Friday 11 April 2008

Meadow Pipits overtake the cloud & light rain!

Heysham Observatory
North harbour wall
Twite - single at feeder along with 2 Linnet
Common Scoter - 2 offshore but distant
Black-tailed Godwit - 1 north into Bay
Cormorant - 1 high North into Bay

Nothing at all during a 30minute seawatch following very heavy showers 1330-1400hrs, but 120+ large gulls, with many immatures, in and around the harbour

Visible migration 0745-1000
Nothing until about 0830 when pulses of Meadow Pipit started to head north-east despite no perceptible improvement in the weather. They had 'overtaken' the clearance which precipitated them to move. An even larger movement during the first 20 minutes of the clearer weather, after which the passage reduced to a trickle

Meadow Pipit - All NE: none until 0830, 30 between 0830 & 0900, 82 between 0900 & 0920, 9 between 0920 & 1000, just one casually noted after that. 122 in total.
Linnet - 4NE
Swallow - 1S, 1N
Jackdaw - 2S - unusual

Grounded migrants
Mist netting produced just four unringed Robin and two unringed Goldcrest in this category [& a few Greenfinch, Chaffinch, tits]. Just 2 Wheatear - both Red Nab.

Elsewhere
Ross's Goose Pilling Lane Ends area before flying over seawall with PFGs. 5 Scaup Conder Pool. Pale-bellied Brent Goose Sunny Slopes groyne.