Coastal coverage

Heysham Obs
Just in time for the IOM ferry

Heysham north wall lunchtime
Kittiwake - 13 behind the IOM ferry - flew into bay in two lots (7+4) whilst the other two flew out with Common Gulls. All ads.
Med Gull - 2 adults
Purple Sandpiper - one on the rocks below the inner end of the wooden jetty
Twite - 39 - 5 unringed, one metal-ringed (possibly the bird we forgot to colour-ring!), one ringed at Askam-in-Furness in late October 2008 & the rest all Heysham autumn 2008-ringed
Still no Guillemot for the year list.

Very brief OE visit late morning
Ad Little Gull stage 2 outfall

Elsewhere
2 Bewick's Swan (remembered to stop & look this time!) Sand Villa, later 5 plus some Whoopers. 1st W Dark-bellied Brent Lane Ends. At least 3 European Whitefront and at least one Pink-foot with partially obscured Greylag geese just north of Bulbeck (between Caton and Claughton) on the Lune valley floodplain. Park at Bulbeck and walk north. Note: mobile speed trap at Claughton this afternoon - is this the start of a blitz = quite right on this stretch?

Very short visit to OE

Heysham Obs
Ad Little Gull seaward end Stage 2 oufall 1330hrs
Red-throated Diver - one flew "out and across" 1330hrs

North Harbour Wall
Twite: just 11 this morning (windy and very cold!) - 2 unringed and the remainder all with combinations of pale blue, blue & white colour rings.
Great-crested Grebe: 1 close inshore.

Elsewhere
Load of Greylag still north of Bulbeck car park in Lune valley but no time to check through for White-fronts. Similarly load of Wigeon off Bazil Point but too far away to check from Sunderland road (c/f hybrid)

Very rapid year listing!

Heysham Obs
After Dan & myself had an exciting time down south via Holmfirth - a random selection being: a 63 Waxwing jam-in at a Huddersfield bypass petrol station [I've use up all my good fortune on this species during this influx] , being advised how to make babies by a rich and powerful German, a conversation with "Lard" - a Gillingham sopowter who beat 'you lot'= Morecambe = "is it somewhere near Newcastle?", a Spoonbill on mega-private land we couldn't put out and sliding down a snow-covered road near Hepworth:

Stage 2 outfall twelvish
Kittiwake - 2 adults on seaward end
Little Gull - ad & 1st W inner end

Later with a house/taxi-bound Jean
Med Gull - two adults in the harbour mouth, one to bread
Kittiwake - one by the waterfall and 3 behind the Clipper Point (part of our transport to and from the Little Blue Heron!)
Little Gull - now 2 adults and 2 1st W on Stage 2 outfall
Twite - c40 flying about the mound etc.
Great-crested Grebe - 2 inshore
No small waders visible on/under the wooden jetty remains

Elsewhere
Four European White-fronted Geese on the Lune flood plain just north of Bulbeck car park (& 1+ Pink-foot) Hybrid adult drake American x European Wigeon off Fishnet Point, Glasson along with ad Med Gull

Bits and bobs

Heysham Observatory

North Harbour Wall
Twite: 36 present on feeding station. All ringed except 2 - majority with this winter's colour rings.
Red-breasted Merganser: 2 pairs
Mediterranean Gull: 1 adult.

Elsewhere
Stone Jetty: Rock Pipit
Field next to Giant Axe, Lancaster: Mediterranean Gull P96
Leighton Moss: 13 Little Egrets

Seabirds dominate

Heysham Obs
Number Two outflow 3:20 (MD)
6 adult + 4 1st winter Little gull

Ocean Edge salt marsh (MD)
c 150 dunlin
c 150 lapwing
4 snipe
(not the weather for accurate counts)

Seawatch 1400-1600 hrs SHW/harbour
Red-throated Diver imm 'out'
Little Gull 3 'out'
Kittiwake adult + 2 imm 'in' 1 adult 'out'. Adult & imm in harbour near 'waterfall'
Guillemot 1 in harbour
Med Gull adult around harbour entrance.
Shelduck 1 'in' 3 'out'
Twite 12 over harbour
Purple Sandpiper 1 wooden jetty roosting.
Red-breasted Merganser M 'out'
Great Crested Grebe 1 on sea.

