Difficult day to assess

Heysham Obs
On my own initially this morning and the alarm clock failed!  Therefore missed a good hour of clear dawn weather with little wind.  Past experience of clear conditions suggests that this can be too late for Willow Warblers around the core trapping area.  Therefore arrival at 0620 revealed nothing and the two nets set just after the breeze started to make itself felt also failed to produce any night migrants, just  couple of Lesser Redpoll before the wind became too strong.  Observations then ceased.  However, other observers covering Middleton recorded a large number of singing male Willow Warblers - at 20-25, far in excess of the low single-figures breeding population.  So were these dawn birds or did the strengthening north-easterly drop these birds after coverage 'ceased' around the office area?  See what Walney posts later on?

Sea 0650-0710
Sandwich Tern - 21 'in', subsequently up to 13 on buoys, then down to 3 by lunchtime
Common Scoter - distant flock of c17 'out'
Kittiwake - flock of 12 on the water, then 'in'
Diver spp - one very distant in the 'heat' haze

Vis mig
Meadow Pipit - probably c100 during the morning, possibly more as birds were very high
alba Wagtail - 15 north
Goldfinch - c30 north
Linnet - c15 north plus 30-40 Middleton
Swallow - at least 17 N/NE
Siskin - one north, then flock of 10, thought to be this species, north over Middleton
Lesser Redpoll - 4 north (2 ringed)

Purple Sandpiper on the rocks below the north wall at midday

No Grasshopper Warblers singing on Middleton

Just located this pic on the inbox - a year too late for the Atlas dot - at the small gorse bush in the land-starved SD36

Thanks for this, Pete

The wrong kind of cloud

Heysham Obs
A promising morning was ruined by a great wadge of blocking cloud to the south which stubbornly refused to go away until lunchtime - the most static cloud I have ever seen!

Sightings
House Martin saved the day with two north over the sea just after lunch (first of year)
Sandwich Tern - 13 just after lunch, none early am
Turnstone - 78
Eider - 60
Meadow Pipit - 3 north
Linnet - two north
Willow Warbler - about 6 moved through by the office am (one ringed)
Blackcap - one female appeared in the net by the office
Greenfinch - two unringed birds unexpected - especially as one was an ad male

Middleton NR
Young Coot and Moorhen were seen

The first young Coot of the year.  Thanks Janet

Moths
In keeping with the rest of the day and 'highlighted' by Powdered Quaker'

Willow warblers in the half-light, Tree Pipit highlight

Heysham Obs
Classic morning where if you waited for 'full daylight', you missed the landfall action.  At least 20 Willow warblers whizzed through as the nets were being set at 0615hrs and the only ones caught were three during the setting and a single on the next round with the nets fully spread out, then nothing until one mid-morning.  0700 onwards = 'dead' as the sky cleared

Sea 0715-0730, 0815-0900
Pink-footed Goose - c160 NW
Red-throated Diver - 2 in sp in high
Sandwich Tern - 13
Sand Martin - 3
Swallow -1 (first of year for here!), later another north

Vis c0615-c0900
Meadow Pipit - c55 NE
Lesser Redpoll - 1 NE
Goldfinch - 4 NE
Linnet - 2 NE

Well-timed outside tea break
Tree Pipit - one north at 1125! (first of year)

Grounded
Willow Warbler - at least 20 intermittently singing males passed through early morning (4 ringed as the nets were set too late!), one ringed later
Blackcap - 2-3 singing males

Insects
A circuit of the reserve produced 3 Orange Tip and 4 Speckled Wood amongst ones and twos of the hibernators.  Another Shoulder Stripe graced the moth trap

Thanks Janet

Orange Tip tops the meagre fare

Heysham Obs
A quick decision not to set any mist nets, followed by 20 mins on the sea, followed by 20 mins on 'vis' by the office produced:

Nothing offshore other than 65 Eider in situ
Meadow Pipit - 27 mainly NW
Collared Dove - flock of 4 NE
Carrion Crow - 2 high to NE
Linnet - 3 NE

Willow Warbler - singing in the tank farm, perhaps the same as the other day

Ocean Edge
The intertidal waders on the incoming tide included:
Bar-tailed Godwit - 410
Knot - 1,950
too heat-hazy to sort out the gulls on the outfalls!!
Linnet - 12 on the football pitch

Butterflies
A male Orange Tip was along Moneyclose Lane early afternoon and a decent number of the hibernating species around the reserve:

Taken around the reserve today by Janet.  Thanks for these.  Bit of a contrast with 1cm of hail in upper Hindburndale later in the day!

