Time warp and last-ditch CES visit two

Heysham Obs
The final chance of doing the CES Visit 2 suggested that it 'might' be ok from about first light for 3 hours, then it would be too windy.  What a nightmare CES Visit 2 has been wind-wise.  The attempt at first light was a miserable failure and in the end we managed 0530-0830 (thanks for your help, John; invaluable when you have multiple guy snaps!).  The morning was not without interest.

Heysham Nature reserve
Cuckoo - very brief visit to the office for more mist net guys produced one which seemed to fly out of the screening planting past the car park, then into the trees along the top path.  No calls. I think this is the first record this millenium from here of what used to be an almost annual visitor in the 1980s

Middleton NR 0530-0845
Spotted Flycatcher - on the same "used to be commoner" theme - one bounced out of a mist net and this is the nearest we have come to ringing one this millenium!
Redpoll spp - one northbound migrant at 0730hrs - late in the context of this year
Swift - 6 north
House Martin - 4 north
Swallow - 8 north
Grasshopper Warbler - two caught during the CES with one of these the first returning bird we have had from previous years (ringed as a juv on 12/7/10)

Outfalls early incoming tide
Kittiwake - 2CY
Med Gull - 2CY - same bird as last few days?
Common Gull - 288
Black-headed Gull - 5
No terns, but they have only recently been 'available' at low tide

Moths
Good!   Not many, but a new species for here in the form of Pale Tussock, a scarcity in Sallow Kitten and two routine year ticks; Clouded Bordered Brindle and Grey Pug

"Peaked" too early

Heysham Obs
Two probable Poms headed up the Keer and a single Arctic Skua up the Kent later in the afternoon, but the incoming tide watch around lunchtime was stunningly poor, as has been the norm recently.  However, there was a little flurry of stuff earlier in the morning in the more unsettled weather

North harbour wall 0800-0845ish
Arctic Skua - one dark morph 'in'
Gannet - 5 out
Manx Shearwater - 2 out and across
Whimbrel - 1

Outfalls area
Arctic Tern - 8 (seaward end Heysham one at low tide)
Common Tern - 1 with above
Med Gull - 2CY with above

However, an outfalls check on the later stages of the incoming tide was as unproductive as the lunchtime seawatch with nothing found other than c140 Common Gull.  The terns, Med and the Kittiwakes from recent days were not on view

Outfalls variety

Heysham Obs
North wall 0600-0630
Gannet - flock of 7 out in second low-tide channel

Outfalls mid-morning incoming tide
Arctic Tern - four seaward end of Heysham 2, then sat on railings/rocks
Arctic/Common Tern - two seen very briefly with above
Med Gull - presumably yesterdays 2CY distantly and briefly on the outfalls
Kittiwake - yesterdays scruffy adult-type Heysham 2 outfall & also the 2CY

Ocean Edge foreshore
Dunlin - 1!

Seagulls and Whimbrels save the morning

Heysham Obs
A late start (anyone seawatching earlier on the incoming tide?) saw absolutely nothing over the sea 0945-1030, despite a bit of wind and white horses.

North harbour wall 0945-1030
Whimbrel - 8 flew north close inshore

Red Nab/Ocean Edge/outfalls 1035-1100
Med Gull - 2CY new in - this one has a well defined mask, black-tipped orange bill and a grey 'cast' over the crown between the masks.  Legs not seen (c/f rings).  First for a bit in a below-par passage
Kittiwake - the 2CY still on Heysham 2 outfalls, joined by a 'new in' rather scruffy adult-type
Common Gull - 287, one adult, c5 3CY, rest 2CY
Black-headed Gull - 9
Whimbrel - 18 on  Red Nab flew south towards the Lune estuary

Dire!

Heysham Obs
However, I have just heard about 3,500 Dunlin & 400 Ringed Plover which need detailed scrutiny at Sunderland.....before some work is done!  Worth checking fresh wader habitat as well in the next day or so.  Wind dropped this morning, flattened out the sea but didnt drop quite enough for a Middleton CES effort.  The sea was mind-numbingly poor, especially the early incoming tide (often a good time for skuas) which scored zero on the 'notable' bird front, not even a passing Swallow

North harbour wall 0500-0545 & 0630ish to 0830
Arctic Skua - dark morph in at 0520hrs
Carrion Crow - two having a serious fight on the mudflats
[40 Kittiwake later at JBP]

Red Nab/Ocean Edge incoming tide
Kittiwake - 2CY stage 2 outfall
Whimbrel - 6
Common Gull - 247 (1 adult, 5 3CY, rest 2CY)
Surprisingly no small waders

Middleton NR mist net ride gardening
Reed Warbler - at least 2 singing males
Grasshopper Warbler - ditto

Waders and wheelers in the mist

Heysham Obs
Hopeless first thing with dreadful visibility but, as often happens in these conditions, a few birds flying 'out' came within visual range (just about) nearer & over high tide.  Peering into the mist undoubtedly favoured noticing the more obvious species i.e. Gannet and the single Bonxie, but I really dont think there was anything else!

