Although the north westerly winds picked up partly overnight, it turned out to be a nice day on the island. The sky cleared by late morning, and a small number of migrants were recorded passing through.

Firstly, a small passage out to sea was evident, as a group of three Great Northern Divers passed the North End also passing were 84 Manx Shearwaters (the year’s highest count so far), nine Gannets, 39 Kittiwakes, two Sandwich Terns, 16 Guillemots and 172 Razorbills.

Manx Shearwater passing the North End

Manx Shearwater exploring burrows above the Observatory

Inland, migration wasn’t quite as obvious, but a fair bit was still recorded. Hirundine passage saw two Sand Martins and six Swallows pass through, were as also dotted around were two White Wagtails, seven Stonechats and nine Wheatears.

It was apparent that there had been another clear out of warblers in the morning, with very few recorded, but by the afternoon some new birds had arrived which summed to two Blackcaps, 13 Chiffchaffs, eight Willow Warblers and three Goldcrests. Two Blue Tits were still around at Nant and Cristin respectively, whilst the only other highlights were two Hooded Crows seen on the deck on the Narrows, a Lesser Redpoll and a Reed Bunting.