Pink-feet head north

Heysham Obs
After the shame of yesterday's moth-only post, despite being at HNR all day, a brief visit to Ocean Edge foreshore was in order:   No sign of the ad Little Gull on the outfalls

Pink-footed Goose - c160+c70+about 100 or so indiscernable 'grey geese' in the mist = all heading north over the sea/mudflats about 0955hrs
Black-tailed Godwit - 2
Twite - 45 morning only
Coot - 2 back on Middleton
Goldeneye - female Middleton
Mute Swan - 2 Middleton

No moths!

Creepy-crawling out of hibernation

Heysham Obs
A Chestnut was in the Heysham moth trap this morning.  Interestingly a trap put out last night at a very sheltered woodland site at Millhouses held "leftovers" from early winter with 44 Mottled Umber, a single (late) December Moth and 3 Winter Moth.  No hibernators there and no 'new' 2011 moths like Early Moth or Dotted Border.  The numbers of late emerging Mottled Umber (and indeed the December Moth) are presumably a continuation of the 'knock-on' effect of the early unusually severe freezing weather (which included two short milder interludes which also led to mass belated emergence) since mid/late November.  This looks like being a longer period of mild weather and it will be interesting to see what the next few nights produces, surely starting with a lot of Chestnut/Satellite coming out of hibernation.   IF (and its a bit 'if') you have shelter, worth running your trap at least the next two nights before it gets a bit wild and woolly

Apologies to any birding purists for this posting

Disappearing acts

Click the BTO ringing blog link for some amazing Little Egret recoveries from Britain & Ireland ringing in e.g. Canary Isles & Azores!

Heysham Obs
A short north wall trawl included a dose of stale Mother's Pride type stuff in the direction of a few seagulls.  Not a single Med responded - not the first time this has happened in damp conditions!   Similarly well-attended outfalls (BHGs) were devoid of Monday's Little Gull

Purple Sandpiper - 2 on the wooden jetty
Black-tailed Godwit - 2 Ocean Edge (along with 2 Bar-tailed and 3 Grey Plover)
Twite - 20 on the seed in the morning
Pink-footed Goose - 45 (f) south

Britains most birdless sea area?!

The latest addition to the Heysham year list - 2010 was a good year, perhaps surprisingly after the 2009/10 winter, but history suggests you should never take this species for granted here, although the maturing woodland has seemingly recently given it 'guaranted annual' status.  Thanks Janet

Heysham Obs
15 minutes of repeated scans covering almost 180 degrees, in perfect visibility and at high tide on a 'millpond' produced............not even a seagull.  Then a Red-throated Diver was seen miles out way to the north.  It'll be better after a few days of gales have churned things up this coming weekend.  Much better inshore, but the Twite seem to have disappeared (see below).

Purple Sandpiper - 2 outer section of wooden jetty, presumably one of these earlier on the Near Naze
Med Gull - 2 adults on the railings next to the anglers & presumably the 1CY recorded in autumn 2010 was a surprise package during a bread-feeding session there early afternoon (thanks Pete)
Red-throated Diver - one far offshore

Heysham Nature Reserve 
Treecreeper - one photographed by Janet
Robin - 5 singing/ticking late pm
Wren - 2 calling late pm
Woodcock - one 'flushed' from the alder woodland late pm

Twite - prolonged disturbance of the usual feeding area on Sunday may have contributed to the lack of birds there since

Little Gull and Kittiwake under the belt in fresh onshore-ish winds

Heysham Obs
The usual 8 species of gull which are found in wet & windy south/westerlies

Little Gull - adult Heysham 2 outfall lunchtime
Kittiwake - adult behind IOM ferry until No 8 buoy, then flew out
Med Gull - adult in the harbour
Twite - is someone feeding them by the centrica offices?  c33 there mid-morning
Red-breasted Merganser - 2 in SD35Z
Purple Sandpiper - one seen briefly on the outer section of the wooden jetty 

No moths!

Black-tailed Godwit return and the usual stuff

Heysham Obs
This received today (thanks Richard)
Black-tailed Godwit - colour-ringed/flagged bird
Ringed 16.07.08 Knappsstadir, Fljot, SW of Siglufjordur, N Iceland
Seen subsequently:
20.08.08 Thurstaston Shore, Dee Estuary, Cheshire
28.08.08-8/10/08 Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby, Merseyside
19-21.01.09 Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby, Merseyside
also on 21.01.09 Thurstaston Shore, Dee Estuary, Cheshire
06.02.09-24.02.09 Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby, Merseyside
27.02.09 Thurstaston Shore, Dee Estuary, Cheshire
01.03.09 Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby, Merseyside
07.03.09 Thurstaston Shore, Dee Estuary, Cheshire
11-12.03.09 Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby, Merseyside
29.04.09 Inner Marsh Farm, Dee Estuary, Cheshire
07.05.09 Inner Marsh Farm, Dee Estuary, Cheshire
22.05.09 Inner Marsh Farm, Dee Estuary, Cheshire
13.11.09-14.01.10 Thurstaston Shore, Dee Estuary, Cheshire
01.02.10 Heysham Ocean Edge foreshore, Lancashire
18.02.10 Cockersands, Lancashire

This species regularly commutes between the Dee and Morecambe Bay

North harbour wall
Twite - 26 (7 unringed)
Med Gull - one adult
No additional reports from any of the birders present

Slow thaw, returning wildfowl and a Kingfisher

Heysham Obs
Middleton NR
2  Mute Swan, 3  Moorhen, 3  Mallard, 7  Teal, 1  Goldeneye, 1  Woodcock, 1  Pheasant, 26 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing, 1 Pink-footed Goose, 4 Bullfinch

Ocean Edge
4-6 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Grey Plover, 1 Snipe, c36 Twite, c6 Linnet, 1 Reed Bunting and 3 (grounded) Skylark 

Red Nab
41 Turnstone

South harbour wall area
Kingfisher - 1

Moth
The first Parsnip Moth of the year was the sole occupant

A grey miserable day

Heysham Obs
Teal - 12 Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Black-tailed Godwit - 12 Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Med Gull - 2 adults north wall (one Czech-ringed)
Twite - 26 north wall
Twite/Linnet - 16 Ocean Edge saltmarsh

No sign of any Purple Sandpiper or the GND at high tide

Great Northern Diver!

Barn Owl by the new roundabout on the bypass - right on the eastern edge of the recording area - about 1730hrs

Heysham Obs
Great Northern Diver
What appeared to be a winter adult was showing very well around the outfalls/wooden jetty for just over 30 minutes around midday, before swimming 'out to sea' (thanks Sean)
Rock Pipit - one south harbour wall
Mistle Thrush - one south harbour wall
Twite - 68 north wall/south wall, 13 Ocean Edge saltmarsh edge
Purple Sandpiper - TWO again on the wooden jetty this morning.  The 2011 appearance of the Stone jetty individual could just have been a reflection of poor coverage in that area, but this is emphatically not the case at Heysham with lengthy EIAs as well as plenty of casual coverage.  At least one additional bird also took up residence in late 2009.  Interesting mid-winter movements but where from?
Teal - male OE saltmarsh edge
Linnet - 2 OE saltmarsh edge

Routine stuff

Heysham Obs
Brambling - one at office feeder
Raven - one over office
Med Gull - 2 adults harbour
Twite - c50 on seed
Cormorant - another high winter count of 57 on wooden jetty
Woodcock - single below Obs Tower (45E) and one NE corner (46A)