The drought is ended

Heysham Obs
After a considerable gap, unthinkable as recently as five years ago, the first tern species appeared since 3rd July. The problem is the demise of the Lune colony. Meds seemed down today, given a search at optimum time, but a touch of the Catherine Tate's re-searching shimmering sleeping gulls at the wrong angle for 2CYs etc.. Typical behaviour by the juv Med; 'sleeping' on Red Nab, then returning to feed on Heysham 2 outfall after all the other gulls have gone into total roost mode at high tide. Youthful enthusiasm?

Red Nab/Ocean Edge latter stages of incoming tide
Sandwich tern - adult Red Nab
Med Gull - FOUR: 2 adults, one 2CY & one juvenile
Whimbrel - 5
No obvious sign of any Storm Petrels but a much longer seawatch needed

Insects
First collection on the office buddleia which is sheltered from SW/W winds: two Small Tortoiseshell (the most I've seen together since 2007), Red Admiral and 2 Large White. Grayling car park. First Wall on a census for three years - hopefully more will be seen this autumn

Elsewhere
Ruddy Shelduck still being high-profiled at EM Pools

Wet and dreary southerly

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/Ocean Edge pre-tide (a bit early for gulls)
Med Gull - 2 x ad, 1 x 2CY on Red Nab
Whimbrel - 4

Moth trap
The increasingly scarce Tawny-speckled Pug along with Orange Swift made their first appearances of the year as did the autumnal brood of Small Phoenix. Straw Underwing continues to dominate.

Elsewhere
Four visible and the noise suggested others Crossbill WNW over Millhouses (nr Wray) this am whilst emptying moth trap in rather enclosed space at a pre-rain 0645hrs. Early juv Wood Sandpiper at Aldcliffe flood this evening. Ruddy Shelduck keeping a low profile (literally) & difficult to see on the EM Pool

Few warblers but a decent obscure moth

Heysham Obs
Reasonable conditions for mist-netting at both Middleton and the Heysham CES? Not too bad weather-wise until mid-morning, but the number of warbler sp, especially at Middleton, was almost unbelievably low - more like early-mid August after a starry-night clear-out of any migrants. I suppose it is getting towards August, and the correspondingly early large 'local young bird-fest' in the nets during late June (as opposed to the usual first half of July) suggests that many of these birds have already lifted themselves skywards and headed south after an earlyish and trouble-free breeding season and not a lot since to hang around for. Any comments from other ringers?

Middleton IE 0645-1015 (3.5hrs)
Kingfisher - juvenile ringed (first of autumn)
Swift - 37 S
House Martin - 17 S
Swallow - 34 S
No Grasshopper or Reed Warblers heard/seen/caught!

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Med Gull - 6: 4 x ad, 2 x 2CY
(see below)
Whimbrel = 5

Moths

Orthotelia sparganella was the star of the show this morning - caught in an actinic trap in the reedbed. It is the fourth record for VC60 (West Lancs), with two of the previous ones at Leighton and the other in the south of the VC. It is best described as elusive and limited to wetland areas with bur-reed, the larval food-plant

Meds - are they really worth examining?
Anyone who has read & agrees with the Punkbirder Birdwatch article on the theme of 'car potato' gull subtleties when people might be better off pioneering new bushes and coastal fields to thrash for migrants (& they do put their money where their mouth is), please move on!

2CY one: Most of the views of Meds are of sleeping birds on Red Nab. Take care! One 2CY looked like a 'round-ended' "adult". In other words the outer 5 or so primaries were in moult stages 3-4 = 'half-grown' in English. The next stage of ageing this bird was to examine the tips of these growing primaries. If white = advanced adult or 3CY=moulting into adult plumage from 2nd summer. A wing-stretch (convenient!) saw these growing primaries had black terminal 'spots' visible, therefore = 2CY moulting from 1st summer to 2nd winter. Back-up = wait for it to show the bill and, bingo, it was a rather dirty orange-red = 2CY.

2CY two: much easier: at least 4 old original primaries still not moulted, plus some dusky bits on the wing coverts

ADULTS: One required caution. It had a similar stage of moult to the first 2CY. Therefore because there are no old primaries to assist the ageing, this bird MAY be a 3CY which has moulted all the "recognisable" 2nd summer features. Indeed, the advanced stage of the moult (sorry for confusing bad english in earlier text) might suggest a non-breeding 3CY. Therefore 3CY birds post-moult become "adults" for the rest of their lives although at least one bird of known age retained blacker legs throughout the 3rd winter than one would have expected on an adult. Subtle, and one is again reminded of the Punkbirder article!

Storm Petrel finds the outfalls 'soup'

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge foreshore/Red Nab/outfalls 1125-1200hrs
Storm Petrel - one careering around between the red buoy and the seaward end of Stage 2 outfall (at least) 1135-1145ish, then lost behind incoming IOm ferry. No subsequent sign as the 'soup' rapidly dispersed on the incoming tide. It may have been there all morning - didnt notice it 1125-1135 due to checking gulls.
Med Gull - FOUR: 3CY new in - virtually full summer plumage still, with just a little peppering on the forehead and no evidence of any moult of at least the outer primaries as seen at rest. 2 x adult and 1 x 2CY, the latter really hard to see!
Whimbrel - 2

Elsewhere
Honey Buzzard light morph (sorry, not Osprey - my fault re-secondhand report) flew SE at upper Roeburndale late morning. Ruddy Shelduck still EM Pool

Quick gull check

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/Outfalls/Ocean Edge early stages of incoming tide
Med Gull - 3 adults Red Nab, one juvenile seaward end of Heysham One outfall
Whimbrel - 3

Moths
Meagre catch highlighted by Southern Wainscot & 4 Silver Y.

