Conditions were calm today with a Force 3 North-East breeze, excellent visibility, and a smooth sea state of two, with temperatures reaching 11°C. Marine mammal and seal monitoring recorded 125 Grey Seals with five pups, and one Risso's Dolphin off the west coast. 

A steady stream of passerine passage was notable today, starting from first light with some thrush movement and continuing well into the afternoon. The bulk of the numbers came from corvid arrivals with 500 Jackdaws, 58 Carrion Crows, 24 Choughs, 19 Rooks, six Ravens, and 57 Magpies, with thrush passage a close second with 333 Redwings, 43 Fieldfares, 14 Blackbirds and three Song Thrushes. Other passage counts included 132 Chaffinches, 16 Bramblings, 36 Greenfinches, 21 Siskins, 18 Redpolls, nine Goldfinches, five Grey Wagtails, seven Pied Wagtails, 13 Alba Wagtails, four Reed Buntings, 68 Skylarks, 35 Starlings, one Stock Dove, and ten Woodpigeons, noted. Counts of passerines landed on the island were much lower but produced some variety including one Great Tit at Nant, 90 Meadow Pipits, 26 Rock Pipits, 29 Robins, 11 Chiffchaffs, six Blackcaps, one Lesser Whitethroat at Cristin, ten Goldcrests, seven House Sparrows and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Two Water Rails were also recorded.

House Sparrow ringed at Cristin (c) Steven Stansfield

Seabird movement and coastal counts offshore featured 14 Gannets, 38 Shags, 30 Common Scoters, seven Wigeons, five Shelducks, two Teals, one Little Egret, 63 Razorbills, 28 Black-headed Gulls, 18 Common Gulls, four Mediterranean Gulls and two Kittiwakes. Wader passage and shorebird numbers featured nine Turnstones, four Lapwings, four Snipes, three Knots, three Redshanks, two Whimbrels, one Golden Plover, and one Bar-tailed Godwit.  A notable increase of raptor diversity was noted today with three Peregrines, two Sparrowhawks, one Hen Harrier, one Buzzard, one Kestrel, and one Merlin.

Today’s weather conditions presented a gentle North-East wind blowing at Force 3, good visibility, and a smooth sea state of three as temperatures reached a mild 12°C. 

Seabird movement and coastal counts were quiet featuring three Gannets, three Black-headed Gulls and eight Kittiwakes. Wader and waterfowl numbers included featured one Grey Plover, one Snipe, one Whimbrel, four Curlews, three Redshanks, 11 Turnstones, one Water Rail, and three Moorhens.  Raptor diversity increased notably today with two Buzzards, two Peregrines, two Merlins, one Sparrowhawk, and one Kestrel all noted during the day.

Visual migration counts produced a noteable passage of corvids and finches with 450 Jackdaws, 17 Rooks, 23 Carrion Crows, seven Ravens, 28 Starlings, 48 Chaffinches, one Brambling, two Greenfinches, 11 Goldfinches, eight Siskins, four Linnets, and three Lesser Redpolls. nine Woodpigeons, 39 Skylarks, six Meadow Pipits, ten Rock Pipits, one Flava Wagtail, three Grey Wagtails, one Pied Wagtail, and two Alba Wagtails all noted. 

Jackdaws spiralling down onto the Narrows (c) Steven Stansfield

The weather today presented a North-West wind blowing at Force 5, good visibility, and a sea state of 3, with very light showers setting in during the evening as temperatures reached 12°C. 

Sunset from the South End (c) Ezra Sherwell

Marine mammal counts recorded 304 Grey Seal including 29 pups, and invertebrate observations produced one Convulvulous Hawk moth, one Rush Veneer, one Square-spot Rustic, one Turnip, one Swallow-tailed Moth, and one Angle Shades.

Swallow-tailed Moth (c) Steven Stansfield

Convulvulous Hawk moth (c) Steven Stansfield

Seabird movement past the island featured two Great Northern Divers, 44 Gannets, Arctic Skua, 62 Mediterranean Gulls, one Little Gull, 26 Black-headed Gulls, 22 Common Gulls, 352 Kittiwakes, three Guillemots, and 336 Razorbills and 16 Common Scoters. Shorebird counts produced five Whimbrels, 42 Curlews, five Redshanks, four Turnstones, three Snipes, and one Golden Plover. Raptors sightings included two Sparrowhawks, two Peregrines, one Buzzard, and one Merlin.

Passerine records from the day produced some visual migration overhead which included 59 Skylarks, five Swallows, 21 Meadow Pipits, 47 Rock Pipits, eight Pied Wagtails, three White Wagtails, and one Alba Wagtail, 17 Redwings, 16 Chaffinches, 19 Goldfinches, 11 Siskins, 20 Linnets, one Lesser Redpoll, two Reed Buntings and one Woodpigeon. Passerine numbers on the island stayed fairly steady with 21 Robins, six Stonechats, two Song Thrushes, two Blackcaps, eight Chiffchaffs, 11 Goldcrests, 24 Choughs and one Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Today’s weather set in with moderate rain persisting all day, accompanied by a strong South-West wind shifting to North and dropping from Force 7 to 3. Visibility was poor, with a sea state of 4 and temperatures reaching a mild 15°C. Marine mammal and reptile observations recorded one Slow Worm noted at Plas. Grey seal monitoring around the island haul-outs tallied 45 at Solfach. Invertebrate records included one Painted Lady, one Silver Y, two Rush Veneers, one Rusty Dot Pearl and one Humming-bird Hawk-moth.

Sunset from Cristin overlooking the West Coast (c) Ezra Sherwell

Seabird and wader counts featured 90 Gannets, 18 Shags, four Black-headed Gulls, 12 Kittiwakes, 17 Razorbills, five Whimbrels, 16 Turnstones (including two ringed down on the South End), four Curlews, one Purple Sandpiper, one Snipe, and one Redshank. Remarkably, two late Manx Shearwater chicks were found down on the south end during nocturnal surveys, one calling from its burrow and another stargazing outside its burrow, the latter was subsequently ringed.

Passerine numbers were represented by 16 Meadow Pipits, 13 Rock Pipits, 32 Robins, 12 Blackbirds, four Redwings heard passing over the South End at night, two Blackcaps, one Yellow-browed Warbler, 11 Chiffchaffs, and 12 Goldcrests, one Chaffinch, five Goldfinches, 32 Siskins, and 14 Linnets.