Not quite what was expected

Heysham Obs
Funny morning with a smatter of rain at dawn, flat calm and a bank of cloud to the north and north-west.  The first hour was dire and it looked to be a 'duff' morning.  Then the vis perked up and there was a small influx of Chiffchaff and Blackcap after about 0815hrs.  The cloud cover to the north and north-west oscillated and was undoubtedly responsible for the vis mig being in waves interspersed by very quiet spells.  The wind picked up at about 0930hrs.  Later in the morning, especially around lunchtime, the vis steadied and there was a constant trickle of alba Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and Chaffinch.  The other problem early on was a very localised light north-easterly wind carried the sound from the hive of activity around the lorry park and made both the vis hard to hear and negated the attempt to catch Grey Wagtails

Vis mig 0700-1130
Chaffinch - 170
alba Wagtail - 122
Grey Wagtail - 14
Linnet - just 3!
Greenfinch - 15
Reed Bunting - 14
Meadow Pipit - 244
Lesser Redpoll - 4
Carrion Crow - 2
Skylark - 14
Goldfinch - 25
Coal Tit - just 4 this morning
Siskin - at least 50 (at least 10 flocks, four of which were not seen and recorded as '1')
Crossbill - flock of 4 south at 0915
Bullfinch - 2
Swallow - 4

Grounded
Song Thrush - 10-15 first thing
Chiffchaff - at least 10
Blackcap - at least 5
Robin - no evidence first thing but a trickle of unringed birds
Goldcrest - just one at each site!
Green Woodpecker - seen at Middleton
Snipe - 3 Middleton

Ringing (Middleton and Heysham)
Grey Wagtail (3), Blue Tit (10), Great Tit (4), Coal Tit (2), Chaffinch (9), Dunnock (3), Chiffchaff (7), Blackcap (4), Robin (5), Wren (4), Greenfinch (1), Goldcrest (1), Reed Bunting (9)

Butterflies
Red Admiral - at least 7 migrating southwards
Comma - 2 by office
Small White - one
Speckled Wood - at least 15 just around the office

Miscellany
Migrant Hawker - 2 by office

Little bit of east in the wind and an early morning influx of common migrants

Heysham Obs
A lorry and milk-float-strewn journey was followed by the typical semi-darkness error of getting the shelf-string order wrong when setting a line of three mist nets.  Therefore, despite a pre-dawn start, the nets were not up until a largely unrecorded fifteen minute 'flood' of vis had passed overhead and even the tit flocks were on the march!

Vis mig by the office
Underrecorded, possibly by up to 50-60%, but the species ratios are accurate.  Notable alba Wagtail passage this morning.
Coal Tit - at least 33 southbound birds, including a flock of 10
Chaffinch - 187 SW
Meadow Pipit - 302 SE
Grey Wagtail - 8 SE (4 ringed)
alba Wagtail - 181 SE
Mistle Thrush - 1 S
Linnet - 6 S
Skylark - 25 SE
Tree Sparrow - 1 SW
Siskin - 12 SE plus heard twice
Jay - 2 high to S
Lesser Redpoll - flock of 4 SE
Greenfinch - 39 SW, including flock of 16 (none on feeder!)
Goldfinch - only 6 SW
Dunnock - at least 3 headed south
Blue Tit - one flock of 7 high to S
Reed Bunting - just one S
Jackdaw - 3 S

Miscellany
Kingfisher - one around in the afternoon
Pink-footed Goose - 60 S in afternoon

Grounded
much better than yesterday
Lesser Whitethroat - one in brambles by office
Blackcap - one ringed
Chiffchaff - c15, many moving through quickly just after dawn, therefore possibly more (5 ringed)
Goldcrest - at least 10, mostly just after dawn (4 ringed)
Robin - little evidence at dawn with most birds singing fairly promptly, but three unringed lightweight birds caught
Song Thrush - very obvious first thing with at least 20 grounded around the office, then flying inland
Treecreeper - 2 unringed birds, one escaped from a net!

Ringing
Pretty busy with most of the birds in the first two hours after dawn.  New birds: Grey Wagtail (4), Chiffchaff (5), Treecreeper (1), Goldcrest (4), Blackcap (1), Wren (1), Chaffinch (18), Greenfinch (1), Blue Tit (7), Great Tit (1), Robin (3), Dunnock (2)  

Butterflies
About five Red Admiral around the office plus a Comma.  Lots of Speckled Wood.  One Meadow Brown.

