Mega-micro saves the day

Heysham Obs
The Agonopterix in the trap this morning was liturosa, only the second record for VC60 and the second for Lancashire (one in 1986 at Gaitbarrows).  It feeds on St John's Wort of which there is plenty here.   The CES sessions at Heysham and Middleton were only a fraction above watching paint dry in terms of action.  Rachel Carson would have felt at home.  This time last year there were loads of contact-calling young warblers around.  Is this the worst-ever breeding season for 'open'-nesters?  Also where are the tit flocks?  Subsequent to this posting, the Walney Obs one for 31st July makes interesting reading and another stark contrast to 2011 with resepct to warbler breeding success.  See Links

Middleton NR 0545-0930
Teal - early individual central marsh
Swallow - c23 south
Swift - 9 south
Reed Warbler - 2 juvs ringed
Sedge Warbler - ONE juv ringed (similarly Whitethroat and Blackcap)
Grasshopper Warbler - 3, possibly 4 singing males (just about the only small birds making a noise!) and an adult female with brood patch ringed
Willow Warbler - 6 ringed

Ocean Edge/Red Nab incoming tide, then high tide
Med Gull - Juvenile, plus 2 adult and a 2CY
Little Gull - adult
Terns - none seen
Whimbrel - 3
Grey Plover - 75
Bar-tailed Godwit - 17
Redshank - 265
Curlew - 210
Oystercatcher - 1,300
Turnstone - 5
Dunlin - 14
Knot - 5

Moths
A few new autumnal things such as second brood Small Phoenix, Acleris emargana and Least Yellow Underwing but the rarest was Agonopterix liturosa (thanks to Steve Palmer for checking the pic)

A few more waders

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab brief visit 0730hrs
Bar-tailed Godwit - 15
Grey Plover - 49
Redshank - 233
Turnstone - 7
Curlew - 156
Whimbrel - 1
Med Gull - 2 x 2CY
Little Gull - adult summer

Moths
Star of the show was Elachista atricomella - dont think I've noticed it before but there are a dozen or so previous records.  Otherwise just over 100 moths with a Dingy Footman, Golden-rod Pug, Barred Straw and Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet the most "notable" for here

Common Tern makes a rare appearance

Heysham Obs
Very quick check on the morning tide (no time for proper seawatching) off Ocean Edge area saw:

Common Tern - adult Red Nab
Little Gull - adult summer Red Nab
NO Meds!

Moths
Dingy Shears the most notable with Six-striped Rustic new for the year and Straw Underwing still over 50!

Moths and gulls plus a tern and Manx

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/outfalls/Ocean Edge 0745-0815
Unfortunately the big gull flock was sent in the direction of Pott's Corner by a dog and 2CY Meds may have been missed

Med Gull - 2 x ad & 1 x 2CY
Little Gull - adult summer Red Nab
Sandwich tern - adult Red Nab
Whimbrel - one
Curlew - 187
Grey Plover - 44
Redshank - 210
Manx Shearwater - one distantly offshore flying out

Moths
Another rather large 220+ catch with minor highlights including singles of White Satin, Double Dart, Dingy Footman, Garden Carpet (!), 3 Blackneck, but more especially the occurrence of both Small Fan-foot and The Fan-foot on the same night - neither regular here

The last of the overnight moth madness?

Heysham Obs
Its been a moth week when, despite traps being emptied and checked from the early hours, the identification and documentation has seriously 'crept' into work time!

