High-flying Red-throats

Heysham Obs

Little Egret leaving Red Nab - thanks Janet

North harbour wall seawatch 0900-0945hrs
Auk spp -  very distant out
Gannet - adult very distant heading north
Red-throated Diver - high flock of 14 plus a trailing singleton some way back flew out of the Bay, gaining height at 0920hrs.  Appeared to be all in winter or the start of partial summer plumage, none in full s.p.
Lesser Black-backed Gull - steady northward movement, including an apparent 2CY
Common Gull - as above with c35 in the 45 mins watching

Inshore
Little Egret - first of the year on Red Nab -then flew south
Shag - 2CY on wooden jetty
Twite - 18 on the seed
Goldfinch - one as above
Linnet - 2 as above
Ringed Plover - 4 on the heliport and 12 still at Ocean Edge beach
Kittiwake - 2, possibly 3 2CY on the outfalls
Knot - 1,250 on heliport seawall roost but flighty

Linnets slowly increase

Heysham Obs

Bullfinch near Ocean Edge - thanks Janet

North wall area
Twite - c30
Linnet - at least 5
Goldfinch - at least 2
Shag - still at least one around

Office area
No vis reported
The net produced unringed Great Tit and two unringed Greenfinch

No moths or butterflies reported but the long-staying fly spp. remains on the kitchen window

Tundra Beans five minutes away!

Heysham Obs
Different world just down the road outside the recording area with an excellent flock of Pink-footed Geese on Heaton Marsh including two Tundra Bean and nine Whitefronts.  Thanks Dan!  "In-house" it was a little less exciting

North wall
Shag - still two around
Twite - at least 23
Linnet - 2
Goldfinch - 1
Eider - 214+ offshore
Large gulls - loads on the offshore sandbanks but no white-wingers.......matter of time, keep checking at low tide

Reserve
Goldcrest - 1

Middleton
Lapwing - male again on model boat pond
Tufted Duck - 14+
Pochard - female
Goldeneye - 2 female

Butterfly
Peacock again NE corner

Moth
One Dotted Border

Tree Sparrow joins the year list

Heysham Obs
Office area
A Tree Sparrow visited the feeder at lunchtime

North wall and harbour area
Purple Sandpiper - two reported to me
Shag/Med Gull/Kittiwake - none seen
Twite - one early morning
Linnet - 2
Goldfinch - 1
Meadow Pipit - 1
Eider - at least 154 offshore

Outfalls/Ocean Edge
Wigeon - 72

Moths
Two:  Double-striped Pug new for the year also another Chestnut

Just the one seabird left in the harbour

Heysham Obs

North harbour wall/harbour

Shag - just the one

Linnet - up to 4 (2 ringed)

Twite - 23 in am, 41 late afternoon

Med Gull - again no sign

Purple Sandpiper - 2

Thanks to Mike Baron for some of these records

Stonechat headlines a further dribble of migrants

Heysham Obs

Middleton NR
Stonechat - female western marsh
Gadwall - 4
Tufted Duck - 19
Pochard - 1
Little Grebe - now up to 5

Heysham NR
Goldcrest - first migrant of the year ringed
Meadow Pipit - at least 7 heading north

North wall area
Shag - at least one
Purple Sandpiper - 2
Twite - 23
Linnet - 4 with Twite, 1 with left leg ring, 2 with right leg rings (these probably not 2011 birds)
No sign of any Med Gulls

Butterfly
Peacock NE corner early am - another check planned imminently, now that it has warmed up even further

Bumble Bee
Female probable Bombus terrestris by the office another 'first of the year'

Moths
Two Dotted Border, Clouded Drab and (provisionally) Agonopterix heracliana

Trickling migrants

Heysham Obs
Today was the sort of thing which can happen in March, albeit usually a bit later in the month and absentees may just have been 'hiding'

Migration
Pied Wagtail - two 'in-off' and joining a 'resident' bird in the sandworks
Rock Pipit - one flew south over the nature reserve
Linnet - one on the seed was joined by another later in the day
Single unringed Robin, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and, surprisingly, TWO Long-tailed Tit at the feeder
Meadow Pipit - Probably, but not definitely, the winter resident bird around the north wall nyger seed

Absentees
Twite - no sign in three quick visits to 1430hrs, no food left when I got there at 1000ish
Med Gulls - no sign as above

No time to visit the harbour mouth end of the north wall, therefore not possible to be sure whether any seabirds were still around the waterfall or Purple Sandpiper on/under the wooden jetty

Moth
Just the one Acleris hastiana as the skies cleared at dusk

Fish
Just three Goldfish fished out of the dog-walk pond during management work, following "hundreds" last summer

Wildfowl influx and a lone Lapwing

Heysham Obs
A trickle of unringed birds continued to appear at the feeder, including single Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Dunnock Chaffinch and Blue Tit as well as a few Goldfinch and Greenfinch.  Not a massive movement, but indicative that things are beginning to happen

Ringing recoveries
A batch were received from the BTO this afternoon.  Last year's Greenfinches included one from Walney and two to Walney during the course of last autumn, also a winter recovery near Crewe.  A Blue Tit nestling from Burton Wood was caught at Heysham last autumn complementing the one ringed last week (23rd) which was caught two days later (25th) at Brookhouse.  Another Heysham-ringed Blue Tit from last autumn continued along the coast where it was re-caught at Knott End

Migration
See above
Grey Wagtail - one north
Red-throated Diver - one flew out of the bay distantly

North wall
No feedback from observers visiting the harbour mouth
Med Gull - Czech-ringed bird on the seawall railings - it will be off soon, hopefully to return in late July
Twite - 27

Middleton model boat pond
Tufted Duck 19, Pochard male and female, Goldeneye 2
Male Lapwing on territory on the spit early morning, but not later

Moths
A record single-night catch for here of 6 Dotted Border, also the first March Moth of the year and yet another Chestnut. A tiny moth was also found which has yet to be identified.  Watch this space!

Butterflies
Peacock - 1 flying around the outside of the hut early pm.

very un-thorough coverage!

Heysham Obs
All I am aware of was 15 Twite on the seed this morning and an unexpected lack of moths in the trap at Heysham NR

Thorough coverage

Heysham Obs
Plenty of coverage today including a visiting couple from Dorset.  Thanks for all your records


Middleton NR
2 little grebe (first since mid-December?). The first one I heard then located in a regular location on Tim Butler Pond. The second was on the Western Scrape. 

Other wildfowl slightly increasing: 4 mute, 7 coot, 7 moorhen,13 mallard,19 tufted,4 gadwall, 2 goldeneye, 1 pochard

North harbour wall

No food left at the Twite feeding station when I arrived (1000ish) and the flock took quite a time to return

Twite - 17 early morning, then flew off and did not return until mid-afternoon, apart from a single bird which remained around the feeding station

Linnet - two around the feeding station

Goldfinch - one as above

Med Gull - two adults on fisher's roof over the tide

Shag - FIVE still early morning

Guillemot - one SW corner harbour

Purple Sandpiper - two along the seawall at high tide

Outfalls

Kittiwake - at least one 2CY

Office area

Siskin - one heard

Moths

Clouded Drab is very early for here, also single Pale Brindled beauty and Dotted Border