Seabird trickle and early evening Chough connection

Not a bad seawatch this morning for a routine day list but nothing new for the year and yet again no hirundines and the only squall to spice things up was right at the end.  Singing Reed Warbler new for year on Middleton but the only Grasshopper Warbler 'records' this year were both probably tape lures, the second as per two visiting birders in the right area!!

Just found out that a Blue Tit ringed at Heysham NR on 20/9/17 was killed by a cat called 'Ginger' at Dorrington Road, Greaves, Lancaster on 21/4/18

Sea 0715-0915 NHW
Gannet - 12 different ones in/out (inc flock of 6)
Common Scoter - 22
Red-throated Diver - 4
Guillemot - 1
Razorbill - 1
Manx Shearwater - 5 (1+4)
Sandwich Tern - 4 out 2 on buoy
Arctic Skua - dm in 0900 after shower (plus a very distant prob small skua about 10 mins earlier)

Others
Turnstone - 99 roosting on wooden jetty
Shelduck - pair making breeding season sort of noises on the Near Naze!

Afternoon stuff (thanks Malcolm - pretty decent haul for nice sunny afternoon!)
Wheatear - 2
Chough - came in at exactly the same time as last Friday - 1827hrs and drank some water before feeding in second field

Guillemot - summer plumaged bird by waterfall and winter plumage/2CY harbour entrance

Shag - a/the bird by waterfall

Rock Pipit - doing a few parachute flights this afternoon

Butterflies
Quite a few Orange Tip this afternoon (thanks Janet)

Common Tern

Seawatching rubbish apart from
Shoveler - pair in-off then north
Common Tern - one south

Others
Wheatear - 4
Whimbrel - 2
Another hirundine free day

The skua season kicks off

Sea 0700ish to 0830ish
Arctic Skua - 1 dark morph in 0714, 2 dark morph in 0745
Manx Shearwater - probably the same one u-turning
RT Diver - 2 in then on
Little Gull - ad slowly in
Common Scoter - flocks of 5 +10 + 20
Whimbrel - one in & 3 on oe saltmarsh
Gannet - 3 in distantly, two out close
RB Merganser - one in

Whitethroat singing Heysham barrows

Rock Pipit still near harbour entrance

Avocet!

A welcome addition to the already impressive year list when Pete Crooks had an Avocet fly south at 0810 over the wooden jetty

Some decent ringing recoveries just received

Oystercatcher

4117552       Nestling  12/06/16          Fijatshlid, Iceland  67 7 N 19 8W
Sighted                         17/04/18         Heysham Near Naze

Blackbird

LA28964       2CYM       16/03/15          Heysham NR
Dead                                28/03/18          Royknes (Vest-Agder) Norway 58 19N 7 52E 821km NE 

Lesser Redpoll

Z836197         2CYF          06/05/2015      Heysham NR
Recaptured                   25/3,30/3&8/4/18  Hope under Dinmore Leominster (Herts) 208 km

Goldfinch

AAC0223        5M          10/01/18          Dunton (Buckingham)
Recaptured                      07/04/18          Heysham NR   275 km NNW

Sea on and off & coastal strip

Gannet - two horizon Ads north by the windfarm
Avocet - one south along the coast at 0810
Shag - 2CY wooden jetty area
Little Gull - 3 ads together in
Common Scoter - flock of 5 out
Pink-footed Goose - 52 and 22 N
Sandwich Tern - 6
Rock Pipit - one still by south harbour
Wheatear - 8 south wall and OE - after the rain
Whimbrel - 1

Vis
Lesser Redpoll - one grounded then north
Meadow Pipit - 2

Grounded
Willow Warbler - four caught in an hours ringing with a single net 0700-0800

Too clear

 It was too clear overnight for night migrants to stick around and too clear during the day for diurnal migrants to fly low so today's list is short:

Heysham Nature Reserve
Ringing
Lesser Whitethroat - 3 were caught and ringed

Vis 0730-0930:
Redpoll sp - 22
Linnet - 20
Goldfinch - 3
Meadow Pipit - 3
Swallow - 1
House Martin - 2
Pink-footed Goose - 8

