A Hawfinch pays a flying visit

Bird(s) of the day would have been the 5 Whooper Swans that flew south over Heysham NR but a surprise flyby of a Hawfinch at Middleton NR was rather rarer.

Weather: A calm start then becoming NE F3 for a while then calming down again with air from WNW. Cloudy first thing giving way to clear skies and bright sunshine.

Vis at Middleton NR 07:30 - 11:30 - birds heading in a variety of direction, many heading north.
Raven 4
Buzzard 1 east at 10:34
Redwing 3
Chaffinch 15
Brambling 1
Goldfinch 15
Meadow Pipit 12
Lesser Redpoll 5
Siskin 3
Skylark 5
Reed Bunting 2
HAWFINCH 1 NNW

Ringing at MNR
New birds
Redwing 2
Blue Tit 2
Robin 1
Goldcrest 4
Lesser Redpoll 4
Meadow Pipit 1

Retraps - Blackbird 1, Long-tailed Tit 2, Goldcrest 1, Robin 1
Controls (ie birds from elsewhere) - Lesser Redpoll 1

Heysham NR
Vis
Whooper Swan 5 at 08:50 heading south

Ringing
New birds
Robin 1
Goldcrest 3
Blue Tit 1

Retraps - Dunnock 1, Blackcap 1, Goldcrest 1
Controls - Goldcrest 1

Heysham Head - vis
Chaffinch 89
Brambling 5
Siskin 7
Lesser Redpoll 2
Meadow Pipit 28
Blue Tit 3
Golden Plover 1
Skylark 8
Redwing 5
Greenfinch 2
Goldfinch 4

Grounded at
a) Heysham Head and surroundings:
Meadow Pipit 14
Rock Pipit 4
Stonechat - pair
Goldcrest 8
b) the mound at the end of the North Harbour Wall:
Meadow Pipit 5
Linnet 32
Goldfinch 2
Med Gull - Czech veteran on the railings

Heysham skeer
Over 500 Eider in one raft off the skeer.
Also a Great Crested Grebe.

Thanks to the following observers: Andrew Cornall, Joanne Bradley, Malcolm Downham, Dan Haywood, Pete Marsh, John Mason, Jean Roberts.

A tale of two tails - on the left a young (this year's) Lesser Redpoll with pointed tail feathers, on the right an adult Lesser Redpoll with more rounded tail feathers. There are differences in the tertials as well with the adult having clear cut buff edges and the young bird having more diffuse paler edges.

Report by JR