Another hot day, the air felt warm before the sun rose and a Spotted Flycatcher was the first bird seen in the garden. Nets were opened at Cristin and the Withies, it was reasonably active, with Willow Warbler being caught in bigger numbers than there have been recently.

 

A walk to the South End produced 18 Redshanks and a Greenshank, which is the second record of the autumn for the latter, two Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin were present on the Narrows too. Oystercatcher numbers have dropped right off since the breeding season came to a close, less than ten are recorded per day between the Narrows and South End now.

 

More cement mixing took place today, it was very hot work but all the solar panel frames are now in their foundations which is good news. There are quite a few steps to go before they will be completed, but most of the hard, physical work is done now. A big thanks must go to Mark Carter, without his help over the last month the whole job would have taken many times longer than it has done.

 

A walk to Nant later in the day yielded the second Gatekeeper of the year, a nice butterfly which is rare on Bardsey. It is similar to a Meadow Brown, but with more orange and spots on the hind wing, and two small white spots on the forewing.

 

In the evening we had an outdoor curry night with Patrick and Gill, the breeze had picked up only slightly so it was still warm enough to sit outside as the sun went down.

Ringing totals: 7 Willow Warblers, 3 Wren, 1 Robin, 2 Goldfinches, 2 Dunnocks, 1 Song Thrush, 4 Blackbirds.