Routine stuff on a nice day

Heysham Obs
The flat calm morning sea held no surprises and there was no time for a Chiffchaff search on the reserve otherwise the area was well-covered today (thanks Malcolm & Kevin)

North wall
Shag - 1CY wooden jetty mid/late pm
Twite - up to 5
Reed Bunting - 1
Chaffinch - 2
Med Gull - adult
Great-crested Grebe - one in harbour

Middleton NR
9 mute (7 1CY)
1 coot
1 moorhen
4 tufted
2 mallard
4 gadwall
62 teal (most counted in flight at one time, there were more I'm sure)
5 common snipe
1 heron

Ocean edge
c30 linnet
4 reed bunting (together)

Red Nab
Just 2 little egret

One good bird leads to another

Heysham Obs
A Little Auk flew in with a Redshank towards the heliport seawall and then landed on the water.  It remained for five minutes before flying out past the Near Naze towards the harbour entrance.........just before the camera arrived (1238-1242).  Found by Tom Walkington, who was here looking for the Glaucous Gull and I was fortunate to be next to him monitoring dog walkers and, as such, could quite easily have missed this bird.

Inshore sightings
Little Auk - see above
Med Gull - adult along north wall
Purple Sandpiper - single noted on the heliport/half moon bay corner rocks with Dunlin and Turnstone well before the tide, so maybe feeding on the increasingly stony lower beach there.  Presumably roosted/was disturbed from roosting.  This sadly included an elderly gentleman who made two visits with his dog along the top of the heliport seawall disturbing the whole roost which included stopping and staring at the monitoring process i.e. my car & protruding scope, which I assume he mistook for/objected to a video camera.  Unfortunately our presence may have therefore influenced his behaviour, the nature of  which I must not make comment, and prompted the second visit.  Unfortunately difficult to remain neutral and invisible!
Kittiwake - adult Heysham two outfall for a short period
Shag - 1CY north harbour wall late afternoon (thanks Derek)
Very few large gulls around today but...........

Yesterday's Glaucous Gull was reported around the outfalls 1030-1100 and apparently also independently at 1100hrs

Nearby
A family party of five European Whitefronts visible from the Golden Ball 

Glaucous gull and genitalia

Heysham obs
Decent compensation for the wind being too far (just) to the north of west to produce any amount of seabird bonuses to an all day survey of the intertidal

A classic example of the disadvantage of sitting in a hide, in this case a car this morning. In position to scan the shore off Ocean Edge when a Glaucous Gull flew low to the north over the grass behind me.  Fortunately had received a phone call from Jean, surveying further to the south where it had gone 'in front' of her........otherwise would definitely have missed it within 150m 'behind' the field of view.  Thanks Jean!   It flew over the nature park and then over the Nature reserve, quite low, and was then lost as it headed for the Half Moon Bay area.  Not seen subsequently but the only proper coverage, due to the survey, was of gulls on the outfalls/using the updraught of the Power Stations - to join these it would have had to 'back-track'

The second major news for the last three days was a new species of moth for Lancashire at Middleton NR looking like this:

This was found on Middleton Nature reserve (or the whole moth was) on 30th August 2014 and genitalia examination is the only way to be certain of the identification.  This is a lengthy process and there is a stored backlog which can be caught up  with during the long winter nights! Thanks to Justine and Nigel 

Ocean Edge area
Glaucous Gull - see above - juvenile north at 0845 (when first seen just south of the recording area)-0850 (over Ocean Edge).  Marginally but obviously larger than accompanying Herring Gulls with a lengthy dark-tipped 'pink' bill, 'deeper chested' appearance and slower wingbeats
Little Gull - adult seaward end Heysham one outfall first thing only
Kittiwake - 1CY as Little Gull, then at least two adults behind freight ferry at about 1420hrs
Interestingly the mudflats were completely deserted by the usual wide scatter of Curlew making the work rather easier than usual!
Med Gull - adult seaward end Heysham one outfall first thing

10th December
Little Gull - adult far offshore during very brief seawatch
Shag - juv along north harbour wall
Med Gull - Fisher's roof roost
Twite - at least one

9th December
Nothing of any note reported

More Webs bits

Heysham Obs
Cleaning up the gaps on the WeBS count included:

Shag - 1CY wooden jetty (& 58 Cormorant)
Purple Sandpiper - rocks at base of heliport seawall
Little Gull - adult off outfalls
Med Gull - yesterdays adult Fisher's roof

This must be the longest ever time period here without a Kittiwake - makes the species account for the annual report easier - usually a complex and numerous pain in the xxxx.  Behind the lunchtime IOM ferry tomorrow should break the duck? 

Half a webs and a few twite

Heysham Obs
More paperwork, punctuated by a half WeBS count to coincide with the Sunday Middleton counter, whereas the Morecambe prom bit will be done tomorrow to coincide with the RSPB effort (hope they didn't do it on Friday!)

Highlights
Med Gull - ad, not the Czech bird, on Fisher's roof
Little Gull - ad in the surf off Red Nab
Ringed Plover - 28 on heliport until flushed (Turnstone/Redshank flock already flushed)
Twite - two on the north wall seed and another 5 on fence
Linnet - 16 on seed
Goldfinch - 17 on seed (or the other way round with Linnet - forgot to write down!)

No time to either seawatch or check/count the Cormorants

Moth
Winter Moth in trap

Merlin again the star

Female Merlin harbour entrance area the only sighting of note today. Thanks Malcolm

No sightings today but please read R.F.I.

Heysham Obs
The reason for posting is to draw attention to a request of the LDBWS site for any help contacting two photographers whose pics of a putative Red-flanked Bluetail along the Allen Pool path (Wednesday) were seen by at least one birder and e.g. the eye-ring noted (in same frame as a Robin).  Unfortunately they disappeared without reporting their sighting to the Leighton reception and without giving contact details.  Can you help please in the next few weeks if you do happen to come across them e.g. as a result of conversation in a hide somewhere.  Thanks. 

Fence time

Heysham Obs
Some fencing work next to the office means the office feeding station is no more for a bit - apologies - hope the rats are ok.

Nothing seen today other than 25 mixed Linnet/Goldfinch on the north harbour wall nyger seed

WEDNESDAY news (thanks Justine)
Colour ringed Grey Wagtail Middleton - same as last time
Teal - 50 Tim Butler pond
Gadwall - at least 2
Mallard - 8
Snipe - 4

Merlin tops the bill

Heysham Obs
Decent numbers of waders south of Ocean Edge today with some nice murmurations (not 'murms' or 'mu's' as per some recent local Starling episodes) including up to 12,000 Knot with c11,000 in one flock mixed in with Dunlin and Barwits.

Individual sightings
Black-tailed Godwit - two around Red Nab for the morning tide
Little Egret - 3-4
Chiffchaff - one by office early on
Pink-footed Goose - good numbers still feeding north of the Lune/roosting as usual on mudflats to south of Lune
Merlin - female for a short time by Ocean Edge saltmarsh

Recent ringing recoveries
A mid-June juvenile Willow Warbler from Middleton NR was at Stanford (somewhere in the middle of the south of the country which catches loads of birds - see BTO blog) in late July and a Sedge Warbler from Middleton NR was caught at Squires Down in Dorset later in the autumn

Minimal coverage

Heysham Obs
This wont be the case tomorrow!

Med Gull - one on the north harbour wall railings