Heysham Obs
Went through the motions this early morning, despite the wind being a bit too southerly for here, and, unlike yesterday, where we were a bit of a migrant-free oasis under the dawn clear slot by all accounts, the early fare was better than expected.
A corvid headed high to the north at 0745hrs - probably higher than I've ever seen one fly here! It certainly had a grey belly but no more detail could be seen. One Lesser Redpoll was caught early on and it was a control - D287 sequence.
The nets were furled for a bit of a run-round as the sun was shining directly on to them (0700-0740), most of which was spent staring at an empty sea, but did include a gang of 16 Wheatear on Ocean Edge, a few looking really wet and bedraggled and the first Whimbrel of the year
A mixture of work/net-checking/listening for gull alarm calls beckons but I cannot see anything dramatic happening..................and it didn't.... but a few odds and ends added since the first post
Seawatch - 0700-0800
Gannet - 1
Sandwich Tern - 14 in 6 blogging
Arctic Tern - 9+3+5 in
Common Scoter - 5 (f) in
Seawatch 1000-1015
Arctic Skua (dark morph) - 1 harrying Sandwich Terns
Common Scoter - 5m, 1f on sea offshore
Sandwich Tern - 16 (8 on yellow buoy, 8 out)
Gannet - adult fishing close inshore!
Grounded
Wheatear - 16 Ocean Edge, one mound, 4 Middleton
Whimbrel - one Red Nab (IOY)
Vis mig
Pretty non-existent with the only two Lesser Redpolls registered both caught and one was ringed elsewhere
Meadow Pipit - c15
Swallow - just 10 seen
Miscellany
Gadwall - pair and single male Middleton
Little Grebe - definitely pair on no swimming pond
Grasshopper Warbler - 3 singing male (as yesterday)
Insects
First (12) Large Red Damselfly at Middleton (IOY)
Orange Tip - c40 Middleton
Brown Silver Line - one by office (IOY)
