From routine to notable

Heysham Obs
Varied activities this morning included the Heysham NR CES & supplementary Greenfinch ringing, the moth trap and a check at Red Nab on the incoming tide.  The notable sighting was Tawny Speckled Pug in the moth trap, a formerly common moth which, like the Wall Brown butterfly, has completely 'crashed' in the last few years after a previously slow decline

Heysham NR CES
Unringed birds included a juvenile Bullfinch, single Chiffchaff & Willow Warbler and two Blackcap.  12 more Greenfinches were ringed.

Red Nab
Sandwich Tern - two
Little Gull - usual Ad & 2CY
Med Gull - 3, possibly 4 unringed juvs, 5+ ad & 4 3CY 

Moths
Tawny-speckled Pug and 10 T. advenella

The bottomless pit

Heysham Obs
More Greenfinch ringing this morning with another 26 unringed birds, one of which escaped.  Only two retraps from previous occasions.  This is about 170 new birds since the feeding station as set up at the end of July - where have they come from as there is no obvious 'vis mig' at this time of year?  Most of them are birds of the year.

The outfalls were visited very briefly, but too late in the tide cycle. "Inevitably" there were four birders there wondering where everything was.  Maybe we need to continue to keep repeating that this site is no good on high 'spring' tides unless you are doing some 'pure' seawatching/landbird searching/waiting for Jack Snipe being flushed off Ocean Edge in winter

Little Gull - Ad on sea by Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Redshank - now 475 roosting on Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Turnstone - 17 roosting on Ocean Edge south shore

Insects
First Migrant Hawker (noticed) this autumn by the office during a small amount of afternoon sun which also produced a Comma and two Red Admiral on the buddleia.  No moths of interest. 

Two Trees top the bill

Heysham Obs
This morning was all about hard work and ekeing as much as possible out of some dodgy weather, including some ringing at the two sites, checking moths and completing the WeBS count.  The forecast suggested that Middleton would be possible early on providing it was not already raining!   However, a significant number of warblers (yesterday) and the Greenfinch hordes also suggested a ringing session by the office at HNR was on the cards.............all before the deteriorating weather.  Thanks to John and Jean for help - it would have been too risky for a single ringer this morning

Middleton NR 0530-0800
This visit revealed that the vast majority of the Sedge Warblers had moved on and, as the tit flocks are still stubbornly absent (and therefore also the entourage of off-passage warblers), this left a bit of a void with a few odds and ends of migrants in the nets before the wind put paid to proceedings
Tree Pipit - one flew south at some unearthly hour
Tree Sparrow - one around
Sedge Warbler - probably no more than four birds encountered with an unringed adult the only capture
Reed Warbler - at least one in the central marsh reedbed and a juvenile retrapped
Garden Warbler - two ringed (do not breed in Heysham area)
Willow Warbler - a trickle around with three ringed
Grasshopper Warbler - two singing males first thing, then no obvious sign
Chiffchaff - two ringed
Blackcap - one ringed
Lesser Whitethroat - one ringed

Heysham NR office
A very short session included ringing the following: 22 Greenfinch, two Willow Warbler, single Whitethroat & Sedge Warbler and, perhaps surprisingly, two juvenile Coal Tit.  Then it rained!

WeBS highlights
Little Gull - ad & 2CY Red Nab
Med Gull - 2 ads & 1CY Red Nab/OE foreshore
Redshank - the well above average roosting numbers at Red Nab/Ocean Edge saltmarsh continued with 308 counted     
Whimbrel - one Red Nab

Moths
Square Spot Rustic opened its account and other notables included a melanistic Dart spp (White-line/Garden/Coast) which needs a good look at, late Wormwood Pug, Pebble Prominent and another Mouse Moth

Elsewhere
Just to the north of the area there were 10 Sandwich Tern roosting on the Sunny Slopes Groyne and a further three by the Battery groyne

Gulls
I was shocked to find that more gulls had successfully nested on roofs in the Heysham area than on South Walney - the Walney Obs blogsite (as well as indicating more skuas flew out of the Bay yesterday!) revealing a total breeding failure

Mystery pic from Janet - how many species involved here!

Irish Sea mist

Heysham Obs
The sort of weather which can produce Great Shearwaters trailing past Blanan on Cape Clear (and three days of drying out your scope), but hardly the top recipe for Morecambe Bay.  Should have had a seawatch last night whilst the wind was strong!

