Geese and offshore time!

Heysham Obs
North Harbour Wall
Twite - 32+
Common Scoter - female offshore
Red-throated Diver - three offshore
Med Gull - adult
Rock Pipit - 1
Cormorant - 56 wooden jetty - very high count for midwinter (peak usually in autumn)

Heysham Bypass
Pink-footed Geese (perhaps plus something else??) - 5000-6000 spread out in fields both sides of the link road between the "Reebok Roundabout" and "Middleton Roundabout"

ajd, Pete Cook & Tom Walkington

Any takers?

Heysham Obs
A Heysham-ringed Twite was seen at Walney today (the flock of 160 there also included birds from the Duddon & Machrihanish)

Nothing from me today - any postings, please?

Pete

Waderfest

The recent post about still "needing" Black Redstart for the BTO challenge list is not the case - there was one on the non-op land on 6th April - just seems so long ago in this eventful year!    So the only possible additions to the list in the last fortnight of the year would be displaced ducks on the sea off Red Nab/outfalls - not beyond the bounds of possibility with the Wigeon being potential carriers for Shoveler, or a grounded Snow Bunting at Red Nab/by the wheel (the mound does not count).  Havn't counted up yet, but we've done pretty well this year with the only realistic possibilities missed (I think!) being: Jack Snipe, Shoveler, Pochard, Marsh Harrier, Grey Phalarope, Glaucous & Iceland Gull (but a bit like rocking horse dung these days without a rubbish tip) and a grounded Snow Bunting (fly-overs dont count).  Stuff which was most certainly not guaranteed included Hoopoe, Little Grebe (on the Obs Tower pond!), Yellow-browed Warbler, Firecrest, Wood Warbler, Waxwing, Ring Ouzel, Black Redstart, Osprey, Common Buzzard, Hobby, Lapland Bunting (just about!), Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Brambling, Leach's Petrel..........and Pheasant  

Heysham Obs
All the passerines were a product of very intermittent recording from 0940 onwards, both at Ocean Edge foreshore and by the office

Knot - 12,700 by Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Bar-tailed Godwit - 770 by Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Fieldfare - two on tankfarm, then south - usually very scarce in midwinter & weather related in occurrence
Redwing - 6 with above
Skylark - 2 SE, then flock of 6 S, then 3 by Ocean Edge saltmarsh & two by Red Nab
Meadow Pipit - one south over reserve and another 'in-off' then south Ocean Edge, two on the mound, then flew east
Teal - pair on sea by Red Nab
Black-tailed Godwit - two by OE saltmarsh creek
Twite - two flocks visited the feeder whilst topping this up: 1) flock of 14 with two unringed, then 2) a flock of 9 arrived from the north with 5 unringed birds
Med Gull - adult north wall area

Also - Mid to late morning
1 Goldeneye on boating pond Middleton Estate (a few medium patches of water still open)
Outflows area:
1 kingfisher
c150 wigeon
5 grey plover
Half moon bay:
1 jack snipe flushed from under the overhang between field and shore. First I've ever seen here.
(MD)

An intensive search revealed no moths in the trap - surely the end of the unexpected  mid-December 'run'?

.........and even more south of the harbour!

Heysham Obs
Hard work today - having to 'assess' the hordes of birds just after the neap tide off Ocean Edge - quite a spectacle with a huge counters nightmare of mixed Knot/Barwit (this is where the missing Lune ones are) and Dunlin with a few Grey Plover

Black-tailed Godwit - scarce this back end with a count of 8 off OE actually quite notable!
Med Gull - adult red nab, adult north wall
Twite - 28 in short visit to feeder (3 unringed)

More south of the harbour coverage

An emphatic 'no' for enabling comments!

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge most of the day on & off
Med Gull - adult briefly on Red Nab, 1CY behind the IOM ferry near port
Kittiwake - adult distantly behind the IOM passenger ferry but flew back out c1/2 mile south of wooden jetty
Ringed Plover - 23, but no colour-ringed birds - looks like the Snettisham-ringed wintering bird may be no more

Moth
one Wnter Moth

Some decent ringing recoveries!

