Clear weather routine plus a few Chiffchaff

Heysham Obs
Higher and more tricky vis mig this morning in clearer conditions with Chaffinch & Redwing comprising the vast majority of the records and 5 Tree Sparrow the 'highlight'.  Grounded-wise, four Chiffchaff were perhaps unexpected given the conditions and recent paucity.  The vis continued steadily until at least the early afternoon with small numbers of Chaffinch and Redwing noticeable throughout

Vis mig by the office until 1015hrs
Redwing - 281 SW in dribs and drabs with quite a few grounded
Song Thrush - 6 SW as singletons
Carrion Crow - 11 S
alba Wagtail - 11 SE
Chaffinch - 336 SW
Meadow Pipit - 7 SE
Linnet - 4 S
Coal Tit - dribs and drabs, possibly no more than 25-30 (15 ringed during morning)
Goldfinch - 38 S
Rook - 9 NE with Jackdaw
Jackdaw - 4 NE
Raven - 2 S
Greenfinch - very few this morning - no more than 10-15 perceived flying SW and very few around feeder
Grey Wagtail - 1 SE
Mistle Thrush - 3 SW
Tree Sparrow - flock of 5 S
Pink-footed Goose - 78N & flock heard only to west
Jay - 3 S
Reed Bunting - 1 SE
Skylark - 17 SE

Grounded
Blackcap - 1
Chiffchaff - 4
Goldcrest - c5 new
Great Tit - a ringing total of 6 for the day is very high for here - obviously a bit of movement

North wall
About 50 small finches around, mainly Goldfinch but also including 10+ Linnet and at least 4 Twite
Rock Pipit - 1
Chaffinch - one grounded on mound
Meadow Pipit - 4 on mound

Ringing
New birds:  Redwing (17), Coal Tit (15), Wren (1), Goldcrest (4), Chaffinch (13), Chiffchaff (2), Blue Tit (2), Great Tit (6), Dunnock (1), Blackbird (1), Greenfinch (just 3 - conspicuous by absence this morning), Goldfinch (1),

Moths
Catoptria stigmatella and a single Green-brindled Crescent

A nice varied morning by the office

Heysham Obs
This was very much a 'big sit' list this morning as I was "tied" to mist nets and vis mig, as well as having to deal with a heavy shower mist-net-wise.  Going to have to work this evening as spent far too long on coverage today!

Vis mig dawn to 1030hrs
Redwing - 325 SW, including flock of 140
Mistle Thrush - 3 heading SW with a flock of Redwing (definitely MT!)
Goldfinch - prominent this morning with 57 S and 3-4 grounded flocks
Meadow Pipit - 29 SE
Grey Wagtail - one heard in the distance early on
Reed Bunting - 5 SE
Chaffinch - 168 SW
Greenfinch - an attempt to isolate vis suggested c84 SW
Song Thrush - 10 on vis mig, heading SW in ones and twos, 14 grounded birds headed inland
Bullfinch - a prominent passage this morning with 17 heading S/SW at considerable height, including a flock of 5
Brambling - one SW with an early group of Chaffinch
Coal Tit - at least 35 south in flocks of up to 6 (19 ringed)
Starling - ignoring the ex-roost west to east birds, 63 flew south in four flocks
Blackbird - 4 high to SW and c15 grounded and heading inland just after dawn
Lesser Redpoll - 2 S
Golden Plover - one south (rare here)
alba Wagtail - 25 SE
Skylark - 14 SE
Common Buzzard - one high to the east heading south
Sparrowhawk - 1 S
Kestrel - one low to south may have been on vis mig
Curlew - 5 S
Siskin - 15 SE
Carrion Crow - at least two southbound high-flyers
Jackdaw - one flock of 6 S
Pink-footed Goose - 25 SE
Cormorant - 2 S
Yellowhammer - a female/imm flew low from the north, landed for about 10 minutes before heading SE

Grounded
Bear in mind that all this was from by the office - no reserve circuit (yet)
Stonechat - female (IOA) - headed off the plateau towards the tank farm
Treecreeper (one ringed)
Chiffchaff - 1 (ringed)
Blackcap - one very heavy off-passage female ringed and another calling
Goldcrest - 10
Robin - two lightweight birds ringed
Wren - 3 ringed
Song Thrush and Blackbird see above

Ringing
Not too bad considering limited to nets by office & disrupted by shower:  New birds:  Coal Tit (19), Robin (2), Goldfinch (6), Goldcrest (5), Greenfinch (7), Blackcap (1), Wren (3), Blue Tit (1), Chiffchaff (1), Treecreeper (1)

A further 18 'blogging" species were seen from the office vantage point, giving a 'big-sit-type' total of 52 species with no wetland or intertidal stuff within visual range to give 'easy' additions.  Linnet was the unexpected absentee from the vis.

