Mixed finches

Heysham NH Wall

Mid morning visit to the feeding area saw the following:

Mixed flock of Linnet/Goldfinches difficult to count owing to much coming and going.  Around 50 birds approximately 50% of each species.

Starling - 11
Robin - 1
Dunnock - 1

ajd

Sunday 17th January

Heysham Obs

North wall and intertidal
Bar-tailed Godwit - 159
Med Gull - ad

Heysham village
Blackcap - male still present in garden

Ringing severely curtailed by wind this morning

John Mason/Malcolm Downham

Greenfinch Influx

Heysham Obs
Ringing by office
Unprecedented (for January) influx of unringed Greenfinch (40+ so far)
New birds ringed today 17 Greenfinch,4 Goldfinch, 2 Bullfinch, 2 Chaffinch and 1 Blue Tit.
Nets taken down just before snow arrived.

Another Chiffchaff

Heysham Obs

Thursday 14th
North Harbour Wall
Czech ringed adult Med Gull
18 Goldfinch and 1 Linnet on feeding area.

Friday 15th (thanks to Janet and Malcolm for coverage)
Middleton NR
Chiffchaff - a bright 'green and yellow' bird in the NE corner of the Tim Butler pond this morning
Cetti's Warbler - no sight nor sound in good conditions and extensive search
Snipe - 3

Red Nab
Little Egret - 2

Heysham village
Blackcap - male still present

Wednesday 13th

Heysham Obs
Male Blackcap on a fat ball in a Heysham garden

Chiffchaff in the tank farm next to the pond mid morning

Greenfinch - quite a few un-ringed birds about - 11/12 caught were un-ringed and were plenty of others around as the weather worsened and the net was taken down

No coastal coverage today

A few kittiwakes

Heysham obs
A short seawatch saw 5 plus 1 kittiwakes heading into the bay and that was about it for the day

Good coverage nothing showstopping

Heysham Obs
Ringing by office
22 new birds, including 14 Greenfinch, 2 Bullfinch, 2 Robin, one Coal Tit

Middleton NR
8 mute (3 pairs and 2 juv), 2 coot, 6 moorhen, 8 mallard, 7 tufted, 37 teal, 5 water rail, 28 linnet, 6 bullfinch, 1 raven (high to north) and a gang of 7 continental Blackbird

Ocean Edge saltmarsh
8 2CY mute,  2 mallard,  4 common snipe, 1 jack snipe, 70 bar tailed godwit (over to SE), 3 reed bunting, 7 linnet, 7 greenfinch

Red Nab
19 Wigeon

Mammal
1 grey squirrel OE

Thanks to Malcolm and John

Somewhere over the rainbow

The view from the harbour
I think any rare birds were somewhere over this rainbow as only common ones appeared in view during a 1.5hr seawatch today:
Kittiwake - 4+6+14 seen heading into the Bay
Great-crested Grebe - 2 in the harbour and one flying past
Knot - 1340 flew past heading out of the Bay
Oystercatcher - 200 flew past heading out of the Bay
Other than that it was just the usual gulls and 3 Starlings.

Ocean Edge
Red-breasted Merganser - 1 male
Oystercatcher - 600 on the grass, most sheltering behind the low bund
JR

Med gull

The Czech ringed med gull was keeping the anglers company along the north wall and a brown house moth was in the moth trap

Nothing much happening

Heysham Obs

THURSDAY
Ad Kittiwake behind IOM ferry

FRIDAY
Pink-footed Goose - 33 S lunchtime
Great-crested Grebe - 5 in harbour/just offshore
No sign Guillemot
Nothing behind the ferry