More additions to the Cumbrian year list

Quite a bit of stuff in the clear skies has been in Cumbria as scoped from the north wall and it is a good job todays high flying Marsh harrier was showing well-defined 'headlights' otherwise it might have been a bit of a struggle.  Unfortunately  no-one covered the early morning incoming tide

Offshore 9ish onwards on early dropping tide
Marsh Harrier - distant high flying bird purposefully in (any new ones at Leighton today - f/imm with pronounced 'headlights'?)
Common Scoter - c15 u-turned in line with turbines
Red-throated Diver - 6 on, including three together
Swallow - 5 NE in about 45 mins

Middleton
Small influx of Sedge Warbler (three ringed)
Reed Warbler - singing male (IOY)
Grasshopper and Cetti's Warbler - at least two singing males of each

Wheatear - 2 Ocean Edge
Grey Plover - 16 in fsp visible along tideline
Common Gull - 37 outfalls/tideline

No other sign of life migrant-wise although no observers were there early am

Wanted and unwanted ducks

Wanted ducks
Shoveler - three 'in' (one male)
Wigeon - flock of 5 'in' (long after the wintering birds have departed)
...........plus a potential tricky year tick but just too far away to be certain

Plus other things on the sea:
Sandwich tern - one in distantly
Red-throated Diver - two in sp in
Gannet - 2 out very distantly

Unwanted ducks
Wheatear
Other newly arrived grounded migrants
Hirundines or any other landbird vis during the seawatch

Mediocre miscellany
Little Egret - 3

Thursday :excellent coverage but...

Possibly the least productive coastal search ever at migration time in what looked like reasonable conditions
Wheatear - one OE saltmarsh
Whimbrel - one Red Nab
Gannet - one far offshore out

This might be the Grasshopper Warbler caught in the morning but may not even be a British ring??? (thanks Janet)

Ringing took place at both Middleton and Heysham.
Although the numbers caught were low, only twelve birds at each site, the highlights were the first Grasshopper Warbler ringed this and first Whitethroats of this spring at Middleton and Heysham.
Willow Warblers - 10
Chiffchaff - 4
Blackcap - 2
Grasshopper Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 1 (& one seen Heysham)
Reed Bunting - 1
Goldfinch - 1 plus 1 retrap
Dunnock - 1 retrap
Chaffinch - 1 retrap
Blackbird - 1 retrap

Also at Middleton, at least three Grasshopper Warblers, the Lesser Whitethroat of the last few days and two Cetti's singing/calling early morning.

An additional Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the edge of the field next to the bypass roundabout on the south side of the road
JM

Low Key Morning

Heysham Obs

Offshore 1000-1020
Speedboat presumably involved in scientific work managed to clear the whole of the wildfowl from the low tide channels prior to my arrival!
Sandwich Tern - 2 in
Swallow - 35 N
Sand |Martin - 4 N
Odd that there were none over HNR over a much longer time period

A ringing session this morning produced fewer captures than expected from five nets set from dawn. It was a case of quality rather than quantity.
Although plenty of local pairs of birds were flitting around there appeared to be few newly arrived birds.
Sedge Warbler - 1
Chiffchaff - 2 retraps
Willow Warbler - 4 plus 2 retraps
Blackcap - 1
Goldfinch - 2 plus 2 retraps
Dunnock - 1 retrap

Moths
None in the hut trap.  The overnight wind although broadly southerly, did have a little east in it  which may have deterred moths from entering the window.

Not fit for purpose in my opinion.  Lost three micros escaping through the beehive slats the other morning and this must be happening all night. Don't forget this trap has been unchecked for three nights as no one had access.  Design modifications needed (ie the original design implemented!!) otherwise it is a waste of time.  Are the nearby security lights still on all night? (Pete Marsh - county moth recorder) 

ajd

Female Scaup tops the bill

Counting rather than just skimming through the Eider saw a female Scaup trying its best to blend in but it soon became clear it had its own agenda and floated out on its own whilst the Eider maintained position, feeding.  A very distant Osprey was only picked up under a cloud of gulls after it was well north of Ulverston and it was soon lost against the background - probably turning and flying towards land judging by the gull response.  Migrant or wandering associate with/component of the breeding birds?

Sea early morning low tide
Osprey - see above - 0900ish
Scaup - female see above
Black-headed Gull - flock of 17 purposefully in
Eider - 187
Red-breasted Merganser - 2 pairs
Sand Martin - 6 north
Swallow - 11 north

Malcolms notes from Middleton plus additions from John/Doreen/Pete
One Lesser Whitethroat between gun club and steps.
A couple of Redpoll blogging.
Slow trickle of swallows - 8 in total, one group of 3 the rest singles.
1 male pheasant.
Sand Martin - 3 north
Cetti's Warbler - at least two singing males
Sedge Warbler - two singing early on only, one ringed
5 Tufted
2 Gadwall
1 Little Grebe ( no swimming pond)
1 Lapwing on model boat pond peninsula

Lots of male orange tip. 

Thanks for the following pics from Middleton, Janet

Coverage around low tide

Ducks were the order of the day although it was great that Malcolm fully confirmed three Cetti's warbler territories as all were singing at the same time this am

Garganey - a pair flew from across the bay and then swung and flew up the bay over heysham skeer and lost heading for the stone jetty
Goldeneye - two females were a very welcome sighting as they headed up the bay
Common scoter - drake flew on and u-turned out
Red throated diver  - one on
Great crested grebe - one on
Eider - 197
Red breasted merganser - NONE!!
Whimbrel - 2 in
Swallow - 40 in including gang of 32
Sandwich tern - just the one in
Redpoll - flock of 5 north
Meadow pipit - c15 n
Linnet -c20 n
White wagtail - 2n

Middleton
Gadwall - 6
Tufted duck - 3
Cetti's warbler - 3 singing male
Common buzzard - one high to north
Sedge warbler - one singing briefly

Perseverance on the sea

Sea for about 1.5 hours
Little gull - two ads in
Common scoter - three distantly out
Kittiwake - flock of 55 on then in
Eider -c135
Knot - 2700 on skeers
Grey seal 1-2

Middleton
Lesser whitethroat still singing
Cetti's warbler - at least one
Gadwall - 2
Teal - 2
Tufted duck - 2

Warm sector scraps

Nowt yesterday other than 130 Eider in low tide channel

Spent about 30 minutes this morning in absolutely superb haze free visibility trying to see Brent Geese at Rampside!!   Just too far away, but there was nothing to look at in between Heysham and the Furness coast - absolutely dead bar one Eider flying out, despite a strong incoming tidal flow

Middleton
Grasshopper Warbler - singleton giving a few bursts of song
Lesser Whitethroat - ditto
Cetti's Warbler - two possibly three singing males
Teal - two pairs still

Heysham NR
Sedge warbler singing by office for a short time

Absolutely zero hirundine passage contra elsewhere eg over the sea

Zero yet again on Wheatear which have been incredibly scarce after an early flurry

Brown House Moth in the moth trap along with Early Grey and Early Thorn

Fulmar on the year list

Probably about an hour in total watching the sea during the early stages of the incoming tide but about a third was during poor visibility

Gannet - one in, 14 out
Fulmar - one out

One Gannet

One distant Gannet in 30 minutes

Middleton NR (Malcolm)
Cetti's warbler(s) singing:
Fence pond/central marsh - 1 burst
NE corner of central marsh - 3 bursts
NW corner of "no swimming" pond - 1 burst.
Unfortunately, I never heard two at the same time, but I suspect more than one bird was involved.
2 Tufted
6 Gadwall
2 Teal