A bits and pieces day

Heysham Obs
Nothing comprehensive; anyone anything to add, please?

Outfalls/Red Nab
A check too near to high tide saw 2 x 1st S Med Gull, 3 Whimbrel

Harbour mouth
At least one Black Guillemot late afternoon (per angler)

Insects (on reserve)
One Common Hawker - hard to find this year along with 1+ Brown Hawker & 4 x Gatekeeper (all along Princess Al;exandra way track past the blue utilities grids) - surely at least 12 on the reserve this year so far. This species is a recent arrival which has not 'taken off' like Speckled Wood and Small Skipper. Nothing new in the moth trap.

Elsewhere
Ad Yellow-legged Gull visible from Sunderland tidal road but nothing with 280+ Dunlin other than three Whimbrel. No sign of the Lesser Yellowlegs at Leighton Moss but greatly increased numbers of (migrant?) Sedge Warbler there with 40+ trapped and ringed. Unfortunately Middleton IE has been too windy (until tomorrow). The Little Egret roost at Ashton Hall Lake comprised FIVE this evening, an earlier build up than is usual (thanks Helen).

Meds pile in, Black guillemots stay put

Heysham Obs

Wooden jetty/harbour

Black Guillemot: pair on or below the wooden jetty

Turnstone: 17 on wooden jetty

NO sign of any Shag

North harbour wall

Med Gull: 1st summer patrolling the wall briefly perhaps indicative of last winter's returning bird.

Outfalls/Red Nab/Ocean Edge foreshore

Med Gull: Between us we managed 2 x Adult (one different from yesterday), 3 x 1st S (one possibly the NHW bird) and one x juvenile

Kittiwake: 1st summer

Common Tern: 1

Sandwich Tern: 1

Whimbrel: 3

Nature reserve

Common Sandpiper Obs Tower pond

Middleton IE

Kingfisher on 'no swimming' pond

Insects

2 x Black-tailed Skimmer, 8 male and one female Emperor & lots of Common Darter, mainly tenerals, on Middleton IE

2-3 Brown Hawker Heysham NR

A surprisingly good variety in the moth trap, despite ridiculously low numbers of common species such as Clay (1) and Common Rustic (4). New for the year were: Olive, Ruby Tiger, Cabbage Moth & the local fleabane-eating pyralid (or the larva do!) Ebulea crocealis. Olive and Cabbage Moth are quite scarce here.

Butterflies included four Gatekeeper on the reserve and a few Small Heath still flying on Middleton IE

Elsewhere

No sign of the Lesser Yellowlegs and two of the Spoonbills appeared to disappear early morning leaving Allen/EM Pool highlights for much of the day as one Spoonbill and 5 Little Egret. JBP saw two 1st S Little Gull, Spotted Redshank. As was shown by the WTP, this does not mean the LY is not in the hidden area on Leighton Moss which will becoming more suitable with falling water levels.

Stairend Bridge, Upper Hindburn revealed a nice pocket of calmish air around the favoured elms and there were 5 White-letter Hairstreak (& at least one Purple Hairstreak) at 1630 and earlier one (of these) was nectaring on Creeping Thistle:

Thanks very much for this excellent shot, Gary

Meds return from the drying fields?

Heysham Obs
All known birding coverage was during the morning
Wooden jetty area
Two Black Guillemot but sometimes elusive. No Shag reports

Outfalls/Red Nab
Mediterranean Gull: two adults, two 1st summer and one metal-ringed 2nd summer. There has been no sign as yet of either of the two wintering birds - the Czech-ringed adult is already two weeks 'late' c/p 2006.
Kittiwake: 1st summer
Sandwich Tern: 2
Whimbrel: 2

Insects
One of the best butterfly transects in a F3-4 wind - it was almost wall-to-wall sunshine! Small Copper (2), Common Blue (15), Small White (7), Large White (1), Green-veined White (3), Meadow Brown (20), Small Skipper (90), Red Admiral (3), Peacock (4), Small Tortoiseshell (2), Brimstone (1). Forgot Gatekeeper (4)! Also 6 Burnet spp. recorded.

The moth trap produced two new species in the form of Dot Moth and Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (not checked for Langmaid's - escaped!!)

