Sandwich tern invasion

Heysham Obs
A light localised north-easterly prompted a routine visit and seawatching (& Pete C) saw 22 Sandwich tern, a mixture of inshore birds on the yellow buoy and ones and twos patrolling offshore

Two mist nets next to the office produced their first 'new unringed bird' for about three hours (none yesterday) in the form of.........a Blue Tit [in contrast, 600 ringed at Portland BO so far today (1830ish)!].  Definite block on grounded migrants and, bearing in mind the female/2CY content of the later birds, has the Lesser Redpoll passage finished!!  It wasn't many years ago when this was a consistent feature of late April/early May, then it shifted to mid-April, then last year to around 9/10 April, then this year the fourth week of March!  Is it just the first available warm anticyclonic weather of the spring which prompts the movement?

Sea 0735-0905
Sandwich Tern - 22 (c7 on yellow buoy) [first of year]
Red-throated Diver - 4 floating out on sea
Red-breasted Merganser - 3 'in' (2+1)
Eider - 80+
Great-crested Grebe - 2 'in'
Just 3 Linnet around the mound area

Office area
Meadow Pipit - 7 NE
Blue Tit - unringed 2CY caught
No evidence of any other movement c/f south-coast 'falls' of last two mornings

Moths
A late Chestnut was the only surprise

North-westerly dross

Heysham Obs
A small clear slot just after dawn plus some mistiness produced the only perceived migratory 'event' of the day:

Siskin - 5NE
Goldfinch - 2NE

This precipitated what was turned out to be a birdless two hours with two mist nets

Moths
Rather better than the birds with the first two Powdered Quaker of the year, an Agonopterix heracliana and another Shoulder Stripe - a moth which is gradually becoming commoner here

Uncooperative redpolls and unexpected Blackcap

Heysham Obs
Maybe some of the redpolls are getting wise to people trying to catch them as they move up the country and they failed to enter the (albeit 'suntanned' and visible) nets again this morning.  For the last two mornings. there has been at least one bird per flock acting as though it knew the score and dragging the rest of the group off to the north after a brief rest and chat at the top of a bush.  Therefore ringing has been limited to the occasional singleton.  The morning was a "bonus" of another still and sunny first three hours or so before the forecasted west-north-west wind kicked in.  The only evidence of a night migrant was a female Blackcap which unexpectedly appeared in the mist net

North harbour wall
No Twite, just 6 Linnet.  Immature Peregrine successfully caught a Turnstone and flew off out to sea with it!

Office area dawn to 0915ish; not very conscientious vis coverage
Woodpigeon - 2 NE
Raven - one north
Meadow Pipit - 17 NE
Lesser Redpoll - at least 35 north
Goldfinch - 13 NE
Chaffinch - 5 NE

Grounded
Blackcap - one female ringed with zero fat and a weight of 16.9g
The only other ringing comprised 2 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Goldfinch and a Chaffinch

Ringing totals so far this year
Despite the unsuccessful redpoll ringing and complete lack of night migrants during the last three days,
a pretty impressive start to the year with good numbers of Goldcrest and quite a few rather unexpected unringed individuals of the likes of Long-tailed, Blue and Coal Tit:  Siskin (2), Lesser Redpoll (39), Goldfinch (36), Goldcrest (165), Blackcap (1), Robin (22), Chiffchaff (21), Blue Tit (18), Dunnock (8), Great Tit (5), Linnet (3), Coal Tit (4), Chaffinch (22), Twite (17), Greenfinch (51), Blackbird (5), Song Thrush (1), Wren (2), Long-tailed Tit (7), Meadow Pipit (71)

Birds ringed elsewhere comprised Reed Bunting (from Walney), Meadow Pipit (as yet unknown origin British) and Lesser Redpoll (unknown origin French), Shag (from Puffin Island, Anglesey) and the returning wintering Czech-ringed Med Gull which departed for its unknown breeding site on 29th February.  The wintering Twite ringed at Machrihanish Seabird Observatory (Mull of Kintyre) in autumn 2011 was also re-caught during March.  It may also prove possible to trace the origin of the Lesser Redpoll with a 'closed' aviculture ring!  One of the Blue Tits was caught a day or so later at Brookhouse in the Lune valley - an established pattern of spring movement in this area.

Insects
Queen social wasp seen for the first time this year.  Loads of drone flies!

