Saturday 6 March 2010

Twite on the move

Heysham Obs
North harbour wall
Scaup - very distant flock of 2 males and three females - presumably the same as February?  Also 3 'dark smallish ducks' further out!
Great-crested Grebe - 17
Red-breasted Merganser - 14
Eider - 80+
Red-throated Diver - one
Purple Sandpiper - one underneath the wooden jetty with c20 Turnstone at low tide
Twite - 51, 32 were examined for rings and a total of 14 seen to be unringed (recently no more than 1-2).  Were these vis mig birds or a result of new birds at the presumably communal roost - almost certainly the latter.  We still dont know where these birds roost, but it seems to be south of Ocean Edge.
Med Gull - two adults, including Czech-ringed bird (thanks Mike)

Heysham NR
Meadow Pipit - 2 north - forgot about these
Goldfinch - 1 probably migrant north

Middleton IE (thanks Malcolm)
4 Mute Swan, 11 Coot, 7 Moorhen, 6 Mallard, 11 Tufted Duck, 3 Pochard, 3 Goldeneye, 2 Teal, one Little Grebe and a singing male Reed Bunting.  Perhaps surprisingly c/f elsewhere, no migrant Stonechats - one just to the east along the bypass fields

Elsewhere
20 Whooper Swan near Hornby, including darvic S53.  Great White Egret Leighton Moss, also 2 Cetti's Warbler & Bearded Tit in eight separate areas