Rare/scarce birds in LDBWS area 2000 on a day-to-day basis
Winter 2000
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Newsletter of the Lancaster and District
Birdwatching Society |
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Rare/scarce birds in LDBWS area 2000 on a day-to-day basis
Winter 2000 |
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This feature is in order to encourage our web-site visitors
to retire in this bird-rich area!
There are many other interesting species which have been omitted as relatively
regular visitors e.g YL Gull,Mediterranean Gull, Purple Sandpiper, Marsh Harrier
(nest at Leighton Moss) and upland raptor species including Hen Harrier and
Goshawk. Pluses for the region include: Huge numbers of shore waders, a 'full
suite' of hanging oakwood summer visitors, regular Hawfinch sites, a few vantage
points for observing storm-blown seabirds, good range of moorland species (including
raptors), all the fast-flowing river species, a warm-water power station outfall
and one of the more famous reedbeds! On the negative side, poor seaduck and
'normal' passage seabird numbers, lack of good sites to focus 'freshwater' waders enabling
them to be easily found (how many are missed on Colloway Marsh for e.g.?) and
no diving duck numbers as there used to be during the grain-feeding period at
Dockacres in the early 1990s.
* = first date/record of year/season only listed for this relatively regular species
Italics = under 15 records (not individuals) for this area in 'historical times', in many cases less than 10.
| Species | Location | Date(s) | No. of obs. | Comment |
| Smew | A/EM Pools & gravel pits | 1/1-24/3 | many | returning bird since 1990/1 |
| Long-tailed Duck | Leighton Moss public hide area | 1/1 | a few | elusive |
| Long-tailed Duck | Morecambe Stone Jetty | 1/1-22/4 | many | 2 from 7/3, 3 from 19/4 |
| Shag | Heysham Head tideline | 9/1 | one | juvenile found dead |
| Slavonian Grebe | Heysham north harbour wall | 13/1 | one | on sea near red buoy |
| Bittern | Pine Lake | 15/1 | one-two | prob. continental bird |
| Long-tailed Duck | Sunderland Point | Occ. Jan-Feb | sev. | almost cert. 2nd SJ bird |
| Water Pipit | Aldcliffe Marsh | 23/1 | one | high spring tide |
| Barnacle Goose* | Lune saltmarshes | 23/1 | sev. | Two with Pinkfeet |
| Glaucous Gull | Kent Estuary | 14/2-19/2 | sev. | |
| Ruddy Shelduck | Pilling Lane Ends | 20/2 | a few | prob escape |
| Little Egret | Lune Estuary saltmarshes | 22/2-16/3 | many | unusual dates |
| Greenland White-front | Thurnham area | 27/2-28/2 | a few | Two with Pinkfeet |
| Shag | Heysham harbour | 2/3 | one | Juvenile/1st winter |
| Water Pipit | Heaton Marsh, Lune Estuary | 6/3+8/3 | one | summer plumage |
| Iceland Gull | Heaton Marsh area | 10/3 | three | 1st winter |
| Greenland White-front | Aldcliffe Marsh | 11/3 | two | 1+ with Pinkfeet |
| Garganey* | Leighton Moss | from 19/3 | many | pair |
| Snow Bunting | Heysham north harbour wall | 23/3-25/3 | 10+ | only seen by birders on 25/3 |
| Common Crane | Leighton Moss | 24/3 | c5 | flying north |
| Osprey* | Arkholme | 27/3 | one | First of many this year |
| Common Crane | Sand Villa, nr Cockerham | 1/4-18/4 | very many! | 1st summer |
| Iceland Gull | Lancaster Tip | 9/4 | one | gulls dispersed quickly |
| Slavonian Grebe (pair) | Stone jetty-Jenny B. Point | 14/4 | c10 | floated in with tide |
| Blue-headed Wagtail | Milnthorpe sewage works | 21/4 | many | pristine male |
| Black-necked Grebe (pr.) | Leighton Moss | 21/4 | many | the only chance this yr. |
| Dotterel (3) | Ward's Stone | 27/4 | one-two | mid-day only |
| Dotterel (2) | Langden head | 27/4 | two | pair |
| Common Crane | off Jenny Brown's Point | 27/4-28/4 | c15 | bugling/dancing pair |
| Spoonbill (2) | Eric Morecambe Pool | 30/4-4/5 | many | short stay c/p usual |
| Dotterel (5) | Ward's Stone | 30/4-1/5 | c12 | flew north towards Lakes |
| Dotterel (2) | Ward's Stone | 3/5 | one | briefly in transit |
| Wryneck | Natland, Cumbria | 4/5-8/5 | many | 'singing' male |
| Dotterel (8 later 3) | Ward's Stone | 7/5 | a few | poss. different groups |
| Black Tern (3-5 indivs.) | Four sites in area | 7/5 | many | scarce this year |
| Black Tern (1) | L. Moss | 8/5 | many | |
| American Wigeon | Tim Jackson Hide (L Moss) | 8/5 | many | paired to female Wigeon |
| Little Tern | Wenningfoot, River Lune | 8/5 | two | First for three years! |
