Heysham Obs
An isolated day (according to the forecasts) of fine calm weather with the usual and some not so usual culprits on the move...........and a lack of any numbers of grounded night migrants was par for the course after a clear night complete with fullish moon
Vis mig 0600-1100hrs
Jay - 1+2+4 high to the south (no other discernable corvid passage)
Great-spotted Woodpecker - two together high to the south
Dunnock - maybe as many as 20 on the move to the south including six unringed birds caught by the office, all at below average weight
Sparrowhawk - female 'in-off', then south-east
Chaffinch - 198 south (mainly early)
Meadow Pipit - 206 counted south, mainly mid-morning and not very conscientiously recorded due to a lot of 'activity' around and about - could have been double this!
Reed Bunting - 1
Linnet - 10
alba Wagtail - just 2
Grey Wagtail - just 5 south-east with four of them ringed
Lesser Redpoll - one
Goldfinch - 21
Greenfinch - 61 - definite vis mig birds passing straight over this morning
Swallow - only 5 in sharp contrast to elsewhere
Skylarks - heard and not seen on four occasions
Reed Bunting - one
Pink-footed Goose - skein of 35 early on and a large skein of c250 mid-morning
Grounded
Song Thrush - 2
Whitethroat - one ringed
Blackcap - 2 ringed
Goldcrest - the only one reported was in a small bush on the seawall enroute to the outfalls!
Chiffchaff - 3-4 early on (one ringed)
Robin - 3 ringed
Wheatear - just 2 coastal sightings
Ringing
A real mixed bag of new-ringed birds: Goldfinch (4), Greenfinch (18), Blue Tit (6), Dunnock (6), Robin (3), Meadow Pipit (2), Chaffinch (7), Grey Wagtail (4, plus colour rings), Chiffchaff (1), Blackcap (2), Whitethroat (1), Song Thrush (1 and one escape - both considered to be the first migrants of the autumn), Blackbird (2), Bullfinch (1), Great Tit (2) plus about 10 retraps, mainly Blue Tit
Outfalls/harbour area
Predictable leftovers with the Black Tern presumably the one belatedly reported as being present yesterday afternoon
Black Tern - juv seaward end of Heysham one early on
Kittiwake - 2 juvs early on
Arctic Tern - c12 (2 adults)
Common Tern - ad & 2 juvs
Little Gull - adult and 2CY
Med Gull - 7 on Red Nab during a very brief visit, including 3 1CY - smaller numbers, not necessarily these birds reported around the harbour mouth/behind ferries. Please note that one of the 1CY is very "contrasty" and therefore displaying quite a 'triangular wing pattern'
No known sightings of the Sabine's Gull, although an apparently erroneous report reached the info services mid-afternoon at a time when quite a few observers were grilling the area (as others had been doing since about 0630hrs!)
Half Moon Bay (evening)
Wheatear - 1
Moths
Still a single Treble Bar in the trap
Butterfly/dragonfly census of HNR
Highlighted by a singular lack of anything other than Katia-trashed insects, apart from about 10 of the 30ish Speckled Wood, the 3 Comma and a single Small White & Small Tortoiseshell. The Meadow Brown, Common Blus and even Small Copper looked on their last legs and there were no Migrant Hawkers and only three weary-looking Common Darter
