Wednesday 7 November 2012

End of an era and a returning Machrihanish twite?

Heysham Obs
The Observation Tower, built to observe the construction of the power station, is no more.  Also no more of Britains most frequently asked question: "Why is the tower not open?"   "Why has the tower been knocked down?" will hopefully have a short shelf-life.  It has been the victim of risk assessments and 'unsafe design' for years, but knocking it down at an earlier stage was not straightforward.

North harbour wall
Twite - 14, including a Machrihanish-ringed bird from autumn 2011 which may have been one which wintered in 2011/12 - hopefully it will be caught and the number checked.  6 were unringed, one ringed bird was pre-2011/12 winter, but the rest seemed to be either from earlier this autumn or last winter period
Goldfinch - a cohesive flock of 25 made two visits to the feeder, displacing the Twite.  A minimum of 7 were unringed, probably more
Linnet - 4 - 2 unringed
Med Gull - 1CY 'working' the seawall
Purple Sandpiper - one on the rocks at the base of the seawall by the red gate

Heysham Nature Reserve
A lot of banging and clattering (see above),but two Goldcrests were heard calling by the office

Moth
Parsnip Moth