Heysham Obs
Lots of odds and ends this morning, the most notable being a female Redstart bearing a ring from elsewhere - D1797xx anyone (not supposed to post full numbers)? The oddest sighting was a flock of 10 Tufted Duck on the sea (9 males one female!) and the biggest miss a Hooded Crow flagged up by Chris Batty heading for the wooden jetty/power station from Knott End
North wall 0720-0820
Wheatear - 4
Willow Warbler - 2
Sandwich Tern - 16 on buoys, 18 others out - all early on
Tufted Duck - flock of 10 floated in then flew out
Black-tailed Godwit - flock of 5 out
Black-headed Gull - steady northwards movement of 78
Ocean Edge 0825 onwards on and off
Wheatear - at least 21, assuming all stayed put and no through movement
Whinchat - 3 males along beach
Little Egret - 5 Red Nab and area
Dunlin - 72 roosting red nab
Turnstone - nice counts of 275 wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - at least one and possibly two wooden jetty
Middleton NR
Redstart - female caught (already ringed)
Pied Flycatcher - female in tall trees alongside golf course (unringed!) (IOY)
Grasshopper Warbler - two singing males to the west of the western marsh road - prob 5 in total
General vis mig
Meadow Pipit - 3 in-off
Sand Martin - 2 N
Swallow - 42 N
Tree pipit - 1 ne
Redpoll - 6 ne
Heysham NR
Garden Warbler - one ringed (IOY)
Willow Warbler
At least 30 migrants in various places
Blackcap
At least 8 migrants
No Arctic Tern passage or any other seabirds further out
The observatory was set up in 1980. It involves ringing,'vis mig' counts (including seabirds) and general monitoring in the Heysham Nature reserve/power stations/harbour area. The statutory moth trap is in place and also a daily log for butterflies, dragonflies etc. We share an office, kindly provided by EDF Energy, with the County Wildlife Trust. This is located next to the Nature Reserve car park. Do call in. Please leave sightings in the letterbox, ESPECIALLY 'fly-by' seabirds.