A rather quiet day saw very few birds of interest about. A Sparrowhawk flew over Cristin in the afternoon (the first sighting for quite a while), and a Kestrel was seen over Nant. Waders were also a little thin on the ground, with counts amounting to: four Ringed Plovers, 13 Turnstones, 17 Redshanks, two Whimbrels and five Curlews. A Blackcap was seen at Nant, and two Goldcrests were seen at Cristin and in the plantation; two Sedge Warblers (feeding young once again in the Ty Pellaf reed bed), three Whitethroats, five Chiffchaffs and 15 Willow Warblers were also seen. 19 Sandwich Terns were the most noteworthy birds to pass by at sea.

 Some of the young Chiffchaffs are rather tame at the moment

as are the young shearwaters!; lots are being ringed as part of out ongoing study into the species productivity on the island. over 120 burrows have been marked this year during the period they had incubating adults in. Now the chicks are big and fluffy they are being ringed. another visit later in the year will allow us to calculate the productivity, which at the moment looks slightly lower than in recent years at about 60% (normally 75 to 80% over the past 15 years).

Swallows have had an exceptional season with over 60 young fledging from the island this year. many are spending time catching winged ants and other insects in the lowlands at the moment. This youngster does not have a ring on so could well be a passage bird.