| Quail | Fell End near Dunsop Bridge | 9/5 | one | calling in evening |
| Dotterel | Ward's Stone | 11/5 | one | male on north side |
| Wood Sandpiper | EM Pools | 14/5 | a few | scarce in spring |
| Pomarine Skua | Jenny Brown's Point | 17/5 | one | light morph adult |
| Arctic Skua | off Heysham north harbour | 27/5 | ?one | dark morph flying out of bay |
| Spotted Crake | Jackson Hide area | last wk. May | a few | calling only |
| Pomarine Skua | Heysham north harbour wall | 1/6 | one | imm. close inshore |
| Hobby* | Grisedale Hide, L.Moss | 23/6 | sev. | first report this year |
| Crossbill | Middleton dragonfly ponds | 12/7 | one | came down to drink |
| Pectoral Sandpiper | Eric Morecambe Pools | 23/7-30/7 | many | same as 1999? |
| Little Egret (up to 3) | Hest Bank & sev. other sites | from 30/7 | many | just one left in November |
| Wood Sandpiper* | Eric Morecambe Pool | from 30/7 | many | up to three |
| Pomarine Skua | off Heysham north harbour | 10/8 | one | light morph adult |
| Arctic Skua | off Heysham north harbour | 10/8 | one | dark morph; v scarce this yr. |
| Leach's Petrel | off Heysham north harbour | 6/9 | one | Single bird |
| Storm Petrel | off Heysham north harbour | 7/9 | one | the only chance this yr. |
| Great Skua | off Heysham north harbour | 7/9 | one | |
| Arctic Skua | off Heysham north harbour | 7/9 | one | the only juv. seen this yr. |
| Leach's Petrel | off Heysham north harbour | 8/9 | one | Single flying out of Bay |
| Wryneck | Heysham Power St. land | 9/9-11/9 | 20-30 | elusive on private area |
| American Wigeon | Pilling Lane Ends | 19/9-2/10 | many | male |
| Great Skua | off Heysham north harbour | 22/9 | one | |
| Razorbill | off Heysham north harbour | 22/9 | one | scarce in this area |
| Honey Buzzard (2) | Knots Wood & Holmere area | 23/9 | four | two different birds |
| Honey Buzzard (2) | Morecambe & Harris End | 25/9 | two | two different birds |
| Pomarine Skua (adLM) | off Heysham north harbour | 27/9 | two | 'blogging' for 25 mins. |
| Lapland Bunting (up to 3) | Cockersands | 28/9-11/10 | sev. | 2 on 3/10,3 on 4/10 only |
| Honey Buzzard (1) | over St Martins, Lancaster | 28/9 | two-three | |
| Honey Buzzard (1) | Aldcliffe Marsh+Conder Green | 30/9 | two | independent sightings |
| Dotterel (2) | nr Grit Fell SD55775964 | 1/10 | ?one | juvs seen very well |
| Black Tern | off Heysham north harbour | 3/10 | one | flying out of bay |
| Shag | Leighton Moss public hide | 3/10 | a few | 2nd inland record L&D area |
| Long-tailed Duck | off Heysham north harbour | 4/10 | one | flying out of bay |
| Great Skua (2) | off Heysham north harbour | 10/10 | one | flying out of bay |
| Leach's Petrel | off Heysham north harbour | 10/10 | one | single wheeling into bay |
| Ruddy Shelduck | Pilling Lane Ends | 13/10 | sev. | probable escape |
| Shag | Lancaster Canal, White X | 20/10 | sev. | lost juvenile! 3rd inland record |
| Shag | Heysham wooden jetty | from 23/10 | many | juvenile; 2 from 10/11 |
| Razorbill | off Heysham north harbour | 24-25/10 | three | not necessarily same bird |
| Leach's Petrel | off Heysham north harbour | 25/10 | two | single flying out |
| Black Guillemot | from outfalls hide | 25/10 | one? | flying out of bay |
| Great Skua | off Heysham north harbour | 25/10 | one | flying out of bay |
| small Skua spp | off Heysham north harbour | 25/10 | one | 'wheeling in' very rapidly |
| Leach's Petrel | off Heysham north harbour | 26/10 | one | One flying out close inshore |
| Green-winged Teal | Pilling Lane Ends | 26/10 | one | weather hampered search |
| Leach's Petrel (up to 5) | Morecambe-Heysham coast | 29/10 | 10+ | 'available' 1230-1600hrs |
| Shag | off Heysham north harbour | 31/10 | one | adult briefly on sea |
| Snow Bunting | over Heysham Red Nab | 3/11 | one | flying south along coast |
| Red Kite | over Leighton Moss | 3/11 | a few | near miss for most observers |
| Shag | Morecambe Stone jetty area | 5/11 | one | pres.above adult on sea |
| Richard's Pipit | Heysham Nature reserve | 7/11 | six | Grounded then SW at 1110h. |
| Lapland Bunting (1) | Cockersands | 7/11 | two | pres.new (one-day) bird |
| Water Pipit | Leighton Moss | from 12/11 | many | reported earlier |
| small Skua app. | off Heysham north harbour | 12/11 | one | distantly 'wheeling' into bay |
| Lesser Whitethroat | Jenny Brown's Point | 16-17/11 | many | showing chars. of blythi |