Greenshank top the bill

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/Ocean Edge incoming tide prior to torrential rain
Med Gull - 4 adults, two of which flew over the caravan site towards the Lune & one had a metal ring above the knee (presumed returning Czech bird which seems to favour the outfalls for a short time before settling into a north harbour wall-based routine)
Greenshank - TWO adults Ocean Edge saltmarsh channel
Redshank - 188 between Red Nab & OE saltmarsh
Whimbrel - 2

Moth trap
Highlights of a meagre catch were Barred Rivulet & Southern Wainscot

Elsewhere
Ruddy Shelduck EM Pool mid-am

The rain arrives early.............

Heysham Obs
..........knocking a ringing session at Middleton on the head. What a poor month for the ringing effort here after a good start in late June. The problem is that it is wind-prone but the openness is also why it has so many Grasshopper Warblers! An evening trawl round was so unbelievably dire and birdless, we nearly twitched the Giant Hogweed plantation on Heysham Business Park east

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Dunlin - one juv
Whimbrel - 3
Med Gull - 2 adult & one 2CY (definitely no juvs lurking around in thorough check on the later stages of incoming tide)

Moths
Actinic trap at Middleton included: 7 Drinker, 2 Southern Wainscot, 2 Least Yellow Underwing, 7 Pinion-streaked Snout, 1 (early) Bulrush Wainscot, one Straw Underwing and one of the local fleabane-feeding pyralid Ebulea crocealis

The catch in the hut trap included 2 Bordered Beauty, one Dingy Shears, one Poplar Grey (rare here) and topped, as usual, by 13 Straw Underwing. No Large Yellow Underwing in either trap sees a continuation of a welcome poor year for this disruptive species!

Elsewhere
Ad Med x 2 Glasson

The first juvenile Med Gulls of the year

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/Ocean Edge near high tide
Med Gull - 2 x juvenile Red Nab, Ad Red Nab, 2CY Red Nab, Ad off Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Gannet - two sweeps of the outer bay saw 2 wheeling along the horizon
Whimbrel - 1

Harbour area
Great Black-backed Gull - single young with 1/2-grown flight feathers by the vent on the old Fisher's building roof
Lesser BB Gull - reassessment: at least 16 pairs, many with young, on the roofs on the WEST side of the harbour

Heysham Nature reserve
A few butterflies, including several Gatekeeper and two Red Admiral & 2 Comma

Moths
Perhaps worth mentioning that the dominant species at the moment, but quite scarce in the rest of Lancashire/VC60, is Straw Underwing. White Plume moth new for the year

Elsewhere
4CY Yellow-legged Gull on Lune by Sunderland car park late afternoon

Refugee from the moors

Catoptria margaritella via John Girdley. Thanks John. Two Red-veined Darter pics from Colin Whittle

Heysham Obs
Middleton IE

Red-veined Darter - one male model boat pond but windy & cool. A female was probably seen but not 100% claimed by a cautious experienced observer as the pterostigma was only glimpsed before it took flight & was lost

Black-tailed Skimmer - 3 males model boat pond

Heysham NR

Gatekeeper - after years of pussyfooting around in single or low double figures, they have 'taken off' with 43 casually counted today in rather windy conditions

Common Hawker - 2 males

Small Skipper - 200+

Moth trap
The pyralid Catoptria margaritella is a familar sight at sheet and light trapping on the local moorlands and also in the MV traps nearby this 'habitat' e.g. Millhouses & High Tatham. It is pretty scarce away from these areas and the first record for here materialised this morning. Also the first Barred Rivulet for the year.

Red Nab/Ocean Edge foreshore
Med Gull: 4 adults (2 Red Nab, one off OE saltmarsh, one on mudflats S of OE) & one 2CY
Whimbrel - 2
Common Sandpiper - 1

The early bird catches two seabirds

***Doubtfully any Storm Petrel weather tomorrow, not windy or squally enough on the latest forecast - already been contacted by targeters re-the time and place for them based on the forecast & posting two days ago! The next hour (posted at 1900hrs) looks possible for a few bits and bobs

Heysham Obs
..........whilst the latecomers managed one each

Offshore
Some stunningly desultory seawatching at various times in a wind which was too far to the north west was won by Malcolm with two seabirds
Gannet - one out 0700ish
Manx Shearwater - one in then out 0700ish, one out 0900ish
Fulmar - one across the mouth of the bay

North harbour wall
Common Sandpiper - one

Red Nab/Ocean Edge foreshore
Med Gull - 3 adults, one 2CY

Elsewhere
Really poor recently in this area; due a Pec at the EM Pools at the very least