Wednesday 18 April 2012

Good variety on the sea

Heysham Obs
This early Little Grebe chick was photographed last Friday on the reedbed pond at Middleton.  Thanks Janet

Pretty decent amount of stuff on the sea today but land-birds dire

North harbour wall 0615-0930hrs (Pete C throughout, Jean and Pete M for shorter period)
Shelduck - 15 out
Common Scoter - 4 in
Velvet Scoter - 3 out (2 males) - out, close inshore, 0810hrs
Red-throated Diver - 3 in
Gannet - 8 in
Kittiwake - flock of 12 in then on water
Auk spp - 83 in (max flock 18)
Razorbill - 10
Guillemot - 8
Sandwich Tern - 26 in, 130 out
Arctic Tern - 43 plus c10 very high-flying, poss more
Whimbrel - one in
Linnet - 5 NE
Meadow Pipit - 8 NE
Swallow - 1 NE
alba Wagtail - 3 NE
Arctic Skua - two dark-morph blogging in outer bay from 0845 to at least 0930, gradually floating into the Bay

Office area
20 mins of vis/assessing grounded stuff 0600-0620 by the office saw just 4 Siskin, 3 Meadow Pipit,  but no evidence of the (localised) easterly producing the goods night-migrant-wise with no obvious corridor from the south overnight

Ocean Edge area
Pale-bellied Brents - two flew along the tideline towards the Lune as viewed from Ocean Edge 0920 - may have come off Red Nab.  
Loads of large gulls on Heysham 2 outfall again but nothing coffee-coloured - did include 2CY Med Gull