Moths
Despite the rather late check at 0830hrs (in sunny conditions), with the predictable downturn in flighty geometrids which had presumably made their escape in the earlier morning sun, the trap was still heaving.  After an hour of checking and chucking out, 62 Straw Underwing topped the bill which was again devoid of real 'show-stoppers', but did include Grass Emerald making a welcome first appearance, Dun-bar also new of the year and one or two relatively scarce species in the form of Dingy Shears, Dingy Footman and Blackneck

Outfalls/Red Nab
Very heat-hazy afternoon check with the tide not really far enough in

Little Gull - adult easy to find with its conspicuously black head
Med Gull - 1 x 2CY and 2 x Ad in the heathaze, could have been more
No terns seen

More time-consuming moths

Heysham Obs
Another decent moth catch with no real surprises.  New for the year were Udea lutealis, Southern Wainscot and Cloaked Minor and I think LBB Yellow U/W.  Of interest for here were Plain Golden Y, Slender Pug, Agapeta zoegana (with hamana for comparison), Agonopterix nervosa, Blackneck, Dingy Footman (3), Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet, a latish Double Dart and just 58 Straw Underwing

Outfalls/Red Nab late afternoon
Redshank - 235
Turnstone - 4
Oystercatcher - 1,140
Med Gull - 2 x ad, 1 x 2CY
Little Gull - adult summer
Sandwich Tern - 3 adults early afternoon, then just one adult
Whimbrel - 1
Curlew - 44

Autumnal stirrings

Heysham Obs
A decent incoming tide this afternoon although potentially the best bird, a 'miniature redshank' (with Redshank) was flushed by a bait-digger whilst still a distant complete silhouette, towering high and up and away

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Little Gull - adult summer
Sandwich Tern - 4 ad, 6 juv
Med Gull - adult and 2 2CY
Oystercatcher - c970
Curlew - 135
Dunlin - 6
Redshank- 40+

Moths
Nothing startling such as the Bedstraw Hawk Moth sat on a moorland trap I ran last night.  Best was Pinion-streaked Snout and others included 5 Dingy Footman, Chinese Character, Slender Pug, Golden-rod Pug, Marbled Beauty and just 38 Straw Underwing

Where-ever there is clover you can often find this moth in the daytime and it also visits the moth trap, although is one of the first to shoot out of the window at the slightest disturbance.  Shaded broad Bar.  Thanks Janet

Warm drizzly moth-fest

Heysham Obs
After turfing loads out of traps at or near home for the last month or so, it was rather ironic that the 'rarest' moth at Heysham this morning was Plain Golden Y.  A large catch included 4 each of White Satin and Dingy Footman, 2 Dingy Shears, Golden rod Pug, Latticed heath, 5 x Blackneck, what is now known as Acrobasis advenella, a massive 53 Straw Underwing (a strangely localised species and this single-night total is guaranteed to be a much larger than in the rest of VC60 combined for the whole year) and just 5 Large Yellow Underwing, a species which has been held well in check so far this year

Not a lot else happening so far!

Three minor notables

Heysham Obs
First of all it took ages to find a way of posting on here (had to sign out, then sign in via the north Lancs ringing group blog!) and I cannot access a toolbar to upload any pics (or boldface/italics).  Will do that tomorrow from the office.  Apologies.

Office area
A Grasshopper Warbler was singing regularly in the tank farm area - typical of a breeding male just starting up again (prolonged singing from there in spring) & the habitat is fine

Moth
White-line dart is a one-two per year wanderer from the nearby coastline and a pristine speciman was in the trap this morning

Red Nab
Single Whimbrel

Moths Purple Patch

Heysham
The eighth CES visit was made today after early rain and rather stronger wind than was comfortable for mist nets.
There were few birds around and fledged young were conspicuous by their absence - for instance, no juvenile Blackbirds have yet been caught this year.

Five juvenile Greenfinches caught at the feeders by the Hut.

Moths
A decent catch of of 48 species although no great numbers of any one species (the species total being maximised by very early check on the trap).

Another Blackneck caught, together with Light Arches, Chinese Character, White Satin, Latticed Heath and Purple Thorn (only the second record at this site).

ajd

Red-veined Darter weather

Heysham Obs
Dragonflies Middleton model boat pond
A short look late morning as the wind was slowly increasing produced:
Red-veined darter - probably just the one very mobile male seen on and off around the spit, including good views at rest at the swan loafing area
Black-tailed Skimmer - c8
Common Darter - c15, including one "reddish" imm male
Emperor - female
Emerald Damselfly - first records this year?

