Full house in 5 minutes

Heysham Obs
A visit to the north wall around 11ish was the stuff birdrace dreams are made of

Glaucous Gull - juv by the waterfall morning 1100ish and again about 1445hrs
Purple Sandpiper - 2 on the rocks below the north wall
Little Gull - 2 x 1CY seaward end Heysham 1 outfall - visible through the outer gap in wooden jetty, later at least 3 1CY and possibly 4 on outfalls
Med Gull - 3 adults, including one with blackish head, 1CY Stage 2 outfall 1500hrs
Shag - two together in the harbour, one on wooden jetty
Kittiwake - 35 harbour, 4 outfalls
Guillemot - one by the waterfall
Twite - 17 on the seed
Rock Pipit - heard along the harbour side of the mound

Good variety for the Sunday birders

Heysham Obs
Harbour area and outfalls
Shag - 2 1CY together, no reports of 3 today
Glaucous Gull - juv still present but mobile; sat on the wooden jetty at 1315hrs (on there for c3 hours so looks like this is now the preferred loafing site!)
Kittiwake - 39 harbour, 5+ outfalls area
Rock Pipit - one west quay
Little Gull - 2 1CY outfalls area
Med Gull - 2 adults outfalls area
Twite - 14
Lesser Redpoll - one on feeder, now ringed!
Guillemot - one inshore lunchtimeish
Purple Sandpiper - singleton on the rocks below the wooden jetty (thanks Nick)

Anything else from the large number of birders around, please?

All present apart from the hidden or departed Guillemots

Heysham Obs
The big question here is have the Guillemots gone or are they in the underground reservoir enjoying themselves until the next high spring tides when they can emerge?  If this is the case, there are several precedents from the days when Guillemots were a regular winter feature in the harbour.  Graeme Dunlop used a landing net to catch them (including a large, dark nominate individual), then ringed and released them offshore until a sizeable risk assessment appeared stopping the catching process, which involved hanging on to a metal ladder with one hand and waving the net around with the other

Check from the west quay/wooden jetty area
Glaucous Gull - juv sitting on the edge of the south quay, then wandering around, including sitting on the end section of the wooden jetty, to 1315 at least
Shag - three around (2+1)
Kittiwake - 36 intake area & rest of harbour, increasing to c60 c5 outfalls area (mainly 1CY)
Med Gull - 2 adults seaward end Heysham one outfall, then 4 adults around later on, including boat followers
Little Gull - 2 x 1CY outfalls, ad briefly
Purple Sandpiper - the 'white-feathered' bird was on the seawall between the two outfalls mid-afternoon

North harbour wall
Twite - 21 (rings not checked)
Lesser Redpoll - one with Twite!

Moths
More evidence that the moths at this time of year like the colder, stiller weather with a Mottled Umber and another Dark Chestnut present

Dredger disruption

Heysham Obs
After some ice-road trucker conditions between Bentham and the A65 this earlyish morning (trucks coming the other way until one jackknifed), followed by a phone call at the A65/A59 roundabout that the Bradford meeting was cancelled, an unscheduled belated visit to Heysham this lunchtime/afternoon.  This included a short spell of ringing where the December total was more than doubled with the capture of 5 unringed finches!   It also revealed that dredger activity had dispersed many of the large gulls from around the inner harbour, perhaps 'dragging them offshore'.  No obvious sign of the Glaucous this afternoon.

Harbour area, mainly morning reports
Kittiwake - 35, mainly 1CY
Glaucous Gull - juvenile present during at least mid-morning around the waterfall, not seen in afternoon as far as am aware
Shag - 3 1CY around (2+1)
Twite - 17
Little Gull - at least one 1CY on outfalls
NO sign of any Guillemot - are they all in the underground reservoir?   Will try and find out.

Moths
Excelled themselves with a Dark Chestnut and two Winter Moth

Despite the calm, many birds still in situ

Heysham Obs
Calm slightly frosty conditions saw a net loss of Guillemot, but all the other waifs in place

Glaucous Gull - Juv on the top of the old Fisher's roof along the south quay most of the day.  Only visible at long range from north harbour wall
Twite - 22, including Machrihanish 2011-ringed bird
Shag - 1+2 around, later all three together
Kittiwake - 22 in SW corner of harbour, c5 outfalls
Little Gull - 2 x 1CY outfalls
Med Gull - Two adults along north harbour wall (one Czech-ringed)
Guillemot - just 2 seen
Red-breasted Merganser - two in harbour
Goldfinch - 2 on Twite seed

Dont turn your back on the sea

These were taken today by Janet with the three Shag together by the waterfall.  Thanks Janet

Heysham Obs
Good sea conditions were somewhat neglected as observers looked the other way at the increasing number of waifs and strays in the harbour.  This included serious neglect on my part as a 'Glaucous-finding' session for a visiting group did not include the compulsory scan of the wave troughs behind my back.  A late Leach's Petrel was slowly making its way out but the observer was out of communication range at the harbour mouth.  Just to show the luck of the draw with seawatching and the need to be there in the short time-period, the Leach's observer then took a short break and missed the 'dark-morph' Fulmar seen by another local observer arriving just after the Leach's had disappeared!

