7th January - Sabbatical

Nothing much happened today in this area - everyone appears to be 'birded out' with the most prolific local lister resorting to shopping in Ambleside!

Heysham Obs
Ad & 1st W Little Gull Heysham 2 outfall

Ad & 1st W Med Gull north harbour wall

Brief scan of harbour produced 19 Shag

Broadway
The elusive Med Gull P96 may have disassociated itself from its usual haunt, Lancaster City Football ground (peruse the league table), as it was on the rocks by the Broadway Hotel in late afternoon. This bird has an interesting ringing history:

Poland FM11199 (Darvic red P96 (formerly P70)
Ringed Skoki Duze, Wroclawek, Poland AdF 19/5/01
Seen Battery car park, Morecambe 31/1/03
Retrapped and reringed: Skoki Duze 19/5/03
Seen Morecambe Stone jetty (with 5HR) 8/3-18/3/04
Seen urban Lancaster, mainly Marsh estate area winter 2004/5
Seen urban Lancaster, mainly Marsh estate area autumn 2005-11/3/06
Seen urban Lancaster, mainly Marsh Estate area about 25/7/06-mid Nov
Seen Morecambe Broadway area of promenade 7/1/07

This bird was paired up with the famous Morecambe winter resident 5HR (now presumed dead) and nested at Skoki-Duze in 2003. As it was similarly paired up with 5HR whilst at Morecambe in spring 2004, it was expected to nest at Skoki-Duze again. However this did not happen and presumably they nested together at an unknown site. There was no evidence of these two operating as a pair in the 2005 breeding season and 5HR was not seen after bonfire night 2005!

Lune valley
8 Whooper Swan still in the floodplain fields between Hornby and Melling - view distantly from high point layby on A683.

A cursory glance for the Mandarin at Hatlex proved a negative experience.

6th January - Acanthisised

Heysham Obs

Twite Heysham north harbour wall mound taken today by Gavin Thomas. Thanks Gavin.

A flock of 9 Linnet on Middleton Industrial Estate around the de-activated Tim Butler rubble-recycling mounds (because they double up as Great-crested Newt hibernacula!). Three Twite were showing very well to visiting birders on the north harbour wall mound and they represented birds ringed at this site in 2002/3 winter, 2004/5 winter and autumn 2005

The Shag flock in the harbour reached 20 mid-afternoon with one bird preferring to feed along the north harbour wall = 21 altogether.

Ad & 1st W Med Gulls north wall

Ad & 1st W Little Gulls Heysham Stage 2 outfall

Up to 12 Kittiwakes around the outfalls/harbour. Thanks for the picture, Rosie.

Local area:

Most of the interest was a result of a thorough grilling of the Lune Estuary: adult Scandinavian Herring Gull opposite the Golden Ball early morning, the European White-fronted Goose was located on Aldcliffe, the single Whooper Swan was still present on Aldcliffe, Spotted Redshank & Greenshank at Conder Pool, 2 Bewick's Swans off Glasson and 1st W male & female Scaup on the Glasson basin. A ringed Little Owl was found dead near Lancaster Quay. Details (thanks to Bob Danson for these):

Little Owl EL54366 was ringed as a pulli 2/2 in nest box 299 at Muffys Platt near Pilling Lane Preesall SD369489 on the 16/06/2006.

5th January - first auk of the year!

Heysham Obs
An adult winter Razorbill flew out of the Bay just before the IOM ferry reached port.

15 Shag were in the harbour and one additional bird was close inshore along the north harbour wall. All juvs.

46 Kittiwake were behind the IOM ferry with 3-4 already in the harbour

1st W Med Gull patrolling the north wall

3 Twite on the mound (at last, personally!)

One Reed Bunting Ocean Edge saltmarsh

No Little Gulls on outfalls but only checked at high tide.

Elsewhere
2nd W Med Gull with the large field-feeding group commuting between Heaton Marsh and the bypass fields. This is a "new" bird (per Mark Prestwood). Nothing of interest amongst the dwindling numbers of large gulls in the area late morning (c/f rubbish tip closure)

Ad Razorbill far up the Kent Estuary at Halforth about 1400hrs, then seen floating out of the estuary past Sandside. Surely not the same bird as flying in the opposite direction two hours earlier at Heysham.

Kent Estuary "Twite" resolved as (60ish) Linnet

8 Whooper still on the Gressingham Bridge-Melling Lune floodplain

4th January - Bonxie

Shag flying into the harbour today. Thanks Simon

Heysham Obs
Fieldworker in situ all day at the heliport. Time spent at a coastal site inevitably produces something and, perhaps predictably, it manifested as what was presumably one of the two BONXIES seen on and off this winter period. This flew out, close inshore, at 1350hrs. Another species which rewards those who sit patiently is Kingfisher and the first record for the Heysham area this year was briefly on the Near Naze rocks.

