VERY brief visit - PF Goose passage missed

.........any records of goose flocks flying over today very welcome, please. JC at the Stone Jetty just after midday had 'a lot' crossing the Bay at extreme range for his location, but just to the south of Heysham. c5044 flew west over East Lancashire during the day and at least one c150 flock passed over south Lancaster/Torrisholme

North harbour wall 1145-1200hrs
Twite - 15 by sandworks entrance plus 2 Linnet
Med. Gull - 2nd W patrolling, ad behind IOM passenger ferry but returned out of the Bay before reaching the wooden jetty
Kittiwake - c28 behind the IOM ferry but all had returned out of the Bay well before red no 8 buoy!
Meadow Pipit - one by the sandworks entrance

Elsewhere
Yet another Black Redstart - the third this year & hopefully more obliging than the other two have been so far. Stock Car track at Warton where there was one two years ago. Purple Sandpiper Stone jetty by wooden jetty lunchtime. Juv Glaucous Gull "visible from LDBWS area" e.g. the Fluke Hall 'ramp' just east of Cocker's Dyke between Fluke Hall and Knott End

1st W Little Gull new in

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Kittiwake - Ad & 1st W behind Moondance freight ferry
Med Gull - 2nd W patrolling

Outfalls area
Pink-footed Goose - c225 N over the Bay 1207hrs
Little Gull - 1st W Heysham 2 outfall 1230-1245ish only
Raven - two on the Power Station perimeter fence

Elsewhere
Two Ad Med Gulls Golden Ball area of Lune - one of which was different from one of the two along the nearby A683 Heysham bypass yesterday. Polish-ringed Ad Med Gull P96 back on Lancaster City football ground. No sign of any corvids along Mewith Lane in New House Farm area late morning - big cycling event! Ad Med Lune Estuary along with 1st W Little Gull off Cockersands. Barnacle Goose on Aldcliffe Marsh with Canada Geese

A few bits and bobs but no proper seabird movement

Heysham Obs
The north harbour wall has been expensive recently - a double puncture the other week was followed by running over Mark P's carbon fibre tripod leg today. Fortunately you CAN buy the individual sections. Single Raven over south end of PS non-operational land - first reported sighting this year (but see tomorrow)

North harbour wall
Swan spp - one out
Wigeon - flock of 5 out (rare on seawatches)
Pink-footed Goose - one sat on the sea by the wooden jetty
Med. Gull - 2nd winter patrolling & Ad very briefly behind a freight ferry
Kittiwake - 1-2 ads behind freight ferry

Outfalls
Little Gull - Two adult on Heysham 2 and another adult following a ferry in
Kittiwake - one following a(nother) ferry in
Ringed Plover - 27 on shore by Ocean Edge saltmarsh

Middleton IE
12 Teal, 8 Tufted Duck, 4 Goldeneye, 4 Mallard, 2 Pochard, 6 Coot, 1 Little Grebe, 2 Snipe, 4 Bullfinch, 2 Mute Swan

Elsewhere
'Good' Nordic Jackdaw by New House Farm in SD66Z on the Tatham to Keasden road plus another 'showing faint characters' [c60 Jackdaw]SD68935 67825. This one is therefore in the LDBWS recording area but Mike Watson saw 5 to the east of here outside the LDBWS area heading towards Austwick. See Links. Pale-bellied Brent Goose Sunny Slopes groyne area. Ad Med & Spotted Redshank Morecambe Stone Jetty. Ad Med Skerton Weir. 2 Ad Med along the A683 between the Overton roundabout and Heysham.

Harbour logistics!

Heysham Obs
.........led to the eagerly (?) awaited IOM passenger ferry mooring up whilst a freight ferry got 'out of the way'. This was out of viewing range of any following birds and nothing was observed today in the 30 mins or so up to midday other than:

Med Gull: 2nd W patrolling the north wall
Shelduck - 1 'out'

Elsewhere
Pale-bellied Brent Goose sheltering in the lee of the Sunny Slopes Groyne at HT. Barnacle Goose of unknown origin with Canada Geese on Heaton Marsh. 13-14 Whooper Swans visible distantly from the A683 layby just south of Melling, Lune valley.