Red Nab/outfalls
Little Gull - ad & 2CY
Sandwich Tern - ad
Med Gull - just single juvenile and adult
Ringed Plover - 11
Redshank - 266
Whimbrel - 1

North harbour wall 1100 onwards
Kittiwake - 5 adults behind IOM ferry, then blogging around harbour mouth, then flew out
Wheatear - one
tern spp - one distantly

Moths
A Lesser Swallow Prominent, very scarce here, mysteriously appeared on the wall after the main catch had been checked - this does happen here with plenty of nooks and crannies

Cinnabar caterpillar, thanks Janet

Perfect light, perfect angle, nice selection

Heysham Obs
Red Nab is an incredibly variable place with respect to light conditions, wind direction and ease of observation.  Virtually impossible on Monday evening when the high tide saw glaring sunlight, heat-haze and all the birds facing away in 'variable' wing/tail moult - couldnt even sort any juv Meds out & gave up.  Today was "perfect" providing you were in a car - howling SSW wind allowing the perfect angle to view the birds from OE foreshore, no heathaze and a decent mid-height high tide

Red Nab/Ocean Edge/outfalls various times from 0850
Little Gull - adult and 2CY
Med Gull - 5 unringed juvs, two adult & 3CY (not the long-stayer as this has moulted its outer primaries to become "adult winter")
Sandwich Tern - 1 adult
Greenshank - one 1CY in the saltmarsh creek
Knot - 1(!)
Turnstone - 26
Redshank - 244
Oystercatcher - 2,650
Curlew - 37
Whimbrel - 2
Shelduck - 16 juvs
Arctic Tern - adult on outfalls at lunchtime

Wooden jetty
Shag - 1CY - the first of the autumn

Offshore
Gannet - adult out
Manx Shearwater - 2 distant birds out and across

Moths
Mouse Moth (scarce these days) and Sallow (4) new for the year, but the trap was not checked yesterday (last night was probably the more productive of the two)

Elusive and wide-ranging Green Woodpecker

Heysham Obs
What has presumably been the same Green Woodpecker doing the rounds at Middleton & Heysham NR was 'nailed' by Janet today on nearby Heysham Moss.  Thanks Janet.


Heysham North harbour wall (thanks Mike)
Canada Goose - 2 (mega rare in 'autumn'!)
Turnstone - 31 wooden jetty
Swallows - 8 south

Red Nab
Mediterranean Gull - (adult plus juvenile)
Whimbrel - 1
Wheatear - 1
House Sparrow - 7
Turnstone - 8
Bar-tailed Godwit - 92
poss juv YLG - too distant to clinch

Familiar sound, new location

Heysham Obs
Heysham NR dipping pond area
Crossbill - 2 south at 1330hrs
Sparrowhawk - 3 noisy juvs flying about

Red nab mid-morning
Med Gull - adult

Moths
Large Yellow Underwing took over pole position (unusual here!).  Mainly noctuids as usual in windy weather with Six-striped Rustic having a goodish year

Second dose of Setaceous Hebrew Character and a French Med

Heysham Obs
Ringing return
The green-darvic Med Gull photographed by Mario and Rosie the other day was actually the first French-ringed one for here, although we have had plenty of other darvic-ringed birds which have included France in their travels:

FS71953 & R13E
Ringed: Oye Plage, Pas de Calais, France  50 59N 2 03E  Nestling 15/6/09
Seen:  Le Portel, Pas de Calais                      20/6/09
Seen: Loire Atlantique  47 23N 2 33W  7/2-18/2/10
Seen:  Vendee  46 56N 2 09W  21/4/10 & 27/4/11
Seen:  Heysham outfalls area      at least 3/8/11

It has definitely not been reported after 3/8/11.  Thanks to Camille for the info.

Reeve's Pheasant
Seen again today below the Obs Tower on the road to the Power Station

Red Nab area dropping tide
Med Gull - 2 unringed adults and a juv moulting to 1st W (quite advanced for this early in the autumn)
Little Gull - ad

Moths
2nd brood Setaceous Hebrew Character and Rosy Minor were new.   Best were Agriphila selasella and Dog's Tooth

Great weather forecasting!

Heysham Obs
Meteorological guru Terry was consulted re-where the rain was going to fall this morning, hopefully down to the nearest millimetre.  The projected track of the thundery plume was spot-on - Terry's advice was that it could turn dodgy, but not before 0900 - a decent time-slot for late summer warbler ringing.  The western fringe of the thundery stuff remained at least a mile to the east of Middleton NR and the open aspect of the site allowed plenty of advance notice if the sky suggested otherwise.  Therefore a bonus (c/f other forecasts); a reasonable catch of Sedge & Willow Warblers, a couple more Grasshopper Warblers (42 for the year so far) plus a few Goldfinch and a couple of Whitethroat

Red Nab
Med Gull - 2 adults and one juvenile but serious disruption by 'bird of prey' microlight which should not have been flying above the power stations

Moths
Crescent was the highlight of an actinic trap catch at Middleton.  4th record for SD45, all in last two years

Buddleia butterflies at last

Heysham Obs
The office buddleia has been very underpopulated during the day, the exception being bumble bees.  Today was a little different with a "full house" of the usual culprits mid-afternoon: Comma, Painted Lady (primary migrant - pale and worn?), Red Admiral (3), Peacock (4) and Small Tortoiseshell (2).  Hardly stunning numbers, but better than it looked in 'perfect' weather a few days ago.

Red Nab/outfalls
Tricky stuff with most gulls asleep and facing away, in varying stages of moult, plus a slight heat-haze
Med Gull - 4 x adult, 1 x 3CY, 1 x juv
Little Gull - 1 adult
Whimbrel - 3
Dunlin - 5
Little Egret - 1

Middleton central marsh area
Kingfisher - one