We've got plenty of birders out scouring the island this week, so by the end of play today we'd managed to wrack up some fantastic tallies of common species and even added three new species to the 2018 year list. Excitement out at sea included 2002 Razorbills, 479 Black-headed Gulls, 13 Mediterranean Gulls, 37 Common Gulls, two Great Northern Divers, a Whooper Swan and the first Red-breasted Merganser and Brent Goose of the year. On the land, a Hooded Crow was on the South End, four Black Redstarts were at Nant and the interesting looking but extremely skulky Lesser Whitethroat remained at Ty Capel. Elsewhere, eight Swallows went north up the island, 640 Starlings whizzed around in several large flocks and the first two Long-tailed tits of the year were seen briefly at Ty Pellaf.

Other birds today included nine Common Scoters, a Golden Plover, a Lapwing, five Snipes, 46 Curlews, 32 Turnstones, a Little Owl, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 115 Skylarks, three Grey Wagtails, six Pied Wagtails, a White Wagtail, 16 Blackbirds, a Fieldfare, 12 Song Thrushes, 29 Redwings, nine Chiffchaffs, 13 Goldcrests, three Coal tits, two Blue tits, nine Great tits, 240 Jackdaws, 98 Chaffinches, 14 Bramblings, eight Greenfinches, six Siskins, 35 Goldfinches, 13 Linnets, 13 Lesser Redpolls and 15 Reed Buntings.

 Red-breasted Merganser and Pale-bellied Brent Goose were the first records of the year of these typically autumnal species.

The Black Redstarts were performing delightfully around the outbuildings and ruins at Nant (both pictures copyright Jeff Wragg).