In the harbour area
Shag - 3 1CY
Guillemot - max of  ELEVEN in the SW corner
Glaucous Gull - either on the waterfall or somewhere on the corrugated roof, but a bit elusive
Kittiwake - c30
Med Gull - 2 adult
Purple Sandpiper - 2 on the end of the north wall about 1300hrs

Freight ferry
Kittiwake - c60 (mostly 1CY)
Little Gull - 2 x 1CY

Seawatching
Leach's Petrel - one slowly 'out' at 1300hrs
Fulmar - light and dark (not double-dark) morphs out together at 1315hrs.  This bird had a greyish head concolorous with the grey mantle and contrasted with the white-headed 'normal' light morph
Pintail - 7 out
Guillemot - 2 out
very little else other than a trickle of Kittiwake

Outfalls
Little Gull - up to 3 adult and two 1CY, but birds dispersed as the tide/rough sea came in

Landbirds
Song Thrush - one still around the mound!
Twite - max of just 6 today

Goldfinch - 2 on mound area

Hanging on to what we have got in wild and woolly weather

Heysham Obs

 Thanks for these pics Janet - taken today in the SW corner of the harbour

Seawatch 0845-0930
Little Gull - 3 adults out
Kittiwake - flock of 15 sat on the sea, 'small numbers' offshore mid-afternoon
Pintail - three out
Razorbill - 2 together out
Guillemot - 2 closer inshore on the sea
Common Scoter - male inshore along the north wall
Med Gull - adult

Harbour area
Glaucous Gull - again did not arrive until about 0945hrs, then sat on the old corrugated roof along the south quay, still there 1145hrs
Kittiwake - 22 in the harbour
Shag - two together in the inner harbour - both looked 1CY at long range, but one much darker than the other
Guillemot - 4 in the harbour

Outfalls
Little Gull - 2 1CY, later also 3 ad
Kittiwake - 12

Glaucous Gull still present

Heysham Obs

First two in the harbour (thanks Pete) and the third from Ocean Edge beach (thanks Janet)

Inner harbour
Shag - at least two, probably three (at least 2 1CY, one possibly 2CY) either in the harbour or on wooden jetty
Guillemot - 4
Kittiwake - c25 - one Ad metal ringed (looked British) sat on the SW corner 'pipe'
Glaucous Gull - juv under the waterfall SW corner of the harbour at 0945hrs (also visible rather distantly from the north harbour wall) then later either under the waterfall or on the old Fisher's roof along the south quay.  This can only be viewed from the north harbour wall (north side of roof) or by the Moneyclose Inn traffic lights at long range (south side of roof)

Outfalls
Little Gull - 2 1CY
Kittiwake - 5

North wall
Twite - 17
Med Gull - two adult

Moth
one Winter Moth

Rather impressive cast headed by Glaucous Gull

Thanks to Pete Cook for these pics

Heysham Obs
It has taken time, as it usually does before the turn of the year, but the gales are producing the goods.  This site really comes into its own in winter after a few days of strong onshore winds, both on the outfalls and in the shelter, and food availability under the waterfall, of the harbour

Inshore
Glaucous Gull - juv feeding below the waterfall late morning and still around the harbour area to at least 1445hrs
Shag - mobile juv touring the harbour
Little Gull - two 1CY still on outfalls
Kittiwake - c18 in harbour
Guillemot - 4 in or just outside the harbour, one offshore
Purple Sandpiper - one on wooden jetty outer section
Twite - up to 30 seen with 17 around the feeder
Med Gull - three adults, one quite 'black-headed'
Sanderling - still with Dunlin on Oceab Edge beach
Eider - 1CY male inshore
Little Grebe - one in the inner harbour (thanks to the couple of birders for alerting us to this)

Ringing
A single (20 minute) round produced two new Greenfinch

Moths
They got into the act for the first time for a few days with Mottled Umber and Winter Moth

Waifs and strays slowly increase

Heysham Obs
The SW corner of the harbour is accumulating a collection of Kittiwakes and Guillemots and at least four Little Gulls were also inshore

Sea 0915-1015
Red-throated Diver - 2 out
Kittiwake - flock of 13 out, plus 3 singletons
Auk spp, prob Razorbill - 2 together out but distant
Guillemot - 2 offshore

Inshore
Kittiwake - 10 in SW corner of harbour, c5 outfalls/harbour entrance
Little Gull - at least one 1CY, one 2CY and 2 adult, mainly Heysham 2 outfall
Med Gull - 2 adults around; patrolling the north wall early afternoon, additional adult Red Nab
Twite - 16
Guillemot - now 3 in the SW corner of the harbour
Sanderling - one still roosting with Dunlin on Ocean Edge beach
Red-breasted Merganser - 6 together inshore near Red Nab (4 male)
Wigeon - still 102
Linnet - one OE saltmarsh (at least)
No sign of any Purple Sandpiper or Shag