Osprey at last & first Grasshopper Warbler!

Heysham Obs
The Rossall Osprey was actually at 0710hrs, not 0610hrs therefore obviously the same bird as that seen at Heysham. The male Black Guillemot returned inshore at 1020hrs.

North wall 0700-1100hrs
Osprey - one north along the Kent channel line at 0725hrs (one NE over Rossall Point at 0710hrs)
Shag - a juv on the pager as being on the wooden jetty around 1000hrs but not before 0945 or after 1025
Black Guillemot - the ad male returned inshore about 1020hrs and remained alongside the wooden jetty to at least 1100hrs
Gannet - 6 in then out, 1 out
Med Gull - 2 x 2CY - one with stand-alone 'masks' , one where obviously joined over the rear crown - generally messing about offshore with Black-headed & Common Gulls
Sandwich tern - at least four, two latterly sitting on buoy
Swallow - one north!
Meadow Pipit - just 17 north
Linnet - 8 north
alba Wagtail - 5 north
Goldeneye - ad male on the sea
Red-breasted Merganser - 12 on sea
Great-crested Grebe - 5 on sea
Purple Sandpiper - a least one below the wooden jetty

Red Nab
Kittiwake - 36 inland over the caravan site at 0830hrs

Outfalls
Ad Little Gull
Ad Kittiwake (high tide)

Middleton IE
Canada Goose - 2
Greylag - 2
Both these pairs on the model boat pond

Evening visit Middleton IE
Grasshopper Warbler 1 in song
Goosander pair North
Great Spotted Woodpecker over
1 Fox

Moths
Good catch for here (32 moths of 10 species): Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet very early. Shoulder Stripe not common here. Chestnut exceptionally rare here & quite late for this hibernating species which re-emerges at the first hint of warmth! Agonopterix propinquella - first record for here? 13 Early Thorn a record one-night catch

Elsewhere
Tree Pipit Warton Crag. Redstarts Freeman's Pool and upper Hindburndale (but no Pied Flycatcher upper Hindburn). Willow Warblers everywhere after yesterday afternoon's dramatic major arrival during the short but sharp rain belt, including 3 singing males within earshot of Leck View Cottage at High Tatham. Bittern almost certainly left Leighton Moss to the south this evening.

All day interest

Heysham Obs
Coastal coverage 0730-1130 produced not a lot, a bit more later on.

Miscellany
Brent Goose - 16, all appearing to be dark-bellied - on sea mid afternoon, then lost as visibility reduced by rain band
Little Gull - adult almost in summer plumage Stage 2 outfall. Probably a different adult was floating/flying into the bay at 0950hrs
Sandwich Tern - 5 blogging
Little Egret - one Ocean Edge saltmarsh channel - first April record?
Med Gull - last nights 2CY (first winter plumage) on the beach off Red Nab, then later on the outfalls.
Adult summer Med Gull came in-off across the Bay at 1515 and continued south without stopping.
Purple Sandpiper - at least one with Turnstone on the wooden jetty
Kittiwake - adult outfalls

Vis
Meadow Pipit - 105 north-east, then mainly east, nothing after wind swung to light westerly at 1045ish
Siskin - 2 north-east
Linnet - 16 north-east
alba Wagtail (one definite White) - 4 north-east
Carrion Crow - 2 in-off
Jackdaw - one in-off
Red-throated Diver - 6 in, one out
Auk spp - one very distant, possibly the Black Guillemot not in s.p. from two days ago?
Guillemot - 4 floating in
Bar-tailed Godwit - 6 out
Eider - 13 in
Swallow - 1 N
Pink-footed Goose - 12 N

Grounded
Willow Warbler - singing male Moneyclose Lane, 3 onthe reserve (2 silent)
Wheatear - 3 OE foreshore, one heliport
Chiffchaff - 5 (3 silent)
Goldcrest - 2
Blackcap - singing male and silent male
Reed Bunting - male grounded briefly by the NR office

Ringed Plover
3 pairs - one heliport (46A), one Ocean Edge foreshore by slipway (help!), one PS non-operational land in SW corner (both 45E)

Middleton IE 1820-2010 hrs
Willow Warbler c10 in song
Swallow 1 over
Wheatear 1
Stonechat 1

Elsewhere
3CY Yellow legged Gull still Glasson yesterday. At least one Osprey over Aldcliffe/Lancaster just after midday. Male Redstart by Freeman's Pool. 15 House Martin Pine Lake. 1st winter Mediterranean Gull at Leighton Moss.

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