Heysham Obs
A bit of going through the motions with seabird coverage this morning with no high expectations. The most exciting thing this morning was a smallish Common Toad in the moth trap - quite a feat climbing a 3.5 metre wall, then presumably leaping/falling another 1.5 metres down a smooth inner wall on to the floor. The most exciting thing this afternoon was breaking my duck with Southern Hawker with a nice male on the HNR top path (only about 5 previous records). A leaf mining expedition provided some riveting discoveries for John.
North harbour wall
Manx Shearwater - 2 together out
Gannet - one adult in
Fulmar - one out
Shelduck - 7+10 out
Whimbrel - 3 out
Med Gull - one 2CY
Red Nab
Linnet - 60
Med Gull - 4 adult, 6 juv (one on outfalls), 1 2CY
Little Gull - one adult
Oystercatcher - 3,500
Redshank - 345
Curlew - 56
Dunlin - 2
Turnstone - 17
Black-headed Gull - just c250 (therefore many of the gulls far away on the sands south of Ocean Edge)
Birds along Ocean Edge-Potts corner foreshore too far away in bad light
Insects
The first two second brood Treble Bar of the late summer/early autumn or whatever this time of year is and a (scarce here) Garden Carpet. A Rush Veneer was in SD46A along the top path this afternoon along with 10+ Silver Y on the reserve circuit. Leaf mining produced Aspilapterix tringipenella, Mompha raschkiella, Parornix anglicella, Stigmella aurella
Male Southern Hawker, 6 Migrant Hawker on a circuit of the reserve
Three Comma, 3 Brimstone, 2 Small Copper and a late Small Skipper on reserve circuit
Amphibian
A smallish Common Toad in the moth trap (see above)
