Middleton Nature Reserve
Ringing report by Jean:
The ringing list for today, dominated by Chiffchaffs:
Chiffchaff 17
Long-tailed Tit 11 Including 3 recent retraps)
Goldfinch 7
Blue Tit 7 (including one from a brood of 10 at Middleton)
Grey Wagtail 6 caught out of 10 over
Cetti's Warbler 4 (inc a recent retrap)
Great Tit 4 (all recent retraps and including 2 birds from the same brood in a Heysham nest box)
Goldcrest 3
Reed Bunting 1
Meadow Pipit 1
Robin 1
Chaffinch 1
Wren 1
Dunnock 1
Marsh Tit 1 - the same one that was at Heysham on Monday. It had travelled 2km.
7 skeins of Pinkfeet flew over. A Raven was heard to the east. Two Buzzards calling and seemed to be heading south, a Sparrowhawk flew north. A Water Rail squealed in the marsh. Kingfisher 1 mid morning.
Heysham skear (Malcolm) 08:30 - 10:00
Pink-Footed goose 180 in four skeins south. These will be additional to those seen from Middleton as they were all far to the west.
Four ducks flew in high from the north:
Shoveler 1
Wigeon 3
 |
| Shoveler leading 3 Wigeon |
Red-Breasted Merganser 8
 |
| Red-Breasted Merganser |
Great Crested Grebe 5
 |
| Great Crested grebe, juvenile on right |
Shag at least 2 juvenile feeding
 |
| Shag having a spruce up |
 |
| Shag diving with Great Crested Grebe and a Red-Breasted Merganser |
Grey Heron 1
Little Egret 14 - these are some of the Egret and Mergansers feeding
Gulls c100 mainly Herring
Oystercatcher at least 1500 flew from the shear to rest on the shore to the south
Curlew 25
Redshank only 30 seen
Knot 150 many of them juveniles
Turnstone 25
Ringed Plover 6
Common Snipe 2 came in off the sea and continued east
These are some of the Knot, it doesn't show much, but there was no wind, so all you can hear is the sound of the tide coming in and the soft calls of the Knot.
South shore (Malcolm) 14:30 - 16:00
By this time it was quite warm and there was or had been some insect movement.
Nature Park:
Migrant Hawker 1
Common Darter 3
Red Admiral 2
Painted Lady 2
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| Worn Painted Lady topping up on clover nectar |
Small White 6
Common Blue 1
 |
| Common Blue |
Red Nab:
Common Darter 1
Small White 5
Foreshore:
Small White 10
Saltmarsh:
Common Darter 1
 |
| Male Common Darter |
Small White 26
Red Admiral 1
Small Tortoiseshell 1
Common Blue 1
I didn't go along the sea wall as I wanted to see what waders were on the shore. I'd have been better off going along the wall as there were only 5 Ringed Plover and 2 Dunlin on the mud.
Lapwing 4 on the saltmarsh
Wheatear 3
Rock Pipit 1
