Tuesday 8 November 2011

Still some thrush movement

Heysham Obs
Earlyish arrival was greeted by c40 Redwing in and around the office and more unusually, 5 Fieldfare lifted from the bushes by the car park and headed inland.  Grounded Fieldfare are surprisngly scarce here

Heysham NR
See above re-early morning thrushes

Pheasant - male seen along entrance road today and yesterday (remnant of a release of "40" on the golf course, most of which were welcomed by the foxes).  Reeve's Pheasant seen along the PS entrance road 'last week'

An afternoon circuit was fairly unproductive with just 25 Blackbird, 3 Song Thrush, 1+ Water Rail and a Treecreeper of note

No time to do any morning vis mig but there just seemed to be the odd Chaffinch heading over

"Gate 38"/south wall/outfalls/Ocean Edge
Rock Pipit - one by wooden jetty, one Red Nab
Kingfisher - one Red Nab
Med Gull - adult Red Nab
Twite - 21 or so Ocean Edge (different from north wall birds)

North harbour wall
At least one Dunnock still in residence in the mound area
Song Thrush - one migrant
Twite - 36, including one ringed in autumn 2008
No sign Guillemot

Mammals
5 Roe Deer reported by a dog walker along the dog track woodland strip - two have been regular in the NE corner of the reserve recently

A quiet day

Nothing out of the ordinary today. 

North Harbour Wall
No Guillemots
33 Twite whizzing about between the gasholder, the seed area, the sandplant and the mound.  Only 3 appeared to be unringed.  Managed to note the colour combinations of 15 of them:
2 were ringed 3 yrs ago,
3 were ringed 2 yrs ago,
1 was ringed 1.5yrs ago,
3 were ringed 1 yr ago,
2 were ringed at the start of this year
4 had been ringed since October this year
What is interesting is that only 23% of the birds noted had been ringed between Jan-March of any particular year and 77% were birds ringed in the October-December periods. 
Also in the area:
1 Linnet, 1 Robin, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Dunnock, 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Rock Pipit.
1 adult Mediterranean Gull

Heysham Nature Reserve
Water Rail - 1 very noisy individual somewhere behind the dipping pond
Blackbird - 25
Song Thrush - 3
Robin - 9
Goldcrest - 2
Treecreeper - 1
plus Great Tit 4, Blue Tit 2, Greenfinch 1, Goldfinch 4, Long-tailed Tit 16 (in 3 flocks), Wren 8, Dunnock 2, Moorhen 2, Bullfinch 1, Chaffinch 1, Great-spotted Woodpecker 1

Ocean Edge saltmarsh
A further 25 or so Twite.  These alternate between snacking on the saltmarsh plants and going for a quick drink in a puddle on the grass above the marsh.