Nothing from today

Heysham Obs
No news from today

One of our Grey Wagtails ringed in autumn 2013 is now a nesting female at Botton Mill, upper Hindburndale - further to the east than we expected migrants ringed on an autumnal NW to SE heading to be ending up

SD36 time

Heysham Obs
A visit to the south harbour wall to see what moths and other beasties were there and also check on the territorial Ringed Plover for work.  A ringing session at Middleton NR was very valuable as it enabled the final summer visitor adults (Reed Warbler) to be caught and the 7 included four from previous years.  One or two baby Robin and Dunnock also materialised and there were a couple of retrap Cetti's Warblers, neither of which was a female with brood patch

South wall/outfalls
Common Gull - 46 2CY
Med Gull - blackish-headed 2CY
Ringed Plover - heard alarm calling from within PS as a group walked along the seawall to the south

SD36 insects
Mother Shipton - this mirrors Lou Cross's record from the north harbour wall last year - unfortunately it seemed to be just passing through and was lost near the seawall to the south.  Its still a dot on the 'white hole'!
Clepsis spectrana - 1
Common Blue - 17ish
Large White - 1
Small White - 1
Lots of solitary bees/wasps - worth a specialist having a look as they are probably all new for 10k square

Office moth trap
Another Eyed Hawk-moth with a late fairly fresh Hebrew Character, a couple of Herald and I think Turnip Moth is new for year

Signal crayfish threat

Heysham Obs
Great - presumably someone using Middleton model boat pond as a "save the tadpoles" dumping ground or a misguided idea of biodiversity has almost certainly introduced signal crayfish.  Bring back the terrapins!  Lots of tiny immatures found today does not augur well for the future of this pond and its dragonfly population for this highly invasive and difficult to control species

Middleton NR
Cetti's Warbler - two singing, other contact calls
Tufted Duck - two males and a female make a (re?)appearance
Mute Swan plus 4 x cygnets
Little Ringed Plover - 1

Insects
Holly Blue Middleton

Friday 27th May

Heysham Obs
Not a lot happened today with no definite migrants caught by the office (2 x Whitethroat, 1 x Sedge Warbler possibly/probably local breeding birds)

Middleton (thanks Malcolm)
The good news is that the male gadwall has returned to the "no swimming" pond as well - hopefully his mate is on nest. Mallard on model boat pond has 6 chicks. Also: 1 little grebe 1 grey heron 1 singing Cetti's - western marsh, 2 grasshopper 4 reed warbler singing + 1 seen only + ww, both whitethroats, blackcap & (only) 1 sedge. 1 little ringed plover. Not really much change.

Eyed Hawk-moth new for the year

Barn Owl continues to quarter the area

Heysham Obs

Middleton Wednesday evening (thanks Jamie)
Grasshopper Warbler - four singing males
Barn Owl - one hunting pre-dusk

Moths Wednesday night
True Lover's Knot a major surprise so early, Shears and Purple Bar notable

Outfalls
Common Gull - 43 2CY
Little Egret - 2

Ringing and photography

Heysham Obs
Some nice sunny day ringing at this time of year did produce a few odds and ends of interest

1) Two presumed migrant male Blackcap caught at first light Hey Nat Res
2) Two recently fledged Grasshopper Warbler caught Middleton
3) Most importantly from a potential breeding bird point of view, two 2CY Lesser Redpoll caught Middleton (together).  One was reported yesterday but this was an obvious red male, yet these two were a presumed 'brown' male (72mm wing) and female.  Not asked the recorder yet whether the male was song flighting.  Very scarce breeding bird in the Heysham area

The ringing activities did not produce any late diurnal passage

Some pics from Janet (thanks):

Insects provide the interest

Heysham obs

Four-spotted chaser at Middleton new for year

Similarly poplar hawk moth in the trap

Three burnet companion near office

Two singing male Cetti's warbler Middleton

Cumbrian Common Scoters

Heysham Obs

Sea 0715-0815ish (thanks Mark)
Common Scoter - two big gangs totalling about 200 individuals at long range

Middleton NR
Cetti's Warbler - unringed bird (age unknown) escaped from one of the CES nets next to the fence pond just before the ringer could get there.  Intriguing.  Singing male nearby
Lesser Whitethroat - in contrast to last year's dearth, a good number this year around the CES area with a further 5 caught, making it 8 different birds from the first two CES visits, the commonest bird!

