Rushed WeBS count

Heysham Obs
"Dashing" back A590-style from the Hudsonian Whimbrel (well worth seeing at Biggar, 'middle' Walney Island) to do a quick WeBS saw the only loggable birds of the day.....or bird:

Shag - juvenile on the wooden jetty
Black Guillemot - no sign but the Pilot Boat was around during the short visit
Swallow 'blogging' along north wall - are they nesting in one of the harbour buildings?
Swallow always along SHW and are probably nesting nearby somewhere in the Power Station.

Middleton IE
Very marginal weather saw a Swallow 'flush' a male Red-veined Darter for a short flight. 3 brief sightings of Black-tailed Skimmer, but not really sunny enough despite 18.5 degrees on car temperature guide

Elsewhere
Described as 'ominous' by the warden, the final sighting of the White-tailed Plover was heading towards the Slag Tips before being 'lost' at 2040hrs YESTERDAY as viewed from the Crag watchpoint. NO reports today but surely saturation coverage (or appearance elsewhere!) needed to make any pronouncements on departure

Bits and pieces of coverage

Dragonflies
Last Sunday's census just received: The fine weather came too late in the day today for RVD unless someone can contradict?

Middleton IE
RED-VEINED DARTER - 3 mature males and two tenerals on model boat pond. NO suitable weather to check since!
Black-tailed Skimmer - 27 male & 7 female
Emperor - 17 male, 5 female
4-spotted Chaser - 73

BE properties
Emperor - one on reserve, 3 on dog pond (inc ovi. female)
4-spotted Chaser - 7 on reserve, 11 on dog pond (no sign Broad-bodied Chaser)

Todays birds at Heysham
Just a report of a rapid year-listing visit for Black Guillemot = one bird seen before rapid brownie-point departure! Single Arctic Tern and juv Shag seen on another brief visit

Moths
100+ in trap including Peach Blossom, Eyed Hawk-moth & a Rustic/Uncertain to be identified!

Elsewhere
White-tailed Plover - the 'event' went well as there were no 'bottlenecks' with the bird disappearing for hours. Visible at greater or slightly lesser range from th 'triangle' or the causeway for most if not all the day [Leighton Moss]. Three 1st S Med. Gulls on the Lune Estuary - THE gull hotspot at this time along with Heysham outfalls (and perhaps the Lune at Aldcliffe!)

What a very unexpected and welcome day!

Heysham Obs
Today was like a time-warp of a reasonable day in late April!

Wooden jetty/harbour

Black Guillemot: 2 on wooden jetty & later searching all the nooks and crannies for a suitable nest site. Surely too late this year..........

.......these two young love birds don't think so!

Shag: 2 juv on the wooden jetty

Other morning observations
Sandwich Tern & 2 Common Tern Heysham 2 outfall
Red-breasted merganser pair off Red Nab
Ringed plover 2 Red Nab#
Gannet - 2 in
Med. Gull: 1st summer outfalls area

Over/just after the high tide
Between 13:00 and 14:30:
Black Guillemots, both still showing well.
Arctic Skua, 2 probables (both dark) and one certain (also dark). Probably three birds, but at least two; one landed on the sea and was lost - later one seen and while watching it through the 'scope it joined the two Poms, buzzed them and flew into the bay with them.
Pomarine Skua - 2 pale morph into bay high, and continued in.
Little Gull 2 adults north
Sandwich Tern 5 blogging
Mediterranean Gull 1 1st Summer off harbour wall
Gannet 2 north
Kittiwake flock of 19 going out
Shag 2 still on wooden jetty

Elsewhere
White-tailed Plover Leighton Moss - available most of the day but usually distant

Heysham outfalls

Evening low tide.
Terns - 12 in total mainly on rocks at end of Heysham 2. When in flight 3 common & 1 arctic were identified.

Sand martin 1 NE over harbour and along NHW 1815 hrs.

Heysham outfalls & Red Nab

Heysham Obs
Mediterranean gull 2 1st S (both had full tail bars, different to 1st S on the 2/6)
Kittiwake adult
Arctic tern 2
Red-brested merganser female
Ringed plover 3 Red Nab + 1 non-op land & 1 on Helipad
Black-headed gull juv still present

Elsewhere
A good little trip to Fair Isle took a new dimension today with a big 'wow' factor as a glance at a Purple Sand on the tideline revealed a bobbing tail on a nearby bird otherwise rather well-camouflaged against the shingle beach.........a TEREK! Usual headless chicken response helped when the first person encountered said 'shall I phone the obs' in a manner suggesting a regular routine! Orange mobiles dont work here.

Pete

Heysham outfalls

Mediterranean gull 2 first summer
Arctic tern 4
Common tern 2
Black-headed gull c300 + 1 juv
Common gull min.50
Shag juv on wooden jetty

Moths
Figure of Eighty was the most unusual moth. Heart and Dart and Shoulder-striped Wainscot (the latter now a UK Priority species) were the most abundant (30+ of each).

first definite Red-veined Darter of the year & new moth species

Lime Hawkmoth - new, but overdue species, for the reserve.

Chamomile Shark - not new for the reserve but a more unusual species.

An Eyed Hawkmoth unfortunately got away before a photo could be taken of it!

Elsewhere

Middleton Industrial Estate:

Red-veined Darter at Middleton Industrial Estate Model Boat Pond. Another located elsewhere on the site as well.

6 spot Burnet moths and Narrow-bordered 5 spot Burnet moths, newly emerged. Thousands at Middleton.

Masses of Common Blue Damselflies

Gangs of Bee Orchids

Leighton Moss: Spooonbill at Eric Morecambe Pool.

Fair Isle: River Warbler located by Mark Breaks as he was extracting a Red Admiral butterfly from the catching box of a Heligoland Trap. The bird flew into a nearby mist net whence it was also seen by the ''blogmaster"(on Fair Isle)........................along with Lesser Grey Shrike, 3-4 Red-backed Shrike, Common Rosefinch, Iceland Gull & a pod of Killer Whale

Heysham obs
1 Kittiwake on the outfalls and 3 further out.
2 Sandwich Tern also on the outfalls.

Dragonflies
Middleton IE
RED-VEINED DARTER - 3 mature males and two tenerals on model boat pond. NO suitable weather to check since!
Black-tailed Skimmer - 27 male & 7 female
Emperor - 17 male, 5 female
4-spotted Chaser - 73

BE properties
Emperor - one on reserve, 3 on dog pond (inc ovi. female)
4-spotted Chaser - 7 on reserve, 11 on dog pond (no sign Broad-bodied Chaser)

Elsewhere

Cheating a bit as this photo was taken at Caerlaverock, but it's the same bird:

WHITE TAILED PLOVER on the Eric Morecambe Pool at 5pm. Chased off by a Redshank at 6pm and flew fairly high north. Appeared to drop in height but then was out of view - possibly dropped onto main Leighton Moss reserve. A search commenced but negative so far.

Wood Warbler still at Tower Lodge.

The sound of silence

Heysham Obs
Kittiwake on the outfalls.
Elsewhere
No news from the rest of the area!

Tiny migrant moth

Heysham Obs
The smallest contribution of the year concerned a single example of the migrant Diamond-back Moth in the hut trap - the first of the year.

Bird coverage involved checking out a Ringed Plover nest (4 eggs) on the BE properties

Elsewhere
Spoonbill Leighton Moss and Wood Warbler Tower Lodge. Long-tailed Duck & Egyptian Goose Halforth, Kent Estuary