Today felt like a classic mid-summer day throughout, largely cloudless with highs of 26°C and a gentle F3 Easterly breeze. The sea for the most part remained glassy smooth also.

This morning, we had eight Common Dolphins co-foraging with Gannets off of Pen Cristin. They were active at the surface, moving in circles with leaps and bows visible from the south end. Later in the afternoon, we also had a lone Risso’s Dolphin at the very southern tip of the island.

Risso's Dolphin © Phoebe Moss

A Gannet's view of the South End © Phoebe Moss

The warm weather produced an abundance of butterfly across the Island, of which some highlights included six Small White, 13 Painted Lady, seven Red Admiral, one Speckled Wood.

Some new arrivals had come in overnight with a juvenile Cuckoo and the first Grasshopper Warbler of the autumn spotted at Nant.

Other Warblers noted included a Sedge Warbler at Cristin, three Blackcaps at Nant with one being a freshly fledged young bird, 11 Chiffchaffs and three Willow Warblers split between Nant and Cristin. Two Goldcrests were also spotted, one at Nant, the other at Cristin.

There was a small influx of Hirundines today with one Sand Martin on the South End, and 37 Swallows and 20 House Martins spread across the Island. Two  were also recorded up the mountain.

Wagtail movement was also apparent with two Grey Wagtails moving through on passage, one over the Narrows, the other over Nant, both heading South. Seven Pied Wagtails and one “alba” wagtail was also seen around the Island.

Finch numbers were generally low today with three Linnets recorded; however, a single Lesser Redpoll was heard flying over the plantation in the morning.

Gull and waders movement was still prominent with 32 Black-headed Gulls, eight Common Gulls, one Dunlin, six Curlews, two Common Sandpipers and one Redshank noted, largely split between Henllwyn and Solfach.

Counts of 168 Puffins and 159 Kittiwakes rafting off the East were taken during East Side monitoring, and a single Kestrel was also observed hunting in the area.