Moths
A curious catch, none more so than Buff Tip and Hebrew Character sharing the same egg packing

Southerlies

Heysham Obs
.............are not a lot of use here.  A half-hour seawatch saw an adult British Lesser Black-backed Gull south (carefully checked).

Couple of decent things came to light in the afternoon
A belated check of the moth trap saw pale tussock - the second record I think
Also one of our cr grey wagtails is nesting at botton mill in upper hindburndale - a sighting today suggested a 2015- ringed bird

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Whimbrel - late flock of three

Pics from the last few days (thanks Janet) at Middleton NR

Heysham obs
A good early incoming tide seawatching stint by Jonny produced a few odds and ends but was not really "nasty" enough for a significant skua passage

North wall 0650-0930
Arctic Skua - light morph and intermediate morph in
Common scoter - 4 out, c10 in
Fulmar - prob same bird in then out
Auk spp (prob guillemot) 12 in one out
Gannet - at least 15

Ocean Edge to Rednab 10:00-10:30 (MD)
1 Northern Wheatear (f)
1 Whimbrel
5 Little Egret
58 Linnet

Middleton Nature Reserve 17:00
Just a quick check to try and confirm Garden Warbler - no sign
2 Cetti's Warbler singing plus third bird seen
1 Little Ringed Pover

500000 visits!

Heysham Obs
A site which trundles along acting as both a daily log on line and, as can be seen below, an outlet for some excellent photography by Janet and others.  Thanks for all the contributions.......now lets have a bit of coverage of the sea this next week if, and it might be a big if after a lot of forecast 'changes', we do get some decent south-westerlies.

Middleton NR
Little Ringed Plover - single bird both today and yesterday flying towards the 'building site' sat the north end
Cetti's Warbler - both males singing yesterday and the second bird singing today
Warblers - there appears to be a (heard at distance) Garden Warbler along the golf course edge in the scrub (as there was a week ago) and this, if confirmed, was the 10th warbler species heard singing today on the reserve

Sea for 20 minutes
Arctic Skua - dark morph whizzing in low over the sea at 0955 - how many were missed earlier?

Insects
Burnet Companion - 2 Heysham NR
Shaded Pug - first of the year in the moth trap (also FFY were Chinese Character and Clouded Bordered Brindle)
The top one below is Cydia ulicitana (thanks Steve) on gorse.  Thanks Janet

A day of little effort so far

Heysham Obs
A slow start and no proper sea coverage

Sea/texting/email checks & responses/phone call 1000-1030
Common Scoter - 3 in
Swallow - 6 NE

Middleton pics - thanks Janet
This is the only known pair of Meadow Pipit left in the recording area

Mammal
Harbour Porpoise x 1

Moths
Herald the best of the three!

Quite a lot out of what appeared to be nothing

Heysham Obs
We have learnt over the years that a calm morning and clear skies at High Tatham with a very slight northwesterly airflow often means conditions at Heysham too windy for mist netting.  This was the case this morning with the added bonus, for a bit of sea coverage, of some cloud cover and the wind being fractionally west of north-west.  Always a good sign when there is a lot of immature large gull movement and there was some half-decent stuff during the hour:

Sea 0815-0915
Arctic Skua - a light morph 'sea-hugger' headed into the Bay at 0830hrs
Pomarine Skua - one light morph heading into the Bay circling and gradually gaining height at 0908hrs.   If this and the above had been reversed as regards distance, there would have been no chance of an identification of a sea-hugger at that range, but the requisite features were easily seen on a circling bird
Razorbill - two together in
Guillemot - one in
Gannet - 1+3+1 in (one of the three was a 2CY).  Unusually all flying at some height when passing the observation area between the windfarm and Barrow
Red-throated Diver - probable 2CY out
Mute Swan - flock of 6 imms flew across towards Barrow
Common Scoter - drake u-turned

Middleton Nature Reserve 15:00 - 16:00
Little Ringed Plover - 2 sightings
Cetti's Warbler 2nd bird (unringed) seen whilst male was singing - "no swimming" pond
4 mute pairs still on nest
2 shelduck
2 gadwall (m&f)
1 little grebe

