Tuesday 13 March 2007

A quieter day

Heysham Obs
Red Nab/outfalls/harbour
Shelduck 101 RN
Eider 1 male off RN
Little Gull adult & 2 1st W outfalls
Wigeon 11 far out on ebbing tide
Shag 2 in harbour + 2 wooden jetty, later presumably the same 4 on wooden jetty
Red-breasted merganser male out past wooden jetty


Grounded migrants
3 Stonechat on Middleton IE (2 males) but no evidence of Wheatear or Goldcrest after a very clear night. The most unexpected record was a Greenfinch on the north harbour wall mound - a new 'grounded' species for SD36!

Vis
One or two Meadow Pipit

Moth trap: There are no records on the MapMate database and indeed checks of the daily logs and the annual report revealed no evidence that Mottled Grey had been previously recorded at this site.



Thanks to Reuben Neville for this and the above Oak Beauty

Elsewhere
Very little news today other than the continued presence of the Purple Sandpiper at the Stone Jetty and 512 Eider offshore there mid-afternoon, the only notable records from a low tide count between Heysham Harbour and Teal Bay. Avocet number about 14 on the EM complex and nearby 118 easily-spooked Greylag Geese are probably the wild birds which many of us believe still visit this area, as the most southerly regular flock of Icelandic birds. Seemingly negative news on the Lune valley Whoopers but they have plenty of places to hide! No sign of the Lesser Snow Goose at Pilling.