The 'outfalls from Ocean Edge foreshore' routine

Heysham Obs
Limited to long-range scans with my leg injury and that didn't make things very easy with an intermediate-toned-mantle on large gull sat on the rocks at the seaward end of Heysham One.  Not the bird photographed on the wooden jetty a few days ago - that was a deceptive Lesser Black-backed Gull, rear on straight into the sun - this was side-on in good light.

Outfalls/Red Nab
Med Gull - at least 14 including 4 2CY
Little Gull - moulting adult
Large Gull - possibly the bird photographed by Janice the other day - putative ad Yellow-legged Gull

Delayed fall

Heysham obs
It looked like there should have been a few migrants this morning but the CES time period at Middleton was very quiet.   A quick visit by one of the two ringers to the office saw at least 5 willow warblers calling there.  Then at about 1100hrs the most pronounced movement of warblers I have ever seen outside the early hours at Middleton.  First indication was visual with at least 5 willow warblers and a whitethroat in the hawthorn next to the ringing base. These quickly headed inland avoiding the three nets still in operation but the next net round more than doubled the morning's ringing total!

Ringing Middleton
Catch included high single figures of whitethroat and willow warbler, three sedge warbler, two lesser whitethroat and blackcap and a reed warbler.  The juvenile Cettis  warbler caught the other day was retrapped.

Outfalls/Red Nab
Good stuff Pete - one of the few mornings this wasn't otherwise covered.  Lifted from Birds to Blog, no need to re-word! "Got the timing right at Heysham yesterday and got there three hours before high tide to take up the challenge and find 15 Mediterranean Gull on Red Nab and Stage 2 outfall, they were seen as 9 adult, 2 1st summer, a 2nd summer, and 3 juvenile. A juvenile Black Tern was at the seaward end of Stage 2 outfall".  Also Ad winter Little Gull photographed

Middleton wetland fare (thanks Malcolm)
Mute Swan - 1 pair with 4 young on model boat pond, single bird on "no swimming" and pair on Tim Butler ponds.
Mallard - 1 female with 3 quite mature chicks (originally 7) on model boat pond. 1 male + 1 female type on "no swimming" pond.
Tufted - 1 male + 1 female type on model boat pond
Gadwall - 2 female type on "no swimming" pond
Little grebe - 1 in summer plumage on model boat pond
Coot - 5
Moorhen - 6
Water Rail - 2+

Osprey highlight

Heysham Obs
Not a lot going for it this morning with clear conditions, quite a bit of moon, sun on the mist nets and below par vis mig over here.  The reduced number of warblers still included un-ringed Garden, two Lesser Whitethroat and Reed at Middleton but the Willow Warblers really nosedived

Middleton Swallow roost
About 50 birds, 20 odd caught including juv S094327 from memory and more certainly an adult Z759034...........and a Sand Martin.  Four ringed-elsewhere Swallows out of only about 50-60 birds.  What's going on!  One of the previous ones was ringed as a nestling at Preesall Moss and the other was 'reverse migration' from the Fleetwood roost - the first of tonights might also be from there.  Water Rail squealing.

Coastal stuff
Common Scoter - two pairs by Heysham skeer, then flew out as the tide started to rise (thanks Malcolm)
Horrible heat haze checking from Ocean Edge, but at least 16 Meds - mainly on Red Nab (7+2CY, 5 Ad, 4 Juv).  No sign of any Black Tern mirages.

Heysham NR
Osprey - one high to the south at 0815, sent even higher by seagulls over the PS
Grey Wagtail - 4 S
Tree Pipit -2 S
"No" migrant warblers perceived but a probable Spot Fly seen in rapid flight through the area

Middleton NR
Just a trickle of warblers in the nets - no real evidence of an arrival with 90% on the first round

More migrant warblers

Heysham obs
South east wind and rain at dawn is a good recipe and the ringing effort at Middleton was pretty good until the weather went pear shaped- too hot and too sunny

Outfalls/red nab
Thanks to Matthew for letting us know the two juvenile black tern were still around -roosting on the wooden jetty this afternoon. Also at least 7 meds around

Middleton
Tree pipit -2-3 south
Grey wagtail - 0ne south (and another two south over ocean edge)
Meadow pipit - two together south
Newly ringed birds included: 15 willow warbler, 6 sedge warbler, 6 white throat, two lesser whitethroat, two blackcap one chiff chaff and a tree pipit

Toyota fare

Heysham Obs
The Peugeot 107-like hire car did good in the driving rain, allowing a prolonged scan of the outfalls on the incoming tide

Outfalls/Red Nab area
Black Tern - two juvs - they never came closer inshore than the seaward end of the outfalls and seemed to disappear about 1215hrs but conditions very challenging
Little Gull - odd-looking 2CY (moult) and an Ad
Sandwich Tern - ad
Med Gull - minimum of 15 with 5 x juv, 5 x ad and 5 x 2CY
Impossible to look south along the tideline

Varied reports

Heysham obs
Had better days with cylinder head gasket blow five minutes from checking heysham to stone jetty pre tide. No chance!

1) ad summer Sabine's gull located by pete crooks on the mudflats by the stone jetty unfortunately just before being flushed by incoming tide and the designated location for windsurfers and as such not seen in obs recording area

2) highly secondhand report of 3x black tern, possible white-winged black term, yellow legged gull and 'a' med gull from southport Rspb group. Presumably a few record shots kicking around?

3) a belated late afternoon visit saw 14 x med gull (6 2cy, 4 ad, 4juv), sandwich tern

Hopefully a bit more enlightened about SRSBP records tomorrow

No coverage known today -anyone any ore rain records from eg the outfalls please ?

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