Local paper time

The Chough and Iceland Gull were not quite so easy to see today, especially the latter with a midday high spring tide covering the main food source.  The Chough ended up in the sheep fields late morning

They are both in the local Morecambe Visitor on line after emailing the newsworthiness on Sunday

A flock of 5 Blackbirds on Heysham NR may have been early migrants dropped by the morning fog

Med Gull : Knowlys road bird seen

** beast from the east on most forecasts coming up

Skylark passage and Velvet Scoter appearance

Velvet Scoter - the drake was picked up floating in with Eider off the Stone Jetty at 1015 - it certainly a pain to see and seemingly not always with the main Eider gangs when they have sometimes been comprehensively counted!   In this respect, there could easily be a spring tide factor, as with Eider numbers which are higher in the feeding area on low spring tides
Skylark - c40 over Middleton mid-am, not sure whether any over Heysham NR during coverage earlier on.  Other seen heading south over Middleton sands during webs
Iceland Gull - 3rd W harbour
Chough - first and second fields
Pochard - 2 drake Middleton
Mute - 3 pair plus 4 adult flying around
Coot - 1
Moorhen - 6
Mallard - 2
Gadwall - 19
Tufted - 3 (2m)
Teal - c30

Chough shunned by the media

Given the fact that it has been seen and/or known about by more people than possibly any other bird ever seen in North Lancashire i.e. the whole of Heysham for a start, attempts to get Lancaster and Morecambe Newspapers and BBC Northwest to do a feature have failed miserably.  Weird - no doubt for wildlife issues they are presumably used to dealing with e.g. RSPB or Wildlife Trust press officers and anyone who contacts them privately is filed under 'oddball- use as last resort'

Chough - mainly in the second field north of half moon bay cafe all day.  I wonder how many pics are in existence!
Iceland Gull - 3rd winter on the incoming tide then had returned to the waterfall at 1515hrs.  Advice to birders tomorrow - go and see this first on the incoming tide before the Chough

Thanks to Mark and Margaret Breaks

Black-tailed Godwit - think its a year tick for here! - one on Red Nab incoming tide
Med Gull - Czech adult north wall/Fishers, Ad Knowlys road.  Czech bird should be off soon so please let me know of any further sightings.  Thanks

No sign of Brents off Knowlys road on incoming tide or on the south side later in the tide cycle

Brents back and extra Iceland near miss

Pale-bellied Brent - returned to skeer off horse paddocks by 1400

Thanks Matt

Chough - first two fields all day

Thanks Matt

Iceland Gull - 3rd W SW corner harbour (and juv last seen heading for Heysham from Battery Groyne early pm)

Med Gull - ad fishers roof, ad off horse fields

Brent failure

Cant find them on their usual high spring tide routine!

Iceland Gull - 3rd W harbour area on and off all day

Thanks Matt for the mobile phone pic

Chough - seemingly ever-present (dangerous word or two!) in the first two fields north of half moon bay cafe 

Med Gull - ad Knowlys road

Jack Snipe - two OE saltmarsh edge

Snipe - 6 OE saltmarsh edge

Stonechat - female OE saltmarsh edge

Kittiwake - didn't actually see any as there was no seawatching carried out, but it was typical Kittiwake flock weather in the morning tide and John Webb intercepted about 120 off JBP which would have come past here

Snipe revealing tide

Jack Snipe - one OE saltmarsh edge
Snipe - 6 OE saltmarsh edge
Chough - first two fields am and pm
Iceland Gull - 3W around SW corner harbour - it also appears as a still and as a video in RBA's weekly summary
Stonechat - female OE saltmarsh edge in corner
No sign Brents - not unusual during higher tides

IOM Ferry - clipped the corner of the north harbour wall as the strong southerly and gaps in the wooden jetty drifted the boat over, despite rounding the end of the wooden jetty as close as possible

Still in winter mode

A contrast between two sites today - here and the Snab.  Here was an 'as you were' with everything seen seemingly in habitual winter mode, whilst the Snab produced a whole heap of things starting to move: e.g. three Ringed Plover, 4 Golden Plover, a Dunlin and a gang of 5 pristine Lesser Black-backed Gull inland, joining the winter fare.  Just a reminder that all pics are from the day in question unless stated otherwise - we don't dig things out of the library to decorate daily postings where no pics are available - this is a 'diary blog'

Chough - first two fields all day by the look of it!  Thanks Janet:

Iceland Gull - e.g. around the SW corner of the harbour at least some of the time over the tide today

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - the two awol at HT (under Heysham Head??) but back on the skeer off the horse paddocks from about 1320 on as the tide was well down

Stonechat - female OE foreshore along saltmarsh

Nothing other than Eider on the sea despite a fair few 'sweeps'

High tide displacement

Iceland Gull - 3rd W only after c1250 when tide had dropped low enough for waterfall to be visible - absent earlier but couldn't see whole of Fisher's roof
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - two off the children's play area at north end of horse fields, visible from Knowlys road i.e. usual place, but again only on the dropping afternoon tide
Chough - 2nd field this am
Med Gull - adults Fishers roof (Czech?) and at Knowlys road skeer near the Brents
Stonechat - female OE saltmarsh
Eider - at least 420 but nothing with them
Great-crested Grebe - 2 offshore
Green Sandpiper - again on the shallow flood by the first roundabout on the bypass - seen from eastern fringe of recording area c1430hrs
Kittiwake - 2 +5 out (bit unexpected)
Coot - Equal first rarest bird in the area on Middleton:

Gadwall, Teal and Oystercatchers also taken by Janet on Middleton:

Thanks for these great pics Janet

Nothing lost nothing gained

Iceland Gull - 3rd W waterfall and area most of day at least
Chough - very easy to see in first field north of half moon bay cafe at least mid-pm and implicitly earlier on (per cafe)
Pale -bellied Brent Goose - Exactly the same place on the skeer as yesterday!
Stonechat -  OE bird seen today
Pochard - at least one Middleton NR

Belated Saturday

NOTE: Heysham Obs report can be obtained from Leighton Moss - ask at reception

Lunchtime and early afternoon quick visit but looked like birder(s) had just beaten me looking at the pager messages.  Dog walker message from yesterday indicated a few people with cameras wandering around the first two fields but 'not seeing anything' so Chough presumably further round

Iceland Gull - 3rd W waterfall from late am to early pm at least
Chough - reported on pager just before seen by me from Near Naze viewpoint in second field early pm
Stonechat - female along beach half moon bay
Pale bellied Brent Goose - two in usual place off childrens play area end of horse fields on skeer near gull roost
Med Gull - ad in above gull collection
Rock Pipit - Near Naze on beach
Pochard - two drakes Middleton
Coot - its back!