Moths
Decent catch by recent standards, especially Ruddy Highflyer at its known regular site and male Muslin Moth

Token hour on the sea

Heysham obs
The only migratory action today was predictably a slow-fest over the sea

Sea 0650-0750 thanks mark
Gannet - 6
Arctic tern - distant flock of c20 in

A rather mysterious report of two Pomarine skua seen from a boat in morecambe bay mid morning

Little ringed plover - at least one Middleton
Nothing of migrant interest on Middleton CES

Little egret - 7 red nab-ocean edge saltmarsh a decent count

Calm weather overachievement

Heysham Obs
An hourly sample of a pretty calm sea until a bit of a northerly kicked in for the last 15 minutes was well worth it after the initial impression that I should have taken a tin of paint

North wall 0730-0830
Osprey - one picked up heading leisurely north on a 'flat sea scan' of the inner Bay - miles away but recognisable to the north of Ulverston.  It plunged once into the sea and drifted north until lost against the background.  It didn't fly past the normal seawatching line (looking towards Walney lighthouse), unless it was really high, so may have been a Cumbrian breeding bird on a calm sea fishing expedition?
Arctic Tern - one flock of 11 in (one more than expected)
Common Scoter - 10 in, 5 in, 6 out, 6 in
Little Egret - what was assumed to be this species headed NW across the Bay and seemed to come ashore at Baycliff (Cattle not completely ruled out on rear end views as not picked up very early and couldn't see any yellow foot projection or the bill)
Red-throated Diver - summer plumaged bird heading out was a surprise but they have been regular off Rossall of late
Knot - flock of 300 in summer plumage headed NNW and climbed

Pics from yesterday (thanks Janet)

Ocean Edge
Little Egret - 5 (3 OE saltmarsh channel, 2 Red Nab)

Moths
Pale Prominent is very rare here - not sure how many previous but only 1-2 from memory, also Small Square Spot new for year and a fresh Hebrew Character still

Mammal
At least one, probably two Harbour Porpoise (or one very fast swimmer - not together)

Put in the effort and.....................

Heysham Obs
..........you miss the best bird on a loo break.   Some decent odds and ends this morning, notably a Roseate Tern with comparative Arctic terns and a Pomarine Skua heading for the ozone layer

Sea 0645 onwards
Roseate Tern - one flew past with a small gang of Arctic Terns at 0840, showing requisite structural, plumage and flight mode features (Andrew and Bill)
Pomarine Skua - thank you Grey Heron (see below). One light morph adult giving good underpart views as it circled high north-east and seemed to head inland, gaining height, just north of Heysham Head
Arctic Skua - in contrast to the above, two dark morphs in at 0910hrs were 'water huggers'
Arctic Tern - 192 plus 9 distant 'commic' thought to be this species in by 1100 hrs
Grey Heron - one tried to fly across the bay, realised there was no lift and struggled badly before returning inshore with gull entourage and headed north.  Got out of the car to see what happened (it landfilled at Heysham Head) and decided to scan the skies for a bit and picked up the Pom Skua - how many other things are missed high overhead - this happened a few years ago here with a high Osprey whilst scanning for a Common Crane seen flying high to the south from Leighton Moss
Little Egret - two purposefully north across the bay towards Grange
small Auk spp - seemed to be a Puffin but not enough seen for a county description bird, although it was in Cumbria where it isn't a county description bird?!   One for the bin.
Guillemot - 2CY flew in at close range
Black-headed Gull - again purposeful inbound flocks of 2CY - 20+34
Whimbrel - 4+3 in

Mammal
Harbour Porpoise early on
Grey Seal late afternoon

Other miscellany
White Wagtail - 1 wooden jetty area
Whimbrel - one Red Nab
Ringed Plover - on territory by wooden jetty

Arctic terns

Heysham Obs
None of your touchy-feely biodiverse seawatching today - it was all about one species other than a gang of 13 Kittiwake

Arctic Tern resume
Three migratory flightlines of them today on the dropping early morning tide

Kevin picked up 80+50 off the slag tips wondering whether to go overland

The Stone Jetty produced three flocks in the Kent channel heading slowly in and feeding (110,70,50)