A nice Knot roost on the heliport comprised about 14,000 birds (flushed by the Bonxie)

14 Shag & 3 Kittiwake in the harbour and 1-2 additional Shag on the wooden jetty.

2 x 1stW and Ad Little Gull & Kittiwake Heysham Stage Two outfall

The lunchtime IOM ferry was trailed by 56 Kittiwake & a rather small long-winged dark brown 'wheeling thing' which peeled off and flew out and across about 1.5-2 miles out. The dark Arctic S seen 2 hours later off Formby would be a reasonable explanation but it remains firmly unidentified [it wasn't the Bonxie].

1st W Med Gull patrolling the north harbour wall

Watching the tide in at Ocean Edge saltmarsh produced a rather unsatisfactory Jack Snipe sighting plus two Reed Bunting. No sign of the Linnet flock seen before New Year - most if not all of us still "need" Linnet for the year in the local area. Please ask at reception before you wander across the caravan site to reach the saltmarsh. Thanks.

Local area
Med Gull 36W was seen further south than usual around the Stone Jetty. See 23rd December for full details of the ringing history of this bird.

The Whooper Swan flock between Hornby and Melling on the Lune floodplain has increased to 8 birds. There is a layby on the raised section of the A683 for distant views.

3rd January- first moth of the year.

Heysham Obs
1st W Little Gull Heysham 2 outfall

14 Shag seen in the harbour but the wooden jetty not checked at the same time

Ad & 1st W Med Gulls along the north wall

Just 3 Kittiwake seen in SW corner of the harbour (incoming IOM ferry not watched)

Moth trap
One Mottled Umber - the first moth of the year at Heysham

Elsewhere
One sub-adult Scandinavian Herring Gull amongst the dwindling numbers of gulls on the saltmarshes near the rubbish tip - early departure due to lack of food led again to an invasion, mainly by 1st W Herring, of the Shag waterfall during the early afternoon. Maybe this lot will attract a white-winged? A Water Rail ran across the road near Mellishaw Park!

Mass exit of wildfowl from Pine Lake as can be expected from a watersports site - windsurfers are the usual cause of a complete exit (other than Coot) as their (!) best runs are right through the usual feeding/loafing areas. Water skiers are not usually a problem. As usual Leighton Moss benefited, especially by housing the Ruddy Duck, but certainly did not receive all the Pochard - hopefully they have not dispersed out of the area .

2nd January - Seawatching strategies

Heysham Obs

Adult Kittiwake and a well-marked 2nd winter Little Gull Heysham outfalls. Thanks Simon.

Seawatching strategies

Today was the sort of day which benefits the car wash operators [or possibly encourages you to do it yourself] as a sloppy sea crashed against the north harbour wall indicating that all was not well with the wind direction - it was too far round to the north-west to push anything into the Bay. For Heysham, the best winds are between WSW and WNW. JB Point and the Stone Jetty are better in gale-force SW winds as birds tend to be too far offshore at Heysham with respect to the sea conditions. HOWEVER, the power station outfalls are an important lure and you run the risk of missing something thereon [most notably during Storm Petrel conditions in mid-summer]. Therefore the smart money option during SW gales, assuming you do have all this spare time, is to seawatch/outfall check at Heysham until about two hours before high tide, then go round to JBP or go on the Stone Jetty. Heysham is a non-starter if the wind is to the S of SW but JBP can be productive, especially in spring.

Important Notice

For those of you 'in the know', the access we cannot publicise, colloquially (but formerly accurately) known as "Gate 38", was closed today complete with new padlock and chain.

Todays birds

At least 14 Shag in the harbour in the morning but much fewer in the afternoon as an influx of large gulls made the waterfall feeding area very congested (this is what happens when you close a perfectly good rubbish tip)

5 adult, one second winter and a 1st winter Little Gulls were feeding in the breaking waves off Red Nab at high tide but all appeared to have dispersed by mid-afternoon

Kittiwake: 12 on Heysham outfalls, c5 in the SW corner of the harbour and 41 behind the IOM ferry.

Med Gull - once again just the 1st W cruising the north wall & no sign of the adult at the heliport high tide roost = the usual 'plan b'.

Ocean Edge saltmarsh saw a higher than expected tide and one Jack Snipe was forced out. Please ask at Ocean Edge reception if you can traverse the caravan site to visit this area. Thanks.

