Decision time for northbound migratory Kittiwakes as they enter Morecambe Bay

Seawatch 0715-0900, 0915-0940
Kittiwake - 530 in four flocks, 260 max, the latter a very close, high, overhead flock first detected by hearing them!   This flock went even higher into the sky after swirling around for a bit, then seemed to head to the west, back out to sea, not inland.  The conditions, a moderate north-westerly with spits and spots of drizzle and low cloud on the hills were not very enticing for overland migration
Gannet - 7
Red-throated Diver - 20, some in summer plumage (& see below)
Meadow Pipit - 15 NE
Linnet - 1 NE

Seawatch over high tide (thanks Mike)

Razorbill - one out
Common Scoter - 8 out
Red-throated Diver - 4
Shag - 2CY still in harbour


Grounded
Bearing in mind the first bird I heard when I arrived home late afternoon (High Tatham on the northern edge of Bowland) was a singing Willow Warbler, we maybe should have done some first thing checking for grounded stuff when the wind, by all accounts was quite light.  In other words, don't dismiss north-westerlies when accompanied by some lowish cloud and murk.  However, there were none singing on the reserve or along Moneyclose Lane/dog track from at least mid-morning

Ocean Edge foreshore
Wheatear - 2
Linnet - 25
Knot - 3,100
Bar-tailed Godwit - 825
Dunlin - 110

Moths
Singles of Powdered Quaker, (rather late) March Moth, Hebrew Character and Clouded Drab

Bits and bobs day

Heysham Obs

Wren at Ocean Edge - thanks Janet

One of those days where lots of things tried to happen but the results were meagre to put it mildly.  For example, four blank mist net rounds and a second morning of zero moths.  The highlight was the lack of manic panic at nearby ASDA petrol pumps

EDF Energy challenge
There is an internal challenge between the EDF sites replacing the unfortunately unsponsored BTO/Business challenge.  Please keep an eye open for megas on the EDF properties such as a Coot or Little Grebe brave enough to visit the dog-walk pond - they don't count on Middleton ponds.  I'll publish a list of what we still "need" soon e.g. the likes of Stock Dove.  In this respect, note the finger of land which runs along side Middleton and the golf course - this is EDF property (see map in office)! Also note that any seabirds which traverse the outpourings from the Power Station outfalls count as does anything on Red Nab.  Anything on the north harbour wall/mound area, however, needs sending to the other side of the harbour mouth.

Ringing recoveries
Included a colour-ringed Grey Wagtail from autumn 2011 was recorded at Carne sewage works in Wiltshire during December, but somewhat mysteriously identified as an adult male (ringed as an 'obvious' youngster)

Offshore
A sample 25 minutes produced:
Red-throated Diver - 2+1 'out' in the "heat" haze

Heysham office area
The birds on the feeders melted away as soon as the nets were set, but a single Chiffchaff was a bit of a surprise in the conditions and this remained the only tangible evidence of night migration (no Wheatear seen)

Inshore
Big reduction in Knot but a small increase in Dunlin south of the harbour in a single (high tide) check
Knot - 390
Bar-tailed Godwit - 320
Dunlin - 220
Mallard - pair on Red Nab
Purple Sandpiper - one on the outer section of the wooden jetty

Nice to meet the birder/angler who is involved with the Shell Carrington reserve - hope the fishing was better than the birding and/or you connected with one of the two northbound Ospreys which may have flown over the Bay en route to Leighton.  More birder/anglers very welcome, especially during the spring seawatching period and winter months!

