Poor visibility

Thanks to Rosie and Mario

Heysham Obs
Intertidal work knocked on the head today and its not going to be easy for Sunday WeBS counters

Harbour area
Shag - four by waterfall
Kittiwake - just one by waterfall
Med Gull - two adults on sandflats off north wall
Purple Sandpiper - two north harbour wall
Guillemot - rather dishevelled individual by waterfall at high tide (out of the underground area of water??)

The seabirds continue to slip away

Heysham Obs
The Shags are at last beginning to depart with Kittiwakes reduced to just one individual today

Inshore
Med Gull - two adults
Shag - absolute maximum of 5
Kittiwake - 1
Twite - 24, but very flighty
Purple Sandpiper - at least one

Heysham NR
Chaffinch - one with what appears to be someone elses ring (R877817) but havnt got access to IPMR to check.  Later news: no it isn't but one of ours ringed in 2005 and not seen since!
Blackbird - either an influx or birds targeting the softer ground of the churned up verges where Moneyclose lane has been resurfaced - looking at the number of unringed birds, probably the former with the birds using the latter!  22 were seen on a vist to Ocean Edge mid-afternoon

Purple Sandpipers cooperating again

Small numbers of Curlew were roosting during today's WeBS count (thanks Janet)

Heysham Obs
The Purple Sands were actually seen on the north harbour wall yesterday (thanks Barry) and today were by Heysham One outfall before transferring to the north wall

Inshore areas
Wigeon - 84 outfalls area
Med Gull - two adults north wall, one adult on Fisher's roof
Twite - c20 by north wall roundhead
Purple Sandpiper - see above
Kittiwake - at least 4
Shag - at least 6

More salt-spreading than birding

Heysham Obs
Lethal conditions today as the milder drops of water descending from the sky met the cold ground, producing a skating rink

North harbour wall
Twite - 27, including 2011 Machrihanish-ringed bird and c6 unringed birds
Goldfinch - 3
Med Gull - 2 adults

Harbour at high tide
No sign of any Shags or Kittiwakes, but access restricted (no access through Gate 38 during fencing operations) and wooden jetty area not checked

Heysham Nature Reserve
Greenfinch - at least 25 - they have increased, as usual in early February, the last two days
Siskin - one heard by office
Green Woodpecker - heard distantly by office

Suburban SD46A
Blackcap - male and female coming to feeder Tranmere Crscent

Sunny Med Day

Heysham Obs
The Meds attended the morning anglers in cold but very sunny conditions:

The Czech-ringed bird photographed today (Thanks Janet)

Not particularly regular north of the harbour (thanks Janet)

North harbour wall

Twite - c16 morning, "large flock" in the afternoon

Goldfinch - 2

Med Gull - 2-3 adults

Harbour
Shag - 7



Quiet weather, quiet birds

Artistic selection from the harbour area.  Thanks Janet - note the Czech-ringed Med

Heysham Obs
Not a lot happening today other than a further increase in Shelduck in the Red Nab area to just under 200.  The main surprise was a Golden Plover which flew inland with a gang of Lapwing mid-morning.  The cold weather has also dampened the enthusiasm of the early-season songsters with only Robin, Great Tit and Dunnock intermittently holding forth on the reserve

North wall
Med Gull - 2 adults
Twite - zero
Meadow Pipit - 1
A bit too hazy to count Eider

Harbour
Kittiwake - 5
Shag - 6 - the ringed bird has a sequence ?1(4)6062? but is not traceable on these numbers

Outfalls/Red Nab area
Wigeon - 92
Shelduck - 189
Turnstone - 31
Golden Plover - 1, then inland
Kittiwake - 1 outfalls

Ringing by the office
About half a dozen new Chaff/Green/Goldfinches and a retrap Goldcrest.  Certainly no obvious influx of birds on to the feeders in the cold, but sunny & not wind-chilling weather

Mid-morning visibility reveals an Eider invasion

Thanks Janet - these were the closest ones!

