The afternoon saw the island’s residents and volunteers band together in an attempt to rid The Narrows of plastic debris brought in by this winter’s winds. A fantastic effort from all involved saw a staggering four dumpy bags full of plastic collected. The avian highlight of the day was also found during this litter pick as a keen ear picked up a Twite flying over Solfach amongst Linnets.

A decent selection of spring migrants made landfall, and in excellent numbers too, with finches and warblers predominating. By the end of the day 37 Chaffinches, 42 Siskins, 207 Goldfinches, 117 Linnets, seven Lesser Redpolls, 35 Blackcaps, 72 Chiffchaffs, 42 Willow Warblers, and 21 Goldcrests had been recorded.

Willow Warbler

A good number of finches were trapped and ringed at Cristing in the morning...

a smart male Lesser Redpoll on the left and a male Siskin on the right

Siskin

Lesser Redpoll

Two Meadow Pipits were trapped in the wetlands during the night - the lower image depicts their impressive hind claw, which is generally more than 10mm long (in Tree Pipits it is less than 9mm)

A female Kestrel was new in, joining the seemingly resident pair of Buzzards and single Merlin, whilst The Narrows had one Whimbrel, three Curlews, nine Redshanks, and 22 Turnstones feeding at high tide. More hirundines pushing through amounted to 30 Sand Martins and 13 Swallows, with good tallies noted during the day include 231 Meadow Pipits, 19 Pied Wagtails, two White Wagtails, 12 Wheatears, five Song Thrushes, one Blue Tit, three Starlings, one Reed Bunting, and one Red-throated Diver.