Thursday 21 July 2011

A smattering of moth migration and Sedge warbler schottische

Heysham Obs
An early(ish) morning start at Middleton where the fare was fairly routine; quite a few Sedge Warblers first thing, suggesting a 0430hrs start would have been better (!), followed by a slow trickle of Whitethroat and Willow Warbler and a smattering of southbound Swift.  The largest catch occurred in the net where a MP3 player (not mine!) mysteriously started playing Scottish Dance music, interspersed with a voice which seemed to be from Pink Floyd's 'small furry animals grooving together with a pict'.   I wonder if this indicated the origin of the Sedge Warblers...........

Moths
It was not possible to check the moth trap until mid-morning and this revealed a sudden influx of 6 Silver Y to accompany Scarce Bordered Straw & Rusty Dot Pearl in a trap at nearby Sunderland

Middleton NR
Sedge Warbler - c20 first thing (8 new ones ringed)
Whitethroat - 5 new ones ringed
Reed Warbler - one new juv ringed & no obvious evidence of any adults still around
Willow Warbler - just 4 ringed
Swift - 18 south
Grasshopper Warbler - still four singing males first thing - one western marsh, one on the slope, one towards Solrec and one in the central marsh. 

Outfalls/Red Nab
just two adult Meds on the early stages of the incoming tide