Heysham rather belatedly (I thought there would have been a few birders there this morning!) saw a very concentrated passage on three lines with the bigger gangs in the Kent channel and smaller flocks close in shore with the odd small flock between the two along the edge of the exposing sandbank. However, it all dried up at 0915 with only 5+4 between then and 0945

There was absolutely no evidence of any backtracking birds which might have led to duplication

Grand total between us: about 680

then a further 63 in four flocks as the tide turned at about 1130, then none for next 20 mins

Grand total, assuming no birders covering other times are not hiding somewhere:

about 743

Others
Kittiwake - flocks of 13 adults sat on the sea then headed north towards Grange
Swallow - 15 N+6 N
Sand Martin - 1 N 
Black-headed Gull - c240 in in dribs and drabs all morning - mixture of ad and 2CY
Common Sandpiper - 1 Ocean Edge

Mammal
Grey Seal

Unexpectedly good seawatch

Heysham Obs
A really good example of why you have to at least go through the motions with checking the sea, especially along the low tide channel(s).   An intended ten minute scan of the channels and skeers, based on yesterdays gloom and doom seemingly repeated (thickish cloud in the mouth of the bay), was punctuated by the first gang of Arctic Tern and ten minutes became over an hour.    

A bit of advice to several very short-stay 'seawatchers' at Heysham.  Stuff tends to appear in flurries and indeed there was nothing between 1040 and 1055 in what seemed a 'busy' watch this morning.  Don't follow my example (the originally intended ten minutes) and give yourself at least half an hour.

North wall 0955-1100
Arctic Tern - 196 in (flock max 35)
Black Tern - 2 (with different AT flocks)
Whimbrel - 20+1+15
Arctic Skua - 2 dark morph together landed on sandbank for 20 mins before flying in - another dark morph flew in later
Sand Martin - 1
Swallow - none!

Middleton NR
Whinchat - one female western marsh
Cetti's Warbler - two singing

Just OOA
Whimbrel - 52 on a scan of the Lune skeers and mudflats from Sunderland toilet block

More blocking unhelpful cloud to the south

Heysham Obs
What a shame there was not a seawatching vigil yesterday instead of about two hours at the most.  The fare today was dreadful due to the blocking cloud and full marks to the observers for persevering and at least coming up with a close dark morph Arctic Skua at 0945hrs. 

Sea
Arctic Skua - dark morph in at 0945hrs

Spotted Flycatcher
Singles by Heysham NR dipping pond and in Heysham Head churchyard

Swallow
c30 per hour in am (Middleton and HNR)

Middleton NR
No sign LRP
Gadwall - pair
Cetti's Warbler - two singing males were either very mobile today or their number has doubled.   Heard from four separate locations am and pm.
Warblers:  Lesser and Common  Whitethroat, Reed and Sedge, two Grasshopper (western and central marshes), two Cetti's, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler could all be heard at the same time from the concrete road between the west and central marshes - the Garden seems to have moved on

Four tern species

Heysham obs
The tern passage this year seems to be homing in on a rich feedng area in the narrow channel just beyond the first sandbank rather than on the outfalls.  In this respect, they are homing in on the area where most of the gulls are feeding.  Slightly more challenging to observe this area and a scope needed and also a low tide visit.   However, it was still possible to identify a single leisurely feeding Common Tern amongst the more hyperactive cohesive passage flocks of Arctic and this was the star record of the morning on recent status!!

North wall to 0915hrs then 1025-1050
Common Tern - 1 feeding for at least 15 minutes 0900-0915
Sandwich tern - just 4
Black Tern - 1+3+9+7 through pretty rapidly with just a bit of feeding in the channel
Arctic Tern - more leisurely than the above species - 107 through by 0915, 5+24 later
Little Gull - at least 2 and quite probably three 2CY gradually heading in with Black-headed Gulls
RB Merg - 5
Swallow - just 15 'noticed' - mainly along the seawall itself
Chiffchaff - singing male
Wheatear - 2

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Common Sandpiper - 1

Middleton Nature Reserve 17:00 - 18:30
2 shelduck
2 gadwall (m & f)
2 little grebe
1 little ringed plover
1 Cetti's warbler
c12 swallow feeding

