Another Wheatearless mixed bag

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall 0700-0830
Lesser Redpoll - 4+NE
Red-throated Diver - 5 & 3 late morning
Sandwich tern - 19, with 10 still around the buoys late morning
Canada Goose - flock of 4
Twite - c60 early morning, just one unringed bird seen
alba Wagtail - 5 NE
Meadow Pipit - just 29 NE
Linnet - 14 NE, others later with Twite
Goldfinch - 5 NE
Common Scoter - 6 in then landed
Sand Martin - 1 NE
Siskin - 2 NE

Heysham NR office and area
Not a lot of time this morning and late with it, therefore the vis was very intermittently logged, even for just 0730-0900hrs
Dunnock - unringed bird caught (unusual)
Meadow Pipit - 62 NE (3 ringed)
Goldfinch - 21 NE
Swallow - 2 NE
alba Wagtail - 2 NE
Lesser Redpoll - 1 NE
Woodpigeon - flock of 12 rather confused and ended up heading SW (also seen north wall)
Willow Warbler - singing male by classroom
Jay - one 'intruder', possibly a migrant, chased off by the local bird

Moths
The Hebrew Character total reached a giddy 17, but 'only' 14 other moths this morning

Mammals
Rabbit in the bottom shelf of a mist net for a short period.  Grey Squirrel on Moneyclose Lane & apparent drey located

Elsewhere
Osprey north over Skerton Weir early morning

A case of what might have been

Heysham Obs
A couple of very distant 'things' in flight up the Kent channel seemed to suggest one of the smaller grebes with (sp) Slav the most likely candidate.  Otherwise a reasonable hour of variety on the sea.  Lets kickstart things by suggesting the Black Guillemot is not going to return (worked with booming Bittern!!)

North harbour wall 0730-0830
Gannet - 12 in then out
Whooper Swan - flock of 20 north
Red-throated Diver - 3 out one in
Red-breasted Merganser - 2 out
Kittiwake - flock of 26 in
Razorbill - 4 on the sea
Common Scoter - 27 in
Sandwich Tern - 2
Meadow Pipit - 27 NE
Lesser Redpoll - 2 NE
Linnet - 5 NE
Chaffinch - 2 NE
Goldfinch - 1 NE
alba Wagtail - 2 NE
Twite - still c60

Reserve by office 0730-0900
Chiffchaff - one ringed and at least 2 other migrants
Green Woodpecker - first thing
Meadow Pipit - c55 NE
Goldfinch - 11 NE
Swallow - 1 NE
alba Wagtail - 6 NE
Great & Blue Tit - unringed singles quite unusual at this time of year

Moths
Pretty decent catch with what might be record (!) numbers of Clouded Drab for here - never been common:  Hebrew Character (13), Clouded Drab (12), Common Quaker (12), March Moth (4), Shoulder Stripe (1), Diurnea fagella (1)

Foggy birdless moth-fest of a morning, Red Admiral and transmittered Osprey in the afternoon!

Heysham Obs
Coastal sites/Heysham NR
Meadow Pipit - combined total from 7ish to 9.30ish = 81 NE, but most of them were not visible in the fog, therefore underestimate.  Trickle throughout the day
Siskin - 2 NE
alba Wagtail - 7 NE
Linnet - 16 NE
Fieldfare - one heard in the mist but no grounded migrant thrushes on the reserve (too late?)
Turnstone - c100
Twite - exactly 62 but not possible to check rings
Chiffchaff - 2+ migrants (1 ringed)
Wren - singing male by the office which appears to be holding territory - definitely new in - NO, it was suppressed yesterday! - only the seond on the reserve this spring
Blackcap - first singing male of the year - again passed through
Wheatear - one materialised in the evening!

Osprey
'Talisman' flew either over, just inland or just out to sea here at 1400hrs (the text gives 'over' Morecambe Bay, the map suggests along the eastern side of) as part of a 289km journey from Shropshire to Hawick (via transmitter data).  Talisman was Morven's mate in 2009, successfully rearing young [Morven seen flying past here last April]!

Moths
More than the rest of the year so far put together!  Record count of 3 Shoulder Stripe, a latish March Moth, Parsnip Moth, otherwise the usual suspects:  13 Hebrew Character, 6 Common Quaker and 5 Clouded Drab

Butterflies
A Red Admiral in the sheltered NE corner of the reserve was a major surprise, given the severity of this last winter.  Have any others been reported in the area?  TWO male Brimstone and a Comma also seen, as well as a glimpse of what was probably Small Tortoiseshell.  Plenty of bumble bees today.

Elsewhere
Transmitter-carrying Osprey 'Morven' roosted overnight near Kirkby Lonsdale (6th/7th).  5 Whooper Swan still at Melling

Belated Black Red discovery?