Birds
Med Gull:  low tide check produced 7:   metal-ringed adult, metal-ringed 3CY, 3 unringed adult, 2 unringed 2CY.  6 of these were together between the wooden jetty and Heysham one outfall

Middleton CES in sunny but fairly calm conditions re-emphasised that Whitethroat and Reed Warbler have so far seem to have had appalling breeding success (just one juv Whitethroat and no juv Reed Warbler caught), Sedge Warbler & Lesser Whitethroat pretty poor (just 4 juv Sedge caught at this peak(ish) time) but Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff not too bad.  Thanks to Alan and John for doing this.

Moths
Moth trap highlight was a single Gothic and a bit of a surprise was a late flush of newly-emerged Buff Ermine - this has been a feature of this weather-disrupted summer

The dotted highlight

Heysham Obs

Office moth trap
Scraping the barrel a bit when the new for the year highlight is that scourge of chrysanthemums, the Dot Moth - well away from its 'natural' environment.  Other notables included late Broad-barred White and Eyed Hawk-moth.  Others included three Silver Y, Agapeta zoegana, Bee Moth and Dingy Footman with Straw Underwing once again in pole position (17)

Birds during a quick pre-high tide check from Ocean Edge comprised:
Med Gull - adult
Redshank - 130

Decent numbers of Gatekeeper around at the moment desperately trying to find some warmth:

Thanks Janet

Early spartan WeBS

Heysham Obs
A rather early WeBS count revealed that there was not a lot around at high tide!  The exception was the reasonable numbers of Redshank which included 80 roosting on Ocean Edge saltmarsh.  Four Turnstone were roosting on the wooden jetty, otherwise most of the rest was Oystercatcher-fest (520 on Red Nab) and large gull species, some of which were finishing off their nesting season

A single Meadow Brown was seen in SD36V by the north harbour wall mound.  "The wildlife of SD36V" would surely make a best-seller.

The moth trap held Short-cloaked Moth, Grey Pug, Iron Prominent, Dingy Footman, Blackneck, Double Dart, another Barred Red and several Straw Underwing

Red themed waders and moth

Red Nab

500 Oystercatchers at high tide, 167 Redshank, 1 Dunlin, no Curlew
c200 Black-headed Gulls, 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (30 others sitting on the grass at Ocean Edge).

Moths
Barred Red was a good record.

Moths and a few birds

Heysham Obs
A bit of a one-eyed posting courtesy of a right eye cataract op this morning.  An overnight sheet and light session below the classroom was highlighted by the fourth VC60 record of Hedya salicella, a variation on the bird dropping theme.  Also notable was a minimum of eight Blackneck

The office trap produced a further three Blackneck, single Dingy Footman and Map-winged Swift of note

Outfalls/Red Nab area
Many of the gulls had moved south out of viewing range (per Jean)
Med Gull - 2CY
Curlew - 90

This singing male Wren takes a short break - thanks Janet

Help gratefully received for coverage e.g. high tide or pre-high tide around the outfalls/Red Nab or counting the moths - I cannot drive until next Tuesday and John G is unavailable for a bit.  Thanks.  Pete

Routine in the routine rain

Heysham Obs
A quick pre-work check and therefore no time to wait for the "trickle of Manx" as suggested by the weather

Red Nab/Ocean Edge area high tide
Kittiwake - 2CY
Med Gull - just 2 adults
Redshank - 237 (mostly adults)
Curlew - 133 (mostly moulting adults or 2CY)
Whimbrel - 2
Grey Plover - 14
Oystercatcher - 266
No terns

Moths
Mediocre catch enlivened by a Drinker

High fives for Blackneck

Heysham Obs
When the spread of this species reached the north of Lancashire, it seemed like Heysham might become a hotspot due to the proliferation of Tufted Vetch.  This has happened this year and there were 5 individuals this morning after what was not a particularly good moth night

Ocean Edge/outfalls/Ocean Edge foreshore at high tide
Med Gull - 3 ads and one 2CY in amongst reduced numbers on Red Nab (disturbed prior to arrival?)
Grey Plover - 36
Dunlin - 8
Redshank - 157
Bar-tailed Godwit - 2
Knot - 2

