Bits and bobs on the coastal front

Heysham Obs

Saturday's Cetti's Warbler, hopefully still skulking in the main wetland area (thanks Emma)

A Python-like 'now for something completely different' this morning with no vis mig coverage (lie-in) or ringing etc.  The wind is back in the south-west and intertidal work beckoned.  Well and truly gripped off by Hilbre in the meantime...........but we were short of a decent foot-slogger hitting the early morning nooks and crannies whilst we carried out the ringing/vis mig stuff.  Can't moan about the Cetti's & above is another picture:

Ruff - juv male on Ocean Edge grass, then flew to saltmarsh
Curlew Sandpiper - the first bird seen on the survey - a juvenile in the Ocean Edge saltmarsh channel at low tide, then flew and joined the thousands of calidrids to the south
Little Gull - usual adult Stage outfall/Red Nab and a new adult, almost in fsp, seen from the north harbour wall (per Tom)
Med Gull - three adults Red Nab area at various times
Twinnet - again very frustrating flight-only-at-a distance views, but about 60 on Ocean Edge saltmarsh (6 Linnet and no Twite north harbour wall)

Moths
Single Epirrata, Red-line Quaker and Silver Y

Murky thrushfest, a couple of really big birds, followed by clear westerly dross

Heysham Obs
Just about worth it this morning as the last inkling of any obvious decent passerine migration weather for the foreseeable future!  This morning was all about murky misty conditions and a smattering of thrushes which presumably dropped as they hit the weather front in the early hours.  In addition, there were a few extra ones dropping in at dawn

Ringing
This included two consecutive birds which had me really scratching my head.  The first was a male Chaffinch with a wing of 94mm (and weight of 26.2 grams with NO obvious fat reserves!).  This will either cause IPMR to crash or collapse in a fit of derisory laughter.  This was followed by a Chiffchaff with a wing length of 67mm, but a quick check of Svensson sees this at the top end of the male abietinus range.  A fairly low-key session saw 31 new birds, including 5 migrant Blackbird, one Redwing, 2 Blackcap, the above Chiffchaff, two lightweight (but not very orange) Robin and just one Goldcrest

Vis mig by the office
Redwing - 66 SW
Fieldfare - 78 SW
Blackbird - 17 SW
Song Thrush - 13 SW
Chaffinch - just 74 SW
alba Wagtail - 22 SE
Starling - 38 S
Grey Wagtail - 1 S
Meadow Pipit - just 11 SE
Linnet - 16 S
Pink-footed Goose - flock of 53 SE
Lesser Redpoll - 1 SE
Skylark  - 29 SE
Reed Bunting - 2 SE
Goldfinch - 32 S/SW
Raven -1 S

Grounded then some heading inland
Blackbird - 45-50
Redwing - c40
Song Thrush - 11
Chiffchaff - 2
Blackcap - just the two ringed birds encountered
Goldcrest - at least 4
Robin - two lightweight unringed bird but no other evidence
Wheatear - one OE foreshore

Miscellany
Med Gull - three adult types on Fisher's roof and the Czech adult patrolling the north wall
Twinnet - flock of c60 seen only in flight on OE saltmarsh (both species calling)
Little Gull - adult and presumed 2CY outfalls area

Insects
The first mothless night of the autumn & just one Red Admiral seen

Cetti's highlights one of the best-ever 'clear' migration mornings

Heysham Obs
Considering we were late (traffic again!) and missed the early thrushes, this was quite an impressive morning which included a new bird for Heysham NR; far better than chasing the stars and disappearing bird(s) along the dreaded Washway/A149.  Thanks to Sean and friends for coastal coverage, including the 'in-off' Blue Tits!

Vis mig by the office 0715 onwards
Grossly underrecorded due to multi-tasking with ringing/clear blue sky/demo for Watch group etc etc.
Brambling - 10
Chaffinch - 496
Redwing - 295
Fieldfare - 397
alba Wagtail - 58
Bullfinch - 7
Dunnock - 3
Blackbird - 8
Song Thrush - 3
Raven - 2
Goldfinch - 33
Meadow Pipit - 44
Sparrowhawk - 7 south (two of these watched in-off)
Blue Tit - flock of 6 in-off
Greenfinch - 46
Reed Bunting - 5
Skylark - 28
Grey Wagtail - 4
Mistle Thrush - 5
Carrion Crow - 40 (best flocks 9 + 11 - amazingly no Jackdaw this am)
Woodpigeon - 6 obvious migrants high to south
Tree Sparrow - 20 (9+6+4+1)
Swallow - 8 (all coastal)
Starling - 20 (just one flock)
Linnet - 19
Lesser Redpoll - 12
Crossbill - 3 (one flock)
Yellowhammer - 1 flying south calling frequently
Siskin - 20 plus 3 lots heard
House Sparrow - 2
probable Snow Bunting ('Teuk' call x 2 sounded more like this than Lapland but they are tricky unless you hear the trill/rattle - couldn't find the bird against the blue sky)

