Where are the Little Gulls?

Heysham Obs
Some lengthy observation by Ian Walker failed to register any of the usual gale-blown staple diet after the turn of the year - a chunk of the north Irish Sea Little Gull population.  Thanks for the records Ian.

Coastal areas late morning
Shag - 1CY in harbour
Med Gull - ad Fishers roof
Kittiwake - ad in harbour - 3 ad offshore
Eider - c120

Late news yesterday included an adult Kittiwake along the north wall and a flock of 50 which were blown into the bay off Carnforth Marsh

What will the wind blow in?

Nothing yet.

An adult Mediterranean Gull flew round the harbour.

7 Tufted Duck on the Model Boat Pond at Middleton Nature Reserve.

Customers at the feeding station on the North Wall:  a feral pigeon, 12 Goldfinches (some flew off as the picture was being taken) and a Dunnock -just about sums up today.

 

 

Purple sandpiper joins the year list

Heysham obs
Presumably "The" often elusive purple sandpiper was fortunately on the edge of a compact flock on the heliport seawall at high tide.

Only other bird of note during very limited observation was the adult med gull above what must be record numbers of anglers for a weekday.

I wonder if the sw to west winds are going to be sustained enough to produce the goods without wholesale  cancellation of a good source of birds - incoming ferries. We'll see but little gull and kittiwake have been really scarce despite some fairly promising days this winter

Dead wet

Heysham Obs
A trawl round revealed:
Med Gull - ad Fishers roof
Tufted Duck - 4 Middleton MP pond
Oystercatcher - one on spit Middleton MB pond
Mallard - 6 MBP, 2 Ocean Edge

....................and a guy on a two-way journey along the Heliport seawall who had absolutely no comprehension about disturbing the wader roost - he "just wanted to walk his dog and hadn't noticed anything else".  Completely displaced were: 4200 Oystercatcher, 1950 Knot, 220 Redshank, 13 Turnstone, two Bar-tailed Godwit and 18 Ringed Plover.  This guy has two Basset Hounds dressed in jackets.  Familiar anyone?

6th January 2014

Heysham Obs

Two year ticks today:
Pintail - flock of four flew out of the bay

Mottled Umber - kicked off the mothing year at Heysham - a single

Bluebottle still HNR office

Bits and bobs

Heysham Obs
Some good coverage today by Malcolm and John.  Thanks for info

Middleton NR
9 mute (2 adult)
1 coot
3 moorhen
5 mallard
1 gadwall
2 tufted
c50 teal
2 common snipe
1 greater spotted woodpecker
1 Roe deer (male by rump patch)
Ocean edge (1 hour after high tide)
1 golden plover
c40 linnet
13 common snipe
1 jack snipe
All snipe landed back on salt marsh. This is normal for jack, but unusual for
common.

Red Nab
98 wigeon

North wall
Ad Med Gull
1 Twite

Office
Bluebottle now in office.  No moths

4th January

Sorry for late posting - couldn't get on site last night


Shag - 1CY still harbour (& GCG)
Med Gull - north harbour wall
Wigeon - 108 Red Nab

Distant low tide fare

Heysham obs
An effort was made in the afternoon to search distant sandbanks and channels for the in transit pom skua seen off flookburgh in the morning. It was quite hard work as a lot of stuff  was at extreme range. However it opened up new possibilities if the conditions were right. Nine geese flew on to a hitherto unnoticed skeer far into distant Cumbria. Initially assumed to be low-flying pink feet until the landing where a later switch to 60x just about made two of them out as Brent geese but the rest of the flock appeared to be 'down a slope out of sight'.  They were absolutely miles away and definitely in Cumbria. Is this a regular routine visible from Heysham ?

The bluebottle seems to have disappeared from the Heysham NR kitchen, no sign of the Purple Sandpiper at high tide, just the one Ad Med Gull of note (Fishers roof at high tide) and similarly a single Twite with about a dozen each of Goldfinch and Linnet on the seed.  No moths in the trap.

A ground-breaking ringing recovery of a juvenile Goldfinch ringed at Middleton on 31/8/14 caught today by John in his garden at the Beaumont end of Lancaster, 7ish km to the north-east - the first of several I suspect!

North harbour wall and far offshore at low tide
Brent goose - at least two and probably all nine geese on distant skeer were this species
Red-throated diver - one flew out
Eider - 113
Great crested grebe - one in harbour and 8 offshore
Med gull - just the one adult
Shag - 1cY on rocks just below north wall Roundhead

Bridlington timewaster

Heysham obs
Got it wrong today -  went east before visiting the blyths pipit enticed by a clear early morning run through Harrogate etc - should have turned right at Skipton roundabout and waited for news.

An alarming dearth of interesting stuff from north lancs so far this year and that includes Heysham with no reports from today. Some prolonged westerlies on the horizon might stir things up a bit at the back end of next week

10k square mode

Heysham Obs
Happy New Year everyone and hope you have all recovered from this horrible chesty cold or whatever it is.  This knocked thoughts of the M62/A64 via Pugneys getting xxxx wet through on the head and opted for a bit of coverage of the January 10km square survey we have been doing for about 10 years now. 


The Patchwork Challenge didn't happen last year - partly my computer skills and partly the computer not liking some of the methodology, so it all became rather too time-consuming.  Will make a real effort this year.  The other NY Res. - not swearing at inconsiderate drivers - lasted about half a day.


The cutting edge fieldcraft today unfortunately failed, but at least produced a species which has been very thin on the ground so far this winter.  This was to sit in the car waiting for the midday IOM ferry as the only possible mobile food source today which might attract the Knott End Glaucous and drag it within viewing range.  The problem was it probably could not even see the ferry


North wall SD36V
Twite - 2 (single white colour rings on both)
Linnet - 7
Goldfinch - 14
Med Gull - Czech-ringed adult
Shag - 1CY along inner harbour by sandworks wall
Robin - 2
Dunnock - 1
Pied Wagtail - 1
Starling - 14
Feral Pigeon - 6
Magpie - 2
Wren - 1


IOM ferry
Kittiwake - one adult
Large gulls - c75


Heliport area
Meadow Pipit - at least 2, prob 3


Insects
Bluebottle - one NR kitchen - a notable new years day record
No moths