Was anything missed?

Heysham Obs
The early morning received no coverage today as a late night and unfavourable forecast (especially for mist-netting) took its toll.  A quick whizz round suggested that perhaps a bit of effort might have been worthwhile as there were plenty of breaks between short showers

Vis by the office 0830-0845
Meadow Pipit - 2
Chaffinch - 6

North harbour wall area
Twite - 2 (couldnt see whether ringed or not)
Linnet - 21
Goldfinch - 8
Rock Pipit - one
Meadow Pipit - 11 grounded
Razorbill - flock of 4 'out'
Med Gull - adult

Red Nab area
Little Gull - adult
Med Gull - 2 1CY
Knot - c6,500

Moths
Light-brown Apple Moth in the trap & amazingly still a Nettle Tap moth in the mist net ride next to the office

Pre-frontal trickle

Heysham Obs
A few bits ahead of the weather front this morning.  A horse and trap racing around on Middleton shore pushed all the waders up to the Ocean Edge end, 'allowing' location of a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper.

Heysham NR circuit/vis mig to 0930
Chaffinch - 36 SW
Goldfinch - 17 SW
Siskin - heard once
Reed Bunting - one S
Bullfinch - 1+2 high to south
alba Wagtail - 6 SE
Woodpigeon - 8+5 S
Coal Tit - 7+8+12 S first thing, then no further movement (none(!) seen during circuit of reserve)
Curlew - one high to south
Meadow Pipit - 17 SE, all just before the rain in two groups

Song Thrush - 16 grounded first thing, then inland
Blackbird - at least 12 behaving like migrants first thing, then inland
Redwing/Fieldfare - no sign (c/f east of here)
Goldcrest - small influx with c15 seen (4 ringed)
Blackcap - just the one  seen (& ringed)
Tawny Owl - one with a halo of Great Tits and the like in the eastern woodland - flew across the road on to golf course

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
First visit for a few days!
Med Gull - just two adults
Wigeon - 45
Shelduck - 81
Knot - 6,500
Bar-tailed Godwit - 395
Dunlin - 2,200
Curlew Sandpiper - juvenile

Nasal double

Heysham Obs
The easterly didn't seem to have a lot of fetch on it and dawn saw a layer of cloud at the 'useless' level for dropping any great numbers of migrants and at the same time inhibiting clear-weather tit movements.  We ended up with reasonable vis, much easier to record than yesterday, a few extra grounded and a reduced, but still significant Coal Tit passage with 20 ringed and no large flocks.  The blog title refers to singleton Twite and Brambling, the first of the autumn.  The morning also provided an object lesson in how not to assume high-flying small thrushes are Redwing - all were heard and all went 'tick'

Vis to 1000hrs (Greenfinch ignored - certainly no obvious vis mig)
Grey Wagtail - 4 SE
Chaffinch - 79 SW
Bullfinch - 1+1+1 high to south
alba Wagtail - 45 SE
Cormorant - one high to SE
Song Thrush - 1+1+1+2+1 high to S/SW
Blackbird - 2 high to SW, then u-turned and landed
Meadow Pipit - 89 SE
Goldfinch - scarce this morning with just 6 S/SW
Lesser Redpoll - 2 S
Linnet - 2 S
Brambling - one SW
Reed Bunting - 1 SE
Twite - one 'in-off on the north wall, landed on mast then headed low over the harbour
Carrion Crow - 3 SE
Jay - one high to east and a call, probably this spp from very high in the sky but couldn't locate!
Coal Tit - just one irruptive flock of 8 birds which avoided the mist nets, all the rest were more sedate ones and twos (20 ringed)
Great-spotted Woodpecker - one high inland which may have come in-off - seen to fly over the golf course without dropping - most unusual here

