Early morning Med-fest & interesting wader recoveries

Heysham Obs
A Dutch ringer toured Morecambe Bay in mid-November looking for colour-ringed waders and he came up with this rather good one in the Red Nab/Ocean Edge area. Thanks to Richard for informing me today about this:

Knot USA ring 1313-59880 & CRs
Ringed: Alert, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada 82 30N 62 20W on 9/6/07 as ad male
Seen: Red Nab/Ocean Edge foreshore (SD45) on 12/11/09

Ringed Plover NW23526 & CRs
Ringed: Snettisham, Norfolk TF6433 on 16/7/04
Seen: Nesting female at Snettisham 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Seen: Cockersands, near Glasson, Lancs 30/9/07
Seen: Ocean Edge area winter 2008/9
Seen: Ocean Edge area 6/12/09 (first time this winter)
Not recorded nesting at Snettisham in 2009 as far as we know.

Nature reserve
Water Rail calling in marsh

Outfalls
Little Gull - 1CY

North wall area
Med Gull - 3 adults & one 2nd winter early morning. The adults comprised yesterdays birds, including the Czech-ringed individual. The very elusive (and usually elsewhere) 2nd winter MAY be ringed, but not possible to see the legs this morning. Please report the ringed or otherwise status if you do see it on the deck. Thanks.
Twite - 19 around harbour
Auk spp - one 'out'

Middleton IE
27 Teal, 10 Tufted Duck, 3 Mallard. one Pink-footed Goose, 5 Snipe

Elsewhere
Four Snow Geese still being added to people's fence-hopper lists on Aldcliffe. Unringed 2nd winter Med gull on the river between the rail and Greyhound bridge, central Lancaster. The(?) Bonxie JBP at high tide - flew up Kent Estuary. Great White Egret Bolton-le-Sands was the longish-lost colour-ringed bird which was regularly documented until a few weeks ago but off the radar since then

Gripping communication

Heysham Obs
Who got the better deal? Ian Gardner being alerted to a very distant Bonxie/southern hemisphere skua agg. and as a result of 'looking in that direction' picking up a very close Little Auk heading out of the bay at Rossall. A big welcome to the RSPB/LDBWS group who managed to see quite a bit, even the tricky closest Purple Sandpiper

North wall 1045-1130ish
Bonxie/Great Skua - one 'out' low over the water very distantly at 1112hrs, almost certainly observed in Cumbria. See above caveat at this range.
Purple Sandpiper - two separately on the wooden jetty
Guillemot - one in harbour
Med Gull - 3 adults: an adult with a lot of black on the rear crown was on the corrugated ex-Fisher's roof at high tide and the usual two appeared to feed on anglers scraps from mid-afternoon
Twite - 25 or so but elusive due to angler presence

On the down side, there was absolutely nothing floating in on the sea in the diver/grebe/seaduck categories in 45 minutes of fast-moving tide

Outfalls/Ocean Edge
Little Gull - 1CY stage 2 outfall
Kingfisher - 1
Twite - 3
Linnet - 2
Reed Bunting - 3
Little Egret - 1

Elsewhere
3 Great White Egrets apparently seen at Leighton Moss yesterday but not seen coming out of the roost this morning (51 Little Egret). 2 Cetti's Warblers Leighton Moss this morning - by the 'spring' (on lower hide to causeway path, about half way) and along the causeway itself

Last minute bird

Heysham Obs

A Woodcock on the reserve entrance road at dusk saved us from a blank day

Elsewhere

The recent Sunderland 1CY male Long-tailed Duck. Thanks Alan.

Slavonian Grebe still at Pine Lake

Early morning bits but missed the ferry!

Heysham Obs
A quick early morning check, but the ferry had arrived by the time a quick visit to check the 'followers' was scheduled - its often a bit early when the wind is westerly - the reason not being rocket science! The internet is a wonderful thing - just found out that the 'weather whirlpool' headline on here a week or so ago has been linked to a washing machine website!!

North harbour wall
Twite - just four seen & plenty of seed left from yesterday
Med Gull - adult soaring above the anglers
Guillemot - one visible in the harbour
Purple Sandpiper - one visible on the outer section of the wooden jetty
15 minutes seawatching produced a surprising male Common Scoter 'in' and an unsurprising four Shelduck 'out'

Ocean Edge south beach - high tide
Ringed plover - 31 - no colour-ringed birds
Turnstone - 5
Grey Plover - 1
Dunlin - 2
Knot - 2
Redshank - 224

Outfalls
Little Gull - adult & 1CY in the morning but both dispersed on the incoming tide & not seen lunchtime

Elsewhere
Three Scaup (one ad drake) off Scalestones Point (North Morecambe promenade). Black Redstart just outside the area at Dunsop Bridge Bowland AONB offices - just to the south of the LDBWS area SD65 boundary on the Whitewell road.

