Great White Egret

Vismig
Pink-footed goose - major movement took place over the UK this morning. At Heysham two flight lines watched today.
c1000 + seen flying south on eastern side by Middleton Nature Reserve ringers.
c800 seen from skeer on western side, all flying south. Small skeins to start with, but increasing during morning (07:00 - 09:00)
Meadow Pipit - 75 (no doubt many more much higher up out of view in the blue sky conditions)
Skylark - 7
Reed Bunting - 3
Common Buzzard - 1
Chaffinch - 2
Grey Wagtail - 19 (11 caught and ringed)
Tree Sparrow - 6 (4 caught and ringed)
Swallow - 2
Great White Egret - 1 (see below)
Linnet - 1
Goldfinch - 5
Lesser Whitethroat - 1

Heysham/Middleton Nature Reserve
Not a bad morning for ringing but it rapidly died off after 1000, as it usually does on clear mornings, but not so recently.  Ringing totals included an unusual 5 Tree Sparrow, 11 Grey Wagtail, 14 Blackcap, 9 Chiffchaff, 7 (migrant) Robin, 6 Goldcrest,  2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Reed Bunting  and single Sedge Warbler and Treecreeper, the latter the third of the week.  There seems to be a bottomless pit of new Blackcaps with getting on for 200 so far.

Great White Egret
One seen leaving the reserve to the south 12:45

Still lots of dragonfly activity, but today restricted to: Emperor, Brown Hawker, Migrant Hawker and Common Darter
Mute 4 adult plus 6 (5+1) 1cy
Gadwall 13
Tufted 1
Mallard 6
Little grebe 3
Coot 1
Moorhen 10

Cormorant- now regularly seen on the main pond, today one was seen catching one of the, plentiful, goldfish-rudd/roach hybrids.

Sunday - Curlew Sandpipers

Curlew Sandpipers - 3 juvenile together on wet inshore mud just south of the eastern end of the salt marsh.

Knot - an unexpected roost of 4500 on Heliport wall

Mediterranean gulls
Feeding area near jetty just before last of birds were flushed by tide
Adult 11 - including German ringed bird ANLT

No.2 outflow
Juvenile 2

Bar-Tailed Godwit
It is unusual to see any on the beach between the outflows. I don't know why, this individual caught three lugworm, as the incoming tide softened the mud. (MD)

Full moon surprisingly provides!

This was a real bonus - a good hour of daylight before the forecasted niggling wind put paid to eg Grey Wagtail ringing. New night migrants and tit accompanees just kept coming and included two Treecreeper in a catch of over 60 new birds.  These included seven Grey Wagtail in the net on the first round and three late Lesser Whitethroat and singles of Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Willow warbler.  A Lesser Redpoll was early for here

Vis 

Pink-footed Goose - 55 S
Goldfinch - 60 S
Chaffinch 10 - S

Other
Teal heard in the western scrape

Friday

an early morning ringing.and vis mig session was surprisingly good for a clear northwesterly

Vis

Pink footed goose - H plus 20 plus 26

Grey Wagtail - c13 (8 Ringed)

Meadow Pipit - c30

Jackdaw - flock 41 high south

Swallow - 6!

Chaffinch - 1

Reed Bunting - 4

Ringing to be added

Mediterranean gulls - Red Nab high water roost (thanks to Pete Woodruff)
Adult   28 - including a green ringed bird, not ANLT
2/3cy     6
1cy        6 - including a new yellow ringed German bird AZ.TZ

Rain forming overhead!

The rain alarm was not much use today with a decision to ride out an early short flurry because of a ‘long gap’ being a bad move and wet furled nets were eventually brought in to dry at a site where you just cannot risk leaving them overnight, especially with the ‘nobody tells me where I cant pick my blackberries’ brigade! So a forecasted three hour ore rain session ended up as one and a half rounds.
This was highlighted by two Goldcrest, a Robin and  Blackcap.