 

Seen today on Heysham NR.  Thanks Janet

Nice sunny birdlessish day

Heysham Obs
Vis mig
Meadow Pipit - c35
Skylark - 1
Siskin - 1
Lesser Redpoll - c25
alba Wagtail - 3
Goldfinch - 6

Offshore
Gannet - 2 'in'
Eider - 145

Grounded
Goldcrest - 1 - first noted early afternoon!
Blackcap - 1 singing male very first thing, moved on
Wheatear - 1 on mound
Robin - unringed adult was a surprise
Twite - four on the north wall seed, including two unringed birds

Ringing
Stunningly unsuccessful with the two migrating flocks of Lesser Redpoll both containing 'spooky' individuals which dragged the flocks away from the netting area almost as soon as they had landed, possibly also due to this being the worst time of the morning for sun on the nets.  Ringing limited to the above Robin plus 1+1+1+1+2 Lesser Redpoll

Interestingly, we have ringed almost 500 birds so far this year, the vast majority in March with a big chunk of these being 165 Goldcrest - by far the largest ever spring total for this species

In-off Red Admiral surprise

Heysham Obs
Office area dawn to 0930hrs
As is often the case, the main migrant in the clear conditions this morning was Lesser Redpoll, perhaps surprisingly (for so early in the redpoll migration season) all those ringed were adult females or last year's young birds.

Vis mig dawn-c0930hrs
Mute Swan - 3 east (low)
Whooper Swan - 5 north
Meadow Pipit - c60 north
Lesser Redpoll - 27 north (16 ringed)
alba Wagtail - 2 north
Linnet - 5 north
Grey heron - one high to NW
Goldfinch - 4 north
Carrion Crow - 1 north

Grounded
No definite night migrants seen at all!
Twite - one north wall

Insects
Loads of Small Tortoiseshell and a few Peacock around but the main surprise was a Red Admiral butterfly (probably male) which flew in-off from the SW at Ocean Edge at about 1355hrs.  Surely a hibernator spurred by the weather and not a primary immigrant?  Diurnea fagella in the moth trap

Clear weather fare

Heysham Obs
The problem this morning was traffic noise during the peak vis mig period - it is odd how this is only a problem on certain mornings, seemingly unrelated to the wind - the wrong kind of air?  Nice flock of Knot at Middleton/off Ocean Edge which we have been counting all week - 12000-14000 each day:

Office area
Ring Ouzel - probable male tank farm then flew inland 0725hrs
Redwing - 2 flew inland just after dawn - late for here
Chiffchaff - just the one obvious migrant ringed
Goldcrest - none
Lesser Redpoll - at least 42 north (just 7 ringed)
Chaffinch - 5 NE
alba Wagtail - 9 N
Meadow Pipit - c80 N
Carrion Crow - 2 N
Linnet - 7 N
Woodpigeon - flock of 6 N
Collared Dove - 1 NE
Goldfinch - just one N!

Offshore
Eider - 122

North wall in afternoon (more seed put out after Twite seen this am)
Twite - at least 5 on seed but flew off before could be examined
Linnet - at least 6 as above

Ocean Edge
Twite - 5, then flew north, possibly out to sea (at least two were unringed, rest not seen properly)

Moths
Surprisingly good catch considering it was 3.5C at dawn, with a mass break-out of Double-striped Pug (8), Early Thorn (4) and a nice individual moth in the form of Red Sword Grass (not common here). Another Speckled Wood seen today - this time at Middleton:

All pics taken by Janet today - thanks for these

Very early morning fencehopping redpoll?

Heysham Obs
Quieter morning with the main interest being a Lesser Redpoll sporting a closed ring as used by aviculturalists.  This was removed as it was too large for the leg - easily passing over the joint on to the upper leg - and has been despatched to the BTO

Office area
Chiffchaff - 4 ringed, including the first female of the year
Goldcrest - 7 ringed (one male)
Lesser Redpoll - at least 19 (two registrations not seen, counted as 'one') (5 ringed (or re-ringed!))
Meadow Pipit - 288 NE
Siskin - 1+10 NE
Chaffinch - 2 NE
Goldfinch - 6 NE
Sand Martin - 1 NE
Linnet - 6 NE
alba Wagtail - just 2 NE
Jay - two of unknown status making a lot of noise and flying about
Bullfinch - 'lost' female contact calling around the office for 5 minutes before heading north
Lapwing - 2 south
Woodpigeon - fairly definite migrant flocks of 6+4 north
Rook - star bird of the morning - one south-east
Dunnock - one unringed bird caught
Wren - as above
Kestrel - 2 north

North wall
0740-0840, 0915-0935
Meadow Pipit - 65 N and NE
Redpoll sp - 10 N
Grey Wagtail - 1 N
alba wagtail - 18 N
Siskin - 3 N
Linnet - 6 N
Jackdaw - 1
Black-headed Gull - 82 in

Wheatear - the only one seen anywhere this morning was a male on the mound

Ocean Edge
Populous!
Knot - 12,000
Bar-tailed Godwit - 600
Ringed Plover - 20 at high tide on OE beach (as yesterday)

Insects
The earliest ever Speckled Wood made and appearance next to the office in the early afternoon

Very early morning French redpoll

Heysham Obs
Net-setting rather too late at 0600hrs missed two lots of Lesser Redpolls, apart from one bird which entered the half-opened net as it was being set - it bore a Paris ring!

