Saturday 29 March 2008

Red-throated Diver visits the harbour

Heysham Obs
A Red-throated Diver toured the harbour before returning to the channel off the north harbour wall. All observations before the rain swept in late morning.

Vis mig mainly from from north harbour wall 0700-1030
alba wagtail - 14 north
Meadow Pipit - c67 north
Goldfinch - 2NE
Jackdaw - 1SW

North harbour wall
Twite - 6 on feeder

Wooden jetty
Purple Sandpiper - 1 on jetty

Offshore
Red-throated Diver - one floated out, 2 inshore (including one earlier in harbour)
Kittiwake - flock of c250 swirling about and then landing on the water in the region of the moored freight ferries 1 mile or so south of the harbour c1000-1030 at least

Grounded migrants
Single figures of Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail plus:
Wheatear - 2 OE foreshore
Stonechat - 3 (2 males) Middleton IE - very late passage birds as has been the case elsewhere in this area this month - these same birds may have been around for a week.
Chiffchaff - 1 Middleton IE, 2 reserve

Middleton IE
Goldeneye 1, Tufted Duck 2, Teal 5, Coot 11

Elsewhere
Ross's Goose Aldcliffe Marsh. Pale-bellied Brent Goose Sunny Slopes groyne. Swallow Leighton Moss. NNEW any action at JBP over the tide - wind too southerly at Heysham