2CY Med day

Heysham Obs
These can usually be found when you have a bit of time to go through hordes of gulls. 

Red Nab/outfalls/Ocean Edge foreshore
Black-headed Gull - 1700
Med Gull - 5 x 2CY, 2 x ad, 1 x juv
Sandwich Tern - presumably THE adult
No recent sign of Little Gull

WeBs bits
Cormorant - 75
Turnstone - 62

Welcome juvenile Cetti's Warbler

Heysham Obs
After no sight nor sound recently, a juvenile Cetti's Warbler appeared in the Middleton nets this morning.  The office nets were also run and produced 9 warblers amongst the 'feeder fodder'

Middleton & HNR ringing sessions
Cloud cover first thing soon gave way to a sunny easterly morning but there were less Whitethroat around this morning.    Ringing from both sites included the following new birds:  1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 5 Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Tree Pipit, 12 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap

Vis mig
Tree Pipit - two over HNR, one of which was probably the bird caught at Middleton
Coal Tit - flock of four headed noisily south over HNR

Could get round to doing the gulls in time c/f spring tide

Routine moths with Lime-speck Pug probably the best

Same format, stronger easterly

Heysham Obs
A real bonus (on the forecast just two days ago) being able to run the three western nets at Middleton and a decent catch for the single ringer in operation (thanks Jean) given the light/mod breeze, crystal clear skies and last night's moon.  

Middleton NR ringing
Water Rail - I+ western marsh reedbed
Swallow - single figures south
No other vis mig other than the two Tree Pipits found in the mist net and a single Grey Wagtail heard flying over way to the south of the site!

Newly-ringed birds included:  2 Tree Pipit, 10 Willow Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler (having its best year this millennium), 8 Whitethroat, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Blackcap.  Despite this being the fourth consecutive day operating these nets, the only retraps were a single Blackcap, three tits and a Bullfinch

Red Nab/outfalls
A bit too glary for my eyes after a dawn start to the day and could easily have missed the odd 2CY Med
Med Gull - 3 x Ad, 4 x juv
Whimbrel - 3

Moths
Hardly any with the easterly into the window but did include Purple Bar

Even sunnier easterlies and an early Spot Fly

Heysham Obs
A bit of a bonus this morning with winds much lighter than forecast so same again at Middleton.  In retrospect, we were too weighted towards Grey Wagtail (one over, not caught) and Tree Pipit (2 caught) with respect to MP3 players and might have been better off with Willow Warbler instead of Grey Wagtail.  Nevertheless, the colour-ring study does prompt use of the tape if there is any chance of catching any, but it does seem that the recent early movement was during the light NW winds, not so much these easterlies.  Probably the only site in the country where Whitethroat is still ahead of Willow Warbler as regards ringing totals this year!  A good year so far for Lesser Whitethroat as well with 43 ringed.

Ringing/observation at Middleton
Spotted Flycatcher - one 'bombed' through landing on top of a bush briefly allowing identification!
Tree Pipit - 2 ringed and no definite evidence of any others
Grey Wagtail - one SE
Water Rail - heard
Newly ringed warblers and others from memory:  11 Whitethroat, 5ish Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Tree Pipit, 2 Robin.  No tits!

Red Nab/outfalls
Most of the time was spent trying I think successfully to read a German-ringed adult Med - a returning bird from the Hamburg rooftop colony.  Definitely 3 other adult/3CY, 2 2CY but no juvs seen and no time to check tideline to south

Moths
Included Bordered Beauty

 

Sunny easterlies

Heysham Obs
Bit too bright and sunny this morning, following a sizeable moon during the night.  Small arrival of Willow Warblers, otherwise relatively slow-going ringing on Middleton but still just under 30 new birds

Vis mig
Tree Pipit - two found in the mist net  the only ones seen/heard!
Grey Wagtail - just two together which avoided the mist net
Grey Heron - 3 juvs together high to SE
Meadow Pipit - at least 2 SE
Swallow - c20, mainly blogging during flying ant session

Ringing at Middleton
New birds included: 9 Willow Warbler, 3 each of Lesser and Common Whitethroat, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Tree Pipit

Miscellany
Med Gull - adult anting over Middleton may have been one of the two earlier on the HT roost (roost disturbed prior to arrival and gulls very tricky on the sand straight into the sun)
Bar-tailed Godwit - 113
Grey Plover - 65

Waders 'shepherded' within range

Heysham Obs
An alsation plus owner flushed a chunk of waders up towards the Ocean Edge section of the low high tideline this morning, the rest went the other way, too far to discern but seemingly mainly small calidrids.  They were the only tideline miscreants today.  At last, some waders along this tideline after an early autumn of chronic disturbance

Ocean Edge/Red Nab/outfalls
Med Gull - 2 x ad, 2 x 2CY, 4-5 x juv
Sandwich Tern - ad
Whimbrel - 2
Bar-tailed Godwit - 109
Grey Plover - 68
Dunlin - 35
Knot - 30
Grey Wagtail - 2 south-east - almost certainly the Middleton ones

Middleton NR
Grey Wagtail - 2 SE (one ringed)
Sparrowhawk - young male ringed
Newly-ringed warblers from memory comprised:  6 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Whitethroat (plus bird ringed elsewhere), 12 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler, one Sedge Warbler.  A young Grasshopper Warbler was retrapped.