North wall very intermittently to 0700-1100hrs
Gannet - 47 out, mostly 1030 onwards
Great Skua - one out 1037ish
Fulmar - one out 0730ish and probably another in the mist later
Whimbrel - 3 out
another wheeling thing in the mist may have been a Manx

Red Nab
2CY Kittiwake feeding in the surf at high tide

Ocean Edge foreshore
Sanderling - 2 in situ, joined very briefly by a flock of 5 which then flew towards Red Nab
Ringed Plover - 16
Dunlin - 18
Whimbrel - 9

Some rewards in a marginal wind

Heysham Obs
Mike B and Pete C flew the flag for the early morning seawatching today and it was mainly a bit distant with intermittent spells of poor visibility and low, rather too uniform cloud

North harbour wall 0700ish (?)-1030, 1900-1935
Arctic Skua - 5, with all but one before 0910hrs, LM in evening chasing terns
skua spp - one, thought to be a probable Pomarine, but too distant
Sandwich Tern - 2
Gannet - absolute minimum of 25 individuals
Common Scoter - 4
Red-throated Diver - 1
Arctic Tern - at least one of 4 in the evening being chased by the Arctic Skua was this spccies, the others remained unidentified as only briefly glimpsed 

Northwesterly lie-in

Heysham Obs
The original posting was grossly unfair to the JBP seawatch team who were in place this morning before some of us had crawled out of bed.  It was, I'm afraid, one of those "one hour of tedium and 10 seconds of excitement" routines, which characterises most inner Morecambe Bay seawatching once the Arctic terns have gone through and the less numerate and far more erratic skuas are the 'sole' order of the day.  JBP produced two distant skuas prior to any Heysham coverage and these were thought to be Poms.  However, they would not come closer into the bay and were lost in the direction of Morecambe.  Much later in the morning (c1115hrs), dark and light Arctic Skuas were blogging together in the inner bay
Heysham north wall 0815-0845
A bit too north-westerly, as was forecast.  However, should have been here a bit earlier, but assumed others would be in place here or JBP!  Needed to leave to do the WeBS count & keep half an eye on the sea but nothing else of note was seen pre-1000hrs
Arctic Skua - dark morph in and across towards Ulverston direction
Gannet - distant adult in
Auk spp - 3 together out, probably Razorbill

Ocean Edge foreshore
Wheatear - biggish female

Heysham head
Wheatear - one

Spoonfed

Heysham Obs
Another Plan A or Plan B morning was much more clear-cut decision-wise than last Wednesday and it doesnt look good for getting the second CES visit in at Middleton, even this early in the time-period.........as its going to get even windier & this includes some north-westerly rubbish (= 'lie-in!').

North harbour wall 0600-0715
Pomarine Skua - lm picked up on a 'sweep' and had probably lifted off the sea as it didn't pass through the optics earlier trained on the outer bay.  It then flew into the bay and landed rather distantly next to two other skuas which had also been missed!  They looked identical in size to the Pom, but one bird appeared to be a dark morph, very much the minority amongst Pom Skuas and not a morph I have seen in the bay, although fairly regular on the Solway.  So best to leave as unidentified as they floated even further out of sight at an awkward rear-on angle.  Anyone at JBP? [c0617hrs]
Arctic Skua - dm in 0608hrs, much closer inshore than the other skuas
Arctic Tern - one out (a surprise as there have not been any in recent days)
Red-throated Diver - one in very high
Gannet - flock of 5 out
Common Scoter - a typically anarchic straggle of c15 heading out far offshore was the only 'notable' sighting after 0625hrs

Office area
Spotted Flycatcher - one on the fence between reserve and non-op land, then flew strongly towards the classroom

Struggle over the sea

Heysham Obs
Unless there was a massive overland skua passage in the first hour after dawn (we were a bit late), it was predictably poor this morning with a combination of fairly useless uniform low/medium cloud with little in the way of precipitation.  In these conditions with a fresh WSW, you need a mixture of squalls and clear slots to produce the goods

North harbour wall 0610-0840
Arctic Skua - 2 dm 'in' 0615, presumably the same two out at 0648.  lm 'out' at 0620.  Conditions not encouraging for overland migration with fairly low uniform cloud level
Gannet - 12 out
Red-throated Diver - 2 out
Swallow - 3 'in'

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
Mallard - one male
Whimbrel - 2