Heysham Head 20:00
5 swift feeding

Big black cloud over the bay at dawn

A rather odd synopsis this morning with calm conditions and a large black cloud over the bay dropping a fair sprinkling of night migrants but doing absolutely nothing for any sea passage and observers had all left by the time the wind kicked in

Grounded
Garden warbler - one ringed and one singing near ocean edge
Spotted flycatcher - 2 ringed and two at the only likely site checked - Heysham head churchyard
Sedge warbler/Whitethroat - low single figures ringed
Reed warbler - two singing male hey nr
Whinchat - FIVE Heysham barrows (thanks Pete)
Wheatear - 3 ocean edge

Sea
Sandwich tern - 2
Arctic tern - 2
Swallow - just 36 N
Lesser Redpoll - 8 north but surprisingly none over the reserve
RB Merganser - 6
Great-crested Grebe - 1

Middleton
10 species of warbler this morning in song with the Garden Warbler still in the golf course corner

Heysham NR
A Siskin flew north

Two Swift lingering over Heysham Head

Earlyish bird catches some of the terns

Heysham Obs
.........or misses a load given the 0700 start.   The usual start to the seawatch at low tide involves checking around the skeers from the Near Naze vantage point and going, for the umpteenth time to no avail, through the masses of large immature gulls.  It is also a good vantage point for the low tide channels and also any hirundine passage, as the birds tend to cut across to Heysham Head

Sea 0700-0900
Arctic Tern - 9+7+22+16+12+11+85 in - the latter seemed to descend on to a low tide channel to join feeding Black-headed Gulls then spiralled up and headed off NE.  Then the plug pulled with none 0730-0900
Sandwich Tern - only 6 seen
Black-headed Gull - a very unexpected inbound passage/feeding movement totalling about 450 birds, mainly breeding adults - where are these from?
Mediterranean Gull - Ad or faintly marked 3CY with the above
Little Gull - 3CY and 2CY together with the above
Common Sandpiper - one below north wall for a short time
Whimbrel - 2 in
Swallow - at least 510 in with a very concentrated passage 0720-0750
House Martin - 46 in
Sand Martin - 5 in
Lesser Redpoll - 9 in
Linnet - 14 in
Eider - 65
Red-breasted Merganser - flock of 7

Grounded
Nothing obvious with no Wheatear or any much in the mist nets
3 wheatear Ocean Edge
1 whimbrel No.2 outflow

More odds and ends

Heysham obs
No real favourable airflow this morning and it became a typical fine sunny calm morning with just a trickle of vis mig redpoll and a handful of warblers

Sea
Nothing

Vis mig
Lesser redpoll - 10 plus
Swallow - trickle

Grounded and miscellany
Garden warbler - singing male Middleton
Reed warbler - at least one belated arrival at Middleton main reed bed
Cetti's warbler - two singing males

Bits and bobs

Heysham Obs
The only concerted evidence of migration this morning was a typically 'two-way' small wader passage during the hour's seawatch.  A probable Reeve flew 'in' as per languid flight and what I could see of it but views not good enough for this 'rarity' as not picked up early enough in the flight sequence

The hibernating butterflies have had a rough time this spring and are looking rather tatty as they have some decent weather at last.  Thanks Janet - taken today:

Sea 0705-0805 early stages incoming tide
Arctic Tern - flock of 13 in
Sandwich Tern - 2 out
Common Scoter - c25 u-turning in distance
Dunlin - 400 out, 200 in (possibly small numbers of eg RP with them)
Sanderling - 5 in (flock)
Ringed Plover - c60 in (2 flocks)
small distant waders - c300 both ways
Swallow - 1 in!
Black-headed Gull - flock of 28 2CY out
Eider - about 25 out in dribs and drabs
Whimbrel - 2 in

Middleton NR
8 Sedge Warbler and two new Grasshopper Warbler ringed but little evidence of any migration eg no hirundines
Garden Warbler - one ringed Middleton NR (IOY)

Mammal
Grey Seal bull off north wall

Some excellent creepy crawly pics from Janet yesterday on Heysham Nature reserve

Not much happening

Heysham Obs
Surprisingly little this morning compared to e.g.  nearby Cockersands (lots of Wheatear etc) and the west side of the Kent Estuary (good Swallow passage line), despite reasonable coverage