Grounded (circuit of reserve)
Slightly better than yesterday but no obvious migrant Robin
Goldcrest - 6-8
Blackcap - at least 3
Chiffchaff - new arrival by office, then inland
Blackbird - 6 in NE corner
Song Thrush - 3 in NE corner
Wren - at least 2 new birds (ringed)
Rock Pipit - 2 north wall together
Meadow Pipit - 5 north wall (& 21 Linnet and 7 Goldfinch)

Ringing
Coal Tit (20), Wren (2), Grey Wagtail (2), Blue Tit (1), Blackcap (2), Goldcrest (2), Chaffinch (2), Greenfinch (2)

Moths 
Rhomboid Tortrix and the usual suspects in the form of Pink-barred Sallow and Red-line Quaker

Cold clear Coal Tit irruption

Heysham Obs
The largest Coal Tit irruptive movement since 1985 took place during the first 2 hours of the day with a significant trickle for the rest of the morning.  The count is likely to be an underestimate as I had to leave the vis mig operation to help with mist net extractions at the key time

Vis mig by the office dawn to c1030hrs
Coal Tit - 164 logged flying south, largest flocks being 32 & c40.  Only small numbers after 0830hrs
Long-tailed Tit - one unringed flock of c11
Blue Tit - single figures of unringed birds - more than usual this autumn!
Great Tit - no sign of any movement as usual here
Dunnock - at least two southbound migrants
Skylark - 12 SE
Reed Bunting - 2 SE
Chaffinch - 108 SW, but significant underestimate as they were very high and not 'casually' recorded during mist net rounds
Goldfinch - 15 & comment as above
Jackdaw - 11+16+1 south - really high!
Pink-footed Goose - 60+39 SE, second flock stratospherically high
alba Wagtail - just 4 SE
Jay - 3+2 south
Carrion Crow - 6+2+1 high to south
Sparrowhawk - one south
Bullfinch - 3 high to south & c5 others moving through bushes
Raven - 2 south
Meadow Pipit - just 11 noticed, comment as Chaffinch
Mistle Thrush - 5+1+1 SW
Greylag - 2 south together c1130hrs
Peregrine - large pale bird flew ESE with quite slow wingbeats at c1145hrs (!!) - no fine detail seen

Grounded
Wren - 5
Robin - 13
Chiffchaff - singing male, the first for a few days
Blackcap - 1 female
Goldcrest - 2
Jay - 2
Bullfinch - 7
Mistle Thrush - 1
Coal Tit - 13 (including a flock of 7) seen on a walk round the reserve at 1030am

North harbour wall
Rock Pipit - 1-2
possible single twite on the food but silent in bad light and flew off

Ringing
Coal Tit (39), Greenfinch (4), Blue Tit (9), Long-tailed Tit (10), Wren (4), Chaffinch (2), Great Tit (1), Robin (4), Goldcrest (2), Blackbird (1), Bullfinch (1), Goldfinch (1), Dunnock (2), Lesser Redpoll (9)

A Coal Tit morning

Heysham Obs
Nothing startling this morning in conditions where the weather didn't seem to know what to do.  Initially northerly at low level and south-west at cloud level, this then turned easterly and south-south east respectively.  The first Redwing(s) of the year were heard overhead but not seen and there was a sprinkling of grounded continental Song Thrush.  Vis consisted of the usual suspects and was very slow to get going, in contrast to yesterdays clear dawn 'rush'

Vis mig dawn to 0930hrs (all flying between SE and SW) & supplementary odds and ends
Grey Wagtail - 1
Pink-footed Goose - flock of 125
Goldfinch - 62
Chaffinch - 91
Meadow Pipit - 43, including flock of 17
alba Wagtail - 63
Collared Dove - 1
Woodpigeon - 11
Kestrel - 1
Siskin - 8 (& 2 later with the Coal Tit flock in the eastern woodland)
Linnet - 2
Coal Tit - 7, later another 8 and a flock of 29 in the HNR eastern woodland which moved inland
Redwing - high flying calls just after dawn but bird(s) could not be located!
Skylark - at least one SE c1030hrs

Grounded
Song Thrush - c15, 5 flying inland and 4 ringed
Blackcap - 4
Goldcrest - c8
Bullfinch - flock of three unringed birds caught
Robin - one unringed bird
Kingfisher - one in marsh
Treecreeper - one with the Coal Tit flock in the HNR eastern woodland