Grounded
Chiffchaff - c4 early on
Goldcrest - at least 6 early on, but just the one unringed bird later & none on early afternoon reserve circuit
Ring Ouzel - one flew inland from the bushes by the office 0745hrs
Cetti's Warbler - one caught in the feeder mist net ride (!!) released in suitable habitat below the classroom
Song Thrush - c15
Redwing - c60
Blackbird - c15
Blackcap - 3 ringed

Ringing
c70 birds including Cetti's Warbler, 3 Blackcap, 2 Redwing, single House & Tree Sparrow (together) and 30 Chaffinch

CETTI'S WARBLER - on weight & wing measurements definitely a female, considered 1CY

HOUSE AND TREE SPARROWS (the first time these two have been caught together here - thanks John)

Miscellany
Twite - c6 on the mound
Med Gull - three adult and single 2CY and 1CY
Little Gull - adult (type)
Stock Dove - one in-off

Insects
at least 15 Red Admiral seen flying south.  One very worn Speckled Wood and two "off-passage" Red Admiral.  c10 Common Darter at the back of the wetland but no sign of any Migrant Hawker.  One Large Wainscot was the only occupant of the moth trap (the element of east in the overnight wind suppressing the catch)

Good coastal vis and a new moth

Heysham Obs
A dawn until midday session was again lacking in exotic eastern fare but was a pretty decent day for vis mig plus a smattering of odds and ends in the mist nets

Heysham office area vis mig first light-1200hrs (last hour very intermittent)
Reed Bunting - 4
Chaffinch - 305
alba Wagtail - 51
Redwing - 50 or so at dawn plus 253, including a flock of 112.  Most of the rest were with large Fieldfare flocks
Fieldfare - 985, largest flock 220
Song Thrush - 7 migrants on vis mig
Bullfinch - 9 south, mainly singletons but also a flock of 3
Meadow Pipit - 30
Goldfinch - 35
Dunnock - 1
Linnet - just 3
Sparrowhawk - three singletons high to the south (2 females)
Starling - three flocks southbound totalling 115
Greenfinch - 53
Swallow - 2
Grey Wagtail - 2
Mistle Thrush - 2
Brambling - just one heard
Snipe - 1
Skylark - 52
Crossbill - one
Woodpigeon - 12
Raven - 2+2+1 south-west

Grounded
Not brilliant
Chiffchaff - 2-3
Goldcrest - 2-3 new ones & a handful of lingering retraps
see above for early morning Redwings
Song Thrush - not many - c5 going inland at dawn
Blackbird - at least 3 perceived migrants at dawn

Ringing
New birds: Chiffchaff (1), Goldcrest (2), Great-spotted Woodpecker (1), Greenfinch (7), Chaffinch (11), Robin (1), Coal Tit (2), Redwing (1), SongThrush (1), Wren (1), Blue Tit (6), Great Tit (1)

Moth

Acleris hyemana is new for SD45 - it frequents heather clad lowland raised bogs and heathland and can be found locally on Heysham Moss (SD46) and Winmarleigh Moss (SD44).  There is some of the 'correct' habitat actively managed on Heysham Nature reserve.  Thanks John.

Lingering fronts suppress the vis mig flood

Heysham Obs
Considering this was 'the' big chance for birds to be on the move after a spell of inclement wind/low cloud, the early part of the morning was a major disappointment with heavy cloud to the west, north and east seemingly blocking a lot of potential vis mig and also not producing much in terms of grounded birds.  Late morning, the cloud lifted and the birds really piled through between 1030 and at least midday when coverage ceased

Vis mig first light-1200; rather intermittent and disjointed coverage for about an hour mid-morning 
Lesser Redpoll - 2
Greenfinch - at least 49, but difficult to separate from grounded birds
Chaffinch - 336, but grossly underrecorded during the early morning
Grey Wagtail - 2
alba Wagtail - 87
Goldfinch - 17
Reed Bunting - 4 (14 ringed at Middleton)
Skylark - 19 & one 'lot' heard
Meadow Pipit - 106, mostly in the last 1.5hrs
Siskin - 11 and three flocks heard but not seen
Crossbill - 5 (flock)
Bullfinch - 2
Carrion Crow - 3
Fieldfare - 8 at 1050hrs, 27 at 1155hrs (NO Redwing!)
Dove - one very high to south.  In retrospect, not happy with the original posting as Collared and the rather tapered appearance of the tail brings the possibility of Turtle Dove into the equation (very high silhouette was the only view available)
Linnet - just 2!
Brambling - a flock of 6 "with" the second lot of Fieldfare contained at least two (& probably all) Brambling
Swallow - 1

Grounded (no activity at HNR other than around the office/obs tower area)
Goldcrest - 6 ringed at Middleton, 4 ringed at HNR - many fewer than expected
Chiffchaff - one 'brownish' individual ringed which was giving the strident 'swee' call, at least two others giving normal collybita calls.  One ringed Middleton
Treecreeper - one ringed
Blackcap - one ringed
unstreaked Acro - dont get too excited - this was almost certainly a juv Reed Warbler - it was seen to fly into a mist net, then promptly escape giving 'Reed Warbler calls' and exhibiting a noticeable gingery hue to the plumage.  Flew into the 'tank farm'.
SongThrush - at least 5