Rough seas and spray hamper viewing

Heysham Obs
The sea was crashing over the tower at the Near Naze at lunchtime in fairly marginal conditions for ferry traffic. The end of the harbour wall was a no-go area, impeding observations of the ferry before reaching the harbour and also searches of the outer harbour.

North harbour wall 1145-1215hrs
Kittiwake - flock of 41 headed into the Bay, perhaps representing most of the birds which had been behind the slowly moving passenger ferry. Just three were seen remaining behind the ferry when it turned into the harbour.
Fulmar - one into the Bay just prior to the Kittiwakes
Med Gull - 2nd W cruising along the north wall, ad later in the afternoon doing the same
Cormorant - a highish count of 38 on the wooden jetty but still no Shag records this year

Middleton IE
Female Pochard, 8 Tufted, 4 Goldeneye, 8 Coot, 2 Mute Swan, 6 Mallard, one Little Grebe (IOY)

Elsewhere
Female Scaup, Purple Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank Stone jetty area. A few Kittiwakes around the Stone Jetty early afternoon, perhaps some of the presumed 'ferry birds' seen flying into the Bay from Heysham as there was definitely no evidence of passage flocks or storm-driven birds in the very clear conditions. European White-fronted Goose still at Catshaw Fell edge with the Greylag flock

More jam on it from the north harbour wall!

Heysham Obs
Its been a good week! Whilst scanning the Cormorants and soaring gulls at the end of the wooden jetty, waiting for the passenger ferry, a passerine appeared in the scope, flying 'in-off' along the length of the jetty before swinging south along the seawall towards Red Nab. It clearly had "white sections" in the 'middle' of each wing & pale underparts and the rest of the jizz, flight, size etc. equated with Snow Bunting! Fortunately two other observers were able to get on to the bird.

IOM passenger ferry/north harbour wall
c30 Kittiwake (c8 1st W), at least two continued into the Bay & the rest flew out again
2nd W Med Gull joined the throng having earlier been patrolling the north wall

Red Nab/OE foreshore
Just Ad Med Gull Red Nab and 17 Ringed Plover on the shingle next to OE saltmarsh. Fairly thorough check for the Snow Bunting Red Nab/Ocean Edge foreshore but plenty of habitat between there & Sunderland Point!

Elsewhere
Female Black Redstart Lancaster rubbish tip on the rubble mound at the north-east end early/mid afternoon - visible from across the Lune on Lancaster Quay. Could not be found late afternoon but lots of nooks and crannies! Pale-bellied Brent Jenny Brown's Point at high tide, presumably not the Sandylands bird but an incoming 'float in' would take the bird towards JBP if it ended up in the tide race (it did this in reverse on one occasion - off Heysham north wall on a dropping tide). Not possible to see whether it was ringed. Single Purple Sandpiper Morecambe Stone Jetty early morning & the elusive veteran Spotted Redshank in the high tide roost there pm.

Surprisingly good ferry following

Heysham Obs
*Might be some action on the sea for Friday or Saturday morning seawatchers....with patience! Perhaps best to include watching the lunchtime ferry on Friday.

IOM passenger ferry/north harbour wall
A very quick visit coinciding with the ferry. Considering a freight ferry was on its way out and it was calm, there were a lot of birds within visible range, albeit many heading out again to trail the freight ferry. Two birdwatchers leaving the site as the passenger ferry was approaching port might have been better waiting a few minutes longer as there is very little action other than behind incoming ferries at the moment

IOM ferry followers
Kittiwake - 23 (3 1st W)
Little Gull - one ad - peeled off & flew out very early
Med. Gull - large adult, presumably the usual south of the harbour bird

North harbour wall/harbour
Ad Med in the harbour and 2nd W Med patrolling the north wall

No time to check for Purps/offshore

Elsewhere
Purple Sandpiper at the Stone Jetty morning but not lunchtime. 2 Scaup Glasson marina, Spotted Redshank & Greenshank Conder area.