Sea -  x one hour before the tide
No Sandwich Tern in these conditions at this stage of the tide most unexpected
Gannet - 4
Whimbrel - 5
No Wheatear or hirundines 

Heysham NR
No obvious migratory movement perceived, but territorial signing Whitethroat by the office increased by four and three Willow Warblers without tapes in the CES nets hints at some movement but it was too windy to run any migrant nets.  Yesterdays tank farm Grasshopper Warbler was not heard.  The first CES visit of the season was completed this morning.  A reasonable catch, for this site without tape lures below the Obs Tower site:
Retraps - 10 locally ringed birds, hopefully breeding here.
New birds -  three Willow Warblers,  and one each of  Lesser Whitethroat, Dunnock, Blackbird and Robin

Decent seawatch considering no showers

Heysham Obs
One "Leicester City moment" following on from the tern scenario last autumn (see 2015 report) - ONE tern was seen this morning - a Little Tern!  The other surprise was the lack of birders - are there really no available midweek birders playing the 'appropriate birding for the weather' card around here (several who do were at work)?   I only saw 6 Gannet and no Kittiwake going in, so presumably missed a shedload of stuff pre-0700 (skuas are on a one-way ticket, unlike u-turning Gannets in these conditions, so no second chance of seeing any you miss going in) - no doubt the bad news will filter in from more dedicated Fleetwood watchers in due course

Sea 0700 (too late!)-0800 and 0830-0911
Bonxie (Great Skua) - one in 0710 - stayed low throughout
Arctic Skua - lm and dm in 0720, then climbed heading towards Humphrey head
Skua spp - very dark presumed dm arctic in at very long range 0745
Gannet - 62 (largest flock 15) out
Kittiwake - 32+7+3+70+28 out
Little Tern - one out 0850
Dunlin - c700 out
Knot - 45 out
Whimbrel - 16 in (one flock)
Red-throated Diver - 2 out
Common Scoter - flock of about 45 blogging distantly
probable Guillemot - one in at long range

Office area
Grasshopper warbler singing in tank farm
Whinchat - male by classroom early pm

Early am

Heysham Obs
DM Arctic Skua north and climbing ahead of the weather front at 0718.  Wind switching to more favourable SW at c0930 - pity tide not later

A short spell of clearer weather produced two Arctic Skua in (dm and dark intermediate) circling low and flying in at 0854 (probably flushed off the sea by a rig supply boat).  Weather closed in again from 0915.

Gannet - 1
Red-throated Diver - one out (full summer plumage)


Middleton Nature Reserve 13:00 - 14:45

4 Tufted

I Gadwall (male)
Little grebe 2 (at least) adult + 2 chicks.
2 Cetti's warbler singing
4 Grasshopper warbler reeling
2 house martin (north)
45 swallow (north).

Not really

Heysham Obs
The cloud and murk was a little too early today and it ended up a working day with just a short amount of coverage early doors

Cumulative total of stuff of note
Arctic Skua - dark morph in then landed on sea
Common Scoter - 4 in
Red-throated Diver - 1+1+2 in
Wheatear - 3
Little Egret - 3
Lesser Redpoll - 1 N
House Martin - 2 N

Grey Seal - large male jumping out of the water trying to grab mobbing seagulls.  Beware anyone swimming in the Heysham area!

Middleton
Quick visit saw the usual 2 pairs of lingering Tufted Duck and one of the Cetti's Warblers singing, but none of the expected hirundines over the water bodies in this sort of weather

Moths
The 'big four' all put in an appearance:  Clouded Drab, Common Quaker, Powdered Quaker and Hebrew Character

April ringing
Take away the 40 tape-lured Lesser Redpoll (& 3 already ringed) and the worst April ever - a combination of unavailability/rain risk on the best mornings and a dreadful final week for migration.  Particularly poor were Robin (1), Willow Warbler (16), Chiffchaff (12) and, in the context of where are all the Scandinavian birds from last autumn, Goldcrest (11).    A few highlights, notably two Cetti's Warbler plus a retrap male from last autumn and a Great Tit bearing a ring from elsewhere which does not appear to be from any of our immediate neighbours