Heysham Obs
An inauspicious start with fanfare of singing Robins greeting an earlyish arrival. Ticking Robins are a much better greeting - this means there are unwelcome migrants invading the territories. However, quite a bit of variety in the early morning weather saw it 'spicing up' a bit, both vis mig and grounded birds. Nothing of the calibre of a Yellow-browed Warbler in a Rossall garden, nor the Leighton 'megas' (see Elsewhere)!
Grounded
Green Woodpecker - TWO juvs together on Middleton IE were the landbird highlights - the first time two have been in the recording area
Wheatear - 4 OE, 5 north wall/heliport
Phyllosc spp - one briefly on the seawall by the wooden jetty
Chiffchaff - two arrived 0900ish next to the office
Dunnock - two behaving like dispersives/migrants
Vis Mig
Chaffinch - 36 S
Pink-footed Goose - 23 S
Grey Wagtail - none seen or heard on 'vis' but 1 (0730)+2 (0815) ringed!!!
alba Wagtail - 18 SE
Meadow Pipit - 41 SE (ALL after 0800hrs)
Swallow - c100 S along seawall, just 4 S over HNR reserve
House Martin - 6 S along seawall
Skylark - 2 SE
Greenfinch - one high southbound migrant
Linnet - 1 S
Ringing
A fairly low-key effort by the office produced 3 Grey Wagtail, a (!) Long-tailed Tit, a Blue Tit, a blackberry-spraying Blackbird and an aggressive Great-spotted Woodpecker
Middleton IE webs:
3 Mute Swan, 8 Coot, 5 Moorhen, 9 Mallard, 10 Tufted Duck, one Pochard, 4 Little Grebe (2 chicks) and 9 Snipe
First National Moth night Heysham toilet trap
Not too bad a catch, given the clear nature of most of the night: Obscure micro (to be identified), Acleris laterana/comariana, Light-brown Apple Moth, Flounced Rustic, Square Spot Rustic, Small Square Spot, Black Rustic, Green-brindled Crescent (2), Red-line Quaker, Rush Veneer, Silver Y (14), Double-striped Pug, Treble Bar (7), Common Marbled Carpet (6), Red- green Carpet. Lack of Pink-barred Sallow very odd. Rarest for here: Red-green Carpet!
Elsewhere
NIGHTJAR sitting on a Bearded Tit grit tray alongside Leighton Moss causeway!!!! Great White Egret Allen/EM Pools from at least - 0830hrs but mobile and may have left the area mid-morning. [Yellow-browed Warbler in a Rossall garden]
