Wednesday 27 April 2011

Seemingly mortified migration bar one highlight

Heysham Obs
No early morning coverage today - the enthusiasm has waned in these blocking north-easterlies.  Having said that, it was calm enough for some stuff to have slipped through and as a possible indication of this, the seawatch included what was probably the start of a reasonable hirundine passage

Sea 0715-0815
Long-tailed Duck - Male in partial summer plumage flew in, then landed on sea towards SJ
Common Scoter - 9+5 out, very distant
Gannet - one out, even more distant
Turnstone - 104 on outer section of wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - one as above
Swallow - 31 north, including loose 'flock' of 26 & 15 in next hour or so
House Martin - one north
Linnet - 2 north over the sea
NO terns seen during the first hour, but 3 Sandwich tern blogging during the next hour