A Quiet Day

No news for today - pity as there is a lot of cold-weather displacement at the moment & implicitly, no serious searches made for Sunday's Long-tailed Ducks.  May be some time to look tomorrow, before the sea conditions become rough & unhelpful.

Twite update
On 5th Deecmber, two Heysham-ringed birds seen and photograhed at Grange-over-Sands, one ringed this autumn and one ringed during the last winter period.  Preliminary info. suggests that there was also a Machrihanish-ringed bird and one from Askam-in-Furness in the same flock.  Clearly this flock needs further grilling - this is a complete novelty in terms of location and direction of movement

It begs the question of whether there are any at a site between the two with previous 'history' = Bolton-le-Sands saltmarsh?

Wader Day

Heysham
Water Rail disturbed on edge of marsh by the alder copse. Two woodcock flushed, one at the back of the marsh on the main reserve and the other in the shelter belt in the Nature Park. Two snipe feeding on the grassland by the office late afternoon.

Chainsaw Day at Heysham

North Harbour Wall
The following taken from local Bird Club website:
Red-breasted Merganser - 2
Long Tailed Duck - 2 (1 male & 1 female/immature)
Mediterranean Gulls - 3 (2 adult & 1 first winter)
Twite - 26. Feed replenished at 09.00 when only 2 seen but no time to wait for return of flock.

From Pete/Malcolm
Middleton Nature Reserve
Moorhen - 1
Woodcock - 2
Reed Bunting - 1
Ocean Edge
Jack Snipe - 1
Reed Bunting - 4
Red Nab
Red-breasted Merganser - 5
Wigeon - 71

Mammals
Roe Deer - 3 seen together mid-morning on Heysham Nature Reserve below class room bank opposite Pagoda path. (ajd)

Dabbling displacement

Please could others keep the website up to date Sunday to Tuesday inclusive, please.  Thanks.

Heysham Obs
Nice additions to the BTO Business Challenge (seriously deficient in common ducks as Middleton ponds dont count!)

Red Nab
Gadwall - pair with Wigeon
Teal - 2 on Red Nab, 3 on sea off Ocean Edge (all males)
Med Gull - one adult

Wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - 1

Harbour
Med Gull - one adult

North wall
c60 Twite, but only 15 seen on the ground (4 unringed and one with pale blue over split yellow/blue - the oldest bird we are aware of at the moment)

Moneyclose Lane traffic lights area/NE corner reserve
Waxwing - 2 on top of willow at about 1220hrs

Like gulls on a rubbish tip

Heysham Obs
Very short visit

North harbour wall
The Twite 'bear-pit' was in full swing when I arrived with 68 Twite attempting to feed on quite a small area of available food.   The situation was rectified with the food added to and spread out

Twite - 68, c14 unringed, one Machrihanish-ringed bird, at least 8 ringed prior to this winter, rest recently ringed
Linnet - perhaps surprisingly, none with the above
Med Gull - adult along seawall

Twite battle for food

Heysham Obs
The feeding area was limited by the snow and there was a veritable noisy, bad-tempered scrum of Twite - more like the behaviour in spring as the territorial hormones get going

North harbour wall
Twite - 38, all but 3 ringed
Med Gull - single adult
Red-throated Diver - one offshore (& 15 Great-crested Grebe in the 20 minutes observation of dropping tide)

Early pm circuit of Heysham NR
Much reduced thrushes (only 15 Blackbird seen) with the only 'notable' being calling Water Rail(s) by the dipping pond.  A Long-tailed Tit flock only comprised three birds - surely not decimated this early in the mini-ice-age part 2?

A wary eye on the north-easterly sky

Heysham Obs
Some minor displacement again, mainly negative (e.g. Twite & inshore waders)

Mute Swan - imm in the harbour
Skylark - 2 grounded at Red Nab
Song Thrush - one north wall mound, 3 reserve
Redwing - one Moneyclose Lane, 5 reserve
Blackbird - 35 again on reserve
Siskin - 6 reserve
Med Gull - adult harbour mouth, adult on mudflats off Red Nab

***23 Twite back on the food early afternoon

Distant Red-throat

Heysham Obs
No Twite, hardly any Knot, two disgruntled photographers and a way out of range Red-throated Diver were all today had to offer coast-wise

Heysham NR
Blackbird - 35 - influx
Redwing - 3
Siskin - 7

Elsewhere
2 Waxwings NE corner of Pine Lake 1040hrs, then flew towards Borwick, but nothing much of interest on the lake other than displaced Gadwall, Shoveler, Teal and two Little Grebe

Mega-alert

LDBWS meeting at Hornby tonight is cancelled due to weather.  Sorry, but last night's snow was not forecasted until the last minute & more now possible (=understatement = now hammering down & drifting at High Tatham 2130hrs)

Heysham Obs
Pheasant on the BTO business challenge list - wasnt expecting this dramatic cold-weather movement - male by the office today

North wall
Robin on feeder
Rock Pipit below wall
Ad Med Gull offshore
27000-30000 Knot, depending which way round you counted them
NO Twite, despite walk round mound

Frozen wastes

Heysham Obs
North wall
Twite - 65
Song Thrush - 1

HN Reserve
Very little around the feeders
Pink-footed Goose - c180 SE

ElsewhereNo sign Waxwings along 46A section of  bypass but 3 by the Overton roundabout late morning