Orchid day

Heysham Obs
The second ever Blackneck (moth) for the reserve, following last year's first, was a rather predictable repeat, given the amount of Tufted Vetch.  A jellyfish reported by an Ocean Edge resident appears to be Lion's Mane - the first ever mention of jellyfish on this blogsite?  It's washed up near the slipway at the south end of Ocean Edhe foreshoer, by the saltmarsh creek.  Tides are dropping, so its going nowhere.

Various combinations of spotted & marsh orchid were on show at Middleton and Heysham today.  Also a single Twayblade and quite a good showing of Bee Orchid

Birds included just a single Ad Med Gull on a brief, rather heat-hazy visit to the outfalls

The final moth on yesterdays posting is causing some problems.  Any more ideas, any more pics of it, please Janet?

A Great Tit was doing an unusual distraction display as its young remained in a bush behind the photographer.  Thanks for the pics Janet.

The 'nice' day this week?

Heysham Obs
As tends to be the case on 'nice' days at this time of year, the heat-haze during the dailyish outfalls seagull check was horrendous.

Outfalls/Red Nab
Med Gull - adult and 3CY seen

Heysham Nature Reserve
Juvenile Sedge Warblers in four different areas in the wetland
At least two broods of juvenile Whitethroat
Two juvenile Lesser Whitethroat seen

Moths

Nothing dramatic in the hut trap but the 'nice' day served up some of the usual dayflying/day-disturbed moths for Janet.  Thanks for these pics which comprise Common Carpet, Straw Dot, Latticed Heath, Timothy Tortrix and Coleophora albicosta (thanks Nick and another reason for getting a proper computer screen at home!)

More not quite worth a seawatch wind

Heysham Obs
Outfalls/Red Nab
Kittiwake - 2CY 'reappeared'
Med Gull - adult and 3CY
Both Common and Black-headed Gull topped 300

Moths
Peach Blossom opened its account

Larophilic WeBs

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab area
Med Gull - adult, 3CY and 2CY - all unringed
Black-headed Gull - leucistic bird with 'blackish' head a pitfall in flight at long-range, c270.  Early juv with rather unsteady flight on the outfalls.
Common Gull - c280
Little Gull - 2CY on end of outfalls briefly, then couldnt be found

Marsh Pug tracked down at last

Heysham Obs
The elusive day-flying Marsh Pug has been subject to the usual searches on two days this year but was not located until this afternoon.....and then wouldn't keep still!  Thanks Janet - you are on a 'roll' with quality day-flying moths!

Also YESTERDAY afternoon, a Burnet Companion moth was located at Middleton NR on a bank near the boundary with Ocean Edge - almost 1/2 mile from the location of the 2001 moth (thanks Steve).

Burnet moths are in various stages of development at the moment, with a adults already having emerged, yet this larva is only just ready to pupate today:

Outfalls/Ocean Edge incoming tide
Med Gull - unringed adult
Common Gull - c220
Black-headed Guill - c150

Maps and numbers day

Bee Orchid, Silver Ground Carpet and Common Whitethroat photographed today.  Thanks Janet

Heysham Obs
Work-wise at the computer and also in the form of today's rather modest novelties, two Map-winged Swift in the moth trap and, in the field, the long-winded Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet moth, along with the more marketable Six-spot burnet

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
A mistimed visit saw most of the gulls having disappeared due to the high tide but a 3CY Med was still sitting on the sea

Ringing recovery
The French ringing scheme seems to have got its act together with today's receipt of a load of Sand Martin controls ringed on the Lune and also this from Middleton showing how early adult Sedge Warblers depart the country:

Sedge Warbler
Ringed:  Middleton NR      Ad male        16/7/09
Caught:  Tour aux Moutons, Donges, Loire Atlantique, France  31/7/09    

Burnet Companion surprise

Heysham Obs
Janet Packham photographed a Burnet Companion moth between the office and the classroom today in association with Mother Shipton.  The level of observation in this area is reasonably good (& Mother Shipton regularly recorded), so must be occuring in very low density (one at Middleton NR several years ago was not repeated................but they are not known to disperse).  Photo later.

Outfalls/Red Nab
Med Gull - the first returning birds with a single adult and 3CY
Common Gull - 170
Black-headed Gull - increase to 157
Ringed Plover - the single chick has now fledged & is on the foreshore (PS non-op land pair)

Burnet Companion (top), Mother Shipton and Chrysoteuchia culmella taken by Janet on a quick browse on the 'plateau', between the classroom and the office.  The only other record of Burnet Companion in this area was by the 'no swimming pond' at Middleton NR in 2001

Moth trap
This wasnt bad either, highlighted by the first Broad-barred White, Double Dart (common here), Small Clouded Brindle, Barred Straw & Single-dotted Wave of the year............and a different Obscure Wainscot (3rd record)

Eilat origin for Lesser Whitethroat ring

Heysham Obs
Thanks to Pete Kinsella for checking out eilatbirding.blogspot.com to find that this bird was ringed at Eilat on spring passage on 10/3/09

This was not expected.  The iris was very 'muddy' - "typical" of a 2CY and the outer tail pattern/state of tail feathers were also suggestive of that age.  Furthermore the ring looked like it was put on last week - how on earth did it stay so 'new-looking' for so long in a wide variety of climatic conditions.  I wonder where it was nesting in 2009/10?

Not so good today on the western side at Middleton NR with very poor capture rate in fairly good conditions.  No juvenile Grasshopper or Sedge Warbler was especially disappointing, although it is a little early for the latter and only a handful of odds and ends were caught in a four-hour session

Sedge warbler pics from Middleton by Janet.  Thanks for these:

Moths
Obscure Wainscot was a welcome repeat after the first record from both Middleton and Heysham in 2010.  Surely an actinic in the reedbed in the next few days will reveal more as the hut trap is a reasonable distance away from the wetland habitats?

Little Ringed Plovers pay a visit

Heysham Obs
Outfalls/Red Nab area 0830-0900
Common Gull - 210
Black-headed Gull - 39
Manx Shearwater - 4 together out and across (skimming the mouth of the bay at long range)
Gannet - one as above
No sign of any Kittiwake or Med Gull

Middleton NR evening visit (Janet)

Moth
Large Yellow Underwing was warmly welcomed into the trap for the first time this year

Recent site visits
If the recent Israel contacts (see 'visitors') are indeed ringers, would be grateful for the ringing details of the Lesser Whitethroat, please, as I have a newspaper article to do for Thursday morning at the latest & would like to include this.  Thanks - please email to PMrsh123@aol.com

Israeli-ringed Lesser Whitethroat

Heysham Obs
Both Middleton and Heysham CES were carried out this morning and both produced major surprises

Middleton CES saw a (probably 2CY) male Lesser Whitethroat loosely accompanying a brood of 'independent' young and therefore presumably a local breeding bird.  This possessed a rather new-looking Israeli ring (Y60214).  This appears to be the 7th Israeli-ringed Lesser Whitethroat to be found in the British Isles, with 9 British-ringed birds in Israel.   These are ringed/caught on spring passage in Israel as the species takes a more easterly route on its spring migration (thanks Richard)  

Heysham CES saw the first Swallow of the year..............bearing a British ring which is definitely not from the local group.  Anyone who rings Swallows will appreciate the chances of this happening are quite small.

"Better than perhaps could be expected" as regards numbers of juvenile birds, given that Middleton has been rather wet and windswept this last month or so.  A few Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler plus a single rather "old" juvenile Grasshopper Warbler were caught, with a few juvenile Lesser Whitethroat also caught on the Heysham CES