Sheepdog trial

Heysham Obs
A manic mutt in the 'collie type thing' category spent 10 minutes trying to round up an Oystercatcher flock off Ocean Edge. It must have run about 5 miles before returning to land. Seen in flight were:

Bar-tailed Godwit - 2
Little Egret - 2

North wall late afternoon
Czech-ringed adult Med Gull

Elsewhere
Black Redstart still at Cockersands

Heysham
Green Woodpecker - 1 still around in the obs tower/tank farm area
Raven - 1 calling from transmission tower

North Harbour Wall
Peregrine Falcon - 1 troubling Knot below north wall
Linnet - 5 trapped and ringed
Twite - 5 retrapped and 19 new birds ringed (by 14.30!), after day-long struggle with equipment and unwanted but probably well-meaning visitors.
(all ajd)

Elsewhere
Black Redstart - f/imm between Cockersands CP and Bank End

Heysham
North Harbour Wall
Twite - 7 in one flock, c18 in another possibly mixed Linnet/Twite flock. None trapped owing to continual visits to area from humans and dog.

Inshore
Little Egret - 2 Red Nab
Kingfisher - one outfalls
Guillemot - 2 still in harbour - when they went AWOL previously=when they were a regular winter fixture, they were in the underground reservoir by the intake from which they can get in and out on high tides but are 'trapped' on neap tides. We ringed 6 (including one of the nominate northern form - blacker back, longer bill etc) during 'rescue' operations with a landing net, which fell foul of about 20 pages of prohibitive risk assessment and the discovery they could get out on the high tides

Middleton
Pink footed Goose - 1 on "no swimming" pond
Mute Swan - 4
Teal - 14
Tufted Duck - 4
Mallard - 5
No Snipe present

Elsewhere
Great Grey Shrike back at Dalton Crags but absent from the usual area in the afternoon. The colour-ringed Great White Egret seems to have moved south to the Ribble, leaving 'just' two in the Leighton roost

Ornithological SAD

Heysham Obs
'Nothing moving' was the chorus this morning and, in the case of Twite and Guillemot, nothing seen.

North harbour wall
A 30 minute seawatch produced a few beer cans and c6 assorted common seagulls
Cormorant - 43 on wooden jetty
No sign of any small waders on the wooden jetty
Med Gull - one adult

South of the harbour
Kingfisher - TWO on outfalls
Little Egret - one OE saltmarsh
Jack Snipe - one OE saltmarsh

Elsewhere
Nothing yet on LDBWS site

The Rain Finally came about 1o'clock

Heysham
Snipe - 2 flushed from the far marsh.

Norht Harbour Wall
Linnet - 1 on freshly replenished niger was the only passerine seen in the wet & windy conditions!

Herring Gull - 1 unfortunate individual flying with one leg virtually severed above the tarsal joint.
(ajd)

A dinosaur looks at birds...eventually

Heysham Obs
Belated appearance (anyone around first thing?), following a 'meaning of life' session adding scart, freeview and digital to the vocabulary. Preceded by a bit of home-based vis, so no early morning coverage here in surprisingly calm conditions

North wall
Med Gull - one adult
Guillemot - 2 in harbour
Twite - just 5 seen

Ocean Edge
Rock Pipit - 1
Bar-tailed Godwit - 4 at high tide
Kingfisher - 1

Elsewhere
Early morning vis included 16 Bramblings west over High Tatham and 9 over Hutton Roof

A quieter day

Heysham Obs
North wall 0915-0950
Little Gull - 1CY out distantly
Razorbill - 2 out
Birds - a swirling mass of about 50 near the windfarm were probably Kittiwake
Twite - 35

Ocean Edge 0950-1000
Rock Pipit - 1

Quick afternoon check
Pink-footed Goose - 23 N
Little Gull - 1CY on outfalls (yesterdays bird)
Med Gull - 2 adult north wall/harbourmouth
Guillemot - at least one harbour

Elsewhere
3 Great White Egret EM Pools. Pine lake Slavonian Grebe not seen during check in very poor end of day light.

Good seabird variety

Thanks Dan for this pic of the two long-staying Guillemots in the SW corner of the harbour

Heysham Obs
Rather atypical at this time of year, as opposed to late winter/spring passage, was a significant number of Kittiwake, plus a few half-decent bits and bobs

North wall 0900-0945, 1015-1130
Great Northern Diver - one out c1050hrs
Kittiwake - flock of 63 lifted off the sea, swirled around, landed on sea & floated into the bay. 215 'out' during the morning. Flock of 18 'in' during pm, then 55 'in' behind a freight ferry. Just like the old days!
Arctic/Pomarine Skua - very dark juvenile at 1030 which was chasing Kittiwakes and appeared on size & jizz to be more likely an Arctic but too distant to be sure (Jean & Dan). Landed on the sea/disappeared low behind troughs. Definitely not the Bonxie.
Razorbill - 5 out
Pintail - flocks of 10+18 out
Red-throated Diver - 1 out & one sp, prob this, out
Shelduck - 29 out (4 flocks)
Med Gull - two adults around, one Czech-ringed
Guillemot - two in harbour, one out
Bonxie - one very distant, but definitely this species of skua, 'in' at 0920hrs
Twite - 26 with 16 unringed
Wooden jetty: Definitely no Shag & no sign of any Purple Sandpiper or indeed Turnstone!

Ocean Edge/Red Nab/outfalls
Kittiwake - one ad
Little Gull - ad & 1CY
Twite - c5

Elsewhere

Fence-hopping Snow Geese still on EM Pool but no reports of any Great White Egret today or the Pine Lake Slavonian Grebe. Small westerly movement of thrushes between showers at High Tatham with 230 Redwing and 145 Fieldfare 0745-0815hrs

A 'first of the autumn' morning

Heysham Obs
Just a quick run round the coastal sites with 30 minutes seawatching from the north wall 0845-0915 & an even quicker look at lunchtime

North wall
Med Gull - ad in flight
Purple Sandpiper - one on the seawall by the gate, flew towards wooden jetty
Goldeneye - female/imm flew 'in'
Shelduck - 85 (6 flocks) 'out', first movement of the autumn
Pintail - 16 + 31 'out' (as above)
Twite - c13
Linnet - 2+

Ocean Edge/outfalls
Little Gull - 2CY early on, 2 x 1CY lunchtime
Wigeon - 45
Twite - c25 on saltmarsh
Linnet - c20 on saltmarsh

Elsewhere
3 Great White Egret coming out of the Leighton Moss roost this am, Cetti's singing by the LM causeway grit trays, flock of c60 Kittiwake off JBP

Weather whirlpool

Heysham Obs
A quick race round in terrible weather was actually worth it! Juvenile Shag are not the major twitch/photo (or indeed video) fest they are on the Fylde, but they have been thin on the ground here this autumn.

Ocean Edge foreshore
Wheatear - One still on Ocean Edge foreshore - now on the winter atlas!
Shag - one juvenile on the sea off the SW corner of Ocean Edge - most unusual - usually around the harbour
Twite/Linnet - flock of c20 with at least 3 of each

North wall
Med Gull - one adult in flight
Twite - at least 20
Linnet - at least 10
Ringed Plover - 8 on the old heliport

Outfalls etc after the switch to WSW7-8 at c1230
Little Gull - 2CY & 1CY on stage 2 outfall, adult flying out of bay - quick response to the weather!
Kittiwake - 2 x 1CY off the north harbour wall
The IOM ferry may have assisted in producing these birds so quickly

Middleton IE
Jack Snipe - 1


Elsewhere
Slavonian Grebe Pine Lake, 3 Great White Egret Leighton area & also in roost