Routine morning enhanced by minor vis mig highlights

Heysham Obs
A full morning's coverage with vis mig and one or two mist nets was disappointing until after the vis session had finished!  Best was a late southbound flava Wagtail at 1125hrs, scarce at the best of times over here

Vis mig 0715-0915, then casual observation - all counts 0715-0915
Chaffinch - 177 SW
alba Wagtail - 18 SE
flava Wagtail - one due south at 1125hrs
Grey Wagtail - 4 SE
Meadow Pipit - not many early on, more after 0915! - 48 SE
Greenfinch - 10 SW
Reed Bunting - 1 SE
Goldfinch - 22 S
Coal Tit - about 25 south, including flock of 15
Blue Tit - dribs and drabs heading south = approx 25 birds but no flocks
Long-tailed Tit - unringed flock of 11 passed through
Dunnock - at least 3 headed south as though they were on the move & two unringed birds caught
Crossbill - unfortunately could not see them (extracting birds from mist net) but at least two headed south(ish) at 0945
Skylark - 2 SE
Tree Sparrow - 2 headed NE at 1010hrs
Siskin - after reports of loads over Caton and Hutton Roof, the first and only (heard once) was at 1100hrs
Swallow - one appeared at 1200hrs - the first of the day

Grounded
Really disappointing other than tit movement
Goldcrest - maximum of 3 below the obs tower
Chiffchaff - just four passed through
Whitethroat - late bird with fat score of 3/4 and weight of 17.9grams
Robin - a lot of chasing and ticking at dawn, but seemed to melt away with only one unringed bird caught

Ringing
Basic monitoring produced about 30 new birds, including a Grey Wagtail, but otherwise mainly Blue & Coal Tit, Chaffinch and Greenfinch

Ocean Edge/Red Nab high tide
Birdless as usual at high (spring) tide
Ringed Plover - 8 on OE beach
Little Gull - ad sat on sea off Ocean Edge saltmarsh

Butterflies
Increase in Red Admiral with at least 5 seen, two of which were heading south

Start of a Coati irruption?

Heysham Obs
Not able to really concentrate on the vis this morning, but it was quite extensive.  Approximate figures 0715-0900 as follows:

Meadow Pipit - 150 (gross underestimate?)
Chaffinch - 180
Siskin - 30
Swallow - 2
Goldfinch - 35
Grey Wagtail - 5 (3+1+1)
Linnet - 18
alba Wagtail - 40
Reed Bunting - 4
Pink-footed Goose - c380 in 5 skeins during the morning

Grounded/low-level migration
Chiffchaff - there were 6 or so around the office area at 0715 with 5 subsequently ringed during the morning
Goldcrest - again conspicuous by its absence on a circuit of the reserve with just one & another ringed
Garden Warbler - one lightishweight bird ringed
Coal Tit - 7 ringed and some evidence of a small movement
Wheatear - one Ocean Edge

Raptors highlight early morning vis mig

Heysham Obs
More to come after the intertidal work has been done (hopefully!).  Maybe not- bad start with 3 small dogs in jackets flushing everything and very 'glary' later on

Vis mig by office 0715-0915
This was fairly conscientious plus or minus a cup or coffee & checking moths with no background noise this morning
Meadow Pipit - 143 SE
Chaffinch - 137 S/SW
alba Wagtail - 23 SE
Goldfinch - 38 S
Linnet - 9 S
Mistle Thrush - 1 SW
Marsh Harrier - juv SW then turned SSE at 0725
Reed Bunting - 2 S, plus another c1015
Kestrel - juv south at 0745
Grey Wagtail - just 2 SE
Collared Dove - 2 (together) S
Swallow - just one south
Great-spotted Woodpecker - 2 together very high to SW
Skylark - flock of 6 SE 1045
Blue Tit - see below

Middleton
Kingfisher - one by the bridge dyke

Grounded
Not a great deal
Goldcrest - one below Obs T
Blackcap - one off-passage female ringed (23.3g F4)
Chiffchaff - 3 passed through by the office quickly (one ringed)
Robin - a few ticking & chasing plus a lightweight one (16.6g) ringed
Dunnock - a few in evidence and unringed one caught (very good year for this species so far!)
Blue Tit - minor hint of movement with one fast-moving southbound flock of 8 and a couple of unringed birds caught
Wheatear - 2 Ocean Edge

Moths
Two Rusty Dot Pearl highlighted a reasonable catch which also included 2 Feathered Ranunculus.  6 Silver Y on two afternoon reserve circuits

Butterflies
Good variety for this time of year after a wet/windy month.  Watch out for a late influx of Clouded Yellow the next few days??  A very worn female Common Blue & male Small White by the office and a late-into-hibernation Peacock sunning itself on the office; male Brimstone, female Green-veined White and male Meadow Brown along the north (PA way) slope; Comma NE corner; Red Admiral below the Obs T, Small Tortoiseshell dipping pond & 2 on the yellow car park buddleia and Small Copper opposite dog walk entrance.  18 Speckled Wood throughout, mainly in the glades

Dragonfly
Perhaps surprisingly, only two Common Darter seen and a male Migrant Hawker along the north (PA way) bank