Six Brown Hawker and two Emperor on Heysham Nature reserve

Elsewhere
Lesser Yellowlegs in the large field between the level crossing and L Moss at 0800hrs but promptly flew towards the Griesdale area [square white rump patch, no white on wing, same size as Redshank, slightly trailing legs etc] . There is a huge area for feeding waders out of sight of hides/hillside scoping and a bird was glimpsed which may have been this when birds were v. briefly flushed by Marsh Harrier. The problematic yellow-legged juv Redshank was in this field during the afternoon and was initially misidentified by experienced birders in the absence of immediate flight views. A 'lady on a bike' insisted a claim during mid-morning yesterday was of the juvenile Redshank. What a classic two-bird reality this is! Three Spoonbill & at least 5 Little Egret around the Allen/EM Pools. Ad Med Gull 36W has returned to north Morecambe seafront and was undoubtedly the bird also seen yesterday at the Stone Jetty

Black Guillemot on the Jim Bowen show

Heysham Obs

The Black Guillemot had a Radio Lancashire slot today and a visit to see if they had not promptly departed revealed one bird in the water below the jetty but bad light preventing seeing whether one was 'in the hole'. Communication with Alan Davies, the Conwy warden, suggests that the behaviour of these birds is very similar to the Fishguard harbour prospective colonists - plenty of display, mainly from the male but lukewarm female reaction. As Gavin Thomas pointed out, this might be because both the Heysham and Fishguard females are first summers.

Shag - 1st summer in the harbour

Sandwich Tern - one off the harbour late afternoon

Oystercatcher roost at the heliport. Thanks Cliff

No time to check the outfalls today

Butterflies

About 5 Gatekeeper recorded along with a few Small Skipper.

Gatekeeper and Small Skipper - thanks Cliff

Elsewhere

The Lesser Yellowlegs was seen on the Allen Pool in the early morning before flying north-east. No reports from Leighton Moss. Ad Osprey on the public mere mid-morning.

Sandwich terns increasing

Heysham Obs
Wooden jetty/seawatching
30 minutes on the NHW produced 6 Manx Shearwater, one juv Common Tern and 6 Sandwich Tern out

Black Guillemot - both sat together on the wooden jetty. No obvious sign of any Shag.

Outfalls/Red Nab
No Meds! 7 Sandwich Tern roosting on the rocks (definitely additional to the seawatch birds) and four Whimbrel present

Elsewhere
Lesser Yellowlegs available on the Leighton Moss public mere from at least 0900 to at least 1030. Seen later on Allen Pool before flying towards JBP, thence a belated report of a 1525 sighting at JBP before 'flying towards the breakwater'. EM Pools: Little Egret flock rising to 11, three Spoonbill still present and a single Avocet reported.

Very few Meds yet again

Heysham Obs
Wooden jetty area
Two Black Guillemot and a single Shag in the harbour

Outfalls/Red Nab
978 Black-headed Gulls contained:

Ad & juv Med Gull
4 Sandwich Tern
1st S Kittiwake

Moths
Canary Shouldered Thorn new for the year

Elsewhere
Lesser Yellowlegs EM Pool but flushed by multiple Peregrines at 1425hrs with Little Stint reported in the morning. Further research showed that the Lesser Yellowlegs was present on the Public Mere island at at least 1530 with R/sh & G/sh before 'walking around the back', thence no further sign until at least 1730hrs. This info. was received at c2115 and communicated straight away to RBA. 3 Spoonbill and 6 Little Egret on the EM 'flood'. Ad Yellow-legged Gull Lune Estuary and 6 Whimbrel at Sunderland

Was anyone out there?

Heysham Obs
.......coastwise, no reports today of the Black Guillemot etc. Update later if news received - best to put on LDBWS website, please (see link to left).

Seawatching
5 distant Gannet this morning as viewed from Morecambe Stone jetty
at 0830

Moths
Dingy Footman was new for the year. The first for, I think, VC60 (possibly even both 'pure' Lancs and the north Merseyside-inclusive version) was from Heysham in 2005. Single figures were at Heysham in 2006 and the 2006 'Leighton Moss moth night' recorded at least one. That is the sum total of north Lancs records to date. Three Slender Pug were also new with the identification facilitated by a visit from pug researcher Brian Hancock.