Moths
5 Blackneck notable and new for the year were Dingy Shears, Pale Mottled Willow and Common (uncommon here) Wainscot.  There were also 2 Double Dart and 4 Straw Underwing

Another half decent insect event

Heysham Obs
As last Saturday, the weather was again kind to an insect event, this time butterflies, especially looking at the forecast for the rest of the week

Birds
Ringing at Middleton and Heysham again revealed a dearth of young birds, although 10 Sedge Warblers were caught in a prolonged session at Middleton.  Just the one Grasshopper Warbler materialised in the nets although Janet was able to photograph a singing male on nearby Heysham Moss.  Thanks Janet.

Outfalls
Med Gull - single adult on the dropping tide (thanks Geoff and Chris)

Insects
No sign of Red-veined Darter at Middleton as far as I am aware in marginal temperatures and a niggling wind by the time the sun appeared

Gatekeeper - first of the year on the reserve
Burnet Companion - surely the last of the year?
Ebulea (or now Anania) crocealis found at Middleton (thanks Geoff)
Currant Pug the star of the moth trap

Decent overnight moth catch and early influx of Redshank

Heysham Obs
Apparently an early influx of Redshank has been noted at other sites and this was certainly the case just after the tide off Ocean Edge

Outfalls/Red Nab and area
Redshank - 185, equally distributed on the newly-uncovered mudflats either side of the old water pipeline
Black-tailed Godwit - one with the above
Curlew - 130 scattered around
Med Gull - too late to 'do' the gulls - they were scattered far and wide but two adults were seen.  It is always best to 'do' the gulls on the incoming tide - about 3 hrs before high tide - not on the dropping tide

Moths
New for the year included Yellow Tail, Wormwood Pug, Dingy Footman, Garden Tiger (not annual these days) and notable were Straw Underwing, Double Dart and Agonopterix nervosa

Definitely two sporadically active Red-veined Darter in marginal temperatures

Heysham Obs

Dragonflies on model boat pond
Thanks to Michael Foley, Janet and Phil from Hampshire for confirming two individuals were present - one in the SE corner and one along the spit - neither particularly active and absent for long periods in the rather low temperatures for this species

Thanks to Michael Foley for the top pic of one individual and Janet for the bottom two of the second individual

Black-tailed Skimmer - c6 males, 3 females
Emperor - ovipositing female
4-spotted Chaser - 2-3
Common Blue Damselfly - 200+


Now the tide is coming round to a 'sensible' time of day before the heat-haze gets going, a check was made of waders and gulls on the back end of the 'low' high tide

Red Nab/outfalls/Ocean Edge
Curlew - 230, split between Red Nab and along the shore south of Ocean Edge
Redshank - 47 - Red Nab
Oystercatcher - 220, mainly Red Nab
Med Gull - 5 adult, 3 2CY, one 3CY, possibly more 2CY as hard to see all birds on Red Nab
Black-headed Gull - 370
Kittiwake - 2CY
Common Gull 15
Shelduck - 12 - way to the south of OE

Ringing by the office
More variety than quantity with little on the feeders today

A young Whitethroat at Middleton - sadly not many of these around this year.  Thanks Janet

Moths
Better than expected after a cool night but nothing above the adrenalin level of late Turnip moth and another Ebulea crocealis

Reasonable numbers of Meadow Brown on the wing at the moment.  Thanks Janet

This should be Wednesday!

Heysham Obs
A bit cool and windy for dragonflies today, despite the requisite sunlight and as far as I am aware, sightings on the model boat pond limited to female Emperor, a few teneral Common Darter and 2-3 Black-tailed Skimmer

Please keep any dogs away from this pond whilst searching for dragonflies (Mute Swan pair and 8 young)

Moth
The local Ebulea crocealis was the only scarcity in a much reduced catch this morning

Birds
No check of the outfalls as far as I am aware.  Thanks to Janet for these excellent hirundine pics from the model boat pond:

Twitchable Chamomile Shark larva headlines a good insect day

Heysham Obs
First of all here are the excellent pics from last Saturday of male Red-veined Darter taken at Middleton by Sandra and John on what was a really inspired date-choice for an organised Dragonfly event!  How many others have successfully gone ahead in this country this summer? .

