Quick visit to Ocean Edge

The latest, subtely changing by the minute, weather synopsis does not look very good here for seabirds with a 50% or less chance of Leach's Petrel on Friday morning (but much better in the Mersey mouth). If you have some spare time, best to cover some obscure mudflats in SW Ireland as the synopsis looks brilliant for Nearctic waders. However you will probably find yourself not alone as it is flagged up by the weather as the 'obvious thing to do', combined with a bit of seawatching (and an early Nearctic landbird?)..............or Green Darner (see Mark Break's site)

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/outfalls/Red Nab 1030-1100
Med Gull - juv Red Nab
Kittiwake - juv Stage 2 outfall
Knot - moulting adult
Whimbrel - 1
Redshank - 311
Ringed Plover - 62
Dunlin - 5
Wheatear - 3
No sign Grey Plover flock

Moths
Second brood White Ermine was most unusual

Elsewhere
Anonymous text re-Wryneck on "top path at Warton Crag" received about 1430hrs. Numerous phone calls and (unanswered) text to the sender, none the wiser. Hopefully this posting will be changed very soon.

Sanderling & decent Grey Plover flock

Weather watch: Keep an eye on the e.g. XC weather site ("another weather site" on the links). The current synopsis suggests that this week, to put it politely, will be rubbish unless we pick up a nearctic wader or two in the area or a 'one-off' on the outfalls. However, it is a very 'mobile' picture and, if the depression track ends up a little further to the north, we're in business for a few seabirds. Mist nets, significant vis mig and the Grey Wagtail survey definitely on hold. A Monday forecast will be a weekly feature of the autumn passage season from now on

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge foreshore/outfalls 0930-1030ish, north harbour wall 1040
Med Gull - 2 juvs Stage 2 outfall (& 3 juv Common Gull), no adults at all!
Sanderling - juv Ocean Edge foreshore
Black-tailed Godwit - 5 Red Nab
Grey Plover - 152 on shore south of Ocean Edge
Swallow - 3 south

Moths
12 Silver Y but no other sign of any migrants in promising conditions

Elsewhere
Juvenile Common Tern Pine Lake (second day)

Misty murky uncertainty (or laziness)

Heysham Obs
A couple of checks of the outfalls, the latter one nearish high tide was accompanied by very poor visibility & driving rain.

Outfalls/Ocean Edge
Whimbrel - one
Med Gull - 1+ juv & 2 adults
Tern - a vague outline on Heysham 2 outfall late afternoon - too wet to walk down the seawall. Definitely Common/Arctic/Cayenne/Antarctic etc.

Middleton IE
Snipe & eclipse male Tufted Duck with the four surviving (now large)young

Moths
A photo essay on why Acleris variegana of a certain morph is not a Light Brown Apple Moth was foiled by its escape. Lime-speck Pug was a slight eyebrow raiser, but otherwise nothing untoward in the trap.

Elsewhere
Elusive Wood Sandpiper Conder Estuary (try looking upstream from the roadbridge??). Some unknowns appearing on the Leighton weekly summary, notably 4 juvenile Black Tern on 23rd

No morning squalls, no birds

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall 0700-0800, 1300-1330
Wheatear - one on mound, one on Middleton IE
Gannet - 4 +2
Fulmar - 4
Manx Shearwater - 2 1315ish
Common Scoter - 10 (one flock)
Med Gull - adult harbour mouth, 2 adults Red Nab, 2 juvs on outfalls

Middleton IE
Little Grebe - as is not unusual at this site with late broods, newly hatched young seen today

Ringing recovery
Decent Twite recovery received this morning; ringed here on 13/3/09 (2CY female) and found freshly dead at Kerrera, which is the island immediately next to Oban, on 20/4/09



Elsewhere
Juv Wood Sandpiper Conder creek

Oversleep & just desserts

Heysham Obs
Other than a bit of a mobile tern i.d. guide in the harbour mouth for a short time, little to commend the retreating tide this morning, starting at an unforgivable 0800hrs! Please could the birder who passed me at the (ex)heliport post any Gannets or similar dross as we are a bit desperate for variety this month. Thanks.

North wall 0800-0840, outfalls 0845-0850hrs
Common Tern - 2 juvs harbour mouth, then out [one later on outfalls]
Arctic Tern - one juv as above
Common Scoter - flock of 3 out
Fulmar - one very distant out
Med Gull - juv harbour mouth, juv Heysham 2 outfall & 2 x ad Red Nab in afternoon

Afternoon seawatch 1430-1530ish
Spent most of the time on the phone!!
Sandwich Tern - 2 out
Kittiwake - 1st W out

Elsewhere
Bonxie off Cockersands 0925ish. Wood Sandpiper Conder area this evening. Juv Spoonbill still Allen/EM Pools.