Due to an unfortunate (and slowly increasing) misuse of the reserve by a handful of individuals, resulting in an unacceptable amount of excrement & off-leads within the areas used by school groups and indeed other path users, no dogs allowed on the main Heysham Nature reserve, as reinforced by notices this morning.  There is, of course, a huge area along the path to the south of the 'cream store' - the Landscape Strip & Nature Park - which can  be used for exercising.  This is a joint decision by British Energy estates, ADAS and the Wildlife Trust via the Land Management meeting

Moneyclose Lane is in very poor condition at the moment with the 'normal' driving line being heavily rutted.  This has led to rather a lot of Ocean Edge traffic, presumably short-stay visitors not familiar with the road, driving along the centre.  This makes turning left out of the reserve rather more dangerous than it usually is.  Take care and look left before turning   

Heysham Obs
Useless due southerly this morning with not a single Wheatear on a coastal trawl & just a bit of early morning vis, until a check was made (for the first time this year) of the power station non-op land.  This produced:

Black Redstart - female-type by the Morecambe Metals skip at the southern end of the non-op land.  View area from Nature Park fence.  Surely not a new arrival in this mornings useless weather?  Please note that if it does stay around, photography 'into' the PS site may be challenged.

North harbour wall 0700-0830
alba Wagtail - 6 NE
Meadow Pipit - 73 NE
Linnet - 10 NE
Whooper Swan - flock of 6 NW
Goldfinch - 5 NE
Lesser Redpoll - 1 NE
Swallow - 2 NE
Siskin - 2 NE
Twite - 75-80, later 42 examined and all ringed
Red-throated Diver - 3 out

Moths
First March Moth of the year!!

The Wheatear drought continues

Heysham Obs
Still only one Wheatear at a time - where are they?!

North wall
Twite - 36
Red-throated Diver - 1 in
Kittiwake - 13 (flock) in
Purple Sandpiper - 1+ under jetty
Turnstone - at least 176 under jetty
from anonymous note (thanks to whoever it was!):
Little Gull - 2
Gannet - 6

Ocean Edge
Wheatear - just the one
Common Gull - 76 outfalls/tideline

Mammal
Grey Seal offshore

Moths
A change of bulb and a change of fortune - helps when the light actually comes/stays on!  Just orthodross, but a strange composition for here with no Hebrew Character = 4 Clouded Drab, 2 Common Quaker

Mundane to the ridiculous

Heysham Obs
Mega-alert in the evening with a Red-legged Partridge seen running along Cyprus Road in Higher Heysham suburbia.  Major Heysham blocker, last seen goodness knows how long ago.  North-westerlies are unpredictable at this time of year with some significant early morning seabird movements on occasions.  Not this morning.  As far as I am aware the usual 1.5hrs produced just the following:

Red-throated Diver - 5
Gannet - 2
Twite - c60 all, or the vast majority, ringed
Linnet - 2 on seed
no passerine vis

Middleton IE
Snipe - 1

Elsewhere
Typical early April record of Hooded Crow on the sandflats at Glasson, also 2 Avocet there.  Bittern 'grunting', therefore presumably usual elderly male, at Leighton Moss 0815-0830 (3 lots of 3) - the first report of this activity this year, despite "24/7" coverage.  Booming better in the evening.

Routine morning patch coverage.....until Osprey report

A few changes on the Links.  I've (long overdue) added the Roy Dennis site - check the migration of transmitter-carrying Osprey, Honey Buzzard etc..  Ray Hobbs has stopped posting on his site, but I've substituted with an Irish site in the same vein.  

A plea - there have been quite a few birders passing through recently, but the number of sightings notes left in the box has dwindled of late.  Appreciate this is because most of the visits have been targeting known winter fare, but from now onwards it is full steam ahead with short-stay migrants.  Therefore any visitors are almost inevitably going to connect with at least something worth publishing on this site. 

So please either call into the reserve car park & leave a note in the box, or text sightings to 07989866487 (see sidebar) or post on to the LDBWS site.  Please dont just leave the sightings on your own blog, we cant check them all out & may not even be aware of its existence!

Thanks in anticipation, especially with spring passage seabirds

Heysham Obs
Text from "Dave" (?Thompson) re-Osprey past the harbour mouth, quite a distance offshore, at c1145hrs.  Couldnt return call.  Thanks for this info, Dave.  This is the first time any of the phone links have been used by an unknown source to report a Heysham bird!

