Today brought rain throughout the night and well into the morning. Showers were on and off for the most part but cleared in the evening providing a nice calm night before the winds pick up again tomorrow morning.

A walk in the early morning rain did produce some good counts of waders seen through soaking wet, steamed up binoculars. The star was a Greenshank in with a small flock of Redshanks, a bird that only puts in an appearance a couple of times a year. Turnstones were in high numbers and when the rain cleared they were seen to head south in small groups, the mornings total came to 61. More waders numbers were made up of four Whimbrel, 48 Curlew, 13 Redshank, Two each of Common Sandpiper and Purple Sandpiper and singles of both Dunlin and Sanderling.   

Else where on the island, birds of prey included a single Buzzard and two Kestrels and Peregrines, 18 Common Scoter headed south throughout the day, three Grey Herons were around the narrows with a single Black-headed Gull, pipits included 59 Meadow and 32 Rock, and Wheatears filled the south end with 43 individuals.

One of the few surviving broods of Mallards that will reach adulthood, still sticking close to their mother for now