Dwindling seabirds

Heysham Obs
Its interesting that the one species I would have thought would high-tail it out of the place as soon as the weather calmed down, on past form, would have been Shag.  This is the only one where numbers seem to be holding up as the food source by the waterfall is obviously lucrative.  Kittiwake numbers have really nosedived this last three days and the Guillemots seem to have drifted offshore.  Unfortunately, the calm weather has also failed to reveal the whereabouts of the two Purple Sandpiper and this is of come concern.

What was almost certainly the elusive Black Redstart was seen again three days ago - flushed from the back of the sandworks and flying straight across the harbour ro the Fisher's side

Inshore
Shag - 6 in harbour
Kittiwake - only 5 seen
Twite - c10 in two small flocks, including a retrap Machrihanish bird, ringed in autumn 2011 and caught at Heysham last October/November
Med Gull - 2 adults

Office area
Greenfinch - 5 unringed birds caught (no retraps)

Not before time, three more Cumbrian blog/websites have been added to the links. Re-LDBWS, the South Cumbrian blogsite has some useful postings from the north of our recording area, which does include the whole of SD58 & 68 and SD48 east of the Winster. One revelation was that someone else other than myself actually does occasionally check Wyndammere and birding in this area is not limited to the Barbondale honeypot.  The Furness site indicates the sort of level of gull-watching, (especially along Morecambe Prom?) needed in this area during the next few weeks of this record Iceland Gull winter