Migrant Merlin chickens out of Bay crossing

Heysham Obs
A migrant female Merlin decided not to cross the Bay after one trial run and 'hung around' the harbour entrance before flying off inland.

Quick run round 1000-1100hrs
Meadow Pipit - 110 north (some probably missed)
Linnet - 16 north (ditto)
alba Wagtail - 2 north
Red-throated Diver - flock of 3 north the only remote interest from 25 minutes seawatching
Black-headed Gull - 67 outfalls
Common Gull - 18 outfalls
No Purple Sandpipers discerned amongst a tightly packed Turnstone flock on the wooden jetty and no sign of the 'usual' Black Guillemot

Seawatching from Heysham head
Seemed to confirm the lack of activity off the NHW
Mute Swan - 2 out

Seawatch early-mid pm
RTDiver 1
Diver sp 1
Gannet 1 N
Eider 3
Rb Merganser 4
Common Guillemot 2

Outfalls late afternoon
Med Gull - 2CY, still basically in 1st W plumage
lots of gulls on seaward end of S1 outfall at low tide

Moths
First Powdered Quaker of the year

Mammals
Stoat in car park

Elsewhere
Pair of Garganey Leighton Moss plus 2 Jack Snipe. NO sign Garganey Freemans pool

First Manx Shearwater record and a different Black Guillemot

Heysham Obs
A decreasing westerly in increasingly clear conditions saw a reasonable passage of seabirds (J Roberts, P Marsh, J Mason, J Girdley, J Wood):

0715-1115, then 1215-1250 north harbour wall
Gannet - 70 out, 6 in
Black Guillemot - what was presumably a 2CY with (at least) traces of 1stW/winter plumage flew out of the bay at c1225hrs. Too far out to see any detail.
Fulmar - 16 out
Manx Shearwater - one out 1050hrs, same? in 1058hrs [then blogged around the Morecambe Stone Jetty]
Kittiwake - flocks of 30+6+4+5+5+75+6 in, 3+12 out
Bonxie - one in, close inshore, at 0813hrs
Red-throated Diver - 1+2+2+1+1+1 in, 3 out
Common Scoter - 11 in, 5 out
Razorbill - one in
Auk spp - one in, 4 out
Sanderling - 1 out
Bar-tailed Godwit - 8 out
Grey Plover - 6 out
Eider - 9 in
Goldeneye - one out
Little Gull - 5+2 out
Mute Swan - 2 headed across the bay from Ulverston towards & over the wooden jetty, then inland

Purple Sandpipers not looked for

Ocean Edge foreshore
White Wagtail - male with 19 Pied Wagtail

Half Moon Bay (dusk)
1 Wheatear

Elsewhere
Presumably the above Manx Shearwater blogging around the Stone Jetty at lunchtime. No news from JBP area.

Excellent early season seawatch

Heysham Obs
Good conditions for a few seabirds - nice SW wind, a bit of cloud cover and an incoming tide. Anyone here before 0900hrs (unfortunately had to return hire car)?:

North harbour wall 0910-1100hrs (Pete Marsh (0910-1020) & John Wood (1010-1100))
Puffin - one flew out fairly close inshore (yellow buoy range) at 0923 - a very scarce and erratic visitor here and indeed in the county as a whole
Great Skua (Bonxie) - One flew fast and low over the water from the Ulverston direction and then swung towards the direction of Knott End, circling twice, before continuing quickly low over the water: 0955hrs
Arctic Skua - a dark morph adult flew low and fast 'out' down the "centre" of the bay at 1015hrs and presumably the same bird headed back into the Bay, close inshore, at 1047hrs

Perhaps surprising the above two birds did not attempt to migrate overland from the inner bay in what were fairly clear conditions and not an excessive wind.

