Twite Information & Request for Sighting Reports

From this autumn onwards a new colour system will be used for Twite captured at Heysham Harbour that will uniquely identify individual birds.

The combination for this winter will be:  Right Leg below tarsal joint – Pale Blue over BTO Metal,  Left Leg below tarsal joint – White with dark engraved number between 1 and 99.  (The Pale Blue ring is the SITE colour for Heysham).

 

Sightings of colours only will be attributable to Site and Season, but individuals will be identifiable too if the numbers can be read (by telescope, digital camera etc).

 

Twite are a tricky species to check for colour rings with their short legs often concealed.  For any sightings of coastal Lancashire flocks, please try and concentrate on a quick check of ringed/unringed ratios and then the colour rings, with emphasis on the single colour rings. 

There may also still be birds with a metal ring on the right leg and two colour rings on the left, one a single colour, the other a two-colour striped. These will be birds ringed in previous seasons under the original scheme.

There may be plenty of Twite with Pale Blue site rings around between Knott End and Heysham, but also birds wearing other site colours e.g. YELLOW that is the site colour for birds ringed at Askam in Furness.

All records are important so please send any sightings to Alan (see contacts in right sidebar).

 

Thanks very much.                                                                                                   ajd

Red-throated Diver and the first autumnal Twite provide the interest

Heysham Obs
The early morning was ok if you are into poetry or fancy cloud names as the sky was filled by orangy red dappled things instead of the hoped for "clear sky meets clear-cut frontal edge at dawn"

Another colour-ringed Grey Wagtail seems to be taking up residence at Seaforth Nature reserve and has been seen there twice this last week.  Thanks to Chris Gregson.

Vis mig dawn to 1030
Redwing - 25
Song thrush - 3
Grey Wagtail - 1 (definitely a SE-bound high migrant)
Chaffinch - 93
Brambling - one in the half light - presumed just one
Meadow Pipit - 27
alba Wagtail - 50
Goldfinch - 29
Mistle Thrush - 2
Carrion Crow - 7
Sparrowhawk - 2 high to south together
Pink-footed Goose - 6
Reed Bunting - 1
Bullfinch - 3
Dunnock - 1
Jay - 1
Red-throated Diver - c0830: one appeared from 'over' the power station, turned north, then turned round, gained height and headed inland to the north-east and was a dot when last seen.  Seemed to be moulting out of summer plumage.  Unprecedented behaviour in autumn

Inshore
Med Gull - Czech adult and unringed adult north wall
Twite - one on glasswort on Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Linnet- 27 on nyger seed on north wall along with a male Chaffinch
Little Egret - one Red Nab
No sign (predictably) of any terns