Friday 15 September 2017

Great birding on the morning neap then the pink-feet pile over

Shame we've not been effusively trained as it is a great morning to go all RSPB about our birds.  Nothing rare this morning, but a great spectacle in calm weather:

Overhead ocean edge 0730-0830
Meadow Pipit - c150
alba wagtail - 34
Linnet - 5
Swallow - 9
Grey Wagtail - 2
Wheatear - 4 grounded

Overhead Middleton (not duplicated with above) to about 1015
Meadow Pipit - not on the main flightline - 39 SE
Swallow - 77 SE
House Martin - 3 SE
Carrion Crow - 11 SE
Jackdaw - 9 SE
Pink-footed Goose - 512 S + one flock (H) only
Grey Wagtail - 4-5, one possibly off-passage (1 ringed)
Sparrowhawk - male high and purposeful to SSW
Reed Bunting - 2 SE, possibly others but off-passage birds making this difficult
Skylark - ?one (H)

Waders
Didn't count them all:
Grey Plover - 375 in the sunlight, half in varying degrees of summer plumage - great!
Greenshank - 1 juv
Knot - 2250 (single flock)

Offshore
Sandwich tern - 8 fishing

Inshore outfalls/Red Nab/mudflats
Little Gull - ad & 2nd W & 1st W close views on outfalls
Arctic Tern - ad showing well on outfalls
Kittiwake - 5 juvs and 3 ads as above
Med Gull - 37

Ringing
Four nets set at Middleton produced :
Meadow Pipit - 4   Blackcap - 5   Reed Bunting - 3   Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Grey Wagtail - 1   Chiffchaff - 1   Reed Warbler - 1   Bullfinch - 2
Goldcrest - 1   Great Tit - 5   Blue Tit - 9   Long-tailed Tit - 2   Robin - 2
Blackbird - 1 and   Dunnock - 1