Moths

This Chamomile Shark larva was first seen yesterday along the road by Middleton NR and was still there today.  Thanks Janet

Hut trap
Excellent, although too time-consuming in relation to work!  Stand-outs for here amongst the 50 species of macro were V-Moth, Miller and Bordered Sallow with new for the year being Antler, Double Square Spot, Lesser Yellow Underwing.  A different Eyed Hawk-moth was a surprise this late and others of interest included Eucosma campoliliana, Diamond Back Moth, 4 Silver Y and a few as yet unidentified micros.  Just to remind people, this trap comprises a blended 160 watt dangling from the ceiling of a 'spare' toilet with 'prison bars' over an otherwise open window, egg packing over the floor and the toilet lid 'sealed'.  It is operated 24/7 and is especially successful during westerly sector winds and useless during easterly winds of any strength (window faces east and moths like to fly into the wind).

Outfalls/Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Late afternoon whistle stop saw:
Med Gull - 4 adults (2 off Ocean Edge saltmarsh/2 on Red Nab),  at least 2 2CY on Red Nab
Kittiwake - 2CY Red Nab
No migrant waders along the tideline at Ocean Edge

Red-veined Darter confirmed

Heysham Obs

Middleton model boat pond this afternoon.  Thanks Janet.  Are they still hanging out at this formerly prolonged breeding site or is this a primary migrant? (one sighting on one day in last year's grotty summer).  One was thought to have been photographed on the dragonfly event on Saturday, so hopefully another pic on its way from the observer.

Also seen up to 6 Black-tailed Skimmer, a single male Ruddy Darter and at least one Emperor

Please take care not to disturb the Mute Swan family if you visit this pond.  Thanks

Outfalls/Red Nab
Med Gull -  at least 4 2CY and one adult
Arctic Tern - at least one adult
Common Tern - one adult

Moths
A really decent catch by this year's standards.  New for the year were: White Satin, Dotted Clay, Barred Yellow, Scalloped Oak and I think V-Pug.  Notable were Broad-barred White, a latish Eyed Hawk-moth, Bee Moth, Diamond-back Moth, 3 Silver Y and 6 Double Dart.  Clay (15) the most numerous  

Thorough check of Med Gulls

Heysham Obs
A careful check of the Med Gulls on the outfalls over the low tide period saw 15 individuals but no sign of yesterday's juv!  Thanks Mark (and others?)

Outfalls area early am
Med Gull - 8 x 2CY, 2 x 3CY, 5 x adult.  No info on whether any were ringed and not sure if anything else was seen
Redshank - 56 over the afternoon tide (all but one adult)
Whimbrel - 1 (IOA) over the afternoon tide

Office area
Ringing suggested that resident species had not done too badly but juvenile summer migrants, other than Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, were well below par.  'New' birds included (juv unless stated):  4 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 6 Wren, 12 Greenfinch, 6 Robin, 3 Chaffinch, 2 Goldfinch but just 2 Whitethroat and one juvenile and two adult female Blackcap

Moths
The first Straw Underwing of the year

Ruddy Shelduck visit earlier this week

Heysham Obs
Thanks to Sandra and John for showing us pics of two Ruddy Shelduck which were on the mudflats by Ocean Edge saltmarsh on 2/7/12.  Just going out to see if they are still around.

Thanks very much to Sandra and John for these pics which suggest two female or immature Ruddy Shelduck with no obvious evidence of any hybridisation.  They are part of an established pattern of summer post-breeding influxes, perhaps from a feral population in the Netherlands or elsewhere

Outfalls/Red Nab
Curlew - influx with 221 on Red Nab, then flushed on to mudflats off OE
Redshank - 31 - influx
Grey Plover - 9
Med Gull - the first juvenile of the autumn on the outfalls, at least 3 2CY, including the strikingly black-headed bird but only one adult could be found
Kittiwake - 2CY
no terns on the incoming tide

Office area
Swift - at least 30 high to the south & others heard
Greenfinch - 15 new birds ringed on the feeder
Chaffinch - 5 as above
Ones and twos of Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff ringed during the morning in the office nets

Moths
The first Common Rustic & Chilo phragmitella of the year.

