From dawn this morning it became apparent a fall of migrants had occurred overnight. From gusty conditions first thing, the day became much calmer but in came the rain instead. And lots of it. The wardens and volunteers were soaked through but with plenty of birds about it was most enjoyable.

Very wet Willow Warbler

Three stunning male Pied Flycatchers were found alongside the Mountainside between Cristin and Ty Pellaf, alongside a mass of birds that also included one of two Redstarts and a male Ring Ouzel (all of which are first for the year). The aforementioned Mountain patch had most of the day’s 57 Blackcaps, 91 Chiffchaffs, 62 Willow Warblers, and 22 Goldcrests.

Ring Ouzel

This Pied Flycatcher had much more white on the forehead than the one below.


First summer Male Pied Flycatchers - note the brown feathering on the wings indicating these rather stunning birds were less than 12 months old!!

A variety of finch passage consisted of six Siskins, 54 Goldfinches, six Lesser Redpolls, and best of all, a lone Crossbill heading north over the Lowlands.

The coastal areas held 80 Wheatears along with 11 Purple Sandpipers, 14 Turnstones and the first Common Sandpiper of the year.
Three Sand Martins, six Swallows, and one House Martin hawked over whilst one Kestrel, one Merlin, four Black-headed Gulls, one Collared Dove, 20 Pied Wagtails, and one White Wagtail were also seen.