Wednesday 15 November 2017

Two Slavonian Grebes and blythi confirmation

A vis mig session with good views over the sea from Heysham Head highlighted by two Slavonian Grebe slowly floating in close together on the last of the incoming tide.  Also an email received from Martin Collinson indicating that the Lesser Whitethroat ringed at the end of October had a 100% DNA match with blythi and sufficiently different from other forms to rule them out.   This makes it the first confirmed Lancashire record

Heysham Head near HT
Slavonian Grebe - two floated in slowly 0740 onwards near a raft of feeding Cormorant
Common Scoter - 22 out then on 0855hrs
Chaffinch - 23 S
Brambling - 1 S
Siskin - 1
Meadow Pipit - 4 S
Pink-footed Goose - 675 in four flocks north/NNW
Rock Pipit - 1

South harbour
Rock Pipit - 1

Heliport
Knot - 40
Turnstone - 50

Red Nab
Wigeon - 125

Middleton NR half circuit
 Thanks Janet
Tufted 4 (3 male) on model boat pond
Gadwall 8
Teal c30
Coot seems to have gone
Moorhen 8
Water Rail 1 flushed
Pink-footed Goose -  20 south

N H Wall
A morning whoosh netting session at the feeding site captured the following:
Goldfinch - 7 (included 4 local ringed birds)
Linnet - 12
Meadow Pipit - 9/20 grounded ringed  (these attracted by mp3 playback), plus 18 which earlier flew south

Sparrowhawk - 1 perched on one of the large white fuel tanks.