Thursday 22 May 2008

Passerines hard work in the wind but a few seabirds again

Heysham Obs
Early morning landbirds
An influx of Whitethroat and single large male Wheatear and female Whinchat (latter by the office)

North harbour wall 1000-1200
Red-throated Diver - 1 out
Pomarine Skua - light morph across the mouth of the Bay then lost behind wooden jetty 1135 - did not go 'in' and nothing seen from JBP skua-wise today
Black Guillemot - harbour entrance
Arctic Tern - 22 into Bay plus presumably a further 11 much later off JBP during their afternoon stint.
Sandwich Tern - single figures
Gannet - 17 - largest count this spring of the top of my head
Manx Shearwater - 4
Fulmar - 1
Kittiwake - 1 out
Swift 18NE
Swallow - 65NE
House Martin - 21NE

Common Sandpiper on the mound!

Elsewhere
Black Kite circling over Marshaw/Abbeystead 1645-1715 at least (see photos on LDBWS site). The lack of ragged secondaries indicate that this bird was not the one seen nearby a week or two ago. 3 Spoonbill Leighton Moss.