HNR office area 0800-1130
Meadow Pipit - 187 NE (just 6 ringed in niggling wind) [see below for separate NHW birds]
Twite - flock of 12 high to the east
Swallow - 12 seen today heading north
alba Wagtail - 5 north
Green Woodpecker - seen/heard a few times
Chiffchaff - perhaps 3 flew through [just one on Middleton IE today]
Willow Warbler - one Moneyclose Lane (1st of year)
Robin - at least two migrants (1 ringed, one being chased!)
Chaffinch - 5 NE
Linnet - 3 NE
Mallard - pair Obs T pond
Water Rail - one Middleton IE

North harbour wall 0650-0840
Meadow Pipit - 67 NE
alba Wagtail - 2 NE
Goldfinch - 1 NE
Jackdaw - 1+3 in-off
Pink-footed Goose - 26 SW(!)
Common Scoter - 3 out
Red-throated Diver - 1 out
Turnstone - 58+ but no Purps seen
Great-crested Grebe - influx with 16 offshore
Eider - 51
Red-breasted Merganser - 7
Twite - 48

Mammals
TWO Grey Seal - one inshore, one far offshore

Insects
Bombus terrestris queen in a mist net.  First butterfly of the year - by far the latest ever first for here - was a Peacock on Middleton IE

Elsewhere
Nothing of any real interest other than influx of Willow warbler & singing Blackcaps.  Two Ring Ouzels seen in Bowland (away from Langden)

Back to the overheads

Heysham Obs
A steady Meadow Pipit passage was the order of the day this morning, but unfortunately an opportunity to catch them in the calm early-morning weather was thwarted by an opening time hire car return.  Two out of about 20 around the nets were caught as the wind increased, indicating that they were in response mode (not always the case in spring).  Monday early morning looks interesting for a few seabirds unless the wind ends up too southerly
 
North harbour wall & combined Meadow Pipit/alba passage
Meadow Pipit - 75 NE 0650-0830 and a different 109 NE at the HNR office 0830-1000
alba Wagtail - 8 + 7 as above
Linnet - 7 NE
Swallow - 1 NE (IOY)
Little Egret - 1 SW
Song Thrush - one on mound - surely not the same bird as intermittent all winter?
Red-throated Diver - 3 out, one on, 5 in later (visiting birder)
Guillemot - 1
Red-breasted Merganser - 2 in
Eider - 71 visible
Twite - c65.  This flock split up with around 14 remaining, the rest disappearing across the harbour.  A small catch of 8 (4retraps, 4 unringed) was made.  No further birds appeared, but no reflection on the fishermen/visitors today.

Office vis not mentioned
Reed Bunting - 2 NE
Siskin - 2 NE
Sparrowhawk - female high to NE chased by locals & Carrion Crow
Common Buzzard - one north over golf course c0945hrs - rare here!
Green Woodpecker - calling down Moneyclose Lane
Chiffchaff - one migrant male moved through, singing intermittently

Middleton IE
Chiffchaff - at least 6
Tufted Duck - 3
Usual breeding wildfowl, incluidng 4 Mute Swan still present

Nothing worthy of mention off/at Ocean Edge as the dearth of Wheatear continues & very few of the migrating alba Wagtails becoming grounded

Elsewhere
Two flight views of Glossy Ibis late afternoon near Gresgarth Hall, the last heading over Brookhouse [displaying Curlew seen for comparison].  18 Whooper Swans still in Lune valley: one large flock near Melling (including darvic-ringed bird present the last two winters) & two attached to a small Mute Swan flock.  Four Hawfinch seen at Woodwell but coastal observations south of the Lune Estuary and Leighton postings showed little evidence of further migration other than a handful of hirundines & a very sparse scattering of Wheatears.  Ring Ouzel influx in upland areas to the south and east (including Pendle).  Still no hint of any booming Bitterns at Leighton Moss with the last known sighting of any 'resident' birds being a 2000-ringed female on 31/1/10.

Good maritime morning

North Harbour Wall
0640-0810
Decided to emulate the Fleetwood birders and get to the watchpoint for dawn to do some pre-work sea-watching.  It was well worth the early start.
Nothing much until 0710 then the following:
Red-throated Diver - 36 (including a flock of 16) heading generally north, some spiralling up to quite a height. Fantastic sight in the early morning sun.
Kittiwake - 295 in flocks of about 30 to 35, largest flock 55.  Many probably missed if they were further out. 
Gannet - at least 40.  Largest flock = 10.  There were many probables wheeling about way out near the wind turbines.
Possible skua, again way out near the turbines.  Only the jizz suggested a skua as it was a larger and very dark bird persistently harrassing a smaller bird.
Eider 11 flew into the Bay.

What a difference a day makes

Or what a difference the weather makes.  Snow to the north and blocking rain to the south so nothing flying over this morning from 0750 to 0900.  About 60 Twite still around.  Only 3 Red-breasted Mergansers in the low tide channel.