Friday 2 October 2015

Foggy thrash

Heysham Obs
Probably the best coverage this year was hampered by early morning fog.  Best birds were female Stonechat by the Moneyclose Lane anemometer and a Spotted Flycatcher on Heysham Head along the 'bramble track'.  Wanted:  birder to cover Heysham Head/Barrows daily during promising migration conditions

Heysham head
Spotted Flycatcher - 1
Blackcap - 3
Goldcrest - 5
Coal Tit - 14 arrived from north
Jay - two ditto

Vis mig Heysham Head (under canopy a lot of the time) 1000-1100:
Chaffinch - 7
Skylark - 5
Siskin - 2
Meadow Pipit - 15
alba Wagtail - 9

Red Nab bushes/coastal section of Middleton (thanks to Tom Wilmer)
Chiffchaff - 7
Blackcap - 2
Stonechat - female by anemometer

South harbour area/outfalls seawall
Rock Pipit - 3 (2 together)
Chiffchaff - one in firecrest brambles
Robin - 2
Kingfisher - one Heysham 2 outfall inner end for 5 minutes

North harbour wall mound area
Wren - 5
Robin - 5
Chiffchaff - 4 together in sea buckthorn
Meadow Pipit - 30
alba Wagtail - 16
Linnet - 19
Goldcrest - 1

Vis mig from coastal sites 0800-0920 intermittently
Meadow Pipit - 120  (including concentrated flightline along the wooden jetty
alba Wagtail - 35
Siskin - 2
Chaffinch - 2
Grey Wagtail - 3
Greylag - at least two SE

Vis mig Middleton
Meadow Pipit - 35
Redpoll - 3
Grey Wagtail - 3
Chaffinch - 6
alba Wagtail - 7
Jay - 1

Grounded Middleton
Goldcrest - 8 along edge of golf course
Coal Tit - 1+
Blackcap - at least 8

Combined ringing totals (new birds) -very slow in the fog
Blackcap (8), Lesser Redpoll (1), Coal Tit (1), Blue Tit (5), Wren (1), Blackbird (1), Meadow Pipit (3), Great Tit (1), Chiffchaff (3), Long-tailed Tit (3)

SEPTEMBER ringing totals = pretty good considering all the earlier season gloom and doom

1 Kingfisher
4 Sand Martin
114 Swallow
1 Tree Pipit
30 Meadow Pipit
78 Grey Wagtail
31 Wren
31 Dunnock
40 Robin
1 Song Thrush
4 Blackbird
2 Grasshopper Warbler
3 Sedge Warbler
13 Reed Warbler
8 Lesser Whitethroat
23 Whitethroat
1 Garden Warbler
79 Blackcap
1 Yellow-browed Warbler
85 Chiffchaff
20 Willow Warbler
85 Goldcrest
1 Firecrest
14 Long-tailed Tit
25 Coal Tit
45 Blue Tit
23 Great Tit
1 Treecreeper
6 Chaffinch
22 Greenfinch
100 Goldfinch
7 Lesser Redpoll
3 Bullfinch
19 Reed Bunting