Starlings on the move!

Heysham Obs
A slow start this morning with nothing weather-wise to suggest that filling up with fuel en route to Heysham was missing valuable vis time.


Vis mig 0905-1020
Starling - 1,347 in 24 flocks - all NE to SW, a lot of them quite low so some could have been missed nearer the power station
Chaffinch - 36 SW including flock of 18
Brambling - 5 together in close association with one of the Starling flocks SW
Greenfinch - 5 SW probably vis mig
Grey Wagtail - two - possibly both bloggers
NO thrushes!

Miscellany
Grey Heron - NR marsh
Water Rail - one Heysham NR marsh
Goldcrest - just one heard by office and none on a quick walk round
[No chiffchaff heard today]

Monday 27th

Heysham Obs
Not a lot from today: just 11 Twite seen and single Med Gulls of the three age classes at Middleton late afternoon where there was also a calling Water Rail and a Meadow Pipit

The dead sea scroll

Heysham Obs
........the scrap of paper I used after accidentally leaving my notebook in the office.  Apart from routine inshore stuff, nothing happened further out that we are aware of.

Seawatching/inshore coverage on and off
Common Scoter - 4
Razorbill - flock three out
Auk spp - 2+1 in
Shag - at least one juvenile.  One flew from the Morecambe direction towards the wooden jetty mid-morning and late in the afternoon one was in the harbour near the waterfall
Little Gull - 2CY on seaward end of Heysham one outfall am before tide came in
Med Gull - at least 2 adult, 3 2CY and one 1CY, mainly outfalls/Red Nab
Peregrine - 2 together flushed everything from Red Nab
Redshank - 375 in roost on beach just south of OE saltmarsh

Moth
One Large Wainscot

More Records to Come?

Heysham NH Wall

Twite - 9 on and around feeding area seen on a very brief mid-morning visit.  1 appeared to have a white colour ring so probably one of our birds from last winter.  Much human activity in the general area.

Hopefully some more records to come?


ajd

Double sparrow surprise

Heysham Obs
A 'small bird' addition to the annual ringing species list could have been so good, but it was a House Sparrow - in the company of a single Tree Sparrow - a most unexpected combination outside a limited amount of dispersal in early autumn ('very' in the case of House Sparrow).  There were a few grounded bits this morning with a 'big' olivy-ish (64mm wing) Chiffchaff giving a consistent piping Dunnock call on release.  Not sure what these are labelled as these days now the abietinus cliché has been discredited


Grounded office area
Blackcap - 1
Goldcrest - at least 7
Chiffchaff - 2
Tree Sparrow - 1
House Sparrow - one male


Vis mig
Just a few Chaffinch but no time to monitor

North Harbour Wall
Linnet/Twite - No sign of the group of 21 Twite from yesterday, 4 only positivily indentified, but much human disturbance and very difficult lighting conditions.  These 4 appeared to be new arrivals looking a little lost and not using the feeding area.  20-30 Linnets around with 16 new birds trapped and ringed plus 3 retrapped birds.


Moths
Red-green Carpet and November Moth agg new for year, Feathered Thorn and Red-line Quaker made up the quartet


A few bits to add to yesterday later on

Much better

Heysham Obs


Snow Bunting - At 1358hrs one flew low to the south calling past Middleton Towers towards Potts Corner where there was a dog walker in high vis, so presumably carried on towards Sunderland Point
Whooper Swan - flock of 29 south, then landed on mudflats off Potts Corner, then south again about 1345hrs
Twite - up to 21 on seed after first seen yesterday afternoon.  Please note that ringing takes place here and please approach cautiously if this is the case on your visit


More detail later

Power walking

Heysham Obs
..............no need to stop.  Nothing at all blown into the outfalls/harbour area but it was an excellent fitness walk after yesterday's car-potato birding.




Inshore stuff
Pink-footed Goose - 62 + 50ish SW
Med Gull - 2 x ad, 1 x 1CY
Kittiwake - 1CY Red Nab
possible obscured Shag on wooden jetty
Grey Wagtail - unringed bird by harbour waterfall


No vis mig of any note and no grounded stuff of note by office


Grounded as wind dropped late afternoon HNR
Goldcrest - 5
Chiffchaff - 1 (by office)
Blackbird - 15
Redwing - 5
Song Thrush - 4
Treecreeper - 1




Moths
Feathered Thorn new for the year here plus a latish Pink-barred Sallow

Difficult conditions with the wind too north-westerly

Heysham Obs

Various times by various observers
Skua spp - distant very dark one (not Bonxie)
Diver spp - one not seen well enough
Little Gull - 2 ad outfalls am
Tern spp - probably juv arctic glimpsed on outfalls
Auk spp - 1
Med Gull - 1CY and ad
Manx Shearwater - group of 3
Kittiwake - group of 3 & a 1CY
Pintail - flock of 19 out

Moths
Angle Shades and Red-line Quaker

An unremarkable day

Heysham Obs
Joint 'highlights' were a Caloptilia stigmatella in the moth trap and a 'new' 2CY Little Gull which made a brief appearance in the morning but didn't seem to stay with the outfalls hordes.  A circuit of the reserve in slightly easier conditions than yesterday was unproductive, save some seemingly noisy and 'resident' Chiffchaff in the same places as yesterday


Miscellany
Med Gull - 1 x 1CY, 1 x 2CY, 1 x Ad
Wigeon - 64
Little Egret - 2
Linnet - 60 OE foreshore
Little Gull - 2CY off the end of the outfalls in the morning
Chiffchaff - 3 reserve
Meadow Pipit - one flew south in afternoon - the only vis noted!
Mallard - after being commendably 'wild' for years, three seen coming to bread at the model boat pond


Moth trap
The above and a Black Rustic & Red-line Quaker


Just out of the area, but possibly the bird from within the other day, a 1CY Shag on the Morecambe Stone Jetty groyne with two Cormorant

Displaced geese

Heysham Obs
Can anyone explain, please, why a cooperative effort between the shooting community and volunteers from the birdwatching community to do a comprehensive goose count is accompanied by "lots of people shooting" (per Fylde-based goose counter)?   This was evidenced even at Heysham where at least 8 skeins flew north-west from the direction of the north Fylde at a time of year when this certainly would not be the norm - indeed it might be unprecedented in such large numbers.  There are no local feeding flocks at this time of year, therefore origin was definitely south of the Lune.  Surely shooting of Pink-footed Goose (or at least in the vicinity of fields used by PFG) should not take place on the count day?


Miscellany
Pink-footed Goose - c600 NNW in eight skeins between 0745 and 0830
Med Gull - 2 x 1CY, 2 x 2CY Red Nab, ad Red Nab
Mallard - 3 OE saltmarsh
Little Egret - 2 Red Nab/OE
Blackcap - male NE corner reserve
Chiffchaff - 5-6
Goldcrest - 2-3
Gannet - 2 adult out
Red-throated Diver - 2 out
Manx Shearwater - gang of 6 out
Common Scoter - 6-10




Hopefully more later but passerine searching conditions very tricky