Later, perhaps even less-likely, a Meadow Pipit was caught bearing ring number L742790 - any one own up to this, please?

Office area/north harbour wall vis mig/grounded
Meadow Pipit - 299 logged over the office (0600-1200) + 52 over NHW (0645-0700 and 0935-0950)
alba Wagtail - just 3 over the office and 2 over NHW
Lesser Redpoll - early morning groups of 18 + 9, then just two singletons, and 4 NHW
Carrion Crow - 2 north very high
Raven - two northbound migrants tracked from Potts Corner to high over Heysham Head
Sparrowhawk - two singletons high to NE
Chaffinch - 3 NE
Goldfinch - 13 NE (underestimate)
Linnet - 4 NE + 2 over NHW
Woodpigeon - 4 to east, high, and 5 high over NHW
Chiffchaff - at least 10 migrants (7 ringed)
Goldcrest - a few early morning, then a reasonable arrival mid-morning after a change in wind direction - 40+, all but one trapped a female (27 ringed).  Also 3 on the NHW 'mound'
Jackdaw - 2 high to the west (rare here!)
Tree Sparrow - one (+?) heard but not seen
Siskin - 7 NE  over NHW
Skylark - 1 NE over NHW
Greenfinch - 2 over NHW
Goldfinch - 1 over NHW


Ocean Edge area
No Wheatears, despite good coverage doing survey work
Knot - 14,500
Bar-tailed Godwit - 390
Blackcap - singing male by the OE entrance gate for a short period (first of year for British Energy Obs area, but birds wintering in suburban area), heard later nearby by visiting birders (thanks for the report)
Med Gull - 2CY, probably same as the other day

Insects
A few Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock on the reserve.  Early Thorn a bit of an overdue addition to the moth year list

Pollinated male Chiffchaffs and female Goldcrests

Heysham Obs
Another pretty good early spring migration morning, highlighted by a significant influx (at last) of male Chiffchaffs, some showing evidence of pollen, apparently from 'Mediterranean' flora, on and around their foreheads.

                                                                                                    Thanks, Janet

Grounded Heysham NR/dog track/Ocean Edge
Goldcrest - not many and all females (11 ringed)
Chiffchaff - probably at least 20 migrants (9 ringed), a good spring day count for here
Wheatear - 5 Ocean Edge foreshore
Other ringing included Lesser Redpoll (first 3 of the year) and Meadow Pipit (21)

Vis mig 0700-0930
Meadow Pipit - 448 (Peak time 0830-0900 when 265 were logged); then small numbers moving all day
redpoll sp - 3
Siskin - 14
alba wagtail - 9
Skylark - 1
Goldfinch - 5
Sparrowhawk - 3 at 0940
Reed Bunting - 1
Coal Tit  - 2
Carrion Crow - 2 north-east
Small flocks of Meadow Pipit, Siskin and redpoll still coming over at 1600hrs.

Nothing visible on the sea except a Great-crested Grebe due to poor visibility.

68 Turnstone on the wooden jetty

Plenty of Meadow Pipit

Heysham Obs
Slightly murky 'clear-sky' morning producing a lot of northbound Meadow Pipit and a decent number of grounded Goldcrests, especially after the easterly wind kicked in about 0830hrs.

Vis 0730-1330 (quite a few short breaks during this coverage)
Meadow Pipit - 1088. Bulk of movement came to an end at 1330 but odd ones continued to move through e.g. 4 at 1540
Siskin - 50
alba wagtail - 42
Lesser Redpoll - 15
Goldfinch - 15
Greenfinch - 4
Collared Dove - obvious migrant high to NE early morning
Sparrowhawk -3 singletons east
Kestrel -2
Common Buzzard -1 flew to the east at c1100hrs
Skylark - 1
Linnet -9
Grey Wagtail -1
Whooper Swan - 35 at 0715 and 3 at 0830 north

North Harbour Wall
Wigeon - 2 in channel
Eider - 72 in Kent channel
Red-breasted Merganser -2
Linnet - 2 on food
No Twite
Gannet -3 out
Wheatear - 1 female landed briefly

Grounded/Ringing (to just after 1000hrs)
Chiffchaff - singing male by the reserve entrance and passage male early morning by the office
Goldcrest - 37 ringed, at least 10 seen to escape from nets as the wind increased, plus others obviously moving through - estimate 70+.  We tend not to dwell on ringing totals on this site, but it is worth mentioning that the Goldcrest total of over 120 ringed so far is already the highest spring total in the Obs history (since 1981).  Only two springs ago (2009), just one individual was seen and none ringed, following some severe weather!
Meadow Pipit - 9 ringed = 0.1ish% of those seen!
Dunnock - 1
Wheatear - 7

Moths/butterflies
Late Chestnut of interest. Peacock butterfly seen on reserve - surely more than this around?

Male and female Gadwall at Middleton: