Succumbing seabirds and a white scuttler

Heysham Obs
Perhaps inevitably, some Kittiwakes are starting to perish, with about 5 dead ones plus a dead Guillemot in the SW corner of the harbour.  The other point of interest is perhaps best described as "the return of the elusive wintering Sanderling" as presumably the same bird has been occasionally seen this winter with the very small proportion of the Middleton Dunlin flock which sometimes roost on the Ocean Edge south beach

Ocean Edge/outfalls
Skylark - 2+
Sanderling - one - looks like adult winter
Bar-tailed Godwit - 14
Kittiwake - 5 on outfalls
Little Gulls - 2x2CY on outfalls

Harbour area
Glaucous Gull - seen flying about mid-pm then on wooden jetty
Guillemot - 9 + one dead
Shag - 8
Kittiwake - 19+5 dead

North harbour wall
Med Gull - 2CY and 2 adults
Rock Pipit - one
Twite - max of 8

Heysham NR late afternoon
Roe Deer - Four in NE corner!
Water Rail - one in NE reedbed
Bullfinch - 2

Quick check of heliport

Heysham North Wall (heliport roost) -
c.4,000 Oyster Catchers, c.600 Knot, 10+ Curlew, 32 Ringed Plover & 1 Dunlin

Thanks Pete

Harbour updates

Wooden Jetty:
Glaucous Gull on wooden jetty all morning

Harbour
Shag 9
Guillemot 3 in harbour plus 2 offshore
Kittiwake 40

PLEASE NOTE: No access via Gate 38 at the moment due to fencing repairs.  This is due continue all next week as well.

Near Naze:
Red-breasted Merganser 2 (transferred to Red Nab later)

On Fisher's Roof at high tide:
Black-headed Gull 131
Mediterranean Gull 1 adult, unringed (a further 2 adult Med Gulls patrolling the North Harbour Wall)
Herring Gull 95
Lesser Black-backed Gull 3

Heliport at high tide:
Ringed Plover 13
Dunlin 3
Oystercatcher 2400

Red Nab at high tide:
Knot 3500
Wigeon 34
Turnstone 34
Redshank 16
Curlew 5

Ocean Edge grass:
Oystercatcher 200
Mistle Thrush 4
Lapwing 1

whistlestop coverage of north wall area

Heysham Obs
Glaucous Gull - juv on the wooden jetty most of the day
Shag - 11
Guillemot - 2+
Kittiwake - 15+ plus 13 behind a freight ferry
Med Gull - 2 adult

Good coverage, same species

Heysham Obs
Thanks to Malcolm, Pete C, Pete Cr, Tom amd Mike for sending in sightings for today

Sorry about the late posting - an attempt to get the 2011 annual report out in reasonable time is being thwarted by e-mail attachments being lost in the ether during transmission & I have been trying to sort that out first

Glaucous Gull - seen at least  0930, 1100 and 1400 ish - I think all sightings were wooden jetty or from the north harbour wall
Shag - 11
Guillemot - 7
Purple Sandpiper - two together under the wooden jetty last section or in penultimate 'gap'
Little Gull - two 2CY
Med Gull - two adults (e.g. roosting on Fisher's roof) but no reports of 2CY
Kittiwake - minimum of 40
Twite - early morning maximum of 22
Linnet - one
Rock Pipit - one

Shags in the SW corner of the harbour, showing their favourite perches.  Thanks Pete

Nice variety along the coast

Heysham Obs
Bonxie (Great Skua) - one flew into the bay close inshore at 1200hrs
Glaucous Gull - juv along the wooden jetty early afternoon
Purple Sandpiper - one alongside the north harbour wall
Shag - 11 in SW corner harbour (& 2 Cormorant)
Guillemot - 9 as above
Kittiwake - 44 as above, 6 on outfalls, c5 inshore elsewhere
Med Gull - 2CY again on north wall along with ad
Little Gull - 4 x 2CY & 1 x ad outfalls
Rock Pipit - one north harbour wall
Twite - 13 on seed, including 2011 Machrihanish-ringed bird
Linnet - one metal-ringed bird on seed - first of year there
Goldfinch - 3 as above

Please try and avoid walking down the 'corridor' past the Twite-feeding station.  Thanks.

Evening circuit of the reserve
Pheasant - male by the eastern bracken field (Reeve's Pheasant seen today in usual place)
Goldcrest - 3
Wren - 5

Elusive Purps

Weather a bit calmer with wind coming from the southwest, still feeling cold and heavy drizzle in patches making visability very poor at times.

Midday with dropping tide in harbour at least 8 Shag, 7 Guillemot and still 25+ Kittiwakes. The Glaucous Gull was reported at the end of the wooden jetty a little earlier and was seen again in the waterfall area at around 2-3pm.

2 Med Gulls from North Harbour Wall adult and 2CY, also 19 Twite, 2 Dunnock and 3 Goldfinches at the feeder. A group of Pigeons joined in after Alan had topped up the niger seed, despite being discouraged. Didn't manage to locate any Purple Sandpipers as the tide dropped and Tom Walkington has been trying for these for much of this week without success.

Good numbers of Gulls on No 2 outfalls, with a few Kittiwakes mixed in, but only one Little Gull with them, the only one seen.

The Reeves Pheasant was in its usual place on the grass verge taking no notice of any passing traffic.

More of the same

Heysham Obs
A few forays into the north-westerly by birders today

Glaucous Gull - awkward - seen on Red Nab mid-morning but not since or before
Kittiwake - at least 35
Little Gull - 5 x 2CY, 1 x adult, all outfalls
Shag - maximum of 11 in harbour (at least one metal-ringed)
Guillemot - maximum of 13 in harbour
Twite - 5, including 2011 Machrihanish-ringed bird
Goldfinch - one at Twite seed
Med Gull - adult north wall

Quick seabird 'clean up'

Heysham Obs
Again nothing obviously new, species-wise

Gate 38/wheel/outfalls check from inner end wooden jetty
Glaucous Gull - juv at waterfall 1000hrs
Guillemot - 12 together SW corner harbour
Shag - 6 either under waterfall or roosting on platform
Kittiwake - 28 SW corner harbour, 8 elsewhere
Little Gull - at least 3 x 2CY and one adult outfalls (stage 2 very distant binoc check)
Med Gull - ad behind departing ferry

Howling gale but no new species

Heysham Obs
A couple of windswept venture-forths

Glaucous Gull - juv by the waterfall 0900, then flew to Red Nab where remained until at least late morning
Kittiwake - 22 in harbour (no ferries)
Shag - 6 2CY together by waterfall late pm
Guillemot - 11 in harbour late pm
Little Gull - 2-3 2CY and one adult outfalls
Twite - 9 on seed
Goldfinch - 2 on seed