Vis for what it’s worth comprised a Linnet, a Reed Bunting, 5 Chaffinch, 4 Meadow Pipit

The coast was equally unremarkable with nothing like yesterday’s Med numbers and low figures of Wheatear and the now ubiquitous petrosus Rock Pipits from the breeding pairs

A Rusty Dot Pearl graced the moth trap

Meds start feasting

Mediterranean gulls - varrious high water roosts are used on these neap tides, but those roosting on Red Nab today included a green ringed juvenile.
A check of the feeding area between wooden jetty and No.1 outflow at 19:00, found it full of gulls, at least 60 were Mediterranean. Including a yellow ringed juvenile, unfortunately just out of reading range. Meds have been feeding here on sand mason worms all summer, but the pickings have been slim, and mainly in the wetter sections. Today all the gulls were easily catching worms, even the inexperienced juveniles. The worms habits must have changed, presumably briefly showing out of their tube as part of their breeding cycle (MD).

Shag 1 adult or near adult (PM)
Little gull 1 adult

Wheatear 3
Rock pipit 3

Guillemot 1 x1cy just out from Ocean Edge foreshore on rising tide.

Decent morning until the UU concrete crusher!

The slippery mudbath left by UU was negotiated pre-dawn in order to open the palisade gate into the Middleton NR bird ringing area.  It was not a moment too soon as there was quite a rush of pre-sunrise Robins and Blackcaps followed at 0638 by the first of nine Grey Wagtail to be colour ringed.  Most birds were caught between 0630 and 0750 in the tranquil part of the morning!

Vis mig
Meadow Pipit - just c34
Grey Wagtail - c16 (9 Ringed)
Alba Wagtail - 3
Chaffinch - 5
Rook - star birds of am with 4 south
Mute Swan - imm south
Swallow - just 3 south
Reed Bunting - 3 south then grounded (2 ringed)

Grounded
Ringing included 10 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 4 Robin, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler
Wheatear - 7 along shore

Shag showing well

A Shag was preening on the wooden jetty this evening. It didn't move from this location in the 30 minutes I was in the area (17:30 - 18:00)
This spot on the jetty has been used by the long staying Shag, but it may just be the demarcation line from the 50+ cormorant on the end section.
The picture below shows the location, the Shag is the bird (black blob) on the extreem left of jetty. This is on the middle section, of what is left, of jetty.

Unfortunately, the distance and the light being behind the bird made it impossible, for me at least (MD), to accurately age, but no sign of crest.

Mediterranean gulls - 11 adult feeding near jetty in evening. 1 juvenile on outflows in morning.

Rock pipits - 3 on Red Nab this morning, 2 by lighthouse this evening. This one showing its feathers nicely.

The day after everything got going

Just about worth the early start with a decent catch of Grey Wagtail after yesterday’s problems.  Other stuff very sparse, especially warblers, but unsurprising after a clear cold night.

Vis mig
Tree pipit - 1
Grey Wagtail - 11 (8 Ringed)
alba wagtail - 3
Meadow Pipit - just 15
Swallow -5 N, 2 S
Chaffinch - 6
Reed Bunting - 1

Common Buzzard - Middleton

Grounded
Ringing included 4 Goldcrest, 4 Robin, lesser whitethroat, Reed Warbler, 5 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 lightweight Dunnock

A complete opposite to yesterday as the main observers of the last two days glued to the sea yesterday but never even saw it today as effort focused on an early am vis/ringing session.  This was very autumnal until a late flurry in the nets of Whitethroat species.  Bird of the day from a visiting observer and insect of the day from Malcolm

Vis mig 0600-1000
Meadow Pipit - 73
Grey Wagtail - 15-17
Reed Bunting - 4
Swallow - just 2
Tree pipit - 1
Cartoon Crow - flock of 11

Osprey - one flushing everything inshore as it headed south over Knowlys Road at 1040hrs (thanks for reporting this)
Great crested Grebe - 7

Ringing at Middleton included: 9 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Whitethroat, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Reed Warbler, 3 Robin, 2 lightweight Dunnock, 3 Reed Bunting
No extra grounded migrants seen in field

Insects
Middleton:
Black Darter - probably two males

Migrant Hawker - 11 plus
Brown Hawker/Emperor/Southern Hawker - at least one each
Common Darter - loads
Good nos damselflies but none with red eyes!