Bits and bobs after horrendous start

Heysham Obs
Every autumn has its low-point early morning session and hopefully this was ours.  Never mind the stronger-than-forecasted wind, goodness knows what was going on in the harbour - sounded like one of the rust buckets was being broken up on the spot as a tremendous racket drowned out most of the overhead stuff.   Then it improved with two flocks of Pinkfeet, a Grey Wagtail to ring and juvenile Little Stint (plus 5 juv/1st W Meds together)

Vis mig of sorts 0700-0900
Meadow Pipit - at least 22
Chaffinch - at least 30
Reed Bunting - 2
Grey Wagtail - 3 (one ringed)
alba Wagtail - at least 15
Pink-footed Goose - 87+57 SE

Grounded by office
Chiffchaff - 1
Goldcrest - 2 (ringed)

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Little Stint - juvenile with c25 Dunlin on the cobble/edge of OE saltmarsh - flushed by dog walker & flew to the far beach, but still in area
Ringed Plover - 27 with above, including non-British metal-ring
Redshank - 220 with above
Med Gull - 5 1CY sat on the sea off Red Nab
Little Gull - adult as above
Terns - none obviously left
Ringing totals summary to date
It has been a very good year for warbler species and Greenfinch/Goldfinch/spring Redpoll passage - the following totals of newly ringed birds are from the two Obs ringing sites at Heysham NR and Middleton NR, plus the Twite feeding station.  Just over 2,100 birds ringed so far.

Selected totals:
Tree Pipit (7), Wren (43), Dunnock (59), Robin (56 - below average), Grasshopper Warbler (44 - record numbers), Sedge Warbler (167 - good), Reed Warbler (22 - record!), Lesser Whitethroat (57 - equal numbers at Heysham & Middleton), Common Whitethroat (151 - record), Garden Warbler (4 - the poor numbers continue), Blackcap (89 - more than usual at Middleton), Chiffchaff (66), Willow Warbler (198), Goldcrest (9 - still way down with poor migrant weather in Sept), Chaffinch (65 - high for this early in autumn), Greenfinch (385 - record numbers, nearly all in late July/August), Goldfinch (103 - record!), Twite (37), Common Redpoll (2), Lesser Redpoll (75 - all on spring passage), Bullfinch (20 - good for so early in autumn)

Moths
Feathered Ranunculus was new for the year and a worn Large Yellow Underwing was the first for ages

Mammal
Weasel Middleton.  Thanks Janet:

Chiffs and Chaffs

Heysham Obs
A routine morning again saw conditions a little too windy, certainly for any Grey Wagtail ringing.  I'm confused with Chiffchaffs.  The only time we get the 'swee' or 'swe-oo'-calling birds at Heysham is when there is more than a hint that there has been trans-North Sea migration e.g. a good chunk of the back-end of last autumn and definitely in the post-3J season.  This autumn, which has not been very easterly to say the least, has produced not a single calling Chiffchaff giving other than the usual monosyllabic collybita-type call - yet we have e.g. ringed record numbers by this stage of the autumn, so they are about.  However, peer-reviewed publications insist that the rather strident 'swee' and 'sweoo' calls are given by "young birds" of British origin.   Why not at Heysham, as a fair chunk of the birds ringed have been locally-produced young and 'early' passage youngsters?   Opinions, please, to PMrsh123@aol.com

Ringing/grounded by the office
Chiffchaff - 4 (2 ringed)
Goldcrest - 1
Robin - little obvious evidence of migrants but two 'new' birds ringed
Green Woodpecker - one tank farm

Vis mig 0720-0920
Dominated by an early movement of Chaffinch with some probably missed
Chaffinch - 215 SW
Meadow Pipit - just 20 SE
alba Wagtail - exactly 50 SE
Grey wagtail - 4 SE
Linnet - 1 SE
Redpoll spp - 1 SE
Swallow - 19 S
Goldfinch - just 4 SW
Siskin -  2 SW
Greenfinch - c15 SW

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Knot - 2,700
Bar-tailed Godwit - 750
Grey Plover - 335
Redshank - 313
Shelduck - 72
Med Gull - adult and 1CY
Little Gull - ad & 2CY
Arctic Tern - seemingly just one juv left on outfalls
Linnet - 72
White Wagtail - at least 3 grounded (& 25 Pied/unspec)

North harbour wall (via Mark)
Med Gull - 2 adults including Czech-ringed bird

Early Brick

Heysham Obs
Messy south/south-westerly weather again this morning with bits of vis mig trickling through (sampled 0945-1015) and grounded Meadow Pipit on Ocean Edge

Vis mig office 0945-1015
This was prompted by 13 Meadow Pipit coming in-off and joining 15 grounded birds (plus 4 albas) whilst covering Ocean Edge 0925-0940
Grey Wagtail - 1+1 (second bird landed by obs t pond)
Meadow Pipit - 27
alba Wagtail - 9
Goldfinch - 12
Chaffinch - just 8

