A few surprises

Another chilly day (0C at 0700hrs) but with less wind and hopes that the easterly component in the ENE wind would bring a few migrants. Few was the operative word. After an intial explosion of birds at dawn there then followed the smallest of trickles.

Heysham NR
Vis 07:00-12:00 with the vast majority before 08:00hrs Birds in order of appearance and all north unless stated:
Redwing 3 heard in the dark then 37 departed
Woodcock 1
Blackbird 16N, 2 S
Chaffinch 49
Brambling 5
Snipe 1
Long-tailed Tit 20
Starling 700
Carrion Crow 3
Coal Tit 4
Meadow Pipit 4 S
Jackdaw 4
alba wagtail 1
Skylark 3 over the reserve but 74 seen between Red Nab and Potts Corner

In the low tide channels
Eider 954
Goldeneye 1 female/immature
Wigeon 2
Gadwall 3
Common Scoter 2 females
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Great-crested Grebe 6

Over the sea
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - 3 flew down the middle of the Bay then headed towards Rampside
Swan sp., probably Whooper, - 1

In the sea
Grey Seal

Blackbird bonanza but virtually everything going the 'wrong way'!

Large numbers of birds for the first two hours or so this morning, both overhead and (in the case of Blackbird), low-level 'vis'.   The main thing was that virtually everything was heading north straight over the top of our mist nets from the tank farm over the reserve.  Therefore the actual ringing part of today was unremarkable.

Vis mig HNR office with some also Middleton NR
Chaffinch - 77
Brambling - 2
Meadow Pipit - 2
Blackbird - 270 plus 16 grounded later
Redwing - 19
Woodpigeon - 265
Jackdaw - 153
Rook - 11
Whooper Swan - 3
Greenfinch - 14
Starling - 589
Bullfinch - 1
Tree Sparrow - 1
Skylark - 5
Siskin - 4
Pink-footed Goose - c500
Coal Tit - heard quite high but not seen plus 3 unringed birds caught
Linnet - 1
Lesser Redpoll - 4

Middleton NR late am
Woodcock - 1
Jack Snipe - 2
Common Snipe - 1
Mute Swan - 9
Teal - 8

Heliport
Anyone time to count the Redshank?  Thanks Jim

Insects
Migrant Hawker & 2 Common Darter Middleton NR

Last daylight low spring tide for a bit

Too windy from a horrible direction for any Ringing so the plan was to check the low tide channels off Heysham Head.  It wasn’t easy with a lot of orange sky silhouettes and a significant “heat”haze.

Eider - absolute minimum of 710 and probably at least another hundred.   No chance of discerning anything in the main mass in the second channel
Common Scoter - two females close inshore
Great crested Grebe - at least one
Med gull - presumed Czech adult North wall

Chaffinch - 10 south, the only perceived vis

Green Woodpecker present by hnr office last Thursday

Friday - not quite nothing

Northwesterlies continue. Hopefully turning more northerly tomorrow.

Jackdaw 36 south
Common buzzard 1 south

Still a few dragonflies in afternoon sun on Middleton:
Common darter 4 (all males)
Migrant hawker 1

Wildfowl status similar to previous, but Shoveler not showing today.

North westerlies continue

Whooper Swan - 8 south
Shoveler - 1cy Male still Middleton
Cetti’s warbler - possibly up to three singing males middleton
Wigeon - 144 red nab

Landbird migration
No perceptible vis hnr but a late start
13 unringed Greenfinch, 2 unringed Goldcrest, unringed Coal Tit and a few other odds and ends in the nets but no Chaffinch passage today

Wednesday

to be added

Don’t give up yet!

The weather today was a heap of rubbish which failed to deliver any seabirds, vis or grounded.  The Ben was checked and failed to deliver Kittiwakes but:

Med Gull - ad and 2cy behind incoming ferry

A red line Quaker was in the Moth trap

Monday 22 October

Complete contrast in the weather this morning - clear, with a light NNW wind.

Vis -07:30-10:30
Redwing - 5 calls heard while it was still dark plus 2 seen
Chaffinch - 74
Brambling - 8
Woodpigeon - 13
Carrion Crow - 10
alba wagtail - 3
Meadow Pipit - 1
Bullfinch - 3 dropped in from height, four similarly later
Pink-footed Goose - 9 + 51 north, 115 south
Jackdaw - 9 south plus heard but not seen
Grey Wagtail - 2
Coal Tit - 1 in addition to 2 ringed
Skylark - 11 but probably more (mainly from Ocean Edge)

Grounded
Treecreeper - another unringed dispersing bird
Chiffchaff - two calling at dawn, one has been here for several days
Goldcrest - three unringed birds and no obvious sign of any others

Red Nab
Wigeon - 140
Little egret - 10

Heliport seawall
Snipe - 15
Male Merlin 16:45

Middleton NR
Another new Cetti's Warbler ringed.
Redwing - c20
Reed Bunting - 4 migrants ringed

Sunday 21 Oct 2018

A misty, murky but mild morning.

Heysham Harbour 
Rock Pipit - 1

Middleton NR
Mute Swan - 8
Mallard - 1
Teal - 2
Gadwall - 24
Pink-footed Goose - 150 north

Moth highlight Heysham NR and an unringed Cetti's warbler at Middleton

Today's efforts did not look promising with a forecast which was suitable for mist-netting, but the uniform unbroken cloud for the first few hours certainly put the lid on significant vis and the wind direction suggested a paucity of grounded migrants.  The highlight came very early on - a twilight check of what was on the outside of the moth trap window:

Scarce Bordered Straw

Red Nab/Ocean edge shore
Bar-tailed Godwit - 950
Grey Plover - 320
Med Gull - one (small) adult
Teal - female/juv Red Nab
Wigeon - huge increase to 144
Shelduck - 420 (142 Red Nab)

Middleton
Cettis Warbler - a new unringed bird - probably a new dispersing arrival but cannot rule out a local bird which somehow avoided the nets

Office area grounded
Very quiet - not a single Goldcrest heard, just the 'resident' male Chiffchaff and another singleton ringed along with a single Blackcap.  About 10 Blackbird and 6 Song Thrush completes the perceived grounded migrant total within audible/visual range of the office

Vis mig
Swan spp - two high to north
Mute Swan - 5 north then u-turned over Middleton
Chaffinch - 15
Brambling - 1
Little Egret - 2 S
Starling - just 6+20
Greenfinch - at least 1!
Alba wagtail - 2
Goldfinch - 2
Pink-footed Goose - 850 N at 0910