More Meds and miserable weather

Heysham Obs

A glum juvenile Wren in the rain wondering if there could be a better life elsewhere (thanks Janet)

A different lot of young wrens taking their first steps into the world. Thanks Janet

Outfalls/Red nab

Med Gull - 2 2CY, one a new bird (both unringed), one adult but the tide a little too high for a proper check

Moths

Decent catch by this summer's standards with not all the small stuff identified yet.  Best were a late and worn Shaded Pug (one of the few pugs you can easily identify when worn!), an Obscure Wainscot, two Double Dart and a single Silver Y

Close encounter with a Silver Y and a Straw Dot at Middleton.  Thanks Janet

Middleton CES and a Raven mystery

Heysham Obs
Sanity was questioned this morning as I drove through the Lune valley at some ridiculous hour with rain showers and a gusty wind.  Blind faith in the forecasted weather window for the Middleton CES and already the wind speed was way out.  The net-setting was a bit tricky but as soon as the CES period started the weather changed for the better - indeed it was too sunny!  With the assistance of John Mason and no heavy shower clouds on the horizon, we were able to set two supplementary nets, mainly to try and assess the Grasshopper Warbler situation.  The following observations were made:

Middleton NR 0545-1045hrs
Raven - Four flew very high from the west - seemingly from over the Bay and headed due east until lost from sight.  An odd record for this time of year but they breed early and disperse early?
Siskin - five lots of calls heard - all appeared to be single birds heading south/south-east
Swift - 7 south
Reed Warbler - there appears from ringing data and other singing birds to be about 6-7 territories
Sedge Warbler - Four separate independent 'old' juveniles were caught along with one unringed adult and one adult retrap which did at least have a brood patch.  This was thought to be associated with just the one obvious territorial male, the only one heard singing or calling
Grasshopper Warbler - With the assistance of a caveat on my ringing permit allowing brief playback for this species at Middleton, two retrap adults, one unringed adult and two juveniles were caught.  Much better than expected after the recent weather and obvious demise of the much larger Sedge Warbler population.  The playback, of course, was only used by the two supplementary nets, not within the CES envelope.
Gadwall - male seen once in flight
Curlew - three separately high to the east

Ringing at Middleton NR
Better than expected with quite a few tits and Willow Warblers keeping the session going in the absence of any significant numbers of other warblers, especially Sedge.  41 new and 12 retraps were caught with almost half the newly-ringed total being Blue Tit and Willow Warbler

Red Nab and outfalls - quick mid-morning check
Med Gull - three adults and at least 2 2CY
Kittiwake - usual 2CY
no terns seen

Moths
A very early Toadflax Pug was left for me to look at by John Girdley (thanks John) - no, not a misidentified Foxglove Pug - this is a known site for Toadflax and we do know what they look like!  Common Emerald best of the rest

.First Common Darter of the year and there are still no known Emperor records.  Thanks Janet

First Greenshank of the 'autumn'

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/outfalls/Ocean Edge incoming tide
Greenshank - adult in the saltmarsh creek
Grey Plover - 9 on the tideline
Dunlin - 3 on the tideline
Med Gull - 3 original 2CY plus a large and small adult
Arctic Tern - 2 adults
Kittiwake - usual 2CY

Middleton NR
Not a single Sedge Warbler seen or heard during mist net ride clearance.  Therefore perhaps the key species in terms of numbers out of the equation as regards positive local breeding bird CES data.  Hopefully the CES visit tomorrow will not be watching paint dry even if the weather allows it to take place.  Fortunately, the last visit was reasonable with bits and pieces of mainly non-wetland species keeping it ticking over