Internationally important Knot, nationally important barwits and unimportant Sandwich terns

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Knot - 5,750
Bar-tailed Godwit - 825
Sandwich Tern - 8
Med Gull - 2CY lunchtime above Heysham 2 outfall

Harbour/north wall
Shag - 2CY by wooden jetty - first sighting for a bit

Knot remain in internationally important numbers

Heysham Obs
Seawatch 0830-0900, mixture of north wall and scans from Ocean Edge
Kittiwake - flock of 17 'in', then landed on water
Red-throated Diver - 2 flew 'in' very distantly

Ocean Edge/outfalls
Knot - at least 9,500 to the south on the tideline
Bar-tailed Godwit - c400 with above
Common Gull - 49 strewn along the visible tideline/on outfalls
Black-headed Gull - just 9 as above

Heysham NR
Blackcap - singing male NE corner
Water Rail - one calling in marsh

Moths & butterflies
At last a reasonable number (for here) of Common Quaker which has hitherto been incredibly scarce here - the dizzy height of 8 individuals!  Also single Powdered Quaker, Shoulder Stripe and a late March Moth of minor note.  Speckled Wood east side of reserve and about 5 Small Tortoiseshell on afternoon walk

Not quite dead

Heysham Obs
Just a few things to keep this site going in the dreaded north-westerly winds.  Nots a bad week of weather coming up as there is a lot of work not to be distracted from.  Again loads of gulls on offshore sandbanks & Eiders tricky in choppier seas but at least 75

Sea early morning
Sandwich Tern - 4 on buoy then out, further 2 out
Red-throated Diver - 1
Common Scoter - pair flew in
Linnet - 6 nearby
Dunnock - singing in the sea buckthorn clump

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Wigeon - pair hanging about
Redwing - flock of four in nearby bushes headed east
Meadow Pipit - at least 6 north
Mistle Thrush - one appeared to come in-off and head high inland

Moths
Third Powdered Quaker of the year

Clear weather overhead and marine trickle

Heysham Obs
Nothing dramatic this morning with about 4000 less night migrants than yesterday at Portland (one Chiffchaff)

Vis by the office 0700-0945
Lesser Redpoll - 14 NE (5 ringed)
Meadow Pipit - 47 NE (2 ringed)
alba Wagtail - 11 NE
Goldfinch - c8 NE (1 ringed)
Chaffinch - 2 NE
Linnet - 7 NE
Greenfinch - unringed bird caught

Grounded
Chiffchaff - 1 (1 ringed)

Sea - two short checks early am, quick check at lunchtime
Sandwich Tern - 26 (7 inshore around buoys)
Kittiwake - flock of 8 north, 2 out together at lunchtime
Red-throated Diver - 5 (4 on, one in)
Eider - 90-100 at lunchtime
Loads of large gulls out there at low tide - still chance of an Iceland - keep checking off Morecambe!

Sandwich tern invasion

Heysham Obs
A light localised north-easterly prompted a routine visit and seawatching (& Pete C) saw 22 Sandwich tern, a mixture of inshore birds on the yellow buoy and ones and twos patrolling offshore

Two mist nets next to the office produced their first 'new unringed bird' for about three hours (none yesterday) in the form of.........a Blue Tit [in contrast, 600 ringed at Portland BO so far today (1830ish)!].  Definite block on grounded migrants and, bearing in mind the female/2CY content of the later birds, has the Lesser Redpoll passage finished!!  It wasn't many years ago when this was a consistent feature of late April/early May, then it shifted to mid-April, then last year to around 9/10 April, then this year the fourth week of March!  Is it just the first available warm anticyclonic weather of the spring which prompts the movement?

Sea 0735-0905
Sandwich Tern - 22 (c7 on yellow buoy) [first of year]
Red-throated Diver - 4 floating out on sea
Red-breasted Merganser - 3 'in' (2+1)
Eider - 80+
Great-crested Grebe - 2 'in'
Just 3 Linnet around the mound area

Office area
Meadow Pipit - 7 NE
Blue Tit - unringed 2CY caught
No evidence of any other movement c/f south-coast 'falls' of last two mornings

Moths
A late Chestnut was the only surprise

North-westerly dross

Heysham Obs
A small clear slot just after dawn plus some mistiness produced the only perceived migratory 'event' of the day:

