Late Meadow Pipit movement

Heysham Obs
............in both senses of the word i.e. most of it between 1000-1130hrs after which the rain eventually arrived.

Vis mig from various places 0845-1130
Meadow Pipit - 294 SE (all but 7 after 1000hrs)
alba Wagtail - 44 SE
Chaffinch - 8 SW
Goldfinch - 12
Coal Tit - 5 south (3 of these trapped and ringed as they landed by the feeder)

Grounded
Wheatear - one mound
Chiffchaff - two new arrivals trapped and ringed (low weight & fat)
Goldcrest - surprisingly few with just 3 trapped and only two others noted on a circuit
Song Thrush - 2-3
Meadow Pipit - 15 Ocean Edge first thing & 8 or so on the mound

Miscellany
Med Gull - two adults, including Czech bird
Shag - one juv
Little Egret - one predictably in OE saltmarsh channel after yesterdays comment
Arctic Tern - adult still Stage 2 outfall

Moths
An Epirrata spp in the trap - surprisingly very scarce here.

Elsewhere
Nothing at all from this area of interest

Routine fare

The heliport/seawall roost from Half-Moon Bay. Unfortunately more and more people are accessing this seawall without being challenged and the roost is regularly disturbed. Thanks for the photo Malcolm

Heysham Obs
A quick shoot round prior to work

North harbour wall/wooden jetty
Med Gull - three adults sat in a line on the railings until flushed by a guy on a bike with an English flag waving about - flew towards the harbour mouth!
Linnet/Twite - flock of 23 including at least 2 Twite by the sandworks entrance until flushed by the above
Shag - juv on the wooden jetty, not flushed by the cyclist

Ocean Edge foreshore/Stage 2 outfall/Red Nab
Arctic Tern - adult still on Stage 2 outfall
Linnet - 4 on the football pitch
Wigeon - 31 Red Nab

........otherwise pretty dead with no evidence of any Dunlin remaining amongst the Redshank on the accreting saltmarsh or migrant passerines. A regular dog walker informed that he hadnt seen a Little Egret "for about 3 weeks" which fits with other observations of the area.

Elsewhere

F/imm Ruddy Duck fast asleep on Pine Lake this afternoon. Juv Shag Stone Jetty. Redwings over Lancaster early on last night. No obvious sign of Y.B. Warbler during an encounter with a Long-tailed Tit-based flock at Botton Mill area this afternoon

Bits and bobs

The now 'long-staying' Ad Arctic Tern photographed yesterday by Mike Watson. Thanks for this, Mike.

Heysham Obs
Nothing mind-boggling but a fair selection of birds. Today was in the top ten of personal 'best days birding in this area' but this was mainly due to discoveries elsewhere (see below)

Ocean Edge foreshore/outfalls
Twite - one saltmarsh edge
Linnet - 12 football pitch
Rock Pipit - one by slipway
Wheatear - large bird along foreshore
Arctic Tern - adult still on outfalls
Wigeon - increase to 31 on Red Nab

Heysham NR & area
Goldcrest - c10
Song thrush - 6
Chiffchaff - 3

Middleton IE
Pochard - 1
Gadwall - 1
Tufted Duck - 16
Stonechat - 1 female
Snipe - 16
Blackcap - female ringed
Chiffchaff - one ringed
Goldcrest - 3
Reed Bunting - 6 unringed birds and two retraps

North harbour wall
Shag - 2 juvs
Med Gull - 3 adults

Vis mig dawn to c0930hrs
Meadow Pipit - 116
Greenfinch - 3
Coal Tit - 2
Grey Wagtail - 4 (one colour-ringed)
alba Wagtail - 28
Chaffinch - 2
Skylark - 34 (a lot for here early morning)
Goldfinch - 1
Linnet - 23
Siskin - 8
Song Thrush - 2
Pink-footed Goose - 14+11