Black Rabbit pulled from toilet wall!

Heysham Obs
Moths
New for the reserve and second record for SD45 was the oddly named "Black Rabbit Moth", Ypsolopha sequella.

From the same family, Ypsolopha scabrella was the 3rd reserve record.
The rather local "grass moths" Agriphila latistria and Agriphila geniculea continued to perform.
Treble Bar, thin on the ground earlier this year, made a welcome reappearance with two fresh second brood specimens

Ocean Edge foreshore & north harbour wall late afternoon
Med Gull - 2 x Ad, 1 x juv Red Nab, ad north harbour wall
Black-tailed Godwit - 2

Black tern - juvenile off north harbour wall heading towards outfalls (near HT)

Shag - juvenile by wooden jetty - first of autumn

Elsewhere

Juv Spoonbill Griesdale Hide Leighton Moss

Common Tern highlight

Heysham Obs
Its getting a bit desperate as regards variety - hopefully Friday will see a few waifs and strays

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Med Gull - 2 x juv, 1 x Ad
Common Tern - one juv
Whimbrel - 1

Moths
Rush Veneer

Elsewhere
Juv Spoonbill Leighton

Hefty showers and a bit of vis

Heysham Obs
An 'early' start today for a change

Ocean Edge foreshore/Red Nab/outfalls 0800-0850hrs (low tide)
Tree Pipit - one SE
Meadow Pipit - 5 SE - first of autumn
Grey Wagtail - one grounded briefly, then SE. First perceived autumn migrant
Swallow - 14 S
House Martin - 1 S
Med Gull - 2 x juv, 2 x ad but a lot of gulls not visible at low tide
Sandwich Tern - 3 'out' along the low tide channel
Black-tailed Godwit - 9
Ringed Plover - 26
Dunlin - 11

Hey NR office area
Single Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaff & two Willow warbler mid-morning

The seaward end of Heysham One outfall looks a real low-tide magnet for the Sabs Gulls, Blk Terns etc we are going to get on Saturday!

Elsewhere
Spoonbill Allen Pool, then NE, then back again! Juv Wood Sandpiper Glasson this evening

Nice day highlighted by a Greenshank!

Heysham Obs
The CES indicated that yesterdays migrant influx had moved on

Ocean Edge/Red Nab/outfalls 1100-1200
Med Gull - significant reduction in gull numbers saw 2 x adult (unringed) and 2 x juvenile/1st winter
Black-tailed Godwit - 16
Greenshank - juvenile Red Nab
Swallow - 32 south (including group of 25)
Sand Martin - one south

Elsewhere
Osprey Leighton Moss, Wood Sandpiper Conder Green area briefly

Med fest but indications a pre-rain passerine fall badly missed

Heysham Obs
Greeted on a far too late arrival by 3 Whitethroat in the buddliea below the office, at least 6 calling Willow Warbler by the office, a Sedge Warbler in the bramble next to the car park and 4 (remaining?) Wheatear dodging the dogs on Ocean Edge foreshore [plus another 6 on or around the heliport at high tide]. Par for the course in these conditions (a fresh SE wind prior to the rain) but thought the rain was happening a lot earlier (i.e. in the night) so no alarms set by any ringers/observers. Casual 'vis' comprised 14 south bound Swallows
during scattered coverage (e.g. WeBS)

Incoming tide Ocean Edge/Red Nab/outfalls
This was covered very thoroughly by Mark Prestwood by the outfalls and Pete Marsh on Ocean Edge foreshore. Unfortunately the colour-ringed Med could not quite be clinched (camcorder needed!)
Med Gull - at least 6 quite possibly 7 adults, including green-ringed bird starting with a definite letter 'A', then a probable 4, then at least one '1', the latter part of all this being very uncertain. If anyone sees it, please try and sort out the top one or two characters first. Also 5 juveniles, one of which was virtually into 1st winter plumage and therefore quite hard to pick out on Red Nab amongst the Black-headed Gulls. No other ages seen in careful search.
Black-tailed Godwit - 6
Whimbrel - 1
Common Sandpiper - 1

North harbour wall/heliport high tide
Med Gull - adult patrolling the wall amongst all the anglers but couldnt get decent view yo see whether it was the above-tarsus-ringed Czech bird or the other regular wintering adult
Cormorant - 39 on the wooden jetty - a good total for August

Elsewhere
'Ad-type' (surely the 4CY?) Yellow-legged Gull Glasson, juv Wood Sandpiper Conder creek, 2 ad Meds Glasson, juv Spoonbill EM complex