Middleton & Heysham NR ringing
In addition to the Goldcrests and Chiffchaff mentioned above, the following were also ringed at Middleton: Reed Bunting - 14,  Long-tailed Tit - 10,  Wren - 2, Robin - 1, Great Tit - 3, Blue Tit - 3.   Heysham NR ringing produced 50ish new birds with most of them after 0930hrs with Chaffinch (18) and Greenfinch (19) making up the majority.  Other birds included Dunnock (1), Blackcap (1), Chiffchaff (2), Goldcrest (4), Goldfinch (2), Song Thrush (1) with the rest being Blue and Great Tits

Outfalls
Adult Little Gull (thanks Jeff)

Moths
Rusty Dot Pearl and an Epirrata highlighted a small catch

Event wash-out

Heysham Obs
Shame about the weather front this morning - started raining at dawn and didnt stop until lunchtime.  Visitors persevered in soaking conditions for rather limited fare

Redwing - 2 at dawn
Chiffchaff - at least one reserve
Goldcrest - at least 2 reserve
Little Gull - adult and adult-type Red Nab
Wheatear - one north harbour wall
Linnet/Twite - c20 north harbour wall but very flighty

Moths
Two Parsnip Moth the best of a routine small catch

Knot a lot

Yes, a lot of Knot and a lot of other waders in a mixed mass of at least 10,000 seen distantly on Middleton Sands.  I'll leave Garry to sort them out on Sunday's WeBS count!

Ocean Edge
500 Dunlin flew to Ocean Edge to escape 3 huge dogs frolicking along the water's edge at Middleton Sands. In amongst the Dunlin was a lone Sanderling.
3 Little Egrets appeared late afternoon in the saltmarsh channels.
An adult Mediterranean Gull flew over.
At 15:05hrs a flock of 70 Pink-footed Geese flew south.

Outfalls
Little Gull - adult seaward end Heysham One & 'adult type' (probably 2CY minus dark tips to primaries as per underwing tone) inner end of Heysham 2 late afternoon
Mediterranean Gull - 2 adults and 1 x 1CY

Goldcrest
One in the bush by "Gate 38" - first record of Goldcrest for SD35Z?!

More seawatching mediocrity but a decent midday ferry haul

Heysham Obs
Persistence just about paid off........
North harbour wall 0800-1130hrs; Red nab x 2 brief visits
Leach's Petrel - 3 out at by 1100hrs (0815,0900,1100)
Arctic Tern - 3 x juvenile, 2-3 tern spp, probably Arctic, out
Gannet - one out and possibly the same one behind the ferry.
Common Scoter - one in then out again.
Wigeon - 4 out, 7 Red Nab
Kittiwake - 26-30 behind IOM ferry, 15+ 1CY
Little Gull - probably the same wide-ranging adult
Med Gull - 2 adults and at least one 1CY - one of adults the Czech-ringed bird
Kingfisher - one along the inner north harbour wall
Twite/Linnet - mixed flock of 21 but very mobile (at least 9 Linnet)
Ringed Plover - 17 on heliport, 16 Ocean Edge beach

Grounded
Goldcrest - one by office, 2 NE corner of reserve
Chiffchaff - one by office and a brownish individual with a shrill call in the NE corner
Siskin - one off-passage by office
Song Thrush - 2 possible migrants the only remote evidence of any thrush passage here

Moths
Included Feathered Thorn (new for the year) and another Large Wainscot

Unexpected Leach's followed by more predictable afternoon bird in deteriorating weather

Heysham Obs
A routine coastal check after examining the moth trap, therefore no sense of expectant urgency, actually produced a Leach's Petrel on the first sweep at 0915hrs!  A subsequent 45 mins & two later sweeps along the wave troughs produced nothing else

Offshore
Leach's Petrel - one slowly 'out' 0915-0920 about yellow buoy range.  Presumably this bird seen coming out of the bay as observed from Rossall Point a little later. As the weather deteriorated="improved" during the afternoon, another was watched for 10 minutes at 1600hrs (thanks Mike, Sue and Andy)

Inshore/behind IOM ferry
Little Gull - adult
Med Gull - adult and 2 x 1CY
Kittiwake - 1CY

Grounded
3 Meadow Pipit, 6 Linnet and 8 Twite (one red/white right leg cr)

Moths
A "two-nighter" produced a good haul, but was unfortunately exotic-migrant-free.  Brick and two Large Wainscot the best on offer

If its a blank, its usually a Saturday!

Heysham Obs
Apologies for the lack of coverage today, one of those things and in tradition with the poor coverage (or poor notable-bird finding rate) north Lancs seems to experience on a Saturday, despite it being the weekend

Not even the moth trap was checked, despite Palpita vitrealis in a nearby Morecambe trap.  What will tomorrows 'double-catch' bring after a night of mild south-westerly drizzle and the nationally-publicised migrant influx still presumably hovering around, at least in part?

John just had time to top up the north harbour wall feeding station where there were 6 Linnet.