Return of the Red-throats

Heysham Obs
Offshore/north harbour wall
Red-throated Diver - 4 Kent channel
Purple Sandpiper - one under wooden jetty
Med Gull - 2 adults (1 Czech-ringed)
Twite - 53 - at least 5 unringed

Middleton IE
Model boat pond
Tufted Duck - 16
Pochard - 3 males
Goldeneye - 3

Moneyclose Lane south
Redwing - 2 flew out of seabuckthorn just south of 1/2 moon bay car park

Elsewhere
Single Waxwing early morning Caton (10 on Sunday), no sign later with child cycling proficiency event centred on the relevant cotoneaster!!

Nothing yet

Nothing posted anywhere relevant to this area

Excellent Rook record!

Heysham Obs
Tawny Owl calling at Heysham Barrows at dusk - first of the year
Rook - one east over Lower Heysham in the morning - very good record!
Pink-footed Goose - 110 south

Elsewhere
Smew - Redhead presumably 'hopped' of the river on to Freeman's Pool late afternoon as the tide started coming in

Waxwing - single bird in Oxcliffe Rd garden for half an hour. Not seen subsequently. (per note left in Reserve letterbox)

Dewy fog

Heysham Obs
No chance of trying to locate the Brent - couldnt even see Red Nab

Reserve
Two Bullfinch by office

Middleton IE (ice-free)
Woodcock 1
Jack Snipe 1
Mute Swan 5 & dead bird on 'No Swimming' pond
Coot 4
Moorhen 3
Goldeneye 3 (2 males)
Tufted Duck 4
Teal 13
Mallard 5

Overhead in mist
at least 12 flocks of Pink-footed Goose - one seen contained c200

Elsewhere
Male Hen Harrier Burns Beck Moss

Pale-bellied Brent surprise

Heysham Obs
Med Gull - adult
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - one juvenile on the outer rocks - very unexpected at this time of year
Wigeon - 107
Shelduck - increase on recent low numbers to 26!

North Harbour Wall
Twite - 11 at feeding station, all ringed (including the Askam bird)
Med Gull - 1 adult

Insects
Dotted Border along Moneyclose Lane SD46A section this evening

Minimal

Heysham Obs
A quick check of Red Nab at high tide included the following:
Wigeon - 106
Grey Plover - 1
Med Gull - ad

19th and 20th January postings

19th January
North harbour wall
Tufted Duck - adult and 1st W male off the main skeer for short period
Twite - 22
Song Thrush - 1 mound
Med Gull - one adult

Red Nab area
Med Gull - different adult
Wigeon - 96

20th January
North harbour wall
Twite - 49, including three unringed and one with Askam in Furness site ring (Yellow over blue/white)
Goldfinch - 1
Song Thrush - 1 mound
Purple Sandpiper - one under wooden jetty

South of harbour
Med Gull - adult Red Nab
Wigeon - 96

Peripheral Pinks

Heysham Obs
7,380 Pink-footed Geese flying over the bypass - the usual influx to the adjoining fields is underway

WeBS day

Middleton industrial estate
Main ponds still frozen. 2 Mute Swan, 2 Moorhen, 1 Goldeneye (female in small patch of open water), 6 Teal, 3 Mallard (over S), 1 Snipe, 2 Woodcock (on BE strip).

Elsewhere
Leighton Moss: Cetti's Warbler by grit tray.
Lune valley near Gressingham bridge: 19 Whooper Swans
Jeremy Lane, Conder Green: 7 Whooper Swans, 1 Bewick's Swan.
Fluke Hall: 20 Twite

Milestone

Heysham Obs
Nature reserve gates now open again during daylight hours!

The 100,000 blogsite visitors has been passed this weekend. Not too bad for a site which represents a "birding cul-de-sac (even more so in Sunderland Point area)", with a small team of conscientious observers/ringers trying to provide annually comparative data without this reducing the oft-cited priority that you must "enjoy" your birding. Sadly, the number of visiting birders actually interested in other than specific short-term targeting of Purple Sandpipers, the Black Guillemot, Twite & full-frame Med Gulls etc. has nose-dived. Targets met, the birders rapidly move on and therefore the number of additional sightings of interest from visiting birders is far less than it was say 15 years ago. Maybe this will change, but in the meantime we fortunately have a good team able to give virtually daily coverage. Thanks to all who have contributed and if there is someone out there who wants to do some systematic spring seawatching or help with ringing........

As already indicated, the blog is quite simply a substitute for the old A4 diary system we had in the office and, as such, made available to a lot more interested people! None of the regulars are instinctive photographers and we also (usually)avoid 'personal comments/storytelling' and the usual rants about the usual people disturbing birds. This keeps the postings as short per day as possible, allowing easy trawling of records. Thanks to Lancashire Wildlife Trust and British Energy/EDF for allowing us to operate from their office and land ownership respectively

North harbour area/intake
Med Gull - two adults in the harbour mouth/harbour area
Purple Sandpiper - one by wooden jetty
Twite - at least 14
Reed Bunting - 4 heliport
Knot - 100 roosting heliport - erratic recently

Elsewhere
Cetti's Warbler Leighton Moss causeway