Heysham Obs
One of the least auspicious days on the ringing front - Twite net fired by accident and the birds did not return, a readable Shag ring missed because of no steadying tripod available (you can't hand-hold a scope on 50x), the 2CY Med Gull also flying off unread and about 5 birds in 5 hours 'ringing' by the office.  Must do better, starting with some bread for the Med

Distant Eider were prominent once the weather cleared, mostly in the outer Kent channel at a range where, with 50 x, you could just about ensure there were no drake kings

Harbour area
Shag - the six juveniles still by the waterfall.  One of these is ringed on the right leg - perhaps the most 'ginger' of the six remaining birds.  The only chance of reading this ring is when it sits on the platform. Please note that the first important thing is not to try and read as many numbers as possible but to see where the 'join' is on the ring and therefore work out what the last number is, then work back.  A Shag which has definitely been ringed in 2011 (as this bird) should be traceable on the last four numbers, and certainly the last five.  If the join is not visible and the last number not viewable, please try and read the rest as it should be traceable to location although obviously not individual.  Thanks.
Kittiwake - still 5 around this morning
Meadow Pipit - one sandworks
Song Thrush - one mound
Blackbird - female sandworks
Twite - just 5
Med Gull - 2 adults and the 2CY was up at the zoo cafe end of the north wall

Offshore
Eider - 208
Great-crested Grebe - 4

One degree fog

Heysham Obs
No chance of intertidal survey work today!

North harbour wall
Med Gull - 2 adults, including Czech-ringed bird, on fence by anglers
Twite - 14-15 on seed (one out of 5 examined unringed)
Goldfinch - 3 on seed
Blackbird - female sandworks buckthorn

SW corner harbour
Kittiwake - just two left - ad & 2CY
Shag - still 6 by waterfall
Black Redstart - almost certainly this sitting facing (therefore definitely not Robin and 99% certain not Dunnock) on the corner of a yellow container at the north end of the the Fisher's warehouse at about 1455hrs, but couldnt relocate it (no access).  This thing, assuming the same bird, is really elusive in the extensive access-restricted suitable habitat!

Heysham village
Female Blackcap new for the year in Malcolm's garden = within the recording area in middle of SD46A

Icy pressure gradient

Heysham Obs
Harbour area
Shag - 6 by the waterfall
Kittiwake - just 7 seen
Med Gull - adult fisher's roof
Twite  - none first thing but a flock of 24, including at least 7 unringed birds, at lunchtime
Dunnock - 2 with above

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
Shelduck - 92 feeding on inland bit of Red Nab
Bar-tailed Godwit - 1,810 & others towards Potts Corner in the next count sector

Dwindling seabirds

Heysham Obs
Its interesting that the one species I would have thought would high-tail it out of the place as soon as the weather calmed down, on past form, would have been Shag.  This is the only one where numbers seem to be holding up as the food source by the waterfall is obviously lucrative.  Kittiwake numbers have really nosedived this last three days and the Guillemots seem to have drifted offshore.  Unfortunately, the calm weather has also failed to reveal the whereabouts of the two Purple Sandpiper and this is of come concern.

What was almost certainly the elusive Black Redstart was seen again three days ago - flushed from the back of the sandworks and flying straight across the harbour ro the Fisher's side

Inshore
Shag - 6 in harbour
Kittiwake - only 5 seen
Twite - c10 in two small flocks, including a retrap Machrihanish bird, ringed in autumn 2011 and caught at Heysham last October/November
Med Gull - 2 adults

Office area
Greenfinch - 5 unringed birds caught (no retraps)

Not before time, three more Cumbrian blog/websites have been added to the links. Re-LDBWS, the South Cumbrian blogsite has some useful postings from the north of our recording area, which does include the whole of SD58 & 68 and SD48 east of the Winster. One revelation was that someone else other than myself actually does occasionally check Wyndammere and birding in this area is not limited to the Barbondale honeypot.  The Furness site indicates the sort of level of gull-watching, (especially along Morecambe Prom?) needed in this area during the next few weeks of this record Iceland Gull winter