Low spring tide channel fare

Quite a bit but failed with a white winged gull target but light often poor

Light bellied Brent goose - two on furthest skeer
Wigeon - migrant flocks of 45, 2 on water by heysham skeer
Large gulls - c350 on or around skeers
Eider - c105
Sand Martin - 5 n
Meadow pipit - 40 n
Alba wagtail - 5 n
Pink footed goose - flock of c360 north
Red breasted merganser - 5
Knot - c4000 on skeer plus murmuration - first ones seen in numbers north of wooden jetty this year

Middleton
Singing Cetti's warbler central marsh as usual

Late jack snipe

Two together ocean edge tide line

Wheatear - 9

Red throated diver - 1

Minimal

Coverage minimal today as office not accessible and no base to mix and match coverage with eg writing up the 2016 Obs report - it wont be long before it is finished - honest!

Chris Batty saved the day with an observation of two dm Arctic Skua heading towards Heysham wooden jetty mid afternoon from his north Fylde window - can only recall one previous migrant March record 

More migrants

29 March 2016 
Rain.

Middleton NR 
Osprey over at c10am
First Willow Warbler of the year

Heysham NR
Singing Blackcap along Moneyclose Lane

Ocean Edge
4 Wheatear

Heliport
4 Wheatear

***********************************+*********************************************

28 March 2016

Middleton NR 0705 - 1030
6C, ENE F2, Clear but misty

Thanks Janet

Hardly any migration was detected at Middleton, just 8 Meadow Pipits (1 trapped and ringed)  and 1 Pied Wagtail (trapped and ringed) flew over!

Cetti's Warbler still singing in the central marsh
Water Rail still calling from the western reedbed
A pair of Gadwall was on the Fence pond along with a pair of Mallard and a spare male
male Teal
Chiffchaff singing.
Blackbird with food seen

Ocean Edge
4 male Wheatear grounded
2 Linnet (local)
c40 Meadow Pipit grounded

No Snipe on high tideline

Black and white bentbill

An Avocet was a very welcome surprise on Ocean Edge saltmarsh with the Oystercatchers but it was just about to be flushed by the tide and ended up flying towards Middleton saltmarsh.  Hopefully one of the Lune Estuary pair returning

Some kind of courtship feeding?  Nice pic Janet

North harbour wall
0935-1020
Meadow Pipit - 78 N
alba Wagtail - 2 N
Goldfinch - 4 N
Siskin - 2 N
Red-throated Diver - flock of 5 on
Chiffchaff - one grounded on mound

Middleton NR
1030-1200
Meadow Pipit - 129 N
Sand Martin - 4 N
Sparrowhawk - 1 N
Chaffinch - 2 NE
Goldfinch - 9 NE
Cetti's singing central marsh
Water Rail - 1
Tufted Duck - 2 males and female model boat pond

Middleton pm - some raptor movement/local thermalling
Quite a lot of common raptor movement.
1 (presumably common) Buzzard very high, got even higher before heading north 14:50. This one looked like genuine movement.
2 common buzzard together 15:45 heading west - think these were local.
2 kestrel together, male displaying.
2 separate sparrow hawk, one high to north, other just high and disappeared.
Still lots of Chiffchaff and 1 Goldcrest.
4 Teal, I'm hoping these are going to breed!
Little grebe calling on Tim Butler pond

Ocean Edge pm
Wheatear - 3

Moths
Early Thorn (2), Common Quaker, Hebrew Character,  Diurnea fagella 

Mammal
Grey Seal

Dead still sunday

A fairly dismal fare today in flat calm weather

The sea produced a Red-throated Diver in 4 minutes of seawatching!

Middleton saw a trickle of vis mig:  Sparrowhawk (1), Meadowe Pipit (13), Siskin (3), Lesser Redpoll (1), Reed Bunting (7 including flock of 6), Pied Wagtail (1)

Just a trickle

Clear overnight and clear day means a lot of birds have cleared off.
Middleton NR 07:00 - 11:00
Meadow Pipit 25 over
Alba Wagtail 3
That was it for vis.

Cetti's Warbler singing
Chiffchaff singing by the gate first thing.
Common Buzzard - 2 circling but not moving off anywhere. One was displaying for a time so probably local birds.
Jay - 1 flew SE
Lapwing - 3 circled over the Model Boat Pond then flew off.

Near half moon bay
Stonechat - male on gorse by fenced off gravel

Ringing (new birds)
Chiffchaff. - 1
Pied Wagtail - 2
Meadow Pipit - 5
Goldcrest - 3
Dunnock - 1
At Heysham there were even fewer birds!
Chiffchaff - 1
Robin - 1
Dunnock - 1
Meadow Pipit - 1

At sea
Red-throated Diver - 3
Grey Seal - 1

And they're off....

Lots of birds on the move now we're past the equinox and the weather is more favourable.

North Harbour Wall from 07:15hrs - 0930

Meadow Pipits 195
Alba Wagtail 38
Linnet 6
Carrion Crow 2
Greenfinch 1
Goldfinch 2
Little Gull 1 adult into Bay
Common Gull 31 into Bay
Black-headed Gull 22 into Bay
Red-throated Diver 18 (1 in at 0719, 1 on then N at 0726, 2 in at 0805, a further 5 in singly, 7 close together on water, a further 2 on the water)
Guillemot 1 on the water
Osprey seen distantly to south at about 0815 heading north then turned and headed in over the Lune channel.
Buzzard 1 north at 1100hrs

Middleton NR
Greylag 3 NE
Chiffchaff 11
Cetti's singing from Femce Pond

Insects
Middleton NR - Comma feeding on coltsfoot
Heysham NR - Brimstone

JR

Meadow Pipit push begins

Negative: no sign Iceland Gull

As the weather starts to improve, the Meadow Pipit passage is getting underway. Should have got to Heysham for first light though as other areas e.g. Rossall had hundreds of Mipits by 08:00

Ocean Edge 08:00

44 Meadow Pipits grounded
Wheatear - 2 males early afternoon

Visible migration

North Harbour Wall 08:15 - 09:35 

All birds heading NE into the wind. 

Meadow Pipit 152 plus 71 different over Middleton, plus 40 later 

Alba Wagtail 17

Goldfinch 2

Greenfinch 1

Linnet 2

Common Gull - 7 . All immatures. NB 25 Common Gulls on the beach in the afternoon. Mixed ages.

Black-headed Gull - 5

Red-throated Diver 4 into the Bay

Auk sp. probably Guillemot 1 into the Bay

Whooper Swan - flock of 70-75 north mid afternoon
Swallow - two north over Heysham village pm (IOY)

Peregrine 2 high. May be local.

Heysham NR 

Stonechat - female still present

Chiffchaff - at least 5 including one showing pollen from the Med!

Middleton
Total of 71 Meadow pipits over to NE. Mainly groups of 3 to 5 birds. Largest group 11. Didn't see any after 10:30, this coincides with arrival of clear weather front.
Thought I was going to be swamped with Chiffchaff, 4 around model boat pond (2 singing), but only heard one other bird singing in the rest of the circuit.
Cetti's Warbler singing loudly from middle of central marsh.
1 drake Gadwall
2 Tufted
4 Teal
1 Water rail
6 Moorhen

Butterflies

 

JR/MD/JP/PJM/PC/TW

Migrants struggle through

Two Sand Martin north this morning (IOY)

17 grounded Meadow Pipit Red Nab and three north this am

Male Wheatear Red Nab the only one despite good coastal coverage

Iceland Gull at waterfall after the tide - the grey is really coming through on the mantle now

Jean/Malcolm/Pete