Early morning mist and light drizzle gave way to very good visibility under a gentle F3 north-westerly breeze, with temperatures reaching 18°C.

                    Aerial image of Enlli overlooking the West Coast and North End (c) Pheobe Moss

Passerine movement featured 16 Willow Warblers, including 12 trapped and ringed around the Observatory and four at Nant. Other small landbirds recorded on census included 34 Linnets, with 21 at the South End, eight at the Narrows, and five at Tŷ Pellaf. Two Lesser Redpolls were logged at the Observatory. Hirundines comprised 17 Swallows, split as eight at Tŷ Pellaf, seven at the South End, and two at the Narrows, along with six House Martins, divided as four at the South End and two at the Narrows. Single Wheatears were observed on Henllywn and the Narrows, three Meadow Pipits were noted at Tŷ Pellaf and single Rock Pipits were seen at Henllwyn and the South End. 

Seabird coverage yielded 190 Manx Shearwaters, with 150 off the West Coast, 24 off the South End, ten off the North End, and six chicks ringed in their burrows. Eighteen Gannets were counted, with 17 off the West Coast and one off the South End. Shoreline and gull counts included 360 Herring Gulls spread between Solfach, the Narrows, and Carreg yr Honwy. Additional gulls and terns were highlighted by four Mediterranean Gulls, comprising two adults off the West Coast and an adult alongside a juvenile at the South End. Seven Black-headed Gulls were noted, with five off the West Coast and two at Carreg yr Honwy, two Great Black-backed Gulls were at Carreg yr Honwy, and nine Sandwich Terns moved offshore, with seven off the West Coast and two off the North End.

Waders along the coast were led by 24 Curlews, with 22 at Carreg yr Honwy and two at Henllwyn. Five Whimbrels were noted, with four at the South End and one at the North End, four Oystercatchers were at Traeth Ffynnon, two Ringed Plovers were at the South End, and a single Redshank was at Carreg yr Honwy.

Cetacean watching off the West Coast was productive, producing a pod of 50 Common Dolphins, including calves, alongside a single Risso's Dolphin. Grey Seal counts reached a total of 189 across the island, featuring 109 hauled out at Henllwyn, 43 at Carreg yr Honwy, 34 at the South End, two at the Narrows, and one off the North End.

Butterflies were active in large numbers, particularly in Withies, where 72 Meadow Browns, 12 Common Blues, and a Small Copper were logged. Island totals for Meadow Brown reached 105, with 20 along the West Coast and 13 at Pen Cristin added to the Withies count. Total Common Blue numbers reached 18, with three at Tŷ Pellaf, two at the Observatory, and one along the West Coast. Two Holly Blues were recorded, with one remaining around the Observatory and one at the South End. Other butterflies noted included three Small Tortoiseshells, with one at the Lime Kiln, one at the Observatory, and one in Withies, five Peacocks, two Large Whites at the Observatory, two Red Admirals, a Small White at the Observatory, a Small Copper at the Observatory, and a Painted Lady in the Lowlands. Odonata was represented by an Emperor Dragonfly along the track by the School. 

 A moderate F4 southerly wind blew across the island throughout the day, bringing dry conditions, clear visibility, and temperatures climbing to 20°C. 

A modest influx of migrant passerines was evident on land, led by a count of ten Willow Warblers, which were split as six around the Observatory and four in Withies. A single Chiffchaff was also logged in Withies. 

Breeding landbirds showed recorded across the Island included four Linnets at the South End and three moving between the Observatory and the Mountain. Aerial coverage by hirundines included 13 Swallows, comprising nine around the Observatory, two at Withies, one at the South End, and one at the Narrows, alongside six House Martins, which were divided as four across the Lowlands and two at the South End. Among other small landbirds, three Pied Wagtails were noted, with two at Solfach and one at the South End, a single juvenile Stonechat was along Green Lane, two Meadow Pipits were around the Observatory, a Rock Pipit was recorded at Solfach, and four Wrens as well as a Blackbird were found near the Observatory. 

Off the West Coast, seawatching produced 450 Manx Shearwaters, 120 Kittiwakes, 12 Gannets, and four Puffins, while two Razorbills were noted off the North End. Coastal rock features held five Shags, with three at Carreg yr Honwy and two off the West Coast, and four Cormorants at Carreg yr Honwy. 