Elsewhere
Yes!!! Yellow-browed Warbler with a Long-tailed Tit-based flock near Botton Mill 1440-1450 (intermittently), then headed towards Stairend bridge before heading down the west side of the Hindburn valley [terrain too uneven to keep up with flock]. Just one call attributable to this bird, but it was a bright individual with broad tertial fringes and eliminating Hume's Warbler was not a problem. Also 30 Redwing and a single flock of 44 Siskin in this area, but Thrushgill plantation appeared rather dead and coneless. No further sign of this flock in the next 3.5 hours. Early-morning two hour vis mig session on Caton Moor was reasonably good and highlighted by Snow Bunting (0837hrs) and Rock Pipit (0914hrs) - both SW. Nothing at Leighton Moss other than huge numbers of people & single lingering Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper on the EM Pool & Marsh Harrier on the main reserve, but no-one "interpreting the pager news" & checking the slag tips for Lap/Snow Bs.. Late Garden Warbler Freeman's Wood area. Anyone else do moorland edge vis this morning (where it was clear c/p coast)?

Bits and bobs of interest amidst the general dross

Heysham Obs
Very little evidence of numbers of migrants around today, either overhead or in the bushes. Three interesting new records though.

Miscellaneous highlights
LONG-TAILED DUCK - f/imm flew into the Bay late morning as seen by Mike Watson, Mark Varley et sl

'Commic Tern' - 6 juvs, almost certainly all Common, flew out together mid morning

Coal Tit - c48 flew south over HNR office, including a high-flying flock of 27

................plus the ad Arctic tern still on Heysham 2 outfall and 2 juv Shag & 3 adult Med Gulls along the north harbour wall

Grounded
Goldcrest - c8
Chiffchaff - one
Blackcap - lightweight female trapped and ringed
Song Thrush - c6 grounded before flying inland to the SE
No other thrush spp. migrants

Vis (note that there are other crows etc. doing 'nothing'; these are perceived vis mig records only)
Swallow - 2
Greenfinch - 11
Chaffinch - 8
Goldfinch - 12
Sparrowhawk - 1 very high eventually flew SE
alba Wagtail - 3
Crow - 3
Coal Tit - 48
Bullfinch - 3
Meadow Pipit - 2

Mammals
Dolphin spp. dead on the beach between the heliport and sandworks along the north wall. Coastguards informed.

Elsewhere
Absolutely nothing of interest reported in this area other than further evidence of Coal Tit movement.

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong weather

Heysham Obs
An M6/M5 fest left Heysham to other observers today as the site was on the edge of the "Scottish weather", as opposed to the clear Cornish conditions sending the Alder Flycatcher on its way. In other words a complete waste of a peak migration-time October day in both cases (especially with four available observers at Heysham).

Outfalls
Ad Arctic Tern still lingering (per Reuben)

One hour's vis mig by the office
Grey Wagtail - 1
Greenfinch - 6
Chaffinch - 5

North wall
Shag - 2 juvs
Linnet - small number on nyger seed
No Meds!

Elsewhere
Firecrest reportedly with Goldcrests by Lilian's Hide on 8/10 (Leighton Moss book). Ad F Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid Pine Lake. 2 more juv Shag Morecambe Stone Jetty. 14 Little Egret Aldcliffe - highest single count of feeding birds on Lune Estuary

Right(ish) time, wrong place?

Heysham Obs
Turned down the sleep-deprived M6/M5/A30/Land's End/Stanstead/Cork/Garanish Point offer (thanks Stuart) for the following:

Tawny Owl
This 'mega' was heard from the office in the Ocean Edge/western golf-course direction first thing

Vis mig by the office 0730-1010
Possibly a bit late as there were fair numbers of Chaffinch in the first 15 minutes
Chaffinch - 152 S/SW
Linnet - 3 S
Meadow Pipit - 19 SE
Greenfinch - 40 SW
Redpoll agg. - 2 SE
Collared Dove - flock of 5 south
Magpie - 3 trying to look like migrants high to SE
alba Wagtail - 14 SE
House Sparrow - 1 S
Woodpigeon - 8 E
Carrion Crow - 8 SE
Jackdaw - 2 SE
Goldfinch - 10 S
Reed Bunting - 2 S
Siskin - 1 SE
Skylark - 13 SE
Bullfinch - 1 S
Coal Tit - 6 SE
Dunnock - 1 S
Pink-footed Goose - 84+23 SE at 1010