Insects
A poor catch in the hut trap as there was a bit of east in the wind.  Common Emerald was the only geometrid at an overnight sheet/light at Middleton and quite a few Map-winged Swift at one of the few lowland sites where this species is common

Yellow Shell at Middleton NR this afternoon.  Thanks Janet 

The weather clobbers the more exposed roof-nesting seagulls

Heysham Obs
Better timing for the incoming tide Red Nab check.  Gulls at all angles with some half-hidden behind rocks in the light winds and took five sweeps to be as certain as possible there were:

Red Nab/outfalls
Med Gull - 4 x 2CY, the new bird being large with a black 'dollop' of a mask, and a small adult.  None ringed
Kittiwake - 2CY
Black-headed Gull - 270 (five juvs - first I've noticed this year here)
Common Gull - 19
Common Sandpiper - 1
Grey Plover = 16 along tideline south of Ocean Edge


Gull nest/brood count on 12/6/12
Fisher's Roof north side:
Herring Gull - 6 on nests;
Lessers - 15 on nests plus 3 broods of 2 juvs, and 3 broods of 1 juv
Great BB Gull - 1 brood of 2 juvs
Gull nest/brood count on 2/7/12
Fisher's Roof north side:
Herring Gull - 1 on nest plus 1 brood of 2 juvs ;
Lessers 1 on nest plus 2 broods of 3 juvs and 1 brood of 2 juvs.
Fisher's Roof south side:
Herring Gulls - 2 broods of 1juv, 1 brood of 2 juvs, 1 brood of 3 juvs;
Lessers - 2 broods of 2 juvs
Centrica:
Herring Gull - 1 on nest plus 1 brood of 1 juv;
Lessers 1 brood of 2 juvs
? Roof (flat-roofed building at port):
Herring Gull - 1 brood of 1 juv, 1 brood of 2 juvs
Middleton/Heysham Business Park:
Herring Gull - 2 broods of 1 juv;
Lessers - 3 broods of  3 juvs, 13 broods of  2 juvs and  9 broods of 1 juv
Ocean Edge Caravan site - to be added

Moths
A really good catch at last with the highlight being a Shark, a formerly regular species around here but scarce these days.  Rarer still here was Currant Pug and 'firsts of the year' included Wormwood Pug and Large Fruit Tree Tortrix

A significant influx of Silver Y in this rather muggy weather at the moment and (top) a rather "in between seasons" Treble Bar - usually double-brooded in spring/autumn - presumably a late emergence in the poor weather.  Thanks Janet

Bit of a shortage of Ragwort this year and getting hammered by Cinnabar caterpillar.  Quite a lot of moth larvae use ragwort e.g. Eucosma campoliliana as well as it being a useful nectar source for all sorts of insects.  Thanks Janet 

2CY Med trio still present

Heysham Obs

Red Nab area
A little too late in relation to the incoming tide height

Med Gull - the three 2CY still present and none of them are ringed (no ads seen this morning)
Kittiwake - 2CY

Moths
A small catch included the second Blackneck of the year and a single Silver Y

Moth hoodoo broken at last

Heysham Obs
Another unsettled morning prompted a short seawatch and outfalls check (thanks Mark for some of this stuff)

Sea 0830-0915ish on and off
Gannet - 3 (one close)
Manx Shearwater - at least 3, possibly 5

Outfalls/Red Nab
Med Gull - 2 adults and the black-headed 2CY (definitely unringed), but no sign of the other two 2CY seen yesterday, one of which was the 'regular' bird
Arctic Tern - 2 adults, but drifted offshore as tide came in
Kittiwake - 2CY

Moths
At last, a Figure of 80 whilst I checked the trap!  I've only seen one of this near-annual-at-Heysham before.  It doesn't register at my regular sites in Hindburndale/Roeburndale and area.  The other feature with the moths was a minor emergence of fresh individuals this morning and these comprised Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Clay and Heart and Dart.  SSW and Clay usually only overlap as worn 'back-end' and newly-emerged respectively - an indication that the weather has seriously disrupted some emergence times this year.