A day of light winds from the north, clear blue skies and chilly temperatures made birding very pleasant, but migrant numbers continued to struggle somewhat. There was a good count of 185
Meadow Pipits around the island during the day, and 17
Stonechats and 11
Wheatears were recorded around the coast and in the lowlands. Other passerine migrants around included single
Redwing and
Song Thrushes, six
Chiffchaffs, 23
Goldcrests, nine
Goldfinches and three
Lesser Redpolls. A single
Red-throated Diver, 17
Common Scoters and one
Puffin flew past out to sea, and a handful of
Manx Shearwaters gave their haunting calls overhead after dusk. Best of the rest were represented by single
Buzzard,
Merlin and
Kestrels, plus five
Purple Sandpipers around the Narrows and two
Jack Snipes and three
Common Snipes flushed from the wetlands.
Common Buzzard
Peregrine Falcon
Dunnocks all over the island are now spending a lot of their time displaying with their flashy wings, and trying to attract females
Some landscapes from the last few days (c) Steve Stansfield
Lovely shots from the island. My Dunnock are displaying the the garden also.
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