Heysham Obs
Today would have been fine if we had an extra hour's sleep and started proceedings about 0700hrs! The preceding hour saw minimal action other than a tale of two Tree Pipits where the second bird hit the net and 'bounced' the first one out.....and off they both went. There was a noticeable arrival of phylloscs and a bit of vis mig between 0800 and 0845 as the south-easterly wind was getting its act together. Then the finches arrived along with the ringing highlight - two Tree Sparrow - and singles of both Whitethroat species
Heysham office 0600 onwards
Tree Pipit - 3 south-east
Meadow Pipit - 37 south-east
Grey Wagtail - 5 south-east
Swallow - 29 through south/south-east early morning, then an off-passage gathering around midday, then ridiculously high numbers both milling around and moving through during the afternoon with 825 south between 1440hrs and 1540hrs (counted at Middleton NR where it was easy to discern movement as opposed to blogging)
House Martin - 10-15 off-passage around midday, then 53 moving south with the Swallows in the hour counted
Sand Martin - just one noted with the Swallow passage
Swift - one with the Swallow passage
Chaffinch - 16 high birds heading south in the early morning
Buzzard spp - one heard mewing several times but could not see anything! I think the bird-scaring has finished in the Power Station? Odd.
Tree Sparrow - 2 heard, then found in mist net (only the 3rd and 4th to be ringed here)!
Chiffchaff - c10 around
Willow Warbler - at least 2
Robin - no obvious significant arrival of migrants with three ringed mid/late morning
Woodpigeon - flock of 5 east, maybe just local birds
Blackcap - none were seen/heard today and the only Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat were single unringed birds caught late morning
Ringing: 2 Tree Sparrow, 2 Bullfinch, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, 3 Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Chaffinch, 9 Goldfinch, just 6 Greenfinch, Great Tit, 2 Blue Tit, 3 Robin, 2 Long-tailed Tit plus a few retraps (none of them warbler species, suggesting a departure of quite a few which have been hanging about feeding on blackberry)
Red Nab area high tide
Sandwich tern - 2
Little Gull - adult sat on sea
Med Gull - just the one adult sat on sea
Half Moon Bay (evening)
Wheatear - 2