Grounded
Chiffchaff - one brownish-grey bird ringed which unfortunately did not call but certainly the 'abietinus umbrella' on plumage
Goldcrest - 10-15

Ocean Edge foreshore/outfalls 1100-1115hrs
Shag - juv visible distantly on wooden jetty
Arctic Tern - ad still on outfalls
Skylark - 13 SE
Siskin - 2 SE
Song Thrush - 3 obvious migrants

Moths
Reasonable selection including a 'small' Large Wainscot

Elsewhere
Juv Shag Morecambe Stone Jetty. No postings on LDBWS site or pager for this area by 1400hrs.

Lingering ArcticTern

Heysham Obs
Dead today - left the post as late as possible to se if we could compete with other west coast sites - not a chance - we've had our transatlantic surprise for the year, I guess (W-T Sparrow). Pretty impressive, especially (perhaps) the 14, or was it 15, Ring-necked Duck in-off at Inishmore (Galway)

Vis from by the office
Dreadful
alba Wagtail - 5
Coal Tit - 5 & another excitable flock of 11 by Trumacar stores
Meadow Pipit - 5
Chaffinch - 5ish
Skylark - 1ish
Mistle Thrush - 7 vaguely SW

Grounded
Goldcrest - 1. A few extra Robin. One sharp "tack" agg.. One Redwing below the classroom

Outfalls
Arctic Tern - adult surprisingly still lingering am at least

Insects
One Red Admiral & one Small Tortoiseshell & one Speckled Wood

Mammals
Ex-hedgehog on Moneyclose Lane

Elsewhere
Yellow-browed Warbler ringed next to the causeway at Leighton Moss but no reports since release. Condition suggested it was not a new arrival. Single Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper EM Pool.

Tuesday 7th October

Seen from returning Seatruck ferry 1630ish...................
Kittiwake - 5 behind the ferry up to 5 minutes out of the harbour mouth, then peeled off (1 juv)
Shag - just two on the wooden jetty with excellent views!
Little Gull - adult joined rear of ferry on the turn into the harbour
Med Gull - Czech-ringed adult and 1st winter behind/around ferry entering port

Moths
2 x Red-line Quaker

Monday 6th October

"Noticeable numbers of annoying YBW like calling Coal Tits - approximately 15-20 along Moneyclose lane Several Skylark still going south PM 2 Swallow - S 3 Goldcrest"

per Garry Sharples LDBWS site - real chance to grip everyone off missed here Garry!!

Brief coverage, then sorting the Irish away-day!

Heysham Obs
Quick posting having sorted out a nice Seatruck deal - saves messing about with Ryanair or the dreaded A55/A75. This one has to be gone for! The figures (esp vis) may be refined with further notebook info.

Red Nab/OE
Arctic Tern - the adult still present early morning (but no sign of any Little Gulls etc)

Grounded
Goldcrest - 7 ringed
Chiffchaff - 3 ringed
Robin - 2 ringed

Middleton IE pm
Nice selection, including what is becoming a very rare bird here: Pheasant. Other sightings included 21 Tufted Duck, female Stonechat, 25 Snipe (morning maxima).

Insects Middleton IE
One Black Darter, 8 Migrant Hawker and a late Meadow Brown. Also one Small White, one Red Admiral and single figures of Common Darter

Vis mig
Meadow Pipit 20-30ish
Grey wagtail - 3 (one colour-ringed)
Skylark - 5
Linnet - 3
Pink-footed Goose - flock of c32
Sparrow - probably House - 1S
Dunnock - fidgety birds on the move today e.g. 5+ at Red Nab