Tuesday 4 September 2012

Reed Bunting moves sideways

Heysham Obs
Not a lot of activity today other than work and this resulted in no checks being made of the coastal sites.  Rhomboid Tortrix in the moth trap was about the best on offer until a late afternoon Painted Lady graced the remains of the office buddleia flowers.  A Scarce Bordered Straw was in a trap just a few metres north of the recording area at Heysham village last night

Ringing recovery
A Reed Bunting ringed as a young male at Middleton on 1/10/11, was rather surprisingly caught by another ringer at Ripon Park North Yorkshire, 91 kilometres to the east.  Most movements of Reed Bunting, both visually and in the form of ringing recoveries, show north to south or vice-versa movements, not across the Pennines.  This is presumably a wintering bird but could just have been an early passage migrant in the context of the mild winter and the usual early spring passage of this species

Yesterday's 'leftovers'
Med Gull - two juvs joined the older birds anting above the office late afternoon
Swallow roost:  c600 in the roost including a 'significant number' of Sand Martin.  A sample of 79 Swallow, 4 Sand Martin (all juvs) (and a Goldfinch!) were ringed but the net had to be rapidly closed just before dusk as per personnel available