Sunday

Heysham Obs
Wheatear - three Half Moon Bay, one Ocean Ede

Moths
Included two Agriphila latistria

Saturday

Heysham Obs

Middleton NR
150 Swallow in the overnight roost plus  56 south in two main gangs
Raven - one flew over - scarce this year

Tidal vigil

Heysham obs
The tidal vigil mainly concentrated on red nab but checks were also made along the tide line towards Potts  corner. No disturbance down there this time.

Outfalls to Potts corner
Sanderling - one with Dunlin
Dunlin - 168
Grey plover - 230
Common sandpiper - 1
Med gull - 5 adult, 4 1cy. No 2cy

A quiet rather wet day

Thanks Janet

Middleton NR pre-dog
Warer Rail - 1
Teal - 5

Toadflax pug new for the year

Heysham obs
The most sensational news was a white-letter hairstreak photographed below the classroom nectaring on water mint last Sunday afternoon about 4pm. More details tomorrow

A pre high tide check of red nab and ocean edge produced:

Greenshank - one juv
Med gull - just two adult
Little egret - 1
Oystercatcher - 2100
Curlew - 278
Redshank - 156

Moths
Toadflax pug highlighted a nice mixed catch which also included 3 white-line dart and ypsophola scabrella

More wader coverage

Heysham Obs
Had to google this site in order to access from this computer and it was preceded by a heading advert for "Date-a-twitcher.com".  I've no idea whether this is a virus, spoof or serious and not really interested.............but some of you might be!

Red Nab/Ocean Edge 1.75hrs pre-high tide
Once again absolutely no disturbance of the intertidal area around and on Red Nab during at least the incoming tide
Sandwich Tern - 2 adults on mudflats with BHG just south of OE slipway
Med Gull - 4 x adult, 3 x 2CY and just the one juv all on Red Nab
Curlew - 360 Red Nab
Redshank - 142 Red Nab, then dribbled towards OE saltmarsh
Oystercatcher - 1950 Red Nab, c1700 on mudflats in scattered groups
Grey Plover - 121 tideline off Ocean Edge nearly all in full summer - nice!
Little Gull - moulting ad Red Nab, now 5 old primaries

Moths
A candidate for Cnephasia conspersana.  We'll see

Good coverage

Heysham obs

Red nab area two hours pre HT
Grey plover - 89
Med gull - 10 (5 x ad, 3 x 1CY, 2 x 2CY)
Little Gull - adult
Oystercatcher - 2200
Curlew - 340

Dragonflies
Common Hawker - males dog walk pond and community woodland pond
Southern Hawker - male near bridge between Central and western marshes
Black tailed Skimmer - one male still on the go
Brown Hawker - 3 ovipositing females together Middleton and about 10 others seen Middleton and Heysham NR

Butterflies
Two different Painted Lady visited the office buddleia as did a Brimstone.  Thanks for the pics Janet

Heysham Heliport roost RIP

Heysham Obs
More research on the heliport roost this morning.  The usual roosting Oystercatcher flew straight from the skeers off Heysham Head, as they were being covered from about 0915, straight to a sub-roost off Red Nab.  This is despite an increasing degree of rockiness at Half-moon Bay deterring any beach incursions by dog walkers.  Therefore they were definitely not being disturbed from any sub-roosting off the heliport.

The foremost Planning Condition for the permission to erect a turbine along the seawall was fencing off the heliport from casual access and thus non-disturbance of the roost at or just before high tide.   Nothing has happened - in the hands of two arms of Peel Holdings - Peel Ports and Peel Energy - other than a brand new padlock on the gate at the Near Naze end.  This of course simply makes things worse as it "directs" people along the seawall to the side of this gate via a gap which would e.g. qualify as disabled access, on both width and surface quality, so it looks like a path!  As word has got round that the old notices are defunct,  more and more people are encroaching on the heliport area, mainly using the seawall as a dog-walking route with the increasingly long grass becoming the 'dog toilet' and therefore not a pleasant alternative walking surface other than along the well-trodden desire line to the broken-down fence near the eastern end. 

So a change in behaviour over the last two weeks with the Oystercatchers presumably reacting to displacement on every high tide by roosting further away from the feeding area at Red Nab (lower tides) or Middleton saltmarsh (as today on a higher tide).  Today 1200 Oystercatchers arrived to sub-roost off Red Nab from 0917-0930hrs and a further 1300 together at 0935.  This, of course is way before HT (a 9.03 metre at 1304hrs) but reflects the lower beach skeers being covered during the early stages of the incoming tide.   They were then displaced by the incoming tide from 1130hrs and flew towards Middleton with no exposed roosting area left at Red Nab by 1300hrs.   Red Nab is an adequate roost up to about 8.5 metres, providing no strong wave action surging the tide.  However, both Red Nab (twice the distance) and Middleton (four times the distance) represent a significant extra energy expenditure by birds which would otherwise have sub-roosted off the heliport and used the seawall there at all heights of tide   

It will be interesting to see what happens when the Knot and the rest of the Oystercatcher and Redshank which formerly used this roost do when they arrive back for the 'winter' in about a months time.   Unfortunately the disturbance is by LOCAL people walking their dogs - this is habitual and 24/7 and not going to decrease during the key winter months - and one can only assume that they are supremely indifferent as to whether they have a spectacular high tide roost on their doorstep as their chosen dog desire line takes precedence over all.  Polite conversation with the protagonists also suggests we have reached the stage of habitual behaviour where anything less than a robust fence will last five minutes - "hell hath no fury like a blocked desire line"

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Little Gull - adult feeding on the seaward end of Heysham 2 outfall at low tide
Med Gull - 4 x juveniles, mainly the seaward end of the outfalls at low tide with just the one remaining there on the high tide WeBS.  No adults located on the WeBS! 
Cormorant - 107 on the wooden jetty a high count for August and there may have been another 5-6 hidden behind structures
Redshank - 119 Ocean Edge saltmarsh, 42 on the Near Naze
Lapwing - 5 Near Naze

Passerine and other migrants
Swallow - 16 south in 20 minutes
Willow Warbler - one north wall sandworks
Wheatear - ditto
Sedge Warbler - one ringed by office

More to come from the early morning watchers here?

Moths
Barred Red, Old Lady and Rush Veneer were the pick of the bunch

Thanks to Janet for these great pics

           

14th-15th August

No coverage from me other than 3 x juv Med Gulls at high tide on 15th

Distractions

Heysham obs
Missed the incoming tide today and shamefully no coverage of an easterly morning in August.

The moth trap was heaving with nothing show stopping but a few less common species like gothic, white-line dart, bordered beauty and barred rivulet