Pomarine skua surprise

Heysham Obs
A routine Kittiwake check in the turbulence behind the IOM passenger ferry as it negotiates the right angle turn into the harbour was interrupted by a juvenile Pom. Skua flying 'out' just beyond the turbulence. This was observed until it disappeared behind the end of the wooden jetty, offering lateral views as it passed the middle gap and then tail-end views as it passed the inner gap. The blunt central tail projections were surprisingly obvious. The downside was that it didnt count for SD36V! As regards the immediate origin of this bird, there is quite a history of birds following the ferry into the Bay, then overtaking it as it slows down and flying further into the Bay before turning round. The timing suggests this was the most likely explanation for its presence, especially as it was too murky to observe what was going on behind the ferry until it had almost reached port.

North harbour wall
Juv Pomarine Skua out (1215-1218hrs)
Kittiwake - 13 behind the IOM ferry (4 x 1st W)
Med Gull - 2nd W patrolling the north wall
Purple Sandpiper - 2 roosting on a low tier of the central section of the wooden jetty with Turnstone

Elsewhere
Single Purple Sandpiper by Morecambe Stone Jetty

Uninspiring weather

Heysham Obs
Drizzle and poor visibility from the west is a poor recipe. No lunchtime passenger ferry today. NB Dont believe the Metcheck forecast for tomorrow (see Link)!

North harbour wall - early dropping tide
Single Purple Sandpiper feeding along the wall with what appeared to be another sleeping with Turnstone on the wooden jetty but light/distance difficult
Med Gull - 2nd W north wall
Twite - 2 around the sandplant area

Insects
Considering the number of moths seen at High Tatham last night (76 in 2km of road involving at least 3 species), it was disappointing to find none in the trap. Any readers with traps/sheet & light facilities - may be worth trying to find your nearest deciduous woodland [although tonight is Noah's Ark weather]. There are unprecedented numbers of moths for this time of year and, in the case of Spring Usher and Early Moth, it may be the only chance!

Elsewhere
Barnacle Goose of dubious but unknown origin with Canadas on Heaton Marsh (& Little Egret). Adult European White-fronted Goose still on Catshaw Fellside. Pale-bellied Brent still off Royd's by the Sunny Slopes Groyne. At least 4 Little Egret in the Leighton roost. Yet again, nothing of interest on Pine Lake but persistence will surely pay off! The Ferruginous Duck x Pochard has disappeared again and may be the bird back at Stocks Res. See above re-moths - Dotted Border, Pale Brindled Beauty, Early Moth, Spring Usher, Dark Chestnut and Chestnut recorded at High Tatham last night/morning trap check.

Distant Ducks

Heysham Obs
The Wigeon flock is usually a discrete feature, with no others in sight looking south along the water's edge. Not so today, but unfortunately views were late afternoon at low tide from the north wall looking through the fresh air sections of the wooden jetty with a 50 x lens. Therefore whilst most of the 300 or so additional ducks seemed to be Wigeon, there may have been Pintail (NEVER seen at rest on the sea in the Heysham Obs area despite many passage birds!) & Mallard involved as per the usual mix to the south of here. Also visible at extreme range in the Walney direction were at least 25 of the 3000+ Eider counted in the 'mouth' of the Bay the other day! Otherwise a very poor day, given reasonable morning & late afternoon coverage.

Vis mig
c150 Pink-footed Goose north early morning

North wall
Linnet - single bird on the sandworks was the only small finch seen
Med. Gull - single Ad visible through the wooden jetty on the mudflats between the outfalls
Eider - male close inshore (see intro)

Outfalls area
127 Wigeon in the usual low tide area between the outfalls channels (see above for additional birds which were beyond the old sewage pipe off Ocean Edge)

Middleton IE
5 Goldeneye (1 male), 6 Tufted Duck, female Pochard, 35 Teal, 2 Mute Swan, 6 Coot, 14 Mallard, 1 Snipe. 2 Bullfinch.

No Purple Sandpiper [but no check made of the skeer around Heysham One outfall] or north harbour wall Med Gulls seen (including a check of the harbour)

Elsewhere
Adult European White-fronted Goose still on the side of Catshaw fell - visible from the road. Male Common Crossbill Thrushgill plantation in the larches near the entrance but the only other finch seen was a single Goldfinch. NO Nordic Jackdaw out of c200 checked in SD66 but very flighty due to shooting. Male Hen Harrier Clougha area (56K) & day-flying Barn Owl (disturbance, rather than hunting, from the behaviour) in the same area.