Heysham Obs
Reed Warbler
Z49451 1CY female  19.08.09  Handarribia (Guipuzcoa) Spain 43 21N 1 40W
Caught by ringer  12.07.10 Middleton NR  1186 km N

This was breeding in the small circular reedbed formed over a poorly-drained 'pit' dating from the oil depot days! 


Chiffchaff
BXC640  1CY  21.September.08  Middleton NR
Dead 06.05.10  Batschuns Vorarlberg Austria 47 16N 9 40E 1158 km SE


The first recovery of any species from this area in Austria. Presumably a north Scandinavian bird on more direct spring passage when this was terminated?


Willow Warbler
ARY109 Juvenile    12.07.10     Middleton NR
Dead hitting glass 08.08.10 Congreave (Derbyshire) 124 km SE

Goldcrest
CDR913 1CY male   12.10.10   Heysham
Caught by ringer   20.11.10 Finningley Doncaster (South Yorkshire) 140 km ESE in 29 days

Twite
R687685 1CY male   01.11.08   Heysham
Retrap   04.02.09   Heysham
Caught by ringer  24.09.10 Clachtoll Lochinver (Highland) 485 km NNW
Retrap    31.10.10   Heysham


We didnt realise that we had caught this bird again this autumn until the ringing returns were received from the BTO!  This is the most northerly presumed breeding site for 'our' Twite

Despite a fair amount of time spent on the south side of the harbour, the only sightings of interest today, apart from over 300 Shelduck, were

Golden Plover - These are rare on the deck in the recording area so three along the shore by the old Pontins site was notable - they then flew inland

Med Gull - ad behind the Clipper Point

Moth
One Winter Moth

Jack Snipe the hard way

Heysham Obs
Did some coastal survey work today and for the sake of "completeness", this included slithering around in the spartina on Ocean Edge saltmarsh. 

Jack Snipe - one OE saltmarsh
Twite - 52 OE saltmarsh
Reed Bunting - 3 OE saltmarsh
Meadow Pipit - one along foreshore OE
Med Gull - adult seen distantly following IOM ferry

No time to cover the north side of harbour

Moth
Another December Moth!

Another novelty!

Heysham Obs
Judging by the noise(s), at least one Lapwing was nocturnally present on the 'plateau' this evening - a large area of suitable mown flower-rich grassland in the centre of Heysham NR. This follows 3-4 birds feeding on the short grass by the office during the first of the cold spells this winter - it is 'warmed' by the sunlight for most of the day

Moth
One Winter Moth in the trap - the last moth of the year?

Frosty Again

Heysham
Ringing session by the hut produced plenty of retrapped birds and new birds as follows:
Blue Tit - 1
Blackbird  - 1
Goldfinch - 1
Chaffinch - 1
Greenfinch - 5

North Harbour Wall
Twite - 15 on feed, seen on brief visit towards midday (together with arriving fishermen)

Moths
Just one Winter Moth

ajd

December Moths living up to their name at last

Heysham
North Harbour Wall
Twite - 46 birds feeding in a fairly orderly flock.  All ringed, except c6, with green/white or red/white colours.

Moths
December Moth - 4 - this is almost equal to the total of all-time previous records from here and coincides with a very unexpected emergence during the last two mild nights producing e.g. 22 at Millhouses (Wray), including two mating pairs last night (trap not set previous evening) and 'several' at mid-Lancs sites.  Given that it "normally" appears in late October throughout November but, in the last few years, over by early December, we assumed that the pre-cold weather emergence had comprised the full complement of this year's moths.  Wrong!   Also at Millhouses, a fresh Yellow-line Quaker was unexpected and must have just 'missed' the mild emergence period in early-mid November  
Winter Moth - 5
ajd