Moths make a decent showing...

Birds:
Whitethroat singing near obs.

Moths.
About 20 species either in the trap or around the reserve.
Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Common Wave, Herald, Poplar Hawk etc.
The micro, Elachista Argentella was new for tedrad.
Plenty of Grass Moths; 30+ Cambus Lathoniellus and Chrysoteuchia Culmella making its first showing of the year.

White rabbits, white rabbits

It's the beginning of the month and there are no birds to report.  Things can only get better and I have been told that saying white rabbits at the start of a month brings good luck - let's hope so!

Just one bird

North Harbour Wall

An early morning 2 hour watch produced just one sighting - a Gannet.

Middleton Industrial Est
8 tufted duck (5 male)
4 little grebe
1 family of newly fledged Long Tailed Tits
Insects
Butterflies - Common blue & Small Heath everywhere + many whites, peacock & small tortoiseshell
+ 1 Wall Brown
Dragon flies - 3 x four spot chaser + many blue-tailed, 2 x common blue and 1 x large red damselflies
First grasshopper "chirruping"

Elsewhere
Spoonbill still on the Allen Pool at Leighton Moss

Another skua

Heysham obs

North Harbour Wall 0615-0800
Arctic Skua - 1 dark phase at 0710
Gannet - 8
Brent Goose - 1
possible Black Tern - 1

Nature Reserve
Reed Warbler - 1pr
Sedge Warbler - 2 singing males
Whitethroat - 2 singing
Willow Warbler - 2 singing
Blackcap - 1 singing
then all the usual suspects (Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Dunnock etc etc)


Elsewhere
Spoonbill still at Leighton Moss

Young uns

Middleton industrial estate

Two quite well grown juv Lapwings being watched by their parents on the spit at the model boat pond.  They nimbly avoided three clumsy Mute Swans which were arguing about who should be where on the spit.

Also two fledged Pied Wagtails accompanied by an adult.

Elsewhere
Spoonbill at Leighton Moss on the Allen Pool.  No sign of the reported Little Stint.

Elsewhere

It seems that everyone is elsewhere and the only report is from
Elsewhere
Leighton Moss, Allen Pool - Spoonbill and Little Stint

Cracking day......

.......for a lie-in! Not much doing from the North Harbour Wall today:

Gannet - 2
House Martin - 2
Swift - 1
Swallow - 4
Eider - 5 present
Ringed Plover - 2 present

Elsewhere
Aldcliffe - Spotted Flycatcher, Greenshank and 5 Little Ringed Plovers.  White tailed Plover Seaforth.  2CY Glaucous Gull at the port just SE of Nordkapp, Svonsomething!

Willow Warbler sings....

Willow Warbler singing next to the ob.

Moths:
First Common Swift of the year.

Elsewhere
Re the above, stopped several times on the Tromso to Alta road today and the only things singing were Willow Warblers!

Early morning news

North Harbour Wall
0700-1300hrs
Gannet - 1
Fulmar - 1
Common Scoter - 12
Eider - 1
Sanderling - 1
Ringed Plover - 5
Meadow Pipit - 2
Swallow - 10
Swift - 1
House Martin - 1

Elsewhere
Cockersands  - 1 Arctic Tern

Courageous Coot

Heysham Obs
per Ocean Edge resident
The pair of Coot are trying to nest on the dog-walk-please-dont-let them-swim-in-it pond, after being present for about a week.  This is the first record of Coot for the BE properties, apart from a electricity wires casualty about 15 years ago!  They are, of course, resident on nearby Middleton NR

Also in this pond are 'several' Goldfish which are being targeted by a Grey Heron!

Ocean Edge foreshore
Whimbrel - 1
Common Sandpiper - late passage bird

To those of you with the site access details, please keep the site going whilst I am away, even if just a few moth records!  Thanks.

Elsewhere
Little Stint, Plover Scar, Cockersands