Dingy Footman. Thanks Alan

Elsewhere
If we had switched Sunday and today's out of the area work, a carbon footprint-less Chimney Swift (York) was 'available'! Locally, three Spoonbill still on the EM Pool (have there always been three, c/f 'immature' claims from LM as well as the two adults......or is the third also an adult?), an Osprey causing a lot of excitement as it came and went from the lower end of Leighton Moss a few times today & two Little Egret (three this evening) on Allen Pool along with 16 Greenshank. Spotted Redshank and Little Egret Lune Estuary. Lesser Yellowlegs reportedly on EM pool this evening

Med Gull drought

Heysham Obs
Outfalls etc
No, we are not losing the plot due to a moult-fest causing the distinctive black heads and wingtips to disappear amongst sleeping Black-headed Gulls. Perhaps the lowest Med to BHG ratio for several years on the outfalls this last couple of days. None seen by an experienced observer yesterday with 2/c1,000 scattered along the foreshore this morning and 0/886 at the usually productive neap high tide this evening.

The two were first summers together near the pipeline at low tide this morning

Kittiwake - first summer late afternoon
Sandwich tern - single adult roosting with BHG late afternoon
Whimbrel - 4 Red Nab

Harbour area
At least one Black Guillemot (on the sea) during a really brief visit

Black Guillemot chasing Feral Pigeon (sorry Rock Dove) away from the territory. Anyone old enough to remember the silly walks sketch. Thanks Andrew

Middleton IE
A well-forecasted (lets give them credit where due) window in the showers allowed a ringing session this morning which was, however, marred by a niggling NE wind during c0730-0900 - not the best direction for the mist nets. 17 new Sedge Warbler were ringed but there were several escapees. Other species included Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler.

Three male Grasshopper Warbler were in song and hopefully this reflects that the females are occupied with second broods. Please, therefore, do not trample around off the ringing circuit track - the males are best seen from the concrete roads where you are elevated. As a warning, a 'bottomless hole' OVER WADER HEIGHT was located right next to a track this morning

About half a dozen Swift headed south along with a single Sand Martin. All Swallow and House Martin may simply have had a large blogging circuit

Insects
A reasonably good moth catch by the standards of this year included three migrant Silver Y and the first Bordered Beauty of the year.

Elsewhere
Three Spoonbill recorded on the EM 'flood' but no mention of whether the two Little Egret were present. Osprey briefly by the Lower pool at Leighton Moss late morning

Another feral quintet

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/outfalls area
The prize for missing out on any Med Gull at the outfalls was a flock of FIVE Black Swan which flew past the outfalls and landed on the mud off Ocean Edge at 0900hrs [later seen at Brockholes Quarry, Ribble valley - thanks Chris and Bill]. Absolutely nothing else loggable from that side as the Black-headed Gulls returned to the wet fields! Thanks Mark. Two Whimbrel in the area later on.

Harbour area
Two Black Guillemot and an immature Shag were posted on the pager referring to early evening around the harbour entrance. Thanks to whoever that was.

Insects
Middleton IE
Dragonflies comprised: 3 Black-tailed Skimmer (2 female), 7 male & 1 female Emperor, 17 male & 11 female & 21 teneral Common Darter
Butterflies: 13 Meadow Brown, 4 Small White, 17 Small Skipper, 11 Small Heath, 3 Small Tortoiseshell

Heysham NR
Dragonflies comprised: 4 male Brown Hawker, 11 male & 4 female & 7 teneral Common Darter
Butterflies included one male and two female Gatekeeper

Thanks Colin for all the insect data

Elsewhere
Yellow-legged Gull Glasson. 1st S Med Gull along Heysham bypass (undoubtedly one of those which was on the outfalls on at least Friday). One Spoonbill on the Leighton M public mere. Two Little Egret EM Pools. Osprey over Leighton early pm

Poor percentage of Meds!

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge foreshore/Red Nab/outfalls
Med Gull: A thorough check at low tide in the morning saw them very hard to find with one juv briefly, 2 x 1st summer which were, as usual, difficult to see and just the one adult summer. Not a good percentage compared to other years, given 1,600 Black-headed Gulls - even yesterdays 8/2,000 was on the low side, especially as two were mobile juvs. I wonder if they having trouble dispersing north this year!
Whimbrel: 7 on Red Nab at high tide
Sandwich Tern: one at high tide

Harbour area
Both Black Guillemot visible at 1230 but only one in late afternoon (and no reports of any Shag)

Moths
What seemed to be a primary immigrant Silver Y was in the trap - a Bedstraw Hawk-moth was trapped nearby at Heysham Road Fri/Sat night.......so are we going to get a few more migrants in these pulses of "French rain"?

Elsewhere
Single Spoonbill photographed on EM Pools - see LDBWS site.