Elsewhere
Jenny Brown's Point - 3 Kittiwake
Leighton Moss Allen Pool - Greenshank, Spotted Redshank
Conder Green - Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank
Junction of Quernmore Rd and Grab Lane - 3 Brambling.

You stupid boy!

Please note that Ocean Edge leisure park is in its non-residential period. NO access at all before 10am or after 4pm and please ask at reception between these times. Thank you.

Heysham Obs
What am I doing going down to Kent (for an induction as well as survey) & what am I going to miss here?

In other words, worth checking around the wooden jetty (watching it drop to bits - easier to find the Purps?)/harbour mouth/outfalls /north harbour wall in the next couple of days

Purple Sandpiper - two below the wooden jetty
Med Gull - at least 2 adults, including the ringed bird
Twite - 63 early on, then no more than 20-25 were seen around the seed in increasingly poor late afternoon weather
Red-throated Diver - minimum of 2 offshore late afternoon
Snipe - 23 Red Nab, 10 OE saltmarsh
Golden Plover - flock of 52 north over Red Nab - mega record!
Wigeon - 69 Red Nab, 6 off the north harbour wall

Middleton Industrial Est (MD)
Nice to see that all the wildfowl (plus a few guests) decided to return to the area after the freeze:
2 Mute
5 coot
2 moorhen
3 goldeneye (1 male)
8 tufted
1 pochard (female)
c 20 teal
5 mallard
1 little grebe
5 snipe
1 jack snipe

Elsewhere
Nothing new apart from Greenshank on the EM Pools & Adult Med Gull in fields near Overton SD431587 (has this been atlas roving recorded, please?)

First seal of the year!

Heysham Obs
Please note that Ocean Edge leisure park is in its non-residential period. NO access at all before 10am or after 4pm and please ask at reception between these times. Thank you.

North harbour wall coverage
Twite - 52 flew to south harbour
Med Gull - adult
Eider - 4 'in'
Great Crested Grebe - 3

Ocean Edge foreshore
Linnet - 2
Med Gull - perhaps the above bird following a distant ferry out

Mammals
Grey Seal - 1 'in' with tide

Elsewhere
Spotted Redshank Morecambe Stone Jetty at low tide this morning

Wet southerlies

Heysham Obs
Twite - 66, minimum of 17 unringed [no Linnet seen]
Wigeon - one overflew the north harbour wall - unusual
Med. Gull - Ad north harbour wall

Quick visit

Heysham Obs
Purple Sandpiper - 2 below the wooden jetty mid-am - one easy, one not!
Med. Gull - Czech adult on railings NH wall
Red-throated Diver - one far offshore
Twite - c60 around sandworks
Linnet - 2 Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Lapwing - 187 off Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Forgot to do high tide Jack Snipe check!

Elsewhere
Nowt! NNEW Wigeon hybrid.

Purple Sandpiper and Kingfisher double & Rock Pipit new for the year

Heysham Obs
Anyone got a title phrase linking Noah's Ark, wet weather and twos of things?

Kingfisher - 2 Red Nab
Purple Sandpiper - 2 wooden jetty
Red-throated Diver - 2 on sea, one very distant
Med Gull - 2 adults - one to bread & one on the old Fishers roof
Twite - 57 at sand plant gate
Pink-footed Goose - 0940 hrs 50 East + 90 South. 1010 hrs 68 North
Rock Pipit - one petrosus-type along the inner harbour wall
Wigeon - 121 Red Nab

Observers: John Wood, Ray Hobbs, Arnside NHS group, Pete Marsh

Elsewhere
6 Scaup off north Morecambe seafront. Drake American Wigeon x Wigeon hybrid Cockersands