Twite increase

 A selection of recent pics taken by Janet (Kestrel and one of Sunday's three heliport miscreants) and Pete Cook (Purple Sandpiper).  On Sunday, during survey work, just three people saw fit to walk along the heliport seawall at or near high tide out of well over 100, mainly dog walkers, using Half Moon Bay beach and adjoining grassland, but the first of these (and two dogs) led to a roosting flock of 2,700 Knot leaving the site 

Heysham Obs
An increasingly windy and wet day saw a lot of computer screen and not a lot of birds

North harbour wall
Twite - between 37 (early morning) and 42 (lunchtime) on and around the seed, including an absolute minimum of 7 unringed birds and at least one 2011 Machrihanish-ringed bird
Goldfinch - 3 with above
Med Gull - one adult
Kittiwake - 3 2CY on Heysham 2 outfall, waterfall area not checked

Middleton NR
Gadwall - still two pairs on the fence pond
4 Mute Swan, 6 Coot, 3 Moorhen, 14 Tufted Duck, 6 Mallard, 1 Pochard, 2 Goldeneye, 1 Snipe
10 Redwing a little unexpected

Moth
The first Hebrew Character of the year graced the trap, quite early for here

Coastal two and four-legged counts!

Heysham Obs
If any dog-walkers or power walkers/strollers etc are reading this, please stay off the old heliport seawall at or near high tide.  A dog walker census was undertaken for Half Moon Bay and the grassy areas above - anyone interested in the results?  The bottom line is that there are plenty of dog-exercising areas in and around Heysham without the need to disturb large numbers of roosting waders.

Inshore areas
Med Gull - 2CY briefly to bread near the zoo cafe - wonder where this bird is spending most of its time? One adult patrolling th north wall
Knot - a return to some use of the heliport seawall, albeit flushed by the first dog walker at 0900hrs, whence 1,300 roosted on the Near Naze over the tide and 2,700 flew south to join another 2,500 off Ocean Edge
Bar-tailed Godwit - very quick count of OE saltmarsh saw 2,900 and one roosted over the tide with Knot on the Near Naze
Dunlin - as above revealed about 3,700
Shag - four 2CY left, including the ringed bird which was sorted out as one of two from Puffin Island - just couldnt be certain whether the last number was a 1 or 7
Kittiwake - 5 2CY in harbour
Guillemot - one near the harbour mouth
Purple Sandpiper - at least one roosting on the sunny south side of the wooden jetty
Twite - at least 13, including nine examoned of which two were unringed and one was from Machrihanish 2011

Moth
Agonopterix heracliana in its plainest form graced the trap (thanks John)

Whistle stop

Heysham Obs
A very brief visit just after lunch saw:

Harbour/outfalls area
Kittiwake - now back up to five around the waterfall and one on the outfalls
Shag - just two visible in brief check
Twite - heard near the feeder
Med Gull - adult patrolling north wall

Finches and wildfowl increase

Heysham Obs
Sorry for the late posting - thought someone else was doing it

North harbour wall
Twite - c35 first thing, including some unringed birds
Med Gull - ad on beach off heliport

Office feeder
Four unringed Goldfinch and three unringed Greenfinch in the feeder net, plus single 'new' Great and Blue Tits

Middleton NR
Wildfowl still increasing: Mute Swan - 4, Coot - 6, moorhen - 3, mallard - 7,
teal - 7,  Tufted duck - 15, Gadwall - 4 (2m + 2f), Goldeneye - 2 (f/j), Pochard - 1 (f)

Moths lead the way

Heysham Obs
Harbour area
Twite - c16 at the south of the sandworks, but not a scrap of food left on the feeder at 0930hrs!  After stocking the feeder, 33 were seen early afternoon with 'several' unringed birds
Goldfinch - one same area, later 3
Shag - two visible roosting on platform, including the ringed bird which is definitely not darvic-ringed on the left leg, narrowing the likelihood from observed numbers down to the usual Puffin Island source.  We need the last ring number, but the access is currently closed due to fence construction/demolition work!
Med Gull - adult patrolling
Eider - at least 63 offshore

Moths
The first record for here of the fuscata form of Dotted Border along with a Chestnut

Nothing obviously new in

Heysham Obs
Just to remind people, if you are returning from (light better later in the day) visiting Heysham, its well worth taking a few minutes to turn right at the Overton turning along the bypass and view Heaton/Aldcliffe marsh from SD444608.  A break between tidal counts today saw 350 Pinks with 2 Euro Whitefronts with them and the highly synchronous and wary Lesser Snow Geese with the 250 or so Greylags

Inshore sightings
Twite - 12 trapped and 6 of those were unringed birds.  Earlier about 30 seen.
Med Gull - two adults on the mudflats
Shag - at least two
Kittiwake - two 2CY outfalls/harbour mouth
Ringed Plover - 19 off Ocean Edge all day
Wigeon - 84
Goldfinch - one on the seed
Meadow Pipit - one sandworks

Moths
Another Pale-brindled Beauty, this time a melanistic individual.

A February moth at last and an offshore mystery

Heysham Obs
A flurry of activity early on soon degenerated into office work.  Sorry should have posted the offshore mystery earlier to alert people.

Offshore
Eider - at least 60
unidentified probable small grebe - this was seen in flight with structure and distribution of white on the wing suggesting a small grebe (female Goldeneye eliminated), although it was very distant.  It then landed on the water and couldnt be relocated although it was about "half the size" of a Great-crested Grebe at a similar distance further north

Harbour area
Twite - at least 18
Med Gull - at least one adult
waterfall area not checked by me

Moths
Pale Brindled Beauty was new for the year and not guaranteed every year here

Cetti's highlights reasonable variety

Thanks Janet - the bottom four could make a nice mystery pic

Heysham Obs
A vocal Cetti's Warbler in the central marsh mid-afternoon

Harbour area
Twite - 33, 7 unringed, 2 ringed at Machrihanish in autumn 2011
Goldfinch - one with above
Med Gull - 2 adults
Guillemot - one
Shag - four
Kittiwake - one
No obvious sign of any Purple Sandpiper

Outfalls
Little Gull - 2CY, then flew offshore as the tide came in

Middleton NR
Cetti's Warbler - one calling central marsh
Returning wildfowl to thawed water comprised:  4 mute swan, 6 coot, 5 moorhen, 9 tufted duck, 2 female goldeneye, 3 teal, 5 mallard

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