Ocean Edge/Red Nab/outfalls
Greenshank - one OE saltmarsh creek (plus 11 Dunlin)
Shelduck - down to 61!
Knot - 250 Red Nab
Med gull - much reduced number of gulls on Red Nab & just 1 x 1CY and 1 x Ad
Little Gull - both 2CY and Ad on Red Nab
Arctic tern - just 2 juvs could be seen on the outfalls whilst scoping from OE foreshore

Grounded Heysham NR
Chiffchaff - two
Goldcrest - 5

Mammal
Grey Squirrel alder wood

Moths
Brick was a major surprise as they are usually a scarce late autumn species here

Thanks Alan

Ducks provide todays very minor highlight

Heysham Obs
This weather is a waste of precious late September migrant time in this area - you need a real 'hooley' or some nice easterlies, not this "nothing" weather which is too windy for mistnetting but not windy enough to stop migrants tricking through, therefore 'routine coverage' for an hour or so is the order of the day.  There was quite a bit of vis mig this morning

Moving on to next Wednesday, there is an event which seems to be likely to take place in a shirt-sleeves 'indian summer' with a lightish south-easterly and temperatures in the late teens.  Hope there is not too much heat-haze!   See sidebar for details

Vis mig by the office 0715-0815 (minus about 7 minutes)
Meadow Pipit - 220 SE
alba Wagtail - 27 SE
Grey Wagtail - 5 SE (1+2+2)
Chaffinch - 47 S/SW
Swallow - 3 SE
Goldfinch - 24 S
Reed Bunting - 1 S

Inshore
Shelduck - "dramatic" increase from just two in recent days to 87 Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Med Gull - 2 x ad, 1 x 1CY, 1 x 2CY Red Nab
Little Gull - ad outfalls. then Red Nab
Arctic Tern - seemed to be 3 x juv and 1 x adult but difficult to be certain as very mobile

Middleton NR model boat pond
Tufted Duck - 6 - ducks have been conspicuous by their absence on Middleton NR in recent weeks, notably Teal and this suggests an increased element of disturbance (not by bird ringers as it has just not been calm enough since late August)

Grounded
Chiffchaff - 2

Moths
A good catch for this time of year as is often the case in (sheltered) south-westerlies.  Highlighted by a rather belated first Red Underwing of the year, also the first Red-line Quaker.  Also now TWO Lunar Underwing (both different from the previous two), 6 Treble Bar, Acleris emargana, Parsnip Moth, 2 Common Marbled Carpet, 5 Pink-barred Sallow, 2 Green-brindled Crescent, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Silver Y and 4 Black Rustic 

Elsewhere
A very quick trip to Sunderland saw 1 x juv Curlew Sandpiper (on its own) off the toilet block and a collection of gulls at the mouth of the main creek on Lades Marsh included 2 x ad and 2 x 1CY Med Gulls

Robin migration and lots of Speckled Wood

Heysham Obs
In September 1992 we ringed a Thrush Nightingale and the same day produced a Speckled Wood - the latter was almost as unexpected as the former!  Fast forward to this morning and there was a squabbling 'kettle' of 12 Speckled Wood competing for a warm sheltered spot on the top path

Inshore
Fairly dead walk around the circuit produced:
Arctic Tern - 2 juvs and 2 adults, net loss of birds from yesterday's strong winds
Common Tern - one juv
Little Gull - adult
Med Gull - 2 1CY and one adult

Grounded
One of those mornings when you feel short-distance 'british' migrants are passing through but you are not monitoring it properly. At this time of year, that usually means "a lot" of ticking Robins (& perhaps the odd migrant Wren) which are conversely absent on a beautiful still clear morning along with any other grounded migrant.  At least 25 Robins were heard between the cream store and Red Nab
Goldcrest - at least 7 along the dog track/nature opark but only one on the reserve
Chiffchaff - one reserve
Robin - see above
Green Woodpecker - heard/seen about once a week at the moment - it was in the tank farm this morning

Vis Mig
A late arrival due to traffic problems but a 'mobile' vis mig (therefore underrecorded and reliant wholly on sound) whilst doing the circuit produced (0830-0930)
Meadow Pipit - minimum 52
Grey Wagtail - 2
alba Wagtail - 7
Chaffinch - 16
Goldfinch - 28 (also moving along the seawall)

Insects
Another Lunar Underwing graced the moth trap this morning along with reduced numbers of the usual suspects (see yesterdays catch) along with a late Sallow and Eudonia angustea.  A lunchtime circuit of the reserve produced 25 Speckled Wood, late Meadow Brown, 2 Comma, Migrant Hawker (first for a bit) and two Common Darter