Similar conditions, but a completely different migration pattern

A very light early NE breeze freshened and moved to the east by late morning. A sunny day, but patchy cloud at times.

Heysham two hour Seawatch - Pete: 

very different to yesterday in similar conditions! 

Osprey (0655)

43 swallow

21 sand Martin

2 redpoll

16 meadow pipit (plus c80 small brown birds heading in over the sea, many likely to have been Meadow Pipits)

Proper seabirds amounted to 

13 sandwich tern

1 gannet

just one gang of 6 common scoter 

2 red throated Diver

South shore (Malcolm)

A walk along the wall and back 08:20 - 09:30

Meadow Pipits 68 feeding on Ocean Edge grass, plus 9 in/off and over, no passage seen beyond Red Nab.

Meadow Pipit

These are a few of the grounded Meadow Pipits

Linnet 7 - three feeding with the Meadow Pipits plus 4 on the saltmarsh 

Linnet

Wheatear 2 

Saltmarsh Wheatear

Red Nab Wheatear

Rock Pipit just 2, Red Nab and sea wall. This is the Red Nab bird taking a break from displaying to find something to eat. Note how lush the gutweed is now.

The sea wall Rock Pipit was happily using both feet today

Pale-bellied Brent goose 3. Just two as I walked out, a third was feeding some distance from them on my return 

Wigeon 1 male

Wigeon and a Redshank on the sloping sea wall

Not so many immature large gulls today, fortunately the Herring Gull on
the far left was colour ringed

 One of the North West England gull project scheme (see link on sidebar)
Ringed as a nestling on Walney Island 11/07/24.
Seen near Widnes on the Lancashire/Cheshire border 22/11/24

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Common Whitethroat - first of the year

Willow Warbler 

Chiffchaff 

Male Blackcap

Male Orange Tip

Female Orange Tip

Brimstone 

Heysham skear (Malcolm)

Just a quick look this afternoon 

Shelduck 1 north

Eider 14

Red-breasted Merganser 4

Little Egret 2

Oystercatcher 1,200

Bar-Tailed Godwit 62

Curlew 14

Redshank 250

Turnstone 150, again in several flocks flying west

Meadow Pipit 7 in off then east.

Better seabird movement

An early light east breeze freshened and shifted to the west after lunch. Sunshine all day.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Report by Alan:

I only set two nets on the basis that there was no sign of overhead passerine movement with no cloud or any slight helpful breeze overnight.

Surprisingly I caught a few migrants including Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

The total catch was:

Willow Warbler  9

Chiffchaff           3

Blackcap           5

Robin                1 retrap

 

One of today's Willow Warblers

A stoat wandered along the central road towards me before darting into the bushes.

Seawatch - Pete

Heysham: Sea in calm incoming tide - had its moments: 

common scoter 212

sandwich tern 24

red throated Diver 6

wigeon flock of 8

guillemot 6

gannet 10

goosander 3

arctic tern flock of 3

No passerine or hirundine vis at all at the north wall.  

South shore

I had a walk along the sea wall either side of this morning's high water 09:20 (Malcolm)

Shelduck 3

Pale-bellied Brent goose 9 - just 3 on Red Nab as I walked out, 6 as I returned, then 3 more arrived but they weren't welcomed!

Pale-bellied Brent goose

Bar-Tailed Godwit 49 west

Turnstone 48 resting on No.1 outfall

Some of the Turnstone

Loads of immature large gulls on the wooden jetty

Four Sandwich Tern on the buoy closest to the wooden jetty

Still there after the SeaTruck passed

Linnet 28 on Ocean Edge grass, plus 2 more above last year's nest site between the lighthouse and waterfall.

Some of the Linnet on Ocean Edge grass

White Wagtail 5 minimum - 4 on Ocean Edge grass plus 2 along the sea wall, at least 1 of which was additional.

