Friday 20 April 2012

Quality but no quantity

Heysham Obs

Smithy Lane wood
Redstart - male (IOY)
Tree Pipit - grounded individual

Seawatching early morning
Bonxie (Great Skua) - one 'in' at c0800 .
Arctic Skua - appeared at JBP at lunchtime but again no other sign of seabird movement (all skuas from "our area" will be posted on here, irrespective of whether they were actually seen at Heysham)
Sandwich Tern - 51+
"Commic" Tern - 3-4 very distant
Razorbill - 1
Guillemot - 2
Swallow - 7 NE

Office area rather too late (0700 onwards)
Lesser Redpoll - 12 NE, 9 of these before the mist nets were set!
Willow Warbler - 4 ringed and a retrap ringed at nearby Middleton late July last year
Coal Tit - scarce at this time of year and an unringed bird was caught
Linnet - c20 NE
Goldfinch - c15 NE
no pipits or wagtails recorded!

Middleton NR (Note: this site is dangerous away from the concrete roads and formal paths)
Canada Goose - 2 - first of year!!
Grasshopper Warbler - 2 singing males
Stock Dove - one by the model boat pond - first of year
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Common Whitethroat - one - first of year
Sedge Warbler - one - first of year

Moth
Single Herald

Gullwatch
Slightly fewer today in the calm weather and nothing to raise the adrenalin level