Odds and ends of minor surprises

Heysham Obs

Magpie - two in-off to wooden jetty (didn't see them until about 300m to NW over the sea) then inland after some hopping about

Little Grebe - one fence pond Middleton getting chased around by a solitary Coot

Water Rail - 2 squealing western marsh reedbed Middleton

Gadwall - male model boat pond (but no sign of the male Pochard - grrr)

Negative on Med Gull - no sign of Czech-ringed bird in thorough check at high tide with an e.g. full quota of Black-headed Gull on Fisher's roof roost.  Fractionally earlier than usual to depart - last seen North Harbour Wall on Wednesday.

Coot - 2 model boat pond, one fence pond

Little Egret - 3 Red Nab

Wigeon - 136 Red Nab

Skylark - 3 NNE over office 1040hrs

Backlog - sorry

Heysham Obs
Really sorry for no updates recently.  Thanks to Malcolm for most of this and Janet for the pic and Janet Greenwood for the Barn Owl report

MONDAY 22nd additions
Ocean edge saltmarsh
11 common snipe, 1 skylark. 33 linnet

Red nab
Slight increase in Wigeon to 138

Harbour
Only birds in inner harbour were 5 roosting 2cy kittiwake.

WEDNESDAY 24th
The big news today was the presence of a male Pochard on the model boat pond (but not here on Thursday!).  Also c5000 Starling roosting on end of wooden jetty

Also on Middleton NR
8 mute swan, including 2 x 2cy, 4 coot, 11 moorhen, 3 mallard, 7 tufted, 26 teal Malcolm

Moths
2 Dotted Border

 
THURSDAY 25th
Barn Owl - one flying around Middleton NR early evening

Ocean Edge high tide
2 Jack snipe
12 common snipe
9 ringed plover
2 reed bunting
7 linnet

Mammal
Nothing in harbour except grey seal. Malcolm

Moths
Two more Dotted Border

Peacock basks in the wall-to-wall sunshine

Heysham Obs
Some nice pics from Janet taken in the harbour area:  Thanks for these





Birds
Kittiwake - at least three 2CY in harbour

Moths
3 x Dotted Border in the trap

Butterfly
Peacock basking on the hilltop meadow on Middleton

Mammal
Grey Seal harbour - see above

Ringing
Only 16 birds caught : 5 Goldfinch, 4 Greenfinch, 3 Chaffinch, 2 Robins, 1 Wren and 1 Blue Tit.
Of interest, one of the Chaffinch was ringed at Heysham in 2011, but not caught again in subsequent years.

Monday 22nd

Heysham Obs
Couple of things from today, neither requiring binoculars

a) Dotted Border (melanistic) in the moth trap

b) The Goldcrest bearing a ring from elsewhere caught at Middleton on a good migration morning on 1st November 2015 was ringed at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire on 11th October, as part if a large 'fall' of trans-North Sea birds, therefore a leisurely WNW movement - unusual direction for this species but similar to e.g. Redwing and Chaffinch from Scandinavia

Windy fare

Heysham Obs
The punters were probably relieved the IOM ferry was on a Liverpool day today, giving a modicum of Welsh/Wirral shelter from the SW gale, but it could have been a good day for 'followers'.  So we had to see what was in situ as a short seawatch was pretty unproductive, albeit with poor visibility

Harbour/outfalls area
Guillemot - x 2 at high tide
Great-crested Grebe - x 3 in entrance area
Little Gull - three adults in boating channel off outfalls mid-am
Kittiwake - x 3 2CY in harbour
Herring Gull - mildly leucistic/bleached 2CY with dirty coffee primaries and a virtually clear tail
No sign of any 2CY Shag

Moth trap
A Dotted Border and the first Hebrew Character of the year

Middleton
Looks like the adult Mute Swans have left the two young on model boat pond and commenced prospecting
Jackdaw - 2

Wet webs

Heysham Obs
The one bit of the harbour not checked for the webs held the two star birds of the day - 2x 2cy shag.  Thanks Malcolm

Had to be done a day early this month.   Quite a few pluses: being able to do it by car, courtesy of various barrier cards and prom permits, an adult Little Gull was a minor surprise on Ocean Edge saltmarsh roost and there were 4K Knot on the dog-free heliport roost and another 2k at the Sunny Slopes Groyne.   The fields just north of Heysham Head are developing into a major roost due to a very effective barrier (plus a few horses) keeping promenade-exercised dogs off.  For example, 41 Ringed Plover there today.  This is how to do it, there are plenty of places for dog walkers to go - point out these alternatives and install a barrier and/or effective notices, including directions to the alternative(s), where you don't want them to go (deep and wide ditches are good!).     As usual, and used to be the case along the roadside at the heliport, the birds are habituating to people always the same distance away from them along the prom, the other side of a barrier

Ocean Edge
Little Gull - adult

Heliport
Knot - 4200
Ringed Plover - 6

Red Nab
Wigeon - 110

Harbour
Med Gull - adult
Kittiwake - 2 x 2CY
Shag - 2 x 2CY

18th-19th Feb

Heysham Obs
Not a lot happened yesterday which didn't happen today!  A bit low-key all over this area at the moment but some really good pics from Janet to brighten up the doldrums

Todays sightings
North wall
Linnet - 13
Goldfinch - 19
Twite - one unringed

IOM ferry
Med Gull - large adult, not Czech bird

Harbour
1 x 2CY Kittiwake still

Red Nab
Wigeon - c110
Little Egret - 2

Middleton NR
Tufted Duck - 11
Gadwall - 1
No recent sign of any Cetti's warbler

Thanks Janet

Moths

2 x Dotted Border last night - one melanistic

 

More Gadwall

Heysham Obs
Nothing to say other than twitched the male Gadwall on the Middleton model boat pond today, so the Patchwork challenge goes up by one. 

One of the gulls looked a candidate for a 2CY Yellow-legged (e.g. white-headed, appropriate tertial pattern) but it promptly flew off after obtaining one awful mobile phone-scope shot which I'll examine tomorrow

Gadwall

Heysham Obs
The bad news: still no Pochard in the best month for this declining species, the good news is that a Gadwall has returned

Middleton NR
1 male Gadwall
2 pair + 2 imm mute
2 coot
5 moorhen
12 mallard
14 tufted
Minimum 30 teal

Glimpse of probable Chiffchaff

MD

Raven

Sunday 14th

Raven have been a bit tricky recently but one flew over the office today

7 Common Gull seaward end Heysham One and 7 Pied Wagtail together Ocean Edge foreshore two signs of spring!