White Wagtail

Meadow Pipit 2 grounded on the foreshore 

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit a bit complicated, but probably at least 7. One was displaying on Red Nab (when Janet checked later there were three arguing on Red Nab), one along the sea wall and at least three between the lighthouse and the waterfall.

This is the sea wall bird, it seems to have a problem with its right leg.

Three between lighthouse and the waterfall, the nearest bird returned 
to its post above the lighthouse nest site (next shot)

Lighthouse Rock Pipit

This Roebuck was behind the gate to Middleton Nature Reserve,
near the tall anemometer 

Janet was just setting off along the wall as I was finishing 

Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler 

Wren

280+ Turnstone arriving from the south. Additional to earlier birds,
so 330 for the morning

They settled on the lower tiers of the wooden jetty

More movement

A dry sunny day. A light NE breeze switched to NW after lunch.

seawatch over neap tide high water to 08:45 - Pete -  heat haze a nuisance: 

95 common scoter, plus 5 more outbound

24 sandwich tern

1 Red-throated Diver

1 Gannet

3 Swallow

additional c200 outbound dribs and drabs of wildfowl in distant heat haze included some drake eider but also some common scoter probably left unidentified

Heysham skear 11:00 - 12:30 (Malcolm)

On the ebb tide as the skear became exposed.

Pink-Footed goose 68 north in one skein

Eider 88

Mallard 2 in/off from the south then east inland - Pete advises that this is the first record of Mallard on migration 

Mallards heading east after coming in/off the sea.

Teal 4 on the sea

Teal

Red-breasted Merganser 5

Little Egret 2

Sandwich Tern at least three still hanging around.

Sandwich Tern

Oystercatcher 800

Bar-Tailed Godwit 39

Bar-Tailed Godwits

Curlew 6

Curlew probing under the stones

Redshank 550

Knot 19

Turnstone 22 (flocks of 7 and 15 flying west)

Swallow 1 in/off then east

South shore (Malcolm)

A pleasant evening stroll along the sea wall.

Rock Pipit 3 - foreshore, Red Nab and in the scrub near the lighthouse 

Red Nab Rock Pipit

Willow Warbler in the copse behind Red Nab.

Willow Warbler 

White Wagtail - at least 4. There was one feeding on Red Nab when I walked out. Two feeding at the roundhead, and two feeding on the sea wall on the way back.

Red Nab White Wagtail 

One of the roundhead White Wagtails 

They were finding lots of flies to eat. I don't think the flies were migrating, but probably Kelp Flies hatching in the warm weather and neap tides. This roundhead White Wagtail catches 3 flies in this clip.

These are the two along the sea wall.

(The abundance of flies here could hold other migrating insect eaters - multiple Black Redstarts at Fleetwood today)

Turnstone 120 just out from the roundhead

Peregrine Falcon 1

Peregrine Falcon

Swallow 1 north

A pair of Mallard on the newt pond in the Nature Park

More Terns

Another sunny day with a cool east wind.

Heysham skear 09:30-11:00 (Malcolm)

The ebbing tide was just exposing the skear as I started.

Eider 48

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Female Red-breasted Merganser with three displaying males

Great Crested Grebe 5

Little Egret 3

Little Egret

Sandwich Tern 7 minimum.

Sandwich Tern

They were fishing as they headed north

They dive in hard.....

........and deep! This one watched on by a Great Crested Grebe

Success, it emerges with a small fish

Tern sp - just a brief distant glimpse of a "darker" Tern.

Oystercatcher 600

Curlew 6

Bar-Tailed Godwit 159 - three flocks, 6, 10, 143

This is the large flock coming in

Just a few in summer plumage

These are some of the 10 feeding along the waterline just south of the skear

Redshank 350

Just a few of the Redshank

Knot 3

Dunlin 1

Turnstone 120 - most in smallish flocks flying west

Meadow Pipit 2 north

Sand Martin 4 together north

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Common Buzzard

Chiffchaff 

Female Speckled Wood

Male Orange Tip