wheatears and 'vis' were in full swing on arrival this morning and an '0600er' might have been worthwhile. We were also anticipating some tern passage, at least Sandwich, in a SEF2-3 - the result - not a single tern seen 0715-0930hrs!

Vis mig 0715-0900 north wall, 1 hr OE foreshore
Marsh Harrier - female north over the golf course, then Heysham Head at 0815hrs
alba Wagtail - 24 north-east, as were all subsequent sightings
Meadow Pipit - 188
Linnet - 40
Siskin - 3
Swallow - 20
Reed Bunting - one
Redpoll spp - 3
Sand Martin - 2

Grounded
Wheatear - 13 north wall/OE foreshore
Willow Warbler - probably 40-50 minimum over the whole site (21 ringed)
Chiffchaff - 2 new birds trapped
Redstart - 2 males caught together

Miscellany
Purple Sandpiper - THREE together on the rocks by the harbour entrance (north side) as the tide was dropping
Black Guillemot - this was sat offshore between the harbour mouth and the yellow buoys
Med Gull - first winter with stand-along 'masks' on the outfalls

Moths
V Pug was new for the year

Elsewhere
Lesser Whitethroat - three Aldcliffe early morning