Sea
Kittiwake - 31 (also seen past Stone Jetty) in
Common Scoter - 1 out then on
Sandwich Tern - 27 in
Great-crested Grebe - 2 on

Middleton NR
Sedge Warbler - 3 singing
Lesser Whitethroat - 2 singing
Cetti's Warbler - 4 singing (1 near No Swimming Pond, 2 either side of central marsh, 1 west end of western marsh reedbed)

Winter favourites reappear

The start was perhaps about 30 minutes too late this morning but a few migrants were caught and ringed during the first hour or so with later rounds producing the first two Common Whitethroat of the year

Goldcrest - female ringed, male heard singing
Wheatear - 1
Robin - unringed bird
Green Woodpecker - heard distantly early on HNR
Chough - flew over HNR heading SW at 0611 and was relocated having flown in from the SE at Half Moon Bay in early evening

Whitethroat - IOY - two ringed but none heard singing - usually the other way round with this spp!
Shag - 2CY wooden jetty area late pm

Moth
Common Quaker in trap

Two more Black Redstart

There were a lot of Wheatears moving through today, associated with one mobile group of about 15 birds was a particularly ghostly female/immature Black Redstart, see snap below (it actually is on this picture). They were on the rocks and sea wall around Red Nab before drifting inland about 12:30.

A second, also female/immature, Black Redstart was on the south wall roundhead. This was a more striking bird, but no sign of white wing patches. It initially flew to north wall, but quickly returned, unfortunately to the inside of the Power Station confines (so no pictures) 13:15. It was relocated at 14:50 by Jeff on the roundhead.

Sandwich Tern - 29 offshore
Rock Pipit - still around lighthouse area. Record shot below is slightly overexposed making it appear pale.

Wheatear - minimum 27, between 11:30 & 13:30, most moving through.
Whimbrel - 1

Insects:
Small White on Ocean Edge salt marsh

Middleton Nature Reserve
Cetti's warbler - 2 singing
Lesser Whitethroat - c10 singing

(report MD)

The calm, hopefully before the storm!

A quieter day, by recent standards, but still not bad.

Redwing ringed on HNR

Great Crested Grebe - 6 seen from Knowlys Road

Rock Pipit, sitting quietly on steps near lighthouse on south wall roundhead (see yesterday's post). But as soon as a Meadow Pipit landed on roundhead it saw it off. It appears to be "on territory".......

Arctic Tern on No.1 outflow. Arrived about 2hr before high water.

Whimbrel 1 on Red Nab, another, or same mobile bird, on Ocean Edge salt marsh.

Wheatears - minimum 4

Middleton Nature Reserve
1 Cetti's warbler and 2 Lesser Whitethroat singing
Tufted 2
Teal 3

(MD)

Ring Ouzel leads another decent haul

A southerly wind didn't promise much but there were definite signs that we perhaps should have put at least one net up in the shelter before the rain hit after 0845

Ring Ouzel - female on top of bush by office late am - flew towards tank farm via mist net ride!
Arctic Tern - one outfalls

Razorbill - one in sp flew out
Med Gull - 2CY outfalls but very mobile
Rock Pipit - still hanging around south harbour

This is a favoured resting location between the lighthouse on roundhead and the steps to the east of it. Please do not go down the steps, they are perilous! (MD)

Chiffchaff - one south harbour
Wheatear - at least four

Black Redstart

New for the year today:  Black Redstart and Lesser Whitethroat

Black Redstart - a very elusive and secretive female/imm, spending large amounts of time in dark crevices between boulders at Red Nab - found by Malcolm late am

Thanks Janet

Lesser Whitethroat - one started singing next to HNR office midday, two on MNR in afternoon.
Wheatear - 4 Ocean Edge
Little Gull - two adults flew in off the sea on to the outfalls near high tide
Shag - on the large skeer with Cormorants pre-tide then flew towards harbour
Eider - 175
RB Merg - 9
Great-crested Grebe - 9, including flock of 4 - all sp (north European birds??)

Plants
Presumed fence-hopping Snake's Head Fritillary on HNR now in flower

Mammals
Grey Seal