Siskin - 5NE
Goldfinch - 2NE

This precipitated what was turned out to be a birdless two hours with two mist nets

Moths
Rather better than the birds with the first two Powdered Quaker of the year, an Agonopterix heracliana and another Shoulder Stripe - a moth which is gradually becoming commoner here

Uncooperative redpolls and unexpected Blackcap

Heysham Obs
Maybe some of the redpolls are getting wise to people trying to catch them as they move up the country and they failed to enter the (albeit 'suntanned' and visible) nets again this morning.  For the last two mornings. there has been at least one bird per flock acting as though it knew the score and dragging the rest of the group off to the north after a brief rest and chat at the top of a bush.  Therefore ringing has been limited to the occasional singleton.  The morning was a "bonus" of another still and sunny first three hours or so before the forecasted west-north-west wind kicked in.  The only evidence of a night migrant was a female Blackcap which unexpectedly appeared in the mist net

North harbour wall
No Twite, just 6 Linnet.  Immature Peregrine successfully caught a Turnstone and flew off out to sea with it!

Office area dawn to 0915ish; not very conscientious vis coverage
Woodpigeon - 2 NE
Raven - one north
Meadow Pipit - 17 NE
Lesser Redpoll - at least 35 north
Goldfinch - 13 NE
Chaffinch - 5 NE

Grounded
Blackcap - one female ringed with zero fat and a weight of 16.9g
The only other ringing comprised 2 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Goldfinch and a Chaffinch

Ringing totals so far this year
Despite the unsuccessful redpoll ringing and complete lack of night migrants during the last three days,
a pretty impressive start to the year with good numbers of Goldcrest and quite a few rather unexpected unringed individuals of the likes of Long-tailed, Blue and Coal Tit:  Siskin (2), Lesser Redpoll (39), Goldfinch (36), Goldcrest (165), Blackcap (1), Robin (22), Chiffchaff (21), Blue Tit (18), Dunnock (8), Great Tit (5), Linnet (3), Coal Tit (4), Chaffinch (22), Twite (17), Greenfinch (51), Blackbird (5), Song Thrush (1), Wren (2), Long-tailed Tit (7), Meadow Pipit (71)

Birds ringed elsewhere comprised Reed Bunting (from Walney), Meadow Pipit (as yet unknown origin British) and Lesser Redpoll (unknown origin French), Shag (from Puffin Island, Anglesey) and the returning wintering Czech-ringed Med Gull which departed for its unknown breeding site on 29th February.  The wintering Twite ringed at Machrihanish Seabird Observatory (Mull of Kintyre) in autumn 2011 was also re-caught during March.  It may also prove possible to trace the origin of the Lesser Redpoll with a 'closed' aviculture ring!  One of the Blue Tits was caught a day or so later at Brookhouse in the Lune valley - an established pattern of spring movement in this area.

Insects
Queen social wasp seen for the first time this year.  Loads of drone flies!

 

Seen today on Heysham NR.  Thanks Janet

Nice sunny birdlessish day

Heysham Obs
Vis mig
Meadow Pipit - c35
Skylark - 1
Siskin - 1
Lesser Redpoll - c25
alba Wagtail - 3
Goldfinch - 6

Offshore
Gannet - 2 'in'
Eider - 145

Grounded
Goldcrest - 1 - first noted early afternoon!
Blackcap - 1 singing male very first thing, moved on
Wheatear - 1 on mound
Robin - unringed adult was a surprise
Twite - four on the north wall seed, including two unringed birds

Ringing
Stunningly unsuccessful with the two migrating flocks of Lesser Redpoll both containing 'spooky' individuals which dragged the flocks away from the netting area almost as soon as they had landed, possibly also due to this being the worst time of the morning for sun on the nets.  Ringing limited to the above Robin plus 1+1+1+1+2 Lesser Redpoll

Interestingly, we have ringed almost 500 birds so far this year, the vast majority in March with a big chunk of these being 165 Goldcrest - by far the largest ever spring total for this species