Bumble bees!

I will not be updating the site next Saturday to Wednesday inclusive. Please contact Jean Roberts (details in RH column) if you have any sightings to add......or please update yourself if you know the access details. Thanks very much

Heysham Obs
Two bumble bees were reported today, the earliest I can remember them. One at least sounded like B. terrestris

Stage 2 outfall
1st W Little Gull

Red Nab area
5 Twite, at least 4 bearing yesterdays rings

Ringing by the office
Unremarkable: Greenfinch (4), Long-tailed Tit (1), Blue Tit (2), Dunnock (1), Great Tit (2), Blackbird (1) plus retraps: Blue Tit (6), Great Tit (2), Robin (1), Dunnock (3), Long-tailed Tit (3), Chaffinch (1).

Moth trap
One Dotted Border

Elsewhere
3 Scaup Conder pool. Bittern attempting to boom at Leighton Moss, described as a 'grunt'. More Bumble Bees!

Twite flock ringed

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Twite - All 24 present were caught for ringing/ring examination purposes just after dawn of which 22 were unringed young from 2007 (one possibly an adult) and a male and female with consecutive ring numbers put on in autumn 2005
Collared Dove - two on the mound is a new species for the SD36V Atlas
Med Gull - 2nd W north harbour wall early morning

Stage 2 outfall/Red Nab
Little Gull - 1st W still on outfall at HT
Wigeon - 116

Wooden jetty
Two Purple Sandpiper and c115 Turnstone

Ocean Edge
Pr Ringed Plover displaying

Elsewhere
Purple Sandpiper still Morecambe Stone Jetty.

Minimalistic coverage!

Hey Obs
Ad & 2nd W Med Gull north harbour wall late afternoon (& Wren!)

Elsewhere
Morecambe prom north section (SJ to Teal Bay) WeBs
Female Scaup of Scalestones Point
Spotted Redshank (one adult) on groyne on the bend
Purple Sandpiper Bubbles groyne (well hidden!)
Belgian-ringed Ad Med Gull Strathmore groyne
Others
Two Brambling in private garden near Thrushgill. Ringtail Hen Harrier L Moss but no Avocet reports. 3 Scaup Conder Pool & 4 Bewick's Swan (& 215 Mute - highest count this winter) on the nearby Lune estuary. [OOA but of interest migration-wise....28 Skylark & 4 Meadow Pipit north over Plenmeller Common, Northumberland 1100-1300hrs and 15 male Black Grouse in the usual favoured walled roadside field alongside the A686 1/3 mile north of the Garrigill turn and c2 miles south of Alston.]

Springtime at Middleton IE!

Heysham Obs
Middleton IE
Loads of territorial disputes ranging in size from Wren to Coot! Returning trilling Little Grebe and singing Skylark & Reed Bunting added to the perhaps premature spring scenario. The coverage was a little too early in the morning for butterflies:
The most unexpected record was TWO pairs of Raven in territorial dispute over the site - this represents a record daily count of Raven for the Obs recording area!

Female Pochard, 3 Snipe, 15 Teal, 7 Tufted Duck, 13 Coot, 3 Little Grebe, 2 Goldeneye, 4 Mallard

North harbour wall & sandworks
Med Gull - Czech-ringed adult plus 2nd W
Twite - 11

Outfalls
No early morning sign of the 1st W Little Gull & no check made of the wooden jetty for Purple Sandpiper

Insects
Small Tortoiseshell on bank next to NR car park - first report this year & perhaps the earliest ever record (at Heysham) of one flying about outside

Elsewhere
Polish-ringed Med Gull again on Lancaster City football ground. A winter record count of 9 Little Egret on the Conder & upstream section of the Lune Estuary. 51 Twite near Waterloo Cottage, Lune Estuary. THREE Scaup and two Spotted Redshank Conder area with TWO Spotted Redshank reported off Morecambe seafront. A further Small Tortoiseshell at Bank End along with 'tidal' Water Rail

Skylark and Stonechat on the move

Heysham Obs
Migrants
Stonechat - male by the Nature Park S end of BE properties and another seen at the same time on the Nature reserve [not the same bird moving as previously posted]. No wintering birds in this area this year, therefore these are early migrants (by about a month)
Skylark - 5 overhead to the south/west

Others
Purple Sandpiper - TWO wooden jetty
Little Gull - 1st W still Heysham 2 outfall
male Eider by Red Nab (BTO Business challenge tick)
94 Wigeon Red Nab
Ad & 2nd W Med Gulls along the north harbour wall but no sign of any small finches there

Insects
March Moth in the moth trap and Peacock butterfly by the car park before heading into the non-operational land

Elsewhere
No sign any Crossbill Thrushgill early morning. Details not yet known on Pilling Lap. Bunt. [phoned in to BNW without any further details but implication that it was on saltmarsh, not fields]. Pale-bellied Brent Goose Sunny Slopes area but elusive behind the groyne (reported as being there - not actually seen on WeBS at HT). Ad Med Gull on the sea just N of Battery groyne - same as the other day.

An old Twite still survives

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Czech-ringed adult and 2nd W Med Gull sat on the railings, not moving despite driving within a metre or so!

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Twite - 34 feeding on tideline included one ringed blue over yellow [ringed 2002/3 winter]. They arrived from the north and after a few minutes continued towards Ocean Edge. A further 6 shortly afterwards at Sand Plant gate - no Linnet.
c450 Black-headed Gull
16 Snipe OE saltmarsh.
6 Mistle Thrush

Stage 2 outfall
1st W Little Gull and adult Kittiwake

Moth trap
Just a single Clouded Drab but this is the first one I have heard of in Lancs this year

Elsewhere
Lapland Bunting Pilling Marsh (no further details at present). Pale-bellied Brent Goose still in the Sunny Slopes area. 3 Scaup Conder Pool. Crossbill heard at Thrushgill near entrance gate (2+ birds) but no sign of any Nordic Jackdaw in the significant numbers of corvids along the Wray to Thrushgill via Smeer Hall & White Moss route.

