Today was relatively calm in comparison to recent times, with winds not getting above 20mph. It was however very rainy, with heavy intermittent rain from late morning onwards.

First thing before the rain and wind moved in, Alex opened a few nets down in the Withies, the highlight was a juvenile Stonechat, a new bird in the hand for him, so worth doing! Otherwise, it was relatively quiet, with only a handful of other birds.

juvenile Stonechat

George headed North to the seawatching hide to see if much was moving, though conditions were not ideal. A few terns were moving again today, and it was nice to be able to get some better views of the flocks moving relatively close in - one highlight was another Roseate Tern, an adult. Other counts were: 134 Gannets, 450 Kittiwakes, 85 Arctic Terns, 33 Sandwich Terns, 26 Common Terns, 189 Razorbills, one Arctic Skua and nine Fulmars. The standout highlight however, must have been the reappearance of yesterday's Mako Shark which gave a very brief display as it launched itself out of the water off the North End.

The day's poor weather meant that the afternoon was spent doing office work for all of the staff with conditions really being quite grim for the remainder of the day.

Other sightings today were: one Sparrowhawk, one Dunlin, five Whimbrels, 57 Curlews, five Redshanks, three Blackcaps, seven Willow Warblers and 10 Great Tits.

Ringing totals today were: 1 Stonechat, 1 Swallow, 1 Blackcap, 1 Goldfinch, 4 Willow Warbler. Total 8 birds of 5 species.