Moths
Slightly better than rock bottom with 13 moths including single Powdered Quaker and Early Thorn.  The pug caught on the night of 7/4 was, as expected a Golden Rod and as such the earliest county record - pic will be inserted on posting of 8/4

Bits and pieces of early morning migration

Heysham Obs

Plenty of noisy singing male Chiffchaffs around - have the many females been able to 'get through' the currently unfavourable migration weather?  Thanks Janet.

Office area
Willow Warbler at last - singing at 0715hrs

North wall 0905-0935 (low tide)
Gannet - 3 adults out (distant)
Kittiwake - flock of 26 in then landed on sea (distant)
alba Wagtail - 12 NE, including at least two White which landed briefly
Meadow Pipit - c30 NE
Linnet - 5 NE
loads of gulls on offshore skeers/sandbanks checked

Ocean Edge
Linnet - 27 on football pitch feeding on chickweed (but no grounded wagtails)
Med Gull - 2CY outfalls
Sandwich Tern - one in channel

Watching the grass grow

Heysham Obs
This product of the (welcome) rain was more interesting than the birding today on what was very much a working day after an early morning time-wasting investigation of "possible fall conditions" was quickly replaced by a moth check, followed by sitting in front of the computer screen

North harbour wall 
Half an hour produced 21 Meadow Pipit and 5 alba wagtails north-east and a lot of eye-straining checking the offshore sandbanks/skeers for coffee-coloured gulls

Outfalls/harbour mouth
Med Gull - 2CY seen on two occasions

Office feeder
A visit from a Tree Sparrow which arrived from the north-east

Moths
The day's highlight in the form of a Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet

Trash birding

Heysham Obs

This morning's very unexpected Golden-rod Pug - by far the earliest county record.  Thanks John

I wonder if litter gathering has ever been considered a necessary part of angling competitions?  Certainly not on the north wall at Heysham last night.  A litter strewn landscape greeted early morning observers who received little encouragement from the blank fare out to sea.  Two bits of seawatching covering the early slot and the incoming tide slot failed to deliver:

Red-throated Diver - 1
Kittiwake - flock of 10

Moths
Considerably more interesting with a medium/largish pug which appears, metathoracically and otherwise, to be Golden Rod but its way too early.  Pics to follow.  Just about to examine three worn Agonopterix-types.  otherwise Herald and yet another late March Moth

A dead calm morning

Heysham Obs
Pretty quiet this morning in a light and variable north to north-easterly with high uniform cloud

Vis mig - flying north-east
Meadow Pipit - 37 (3 ringed)
Lesser Redpoll - 3
Goldfinch - 11
Linnet - 7
Rook - 1
Carrion Crow - 2
Rock Pipit - 1

Grounded
Zero perceptible

WeBS
Wooden jetty:  160 Turnstone, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 1 2CY Shag, 12 Cormorant, 15 Redshank
Fisher's roof: 170 Herring Gull, 53 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 9 Great Black-backed Gull - worth checking this lot for white-wingers in the next few days of wind/rain
Heliport: 92 Oystercatcher, 53 Redshank
Ocean Edge area: no waders on 10m tide but 15 LBBG, 2 Herring Gull
[& out of Obs recording area: Sunny Slopes groyne: 310 Oystercatcher & 2 anglers, Battery groyne: 9 Oystercatcher, 2 Redshank, 3 Cormorant, West End Groyne: 9 LBBG, 6 Herring Gull]

Sea
Dead as regards passage
Red-throated Diver - c7
Sandwich Tern - 8-10
Eider - 141
Black-headed Gull - 72 2CY

Moths
Singles of the usual culprits: Powdered & Common Quaker, Clouded Drab and Hebrew Character

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!