Sunday 16 April 2017

Winds persisted to blow from the North today, but a slight drop in the speed led to a small, but notable arrival of birds on the island.

The sea was the main focus of the morning with a small movement evident, logged today were 12 Fulmars, 22 Manx Shearwaters, 18 Gannets, 17 Kittiwakes, 72 Guillemots, 565 Razorbills and two Puffins.

The Merlin continued to occupy the South End, other stragglers around the island included two Snipes in the Wetlands, six Whimbrels and two Skylarks on the North End. Small numbers of Swallows also moved through with 61 seen. The real movement occurred in the afternoon, particularly notable were 59 Wheatears, the highest count of the season so far. Warblers were also on the move today, as two Grasshopper Warblers, two Sedge Warblers (first of the year), 12 Blackcaps, 26 Chiffchaffs, 80 Willow Warblers and two Goldcrests were all logged!

Other passage today concerned finches with only four Siskin and two Lesser Redpolls slightly lower than the usual counts at the moment, but vis-miging produced a whopping 358 Goldfinches!

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