Update tomorrow

Sorry no postings today so far

Winter gnats have a ball

Heysham Obs
A quick walk round the reserve saw loads of 'winter gnat' type things but a paucity of non-tit insectivores to eat them with just 4 singing Robin, one Wren and three (non-singing) Dunnock.  Best was a Reed Bunting which then flew over to the golf course

North harbour wall first thing
Twite - 36 on the seed and a further 24 nearer the harbour mouth
Linnet - just one
Med Gull - Czech-ringed adult

No sign of Purple Sandpipers or anything offshore on the fairly calm sea, but visibility not so good after 3/4 mile

No moths

Vis
Pink-footed Geese 36  flew north in two flocks (16 + 20)

Monsoon part two

Heysham Obs
The forecasted clearance didnt happen!

Teal - two in the Heysham nature reserve marsh where the reeds have just been cut/cleared
Twite - at least 32 north wall
Linnet - low single figures north wall (39 birds in total in mixed flock, but mobile)

No Little Gull or any sign of Purple Sandpiper or Meds

Lovely weather for ducks to reappear

Heysham Obs
No temptation to go London weekend rubbish tipping, the key word being 'weekend'.  Amazing that as soon as the work in north Kent finishes, this=Slaty-backed Gull happens and knocks on the head a possible fuel-free-trip.  Plan B was a pre-work very wet weather trawl around the north and south of the harbour and only one of the 'usual candidates' played ball and a second one during a short afternoon excursion:

Twite - 47 at the feeder, then flew to the harbour side of the sandworks
Little Gull - adult stage 2 outfall pm, but not morning

Middleton NR
Quite a few wildfowl back, indeed, a very good count of Teal for this time of year:  46 Teal, 8 Tufted Duck, 3 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye, 17 Mallard, 2 Mute Swan, 3 Coot but no Moorhen seen (thanks Malcolm)

A walk from Gate 38 to the wheel and back saw nothing at all in the harbour other than 2 Cormorant & nothing in the 'outer mouth' of the harbour. Wet!

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