A few twosomes

Heysham Obs
Wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - 2

Harbour
Guillemot - 2

North wall & area
Med Gull - 2 adults
Twite - 4+

Elsewhere
37-40 Little Egret Ashton Hall roost

December Chiffchaff

Heysham Obs
Heysham Nature reserve
A collybita-type Chiffchaff toured the bushes around the office from at least 0905-1045hrs. Pre-wind ringing comprised one each of Coal Tit, Dunnock, Greenfinch & Chaffinch!
Pink-footed Goose - 64 headed south at 1515hrs

Coastal sites
A quick look round recorded the following:
Med Gull - 2 adults (including Czech-ringed bird) around anglers on the north harbour wall plus another adult by Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Twite - c30 reported by angler on the seed (obviously not excluding Linnet)

No obvious sign of any Purple Sandpiper (plenty of hidden bits) or Guillemot (ditto) or Little Gull

Elsewhere
Dramatic late news of a Grey Phalarope at Greta Foot on the Lune today, presumably been around since the SW gales but on an obscure flood/oxbow. Unfortunately flushed by Canada Geese but surely still in the area. Up to 9 ad and 4 juv Whooper Swans Lune Valley Melling area (7 ads seen today, 9 two days ago). One Great White Egret still at Leighton Moss & area

Then there were two

Heysham Obs
Quick coastal check

Outfalls
Little Gull - 1 1CY

North harbour wall
No Twite (3 rabbits) - 24 there at 09.30, all ringed except one.
Purple Sandpiper - two together on the outer section of the wooden jetty
Med Gull - ad in harbour

Elsewhere
Long-tailed Duck, probably 1CY male, on a private pond at Sunderland 15th-26th November. 4 Snow Geese and 3 Whooper Swans Aldcliffe (& 11 Grey Partridge). Slavonian Grebe Pine lake and the Great Grey Shrike elusively at Dalton Crag

Easterly and rain......but too late

Heysham Obs
Moneyclose Lane saw an influx of Blackbirds with 15 in one loose flock plus a single Redwing, the first for a bit. Otherwise:

Outfalls
Little Gull - long-range scope views saw at least 2 1CY
Med Gull - adult on Red Nab
Guillemot - two in harbour

North harbour wall
Twite 27; 6 unringed, 2-3 uncertain, 18 or so ringed

Middleton IE
Little Grebe (1), Tufted Duck (5) Mallard (25 - high for here!!), Teal (27), Snipe (5), Pink-footed Goose (1) & Green Woodpecker

Elsewhere
Nothing by midday; even less by 1430 in driving rain

Calm weather pluses and minuses

Heysham Obs
The minuses were the lack of any sign of the Cetti's Warbler at Middleton IE and that there just appears to be one Purple Sandpiper around. The pluses were some Twite ringing conditions at last & lingering Little Gulls & Guillemot. Thanks to Malcolm, Jean, John, Mike & Alan for all records as moorland survey work in the first calm weather for ages beckoned

The other main point of interest today was, to quote Mike Watson on his excellent site (see Links): "I had a chat with the guys fishing at the outfalls and one of them said he had seen a white heron, the size of a Grey Heron and much bigger than the Little Egrets he sees 'regularly', at Ocean Edge on a week day sometime between 16-20 November - Great White Egret surely?"

Coastal areas
Red-throated Diver - one out
Little Gull - maximum of 4 1CY on the outfalls
Med Gull - adult around
Purple Sandpiper - one on the edge of Heysham One outfall on the dropping tide
Guillemot - one in harbour (the other in the underground reservoir?) - two in the afternoon
Twite - 37 caught, 20 were unringed and one was ringed at Askam-in-Furness in late October 2008 and previously caught at Heysham in early November 2008. The rest were ringed at Heysham in either 2008 or 2009. 7 were also on Ocean Edge saltmarsh but no lingering Linnet reported anywhere today for the first time this autumn. This is the usual pattern at this time of year.
Rock Pipit - 2
Skylark - one over Ocean Edge

Middleton
No Cetti's but the single Pink-footed Goose still there

Elsewhere
Quick visit to Pine Lake returning from work saw the Slavonian Grebe still present plus a 1CY Little Gull feeding on 'groundbait' next to some anglers! Location of the Slav assisted by corralling of the wildfowl by a speedboat into the NE corner (its been conspicuously AWOL during the rough weather, despite several careful searches)

windy leftovers & a new Med

Heysham Obs
The ferry checking season is in full flow. In the next two months, the recommended time to visit this site should include observation of the incoming IOM passenger ferry which entails being in position on the north or south harbour walls by about 1140hrs. Now the SW winds are finally abating, the fare behind these ferries includes just about the only chance of Kittiwake & Little Gull (once the current lingerers gradually depart from the outfalls in the forecasted offshore winds) and usually the best chance to connect with a Med or two and, if you are very lucky, a skua. Freight ferries are a bit more of a timing lottery and usually preceded by an 'outgoer' which takes a big chunk of the birds off with it before they are close enough to identify!

Quick visits by three people produced the following (thanks Peter & Alan)
0830-0900 stage 2 outfall/NHW
Little Gull - 6 1CY & 1 Ad
Med Gull - NEW 2nd winter behind freight ferry
Gannet - ill-looking adult-type sat in the harbour entrance
Twite - up to 18

Lunchtime Stage 1 outfall, harbour area
Med Gull - adult Stage one outfall
Little Gull - 3 x 1CY Stage one outfall (presumably 'of the 6 earlier')
Guillemot - one in harbour

Elsewhere
Great White Egret - 3 in Leighton area at least Wednesday but only one has been roosting on the island in recent days. Four of the Snow Geese with the Aldcliffe Greylags this morning