Plenty of moths last night individually highlighted by Small Brindled Beauty at High Tatham. 78 moths of 15 species were in a MV trap at Millhouses, nr Wray, including a very early Brindled Pug, early multiple-emergence of Hebrew Character (5) & March Moth (2), Oak Beauty, Spring Usher, Early Moth and no less than 40 of the hibernating species, Chestnut [Full details LDBWS Insect section].

Tree Sparrow 'under the belt'

Heysham Obs
This is a BTO Business Challenge year where British Energy enters the Power Station properties in the national competition. Therefore a single noisy Tree Sparrow on the bramble bush by the office at 1615hrs before flying off south was a very welcome record of an unpredictable visitor

North harbour wall/sandworks/mound
Twite - increase to 27 with intensive feeding programme. Please note that ringing, as part of the national Twite project [relating to the Biodiversity Action Plan status of this species], using an "all or nothing" whoosh net, will be taking place just after this weekend and any careless approach by visiting birders which flushes the flock can completely waste everyones time. Bearing in mind that many people have benefited from the close views afforded by the feeding station, is it too much to ask that, if your visit coincides with a ringing session, you dont approach but return on a future date or later in the same day? Thank you in anticipation of your cooperation. For information, there appears to be just the one remaining ringed bird from the November 2005 catch and this was followed by two winters of really low numbers (just 2-3 birds), therefore it would be really valuable to try and catch the whole flock at once during a period when the north harbour wall is free from disturbance. In this respect, the site should be angler-free during the morning next week.
Linnet - 5 with above
Med Gull - Czech-ringed ad & 2nd W on the railings at lunchtime

IOM passenger ferry
Loads of gulls behind it (including large ones) but today's problem was heat haze! At least 45 Kittiwake with 35 of these remaining with the ferry as it turned into the harbour, but as has been the recent trend, all then left and flew out along the shipping lane. One adult Little Gull glimpsed before flying out but no Med Gulls seen.

Outfalls
Single 1st W Little Gull

Elsewhere
Pale-bellied Brent Goose Sunny Slopes groyne. Ringtail Hen Harrier Carnforth Marsh

At least one Purple Sandpiper still present

Heysham Obs
Waders on the old wooden jetty are difficult to observe in contrast to the 1980s when you could walk along it and count the Purple Sandpipers! Thanks to John and John for information/earlier update.

Wooden Jetty
One Purple Sandpiper

IOM passenger ferry following
c10 Kittiwake
1st W Little Gull
Med Gull - probably the usual south of the harbour adult which flew off back out along the shipping lane with all the above

North harbour wall/sandworks/mound
Ad & 2nd W Med Gulls patrolling
18 Twite & 4 Linnet (& Wren)

Stage 2 outfall/Red Nab
90 Wigeon
1st W Little Gull

Elsewhere
Pale-bellied Brent Goose Sunny Slopes groyne. Two Spotted Redshanks still Conder Estuary and 2 male Scaup on Glasson marina. Stonechat on the summit of Ward's Stone! Peacock butterfly at Cockersands near 'leaning' barn.

Highest Ben My Chree Kittiwake count this year

Heysham Obs
Outfalls/Red Nab
Little Gull - at least three (one of each age) Stage 2 outfall
Wigeon - 70 Red Nab

Lunchtime ferries
Kittiwake - c70 followed the IOM passenger ferry in with c30 still behind as it turned into the harbour, the rest mostly followed an outgoing freight ferry as they crossed
Little Gull - one adult which turned round & flew out before reaching the wooden jetty
Med Gull - presumably the usual south of the harbour bird followed the ferry in before flying out along the shipping lane

Mound area
Twite/Linnet - 18 & 7 respectively sandworks entrance

North harbour wall/harbour
Ad & 2nd W Med Gulls

Elsewhere
Pale-bellied Brent Goose Heysham Sunny Slopes groyne. Purple Sandpiper Morecambe Stone jetty.

Highlighted by 1st W Med Gull

One of five Little Gulls on Stage 2 outfall today. Thanks very much Mark. Further image of adult on the LDBWS site

Heysham Obs
Coverage gratefully received Wednesday & Thursday this week as the two of us are working away from the office. Please send e-mailed sightings to johnc_wood@hotmail.com NOT Pete Marsh or Jean Roberts. The other alternatives are to text Pete Marsh or put sightings on LDBWS site. Thanks very much.

Stage 2 outfall
5 x Little Gull (2 1st W - the age which normally lingers, 2 x 2nd W, 2 x Ad - most of which usually clear off fairly quickly once the wind has dropped)
1st W Med Gull late afternoon on the tideline [Lune bird from the other day??]

Ad Med Gull at lunchtime, presumably the usual unringed south of the harbour bird

Red Nab
71 Wigeon and a packet of peat compost but no sign of the more politically correct crisps or McVities biscuits adorning Blackpool beach [Riverdance cargo escaping]

North harbour wall
Czech-ringed Ad Med Gull (first sighting for a bit) and 2nd W Med at lunchtime

Mound area
7 Linnet and c18 Twite (possibly including some more Linnet)

Elsewhere
Pale-bellied Brent Goose and unringed Ad Med Gull Sunny Slopes area. Purple Sandpiper Stone Jetty. Ad Med Gull Regent Road groyne = 36W after its trip to Lancaster City football ground! 4 Bewicks Swan and Barnacle Goose of unknown origin Aldcliffe [& unread neck-collared Pink Footed Goose/191 birds]