Wednesday 3 December 2014

Merlin tops the bill

Heysham Obs
Decent numbers of waders south of Ocean Edge today with some nice murmurations (not 'murms' or 'mu's' as per some recent local Starling episodes) including up to 12,000 Knot with c11,000 in one flock mixed in with Dunlin and Barwits.

Individual sightings
Black-tailed Godwit - two around Red Nab for the morning tide
Little Egret - 3-4
Chiffchaff - one by office early on
Pink-footed Goose - good numbers still feeding north of the Lune/roosting as usual on mudflats to south of Lune
Merlin - female for a short time by Ocean Edge saltmarsh

Recent ringing recoveries
A mid-June juvenile Willow Warbler from Middleton NR was at Stanford (somewhere in the middle of the south of the country which catches loads of birds - see BTO blog) in late July and a Sedge Warbler from Middleton NR was caught at Squires Down in Dorset later in the autumn