Razorbill - 20 out
Guillemot - 2 out
Auk spp. - 17 out (most seemed to be Razorbill or completely unidentifiable)
Sandwich Tern - one out
Red-throated Diver - flock of 6 'in' quite high at 0910hrs, 2CY out close inshore at 1010hrs, 2 out c1045hrs
Gannet - 2 (1 2CY)+3+1+1+2 out - all very distant
Meadow Pipit - 6 north

No Kittiwake!

Wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - at least 2
Turnstone - c180
No sign of the Black Guillemot (still havent seen it (Pete)!)

Mammals
Grey Seal off the NHW 1030ish

Lapwing return

The only coverage today involved recording a pair of Lapwing on territory on the PS non-operational land after missing out on last year due to heavy plant activity

Quick posting

Heysham Obs
Not sure of any further coverage today but:

Black Guillemot on the pager as being next to the wooden jetty early morning

Very few grounded migrants in the clear conditions e.g. just one new Chiffchaff and two new Goldcrest in the mist nets

Pretty quiet.....

Vis 0930-1100 hrs 

Pied Wagtail 1 North

Siskin 3 NNE

Black guillemot also visited 'its' hole on the wooden jetty.

Early morning seabirds missed?

Please keep half an eye on the gulls around the harbour/offshore e.g. the old Fisher's roof - lots of immatures this evening - possibilities of a white-wing.

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall 0900-1000
Gannet 3 adult 'in' & flock of 11 adult 'out'
Eider 5+5 'out'
Red-throated Diver 3 very high 'out'

Vis
Meadow Pipit 7 North

Grounded
Wheatear 3 Sand Plant, 4 Near Naze rocks & 3 OE foreshore
Linnet 11 Sand Plant

Outfalls area
Purple Sandpiper - one with 182+ Turnstone

Middleton Industrial est
4 mute
9 coot
4 moorhen
3 little grebe
9 mallard
8 tufted
1 teal
0 goldeneye
1 heron

Elsewhere
Colour-ringed Bittern showing well in front of Lilian's hide (not 'tickable' - released at Leighton). Female Brambling still at Leighton feeder. Pair of Garganey still at Aldcliffe, mainly on Freeman's Pool

Extensive early morning fog and no birds

Heysham Obs
Rockish-bottom migrant-wise with a mist netting effort scoring just the one new Goldcrest, 2 new Robin, 2 new Dunnock (of unknown status), a Wren and a few Greenfinch. A migrant Reed Bunting was also trapped mid-morning. Just the one Wheatear found and the 'highlight' was a lost Canada Goose on the sea, perhaps an appropriate symbol of todays dross.

North harbour wall
Canada Goose - one calling in the fog & located sitting on the sea. First of the year.
Linnet - 32 on the seed, later 16
Twite - unringed bird on the seed, later 7 (at least 3 Heysham-ringed)

Wheatear on mound
Meadow Pipit - 2 north in 20 minutes
Purple Sandpiper - just one located under wooden jetty, but visibility poor
No sign of the Black Guillemot 0840-0900

Shelduck 3 'out' 1500 hrs

Ocean Edge foreshore
Nothing of note

Elsewhere
TWO Great Grey Shrike 200m apart on Dalton Crag on 29th March.
Pair of Garganey Freemen's Pool. Green Sandpiper on a pond by Heaton Hall farm & another at Skerton Weir (plus early Common Sandpiper)

Low key coverage

Heysham Obs
Two people who should have been doing other things covered for a couple of hours or so this morning!

Grounded
Just one Goldcrest and one unringed Robin obvious by the office

Vis Mig
Linnet - 4 north
Meadow Pipit - 37 north
alba Wagtail - 2 north
Siskin - 3 north
Black-headed Gull - 18 north in 15 minutes NHW
Whooper Swan - flock of 14 NW across the bay; presumably the same flock also seen at Walney, removing lingering doubts re-any dodgy very long range identification from 'this side' of the bay!