Cold clear corvids

Heysham Obs
The sort of cold and clear conditions which kick-start corvid movements, render small bird vis rather tricky at a low-level site and produce a dearth of night migrants.  A few Mistle Thrushes on the move

Vis mig on and off dawn to about 1000hrs
Siskin - 3
Carrion Crow - 17 (max flock 6)
Chaffinch - 105 SW
Grey Wagtail - 4 SE, possibly 6 but one appeared to be off-passage
Goldfinch - at least 19 migrants S
Coal Tit - at least 17 migrants, mainly heading south (7 ringed) and one of yesterday's birds ringed at Heysham NR retrapped at Middleton this morning
Jackdaw - 54 SW (max flock 24)
Meadow Pipit - just 12 seen SE
Mistle Thrush - 2+3+11 SW
alba Wagtail - at least 35 SE
Bullfinch - 1 S & others heard in bushes which may have been on the move
Skylark - at least 8 SE
Blue Tit - 3 flying high to the south & another two unringed birds caught together, a further 3 ringed at Middleton - multiple movement at last!
Jay - one to south & it or another over Middleton
Greenfinch - as in other recent days, ignored but some of the trickle may have been on the move
Reed Bunting - 1 SE & 4 ringed at Middleton & 2 on north wall
Pink-footed Goose - four flocks of c100 (3) and 72 SE
Lesser Redpoll - 5 ringed (Middleton) but none heard arriving!

Grounded
Blackcap - 4 (3 ringed) - all high fat/high weight off-passage birds, one ringed Middleton
Chiffchaff - just the one encountered at Middleton, none Heysham NR
Goldcrest - just 2 unringed birds encountered at HNR
Snipe - 11 Middleton
Song Thrush - at least 4 dawn migrants round HNR office (one ringed)
Wren - 7 ringed, obviously some movement
Dunnock - no evidence of any migrants
Robin - no evidence of any migrants at Heysham NR (locals singing from dawn), but 3 ringed on Middleton

Ringing recovery
A colour-ringed adult female Ringed Plover on the heliport at the high tide roost on 17/9/12 (only) was ringed at nearby Arkholme in the Lune valley on 17/6/99 (as nesting adult female)

Ringing at Middleton/Heysham NR
New birds, indicating the lack of 'night' migrants: Goldcrest (2), Wren (7), Chaffinch (3), Song Thrush (1), Coal Tit (7), Blue Tit (6), Great Tit (1), Greenfinch (6), Goldfinch (3) Robin (3), Long-tailed Tit (1), Grey Wagtail (1), Lesser Redpoll (5), Reed Bunting (4), Blackcap (4), Chiffchaff (1)  

North wall
Reed Bunting - 2 on seed along with c12 each of Linnet and Goldfinch

Outfalls
Predictably, in the conditions, no sign of any terns left in late afternoon.  Ad Little Gull and 9 Med Gulls

Moths
Not too bad, but routine with Feathered Ranunculus the best

Par for the course in a north-westerly

Heysham Obs
The leftovers were still in place on the outfalls, but precious little of any interest overhead or in the bushes with top billing the Rusty Dot Pearl in the moth trap and two flyover House Sparrow!

Outfalls
Quick check revealed
Black Tern - juv
Common Tern - 2 juv
Little Gull - ad
Med Gull - 5 1CY, at least one 2CY, one adult

Office area vis mig dawn(ish) to 0915hrs
Chaffinch - 43 SW
Meadow Pipit - 17 SE but high and the harbour very noisy
Grey Wagtail - 2-3 (two ringed)
House Sparrow - 2 SW
Goldfinch - c25 S
Reed Bunting - 2 SE (1 ringed)
Coal Tit - at least 16 passed through to the south
alba Wagtail - 26 SE

Grounded
One unringed Goldcrest the only evidence of new stuff.  Blackcap of unknown status calling by the office

Moths
Highlighted by Rusty Dot Pearl and Feathered Ranunculus

Selection remains on the outfalls

Heysham Obs
No landbird coverage this morning after a late night in the Hill Inn, Chapel-le-Dale, although there appeared to be a small influx of Goldcrest around the office area.  Quick check of the outfalls produced the goods in the space of about 6 seconds scanning from Ocean Edge!

Outfalls 0900hrs
Black Tern - juv
Common Tern - 2 juvs

Thanks to Janet and Pete for these

Little Gull - ad
Med Gull at least 3 1CY and one 2CY