Middleton evening
About 20 Swallows caught and ringed including one ringed elsewhere - S09xxxx from memory - a bit odd as this sequence would normally have been used ages ago, yet a pristine ring on a juv.  Re-read several times by two people!  Good to have a nice quiet evening without reeling Grasshopper Warblers.  Roost about 40 birds, so still small

Moths
Quite autumnal all of a sudden with 5 x Sallow, 2 x Canary shouldered Thorn, Eudonia angustea, Agriphila geniculea, and Flounced Rustic by far the commonest at 30.  An Old Lady lurked behind the door!

No medals for today's sightings

 Visitors reported an adult Mediterranean Gull on Red Nab

A Wheatear was seen.

That's all folks! 

Friday 12th

Heysham Obs
No Red Grouse flying in-off or more likely off-out.  A large gull on Red Nab whilst on a whistle-stop visit was awkward.  Mantle as per Yellow-legged, bill looked adult but either immaturity or staiing on the tertials, rest of it hidden by rocks.  Then it was flushed and it had 'more' old primaries than the bird the other day and no obvious white P10 spot but it was all very brief before it landed in an even worse spot with just the head visible.  It had moved when JR went down but nothing new to add ie no view of leg colour.  Couldn't find it later in sunny heat-haze

Outfalls/Red Nab
Sandwich tern - adult
Large Gull - see above
Med Gull - 1 x ad, 1 x 2CY, 3 x 1CY

Minimal coverage

Heysham Obs
Not a lot to report today other than 4 x 1CY Meds on the seaward end of Heysham one and a 2CY on REd Nab = all well before high tide.  Moths included a Herald and two White-line Dart

Just been going through the historical north Lancs recoveries from the BTO site.  The first and third I didn't know about - the Blue Tit is odd as we were supposed to have caught it - wonder if it was deemed a misread at the time.  The Goldcrest remains the most inexplicable ringing recovery we have had from Heysham - never mind the odd movement, there are not usually any around by early May with the spring passage over by mid-April

Guillemot

T25440	Nestling	28-06-1985	Badbea, Helmsdale: 58°8'N 3°32'W (Highland)
	Dead	22-01-1986	Heysham 460km   S
Goldcrest
DKC	First-year Male	09-04-2001	Blavand Fuglestation, Oksbol: 55°33'N 8°4'E (Ribe) Denmark
A28540	Caught by ringer	02-05-2001	Heysham Obs 725km   WSW
Blue Tit
K274678	Nestling	01-06-1996	near Turnastone: 52°0'N 2°57'W (Herefordshire)
	Caught by ringer	22-09-1997	Heysham 226 KM N

Ridge of plenty

Heysham Obs
A few weird things going on.  A Green Lovebird was near Ocean Edge caravan park/Nature Park associating with Goldfinch on Monday (per Janice Sutton).  Today we found out that the Heysham NR car park noticeboard was a pokespot, or whatever its called, giving some 'reward' to the hordes waving mobile phones around

After looking a heap of rubbish until the later forecasts yesterday, this morning was rather good with a three net session on Middleton west side producing almost 50 new birds.  The moths also produced three surprises in the form of Phoenix, Pale Prominent and, way ahead of its time, a pristine Pink-barred Sallow

Middleton NR
Decent fall of Whitethroat and Willow Warbler with a few other odds and ends.  A Willow Warbler with an interesting retrap history was caught.  Ringed on 7th September 2014 at Heysham, retrapped at Middleton on 8th September 2014, then nothing until today
Tree Pipit - 2 south
Swift - 2 south
Swallow - 20-25 south
Grasshopper Warbler - adult male retrapped (first ringed as 3J in 2014, no sign 2015, bred 2016)
Sedge Warbler - none seen/heard
Reed Warbler - 2 ringed
Lesser Whitethroat - 4 ringed
Whitethroat - 15 ringed
Willow Warbler - 11 ringed
Garden Warbler - 2 ringed
Chiffchaff - 3 ringed

Red Nab/outfalls/wooden jetty area
Wheatear - 2 on gravel by wooden jetty
Med Gull - 6 x 2CY, 2 x unringed juv, 4 x adult
Sandwich Tern - 1