Wednesday 8 September 2010

What a bonus!

Heysham Obs
A nice calm morning amidst all the low pressure areas produced a fair amount of vis mig and a reasonable number of grounded birds in the Middleton NR mist nets:

Middleton NR 0615-1145hrs
Osprey - one circling very high receiving attention from many large gulls at 1130hrs - drifted even higher SE
Common Buzzard - one south about 1025hrs
Grey Wagtail - 14 SE (7 ringed)
Tree Pipit - 5 SE (four very early on, one mid-morning)
Swallow - 215 SE (almost certainly undercounted)
Meadow Pipit - 115 SE - mainly VERY high
Reed Bunting - 8 grounded briefly/SE (all caught & ringed!)
alba Wagtail - 6 SE
House Martin - 35 SE (undercount?)
Kingfisher - one ringed
Lesser Whitethroat - 2 seen
Sedge Warbler - at least 6 (3 ringed)
Reed Warbler - one

Ringing comprised:  Garden Warbler (1), Sedge Warbler (3), Chiffchaff (4), Willow Warbler (2), Reed Bunting (8), Goldfinch (3), Grey Wagtail (7), Swallow (9), Great Tit (2), Blue Tit (4), Kingfisher (1), Wren (1), Coal Tit (1).  Managed to avoid any tit flocks - all tits caught singly!

Heysham N Reserve
Perhaps the same Kingfisher was seen feeding in front of the pagoda hide at lunchtime
Lesser Whitethroat in the brambles by the office