Late news: 4-5 Twite on the mound by the north wall but very mobile and elusive

Elsewhere

Other than the Scaup flock off Bare increasing to 11, the only 'new' sighting of interest which reached the information services was disappointingly retrospective - a 'small flock' of Waxwing seen by an experienced observer at High Bentham........yesterday morning. The Salt Ayre rubbish tip looked as though it was closed as regards the "action" area and it was sad to see amber-listed Herring Gulls soaring above the edifice in vain - this is a gull-friendly blog if you hadn't already noticed.

1st January - NYD listing

Heysham Obs
Very disappointing in a New Year list context with no extra seabirds seen after the overnight storm. The lack of any auks or Red-throated Diver would have been unthinkable 10 years ago:

Shag: 17 juvs in the harbour
Little Gull: adult around, and 1st W reported on pager
Kittiwake: 3 in harbour and 30ish behind the IOM ferry
Med Gull: just the 1st W reported along the north wall
Twite: 3 seen around the mound after "someone" appeared to produce some food (not the usual Twite feeder)!

Elsewhere
New birds included a 1stW male Scaup on Glasson marina, two Great Skua at Jenny Browns Point, including one sitting on the saltmarsh for at least one hour (but probably those first seen in November?)

New Years Day listing limited to the LDBWS recording area (see map on Lancaster and District Birdwatching Society website) produced a known combined total of about 112 species, including 102 seen or heard by one team. Ironically, there was no known sighting of Lesser Redpoll, yet a relaxed start to the day at home two of the previous four mornings had connected with Redpoll within about 5 minutes whilst sitting on the step emptying the moth(less) trap.

Heysham Obs
Highest Shag count was 17 in the early morning - all in the harbour. Ad Little Gull in the harbour but hardly anything on the outfalls in increasingly windy conditions. Two 1st W Kittiwake in the harbour. Ad & 1st W Med Gulls along the north harbour wall.

Anyone timing a visit on New Years Day - the IOM ferry should be sailing and arriving about midday (per port authorities this evening) - could have quite an entourage in the absence of other boats to drag birds back offshore. Possibly a better option than the short period of incoming tide and daylight from dawn, especially if any Fulmar are around.

Local area
A disappointing selection on the LDBWS website - unfortunately the two most active observers today have not got internet facilities and I did not get round to phoning them (may be worth checking Leighton Moss book early on) - 'new' stuff comprised
2 x adult Med Gulls in a large field-feeding flock by the Gressingham Lune bridge. The two Greenshank on the eastern end of the EM Pool=flood were visible from the Crag viewpoint. 'The' Hawfinch was showing in the walled garden at Sizergh but again early morning visit seems necessary.

30th December - Same again

Heysham Obs

Pictures taken today by Simon Hawtin. Thanks Simon!



Same again - no seawatching was undertaken during the small window of tide and wind just after dawn: Just one 1st W Little Gull visible on the outfalls (but a lot of gulls on the mud between the two outfalls), c12 Shag in the harbour, Ad & 1st W Med Gulls along the NH wall in the morning, 2 1st W Kittiwake in the harbour and the long-staying adult on Heysham 2 outfall

Skerton Weir
Adult Med Gull briefly before flying towards Lancaster

Pine Lake
No sign of the odd Aythya seen at long range, mainly asleep, latish yesterday afternoon. This appeared to be a hybrid involving Ring-necked Duck and probably Tufted Duck and resembled a 1st W male Ring-necked [e.g. the current Gibraltar Point bird - see Birdguides photos etc] but with only a faint (but broad c/p Tufted) pale subterminal band on the bill, no hint of any pale fore-flank and a brief view of what appeared to be too white a wingbar. The 'stubby & (long) stifftailed' appearance caught the attention with the head profile also suggesting a Ring-necked input. Should have persevered with it yesterday, despite worsening light and long-range - PL has a history of one-day birds, irrespcctive of the overnight weather. This bird was associating with Pochard.

Drake Ruddy Duck still present but no sign of hybrid Ferruginous x Pochard

Gressingham bridge

4 swans visible distantly looking north on the east side of the river - presumably the Whoopers

Burn Moor
Female Hen Harrier at the north end late afternoon just above Crossdale Beck.

29th December Adult Med returns

The view out at sea:
Heysham Obs
14 Shag in the harbour, adult Med Gull (returns!) and 1st W Med Gull north harbour wall, 2 1stW and adult Little Gull Power Station outfalls, 2 Kittiwake harbour mouth

Elsewhere
Lune by Lancaster Tip/Golden Ball: Adult Yellow-legged Gull showing well

Lune Estuary: 3 Little Egret visible looking down on to Glasson Marsh from Bodie Hill (midday, therefore well after HT) also one on Conder saltmarsh

Stone Jetty: Presumably the regularly returning, but recently very elusive, Spotted Redshank visited its old haunt of the channel just to the south of the jetty at midday