Pinkfoot invasion..........

Heysham Obs
.................in the airspace over the NR office at dusk with 2,500-3,000 estimated, heading SW - surely the Heysham bypass birds taking a detour to the Lune Estuary roost (which doesn't take them over a certain
farm)

North wall
Song Thrush - still on the mound!
Twite - 34 - one unringed
Med Gull - 2 adults

Ocean Edge
Wigeon - 86
Med Gull - one adult on Red Nab near HT

Elsewhere
The Smew is back on Freeman's Pool.

Hormonal Twite

Heysham Obs
The temperature on the north harbour wall was a balmy 8.5 degrees C and the Twite were full of the 'joys' of spring. This included bickering and posturing over the food and a lot more racket than usual, including bursts of song

North harbour wall
Twite - 41, including 5 unringed birds
Med Gull - adult
Red-throated Diver - one offshore on the incoming tide

Elsewhere
4 Barnacle Geese & hybrid plus indeterminate brief views of what might have been the Tundra Bean Goose along Heysham bypass but birds disturbed by shooting

Geese on the move

Heysham Obs
A nice Tundra Bean Goose was found with the Heysham bypass Pink-footed Geese this morning and was still there at 1400hrs - unfortunately outside the recording area (thanks Stuart & also for the record shot above)

Pink-footed Goose
Migratory flocks of 86 at 1125hrs, 136 at 1415hrs & 102 at 1420hrs - all heading high to the north-west in a very limited period of observation - so many could have been missed. Heading off ahead of the weather front was probably part of the strategy, but this is the usual time of year for major movements

Med Gull - two adults around the harbour
Jack Snipe - at least one Ocean Edge foreshore
Twite - 26 north wall feeder at 1415hrs

Turnstone were very scattered on the cross pieces on the wooden jetty (19+) & couldnt see any Purps but plenty of areas which couldnt be seen from the north wall

Ringing by the office
Highlighted by an unringed Wren - very unusual at this time of year. Otherwise the same Long-tailed Tits as the previous post-freeze ringing sessions and a couple of new Chaffinch and Greenfinch along with an ?eight-year old Blue Tit.

Elsewhere
Tundra Bean Goose along Heysham bypass. Negative on Smew on Freeman's Pool. Ad Greenland White-fronted Goose with Greylags (& the Snows) by the Eric Morecambe Pool.

Spring tide check

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall area
Med Gull - three adults - two roosting on the old Fisher's roof and one patrolling the north wall
Purple Sandpiper - one on the wooden jetty with 31 Turnstone - very difficult to see now the structure is all bent and twisted
Twite - just five seen
Oystercatcher - 4,100ish roosting on the heliport - an immediate return after yesterdays cannon netting

Ocean Edge area
Knot - 1,500
Turnstone - 23 roosting OE foreshore
Ringed Plover - 16 roosting OE foreshore (no sign Snettisham-ringed bird)

Offshore
Completely dead

Long-tailed tits survive well

Heysham Obs
Long-tailed Tit
Change your habits and hit the bird feeders. This is what Long-tailed Tits have done over the last few winters and it has really paid dividends with survival this winter. The January 10km square survey revealed a good number and the two ringing sessions next to the office (today and 13th January) have seen a total of 10 different local birds, all already bearing rings from here & most, as you would expect, from 2009.

Ocean Edge
The Snipe run was mistimed with just 11 Common remaining on a tide which was already well in
Linnet - one in Ocean Edge

Ringing
As is usual this time of year, the start of the Greenfinch influx with 5 unringed birds trapped along with single unringed Blue Tit, Song Thrush, Great Tit, Chaffinch (an unringed Blue Tit escaped!)

The cannon-netting at the heliport (see photo - thanks Ian) was successful with 534 ringed and 35 already ringed, either at Heysham or elsewhere. The catch including an Icelandic colour-ringed bird. Provisional info on the catch as follows (thanks Richard):

One cannon-netted in 1982 Wrangle Tofts (Lincolnshire)
One similarly in 1993 Friskney Marsh (Lincolnshire)
One probably from Alftanes 64, 05N, 22, 00 W (Iceland)
One likely to have been ringed as a chick somewhere in the British Isles!One ringed as a chick on the Isle of Mull in June 1984 and caught at Heysham on 12/12/08.

Retraps from Heysham: 19 from the cannon net catch on 12/12/2008, 10 from 01/02/2006 (one also retrapped 12/12/2008), one from 17/10/2001 (which was reringed 12/12/2008)

The age structure was interesting with ONLY ONE of last year's young and only 12 2008 young. The remainder were born in or prior to 2007.

Less useful was the last two numbers of a Danish-ringed Black-headed Gull on Middleton model boat pond - birds dont walk around on ice, so you only get one side of the ring!

Five-star Pheasant

Heysham Obs
Middleton IE
Pheasant - one in the BE corridor therefore qualifying for the BTO business challenge
Teal - 13
Fieldfare - 5
Mute Swan - 5
plus 7 Coot, one Moorhen, 14 Mallard, 2 Goldeneye as waters froze again

Ocean Edge
Med Gull - one adult around Heysham one outfall
Wigeon - 80
Pink-footed Goose - 5SW

Eastern boundary
One Redwing by the bypass roundabout

Elsewhere
Waxwing - 2 Broadacre, Caton, 0900hrs

House Sparrow and Greenshank shock

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge
House Sparrow - despite the close season and presumed lack of spoon-feeding, at least one was heard amongst the caravans. Very rare indeed away from the Heysham suburbia at any time of year, but especially winter
Jack Snipe - 3 OE saltmarsh at HT
Snipe - 26 OE saltmarsh at HT

Red Nab
Greenshank - one sat on the rocks at high tide - very unexpected indeed as the tide did not seem high enough for any unsual displacement from e.g. Lune. First winter record.

Middleton
Little Grebe - first of the year
also: 4 Mute Swan, 8 Coot, 2 Moorhen, 39 Teal, 9 Tufted Duck, 3 Pochard, 2 Goldeneye, 10 Mallard

North harbour wall
Twite - 41 but too silhouetty to see any ring data
Med Gull - one adult

Elsewhere
Redhead Smew still at Freeman's Pool early morning but no sign of American Wigeon and no sign of any Waxwings at Caton by at least 0945hrs. Brambling female High Tatham with male Chaffinch influx. Male RBMerg, 7 Shoveler, 2 Gadwall, 14 Goosander Pine Lake.

More vigils from Ocean Edge

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab/behind various boats
Med Gull - two adults behind dredger at one stage
Purple Sandpiper - single roosted on Red Nab and was feeding on there until at least 1125hrs
Wigeon - 81
NO Lapwing!

Elsewhere
Redhead Smew back at Freemans pools and adult drake American Wigeon off Cockerham Sands Caravan Park. Two Waxwing Broadacre, Caton this late afternoon (again).

Middleton Management Day

Heysham Obs
Middleton IE
Pond clearance work at Middleton put up surprisingly few birds. A pair of mallard, four tufted duck and a single snipe were the total sightings for the day, with the addition of a calling water rail first thing.

Harbour
Grey Seal therein at lunchtime

North wall area
Common Scoter - pair far offshore
Twite - c40
Goldeneye - one inshore
Med Gull - at least one adult

More vigils at Red Nab

Heysham Obs
Coastal areas
Snipe - 8 on Red Nab
Lapwing - 57 Red Nab
Twite - 52ish north harbour wall, including Askam-in-Furness-ringed bird and about 5 unringed birds
Med Gull - adult off Red Nab (flew in from south) and two other adults following the dredger

Elsewhere
Report of Bittern on Kellet Lane