Other
Purple Sandpiper - a least 2 below the wooden jetty
Black Guillemot - by the wooden jetty early morning but not 0845-0900hrs
Linnet - 16 on the seed but no Twite

Elsewhere
Nothing e.g. NNEW on Great White Egret since yesterday morning, other than reportedly on the Griesdale mere

Black Guillemot returns (again)

Heysham Obs
Please put all potential Atlas records in blue for the next three months e.g. todays Carrion Crow nest. Please note which tetrad/10km square they are in or describe the location accurately - sorry its so complicated here as 4 x 10km squares converge!

A few interesting bits and bobs this morning, including the capture of a 7CY Wren, first ringed as a juvenile on 15/6/03 and not seen in-between-time! The national longevity record for Wren is 6 years 8 months 13 days. (2006 Ringing Report). This bird was 5 years 9 months 16 days old so we need to catch it again at this time next year to beat the record.

North harbour wall, incl intermittent vis 0800-1110hrs
Black Guillemot back by the wooden jetty
Meadow Pipit - 62 N
Linnet - 5 N & 6 at the feeding station (no Twite - see below)
Greenfinch - 2N, one in-off
alba Wagtail - 5 N, one in-off
Collared Dove - one N
Goldfinch - 5 N
Carrion Crow - pair nest-building on the tower at the end of the wooden jetty (SD35Z) plus 2+1 'in-off' then high to SE
Wheatear - just one
Mute Swan - 2 offshore slowly 'in' on the tide

No repeat of yesterdays duck bonanza offshore with just 8 RB Merganser, one Great-crested Grebe and some Eider in view.

Office vis
Swallow - one N (first of year)

Ringing HNR
Male Willow Warbler ringed along with 6 female Goldcrest (most of the April migrants are females) and two Chiffchaff. Unringed Dunnock and Great Tit unexpected. Goldcrest ringing total for this year already 41 - surely evidence that this last winter was never 'hard' long enough to clobber these small insectivores?

Twite
As I was leaving yesterday, just after the arrival of an 'in-off' Twite, I was aware of the Twite flock (26) appearing to 'follow' me along the harbour road. This was as the weather was clearing. Subsequently, only Linnet were present at the feeder and, despite extensive coverage, no Twite have been seen along the NHW this morning (6 Linnet at the feeding station). Therefore, perhaps prompted by the vis mig bird, yesterdays flock appears to have headed off north mid-morning. Please report any subsequent Twite appearance and perhaps it is really worth checking the ring status as there might be a greater chance of non-Heysham birds (see right-hand column). Thanks

Moths
Depressaria daucella was a stunning new addition to the Heysham moth list (small and brown)

Elsewhere
Great White Egret on the shoreline by the egret roost at Leighton Moss at least 0740hrs (roosted overnight - came in very late). Still by lower hide mid-morning today. No subsequent reports.

Unexpected wildfowl bonanza

Heysham Obs
Apart from Eider and few Red-breasted Merganser, wildfowl are not a major feature in the low tide channels off the north harbour wall. Today was an exception

North harbour wall 0830-0900
Scaup - pair in the nearest low tide channel
Goldeneye - 2 displaying pairs in the nearest channel, 2 separate pairs in the second channel + 5 'in' then came down in nearest channel
Wigeon - flock of 22 in nearest channel, 12+15 in second channel + 2 pairs in nearest channel later
Teal - flock of 5 in nearest channel
Red-breasted Merganser - 31 in view - mainly distantly towards the outer Grosvenor skeers
Eider - 270+ - almost all around the Grosvenor skeers
Twite - 26 - all Heysham colour ringed apart from one metal-only ringed (& see below)
Linnet - 13 on seed (see below)

Vis
Meadow Pipit - 26 north
Linnet - 7 north & 2 'in off' landing on fence by seed
Twite - one 'in-off' joining the above birds but couldnt see legs

Pink-footed Goose c30 South 1730 hrs.

Moths
Diurnea fagella and Early Thorn (2) were new for the year

Elsewhere

Great White Egret in to roost at Leighton Moss late evening. Two Ospreys north Aldcliffe during the afternoon