Possibly the best day of the year so far saw a diverse array of birds and a very good list of species seen. The highlight was a juvenile Ortolan Bunting that was seen near the limekiln and showed well in the afternoon. Two Melodious Warblers were seen, one of which was a new bird taken out of the observatory heligoland trap early in the morning. The first Wryneck of the year was seen briefly during an attempt to relocate the Ortolan, two Firecrests were present and another Treecreeper was ringed. A surprising find at Cristin was a Barn Owl that relocated to Nant for the rest of the day. A good selection of commoner migrants included a Tree Pipit, three Yellow Wagtails, five Grey Wagtails, a Whinchat, two Reed Warblers, a Blackcap, three Chiffchaffs, nine Willow Warblers, five Goldcrests, 12 Spotted Flycatchers, a Pied Flycatcher and two Collared Doves. Three Wigeons, two Teal and an Arctic Skua went by at sea, a Knot was on the South End and a couple of Buzzards continued to reduce the island’s Moorhen population.
Melodious Warbler (c) Steve Stansfield. Note the typical Hippolais steep sloping forehead on the lower image.
This Ortolan Bunting was the rarest bird of the day, seen around the Limekiln in the afternoon. (c) Ben Porter
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