I walked back along the track to the Lighthouse last night with the Milky Way extending across the sky above me. Without the hassles of light pollution or cloud cover, the stars looked spectacular, and every now and then a Perseid meteor would whizz overhead. It was a huge contrast to the scenes this morning. A storm rolled in during the early hours of the morning, bringing with it drizzle and brisk winds that set the tone for the rest of the day.

A few hardy souls donned their waterproofs, braved the rain and headed out to the seawatching hides at either ends of the island to count the seabirds passing over the swell off the west coast. They returned with some impressive tallies that included 10700 Manx Shearwaters, 292 Gannets, 15 Mediterranean Gulls and 359 Kittiwakes.

Other sightings today included 19 Fulmars, a Common Scoter, a Kestrel, two Peregrines, nine Ringed Plovers, 12 Sanderlings, 42 Dunlins, four Black-tailed Godwits, three Whimbrels, six Curlews, five Redshanks, three Common Sandpipers, 25 Turnstones, 15 Mediterranean Gulls, 73 Black-headed Gulls, a Common Gull, 359 Kittiwakes, a Sandwich Tern, four Razorbills, two Puffins, a Swift, 15 Swallows, 21 House Martins, four Stonechats, nine Wheatears, a Song Thrush, a Sedge Warbler, a Whitethroat, two Chiffchaffs, 15 Willow Warblers, a Chaffinch and 50 Linnets.

Last night provided perfect conditions for ringing Storm Petrels over on Pen Cristin.