Mostly baby bird-ringing

Heysham Obs
Non-CES sites next to the office and the western marsh at Middleton were covered this morning with a reasonable selection of birds caught and ringed, given the fact it was sunny and not quite calm

Miscellaneous sightings
Swift - c15 south over the HN reserve
Siskin - one heard at HNR, seemed to be heading south

Ringing
Low-key multitasking at HNR office with 5 Common Whitethroat, a juvenile Blackcap, a moulting Willow Warbler, a Dunnock and a Swallow ringed and an adult Willow warbler & Blackbird retrapped.  More effort at Middleton western marsh saw a male Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Willow Warbler (2 adult), 9 juvenile Sedge Warbler, 2 Common Whitethroat, one Dunnock, one Blackbird, one Lesser Whitethroat.  Retraps comprised 2 Whitethroat, 7 Sedge Warbler and a Willow Warbler

Moths
Scalloped Oak new for the year 

Hosting the BTO Business Challenge awards ceremony

Heysham Obs
Several walks round the reserve in between and especially after the more formal events in the marquee by a really nice group of people involved in conservation work and other environmental initiatives at various sites throughout the country.  Thank you all for your company on a day when the weather was very kind.  We even had a short visit from the local MP, without his former sidekick David Hasselhoff

Coal Tit - singing male was a surprise
Small Skipper - c10
Comma - 2
Red Admiral - 2

Moth trap
The "star" on a poor night was Udea prunalis

Moths steal the show

Heysham Obs
Moths
Barred Red was a very scarce highlight in the office trap this morning - most of the conifer feeders have been recorded at some time or another but they are predictably scarce. Also another Blackneck (the 5th in total and 4th this year)

Ocean Edge incoming tide
Med Gull - 3CY on Red Nab

Middleton NR

Black-tailed Skimmers showed well today.  Thanks Janet

No sign of any red darters of any species, but conditions a little cool and windy

Elsewhere
109 Red-necked Footman in daytime search along Thrushgill main forestry track, mostly resting half-way up rush or Tufted Hair grass stems .  NO access here but worth checking alongside other mature conifers?

The Gatekeeper saves the day

Heysham Obs
A Gatekeeper was the first of the year

Tuesday June 28th early Curlew influx

Heysham Obs
Sorry for the late posting - sorting pics out and distracted by something else cropping up!

Ocean Edge/Red Nab high tide
A high tide roost saw the largest number of Curlew I can remember seeing on Red Nab in June.  Apparently this coincides with larger than usual number on the recent June WeBS count from several sites, both local and national.  The implication seems to be early-returning adults, either failed breeders or an early start to the season in the April weather.  In this resepct, there seemed to be two moult categories; non-breeders in advanced wing moult and presumed adults which had just started.

Curlew - 206 Red Nab
Whimbrel - 1 (first of 'autumn')
Bar-tailed Godwit - 1
Med Gull - adult
Common Gull - just 82
Black-headed Gull - 230

Moths
Broad-barred White highlighted a reduced catch

Middleton NR
No obvious sign of Red-veined Darter; just a few teneral Common Darter, Black-tailed Skimmer, 4-spotted Chaser and Emperor.

 Thanks for these, Janet

Red-veined reincarnation

Heysham Obs
Heysham NR Obs Tower pond area
Reed Warbler - singing male on and off during the morning was most unexpected from this reedless location - late arrival or early departee?

Middleton model boat pond
Red-veined Darter - almost mature male showing very well mid-afternoon, then disappeared in duller light - seen at rest and over the water to the east of the spit
Darter spp - one, probably an early Common, along the western shoreline
Black-tailed Skimmer - c5
Emperor - 2 males
4-spotted Chaser - 2

Moths
Large catch with the highlight being the third & fourth Blackneck for here along with a load of "year-ticks" including Grass Emerald

A migrant Silver Y, one of two seen today, along with a 'barbiehopper'?  Thanks Janet

Mammals
Hedgehog - 1 dead by Alder Copse boardwalk.

Amphibians
Common Toad - Huge numbers of minute toadlets swarming on the paths below the Obs Tower area.  Great-crested Newt by Middleton model boat pond

Heysham CES
Not particularly brilliant as regards local productivity with the full CES nets and two of the three next to the office producing two juvenile Whitethroat, two juvenile Chiffchaff, one juvenile Willow Warbler and a handful of tits, Robins, Wrens and Dunnock.  Also adult Lesser Whitethroat and the surprise in the form of a juvenile Coal Tit

Ocean Edge
Very quick check on the dropping tide saw an adult Med Gull  

Autumnal signs

Heysham Obs
The Middleton CES was like a session in mid-July rather than the beginning of the last week of June.  Young Sedge Warblers, usually still in their nappies in late June, were ready to get their passports stamped, young Blackcaps had started to wander into the wetland area and the capture of half a dozen moulting adult Willow Warbler was also  unexpected.  Then you remember that everything arrived rather earlier than usual in April.............

Middleton NR
Siskin - one south at 0840 was the only evidence of 'vis'
CES ringing produced: Blue Tit (4 juv), Willow Warbler (1 juv, 6 adult), Chiffchaff (1 juv), Whitethroat (2 juv, 2 adult), Blackcap (3 juv), Reed Warbler (3 adult), Sedge Warbler (5 juv, 4 adult), Grasshopper Warbler (2 juv)

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Very distant flock of waders included:
Grey Plover - 30, mainly in full summer plumage
Dunlin - c25
small wader spp - another 30 or so
Med Gull - adult and 3CY, but too late in the (dropping) tide cycle 

First Little Egret for ages

Heysham Obs
Outfalls/Red Nab
The dropping tide, not the best time, saw:
Kittiwake - 2CY
Med Gull - one adult and the 3CY
Little Egret - one OE saltmarsh channel

Moths
Two photographed in the field by Janet yesterday.  The C. perlella info can be seen at the excellent UK Moths site:     http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2907

Celypha striana and a variant of Crambus perlella (see link)

Four Meds and a moth

Heysham Obs
Outfalls/Red Nab
Med Gull - 3 adults and the usual 3CY

Moths
Anyone any idea whether this will be Narrow-bordered 5-spot burnet or 6-spot burnet!  Thanks Janet

Broad-barred White made its second appearance in the trap this year.  Otherwise the first Smoky Wainscot of the year and a rather unseasonal Common Marbled Carpet

Thistle ermine reappears at last

Heysham Obs
Thistle Ermine has spread beyond its range as described in the excellent Goater Pyralid book, but a perusal of the VC60 MapMate database suggests, unless I'm missing some records, that there have been few records since a flurry in the early/mid 'naughties'...........until this year.  I was surprised to see that today's was the first record for here since 2000 and even more surprised to find an absence at the regular trap run from Hazel Morbay's residence at Sunderland Point until this year, presumably because recording started there in the downturn period about four years ago

Thistle Ermine HNR this morning (thanks Steve)
Described in recent days as a 'plague' at nearby Walney, the locally abundant White Satin also made its first of what are usually just a few annual records here

Please can we have some dragonfly weather, even if it does bring out the clegs!

Outfalls as viewed at long range from Ocean Edge
Arctic Tern - one adult briefly
Med Gull - Usual 3CY and a more distant view of what was probably an adult
A distant bird wheeling out of the bay was probably a Fulmar, but the heat haze was again problematic

Moths
See above, also Light Arches and three worn Shaded Pug - surely the end of the season for this local speciality.  We have been wondering where all the Shoulder-striped Wainscots were this year, usually our commonest wainscot species and the answer appears to be that they are emerging late with 20 this morning, many fresh