Gull counts were dominated by Herring Gulls, with a total of 490 recorded. This included 240 along the stretch between Carreg yr Honwy and the Narrows and a distant feeding flock of 200 off the West Coast. Carreg yr Honwy also held 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and eight Great Black-backed Gulls. Four Black-headed Gulls gathered at Solfach, while nine Sandwich Terns moved between Carreg yr Honwy and Solfach. 

Wader species moving along the shoreline were highlighted by 41 Curlews at Carreg yr Honwy. Elsewhere, two Sanderlings were along the southern West Coast, single pairs of Whimbrels and Redshanks were logged between Carreg yr Honwy and the Narrows, and a Common Sandpiper was at Solfach. 

Lepidoptera activity around the Observatory was varied, highlighted by a Holly Blue and a Grayling, a Small Copper, a Large White, a Green-veined White, a Painted Lady, two Red Admirals, three Peacocks, and 12 Meadow Browns. 

                                                   Grayling and Common Blue (c) Phoebe Moss

Elsewhere, three Common Blues were noted off the North End alongside a single bird at the Observatory. Incidental moth records comprised a Silver Y at the North End and a Large Yellow Underwing at the Observatory. 

Conditions remained dry with good visibility throughout, accompanied by a moderate F4 southerly wind and temperatures reaching 18°C.

Passerine activity included single migrant records of a Willow Warbler at Nant and a Sedge Warbler at Withies. Two Chiffchaffs were divided between Nant and the South End, while two Blackcaps were logged at Nant.

Resident landbirds and breeding species were recorded across the island. Meadow Pipit numbers reached 17, with 14 at the South End and single birds at the Narrows, Tŷ Pellaf and the Wetlands. Rock Pipit counts totaled eight, with five at Henllwyn and three at the South End. Wren counts reached 15 across multiple sites, including four at Tŷ Pellaf, three at Nant and two at Withies.

A total of 40 Linnets was logged, all at the South End. Stonechats totaled seven, with two on the Mountain, two between the Boathouse and Tŷ Pellaf, two at the South End and one at Tŷ Pellaf. Hirundines were represented by ten Swallows, comprising four at Withies, two at the South End, two at the Wetlands and two at Tŷ Pellaf, along with two House Martins at the South End. Four Pied Wagtails were logged, with two at Henllwyn, one at the South End and one at Solfach.

Seabird movement featured 200 Manx Shearwaters off the South End and 15 Gannets, with nine off the South End and six off the West Coast. Seawatching and coastal counts also yielded 120 Kittiwakes off the South End, four Shags comprising three at Carreg yr Honwy and one at Henllwyn, and two Cormorants at Carreg yr Honwy.

Gull counts were led by Herring Gull, with 208 recorded across the island. This total included a roost of approximately 100 at the South End, 50 elsewhere at the South End, 24 at Solfach, 20 at Henllwyn and 14 at Carreg yr Honwy. Eight Great Black-backed Gulls were noted, with six at the South End and two at Solfach. Four Black-headed Gulls were divided as two at Solfach, one at the South End and one at Henllwyn, while three Lesser Black-backed Gulls were split between two at the South End and one at Solfach.

Wader and coastal counts included 58 Oystercatchers, with 41 around Henllwyn and 17 at the South End. Three Curlews were at the South End, two Whimbrels were split between the South End and the Narrows, and two Grey Herons were at the Wetlands.

Butterflies were active across several locations. Meadow Browns were the most numerous with 71 recorded, including 31 around the Observatory, 20 along Green Lane and 20 at the South End. Common Blues totaled 13, with seven at the South End, three along Green Lane, two at Traeth Ffynnon and one at Tŷ Pellaf.

                                                                   Small Copper (c) Phoebe Moss

Other butterfly counts recorded five Peacocks, four Red Admirals, two Small Whites along Green Lane, a single Large White, a Green-veined White, a Small Copper and a Painted Lady.

After several quieter days, there were encouraging signs of autumn migration beginning to build, while marine mammals and coastal birds provided plenty of additional interest around the island. There is no real signs of any rain on the horizon, so water - and green grass are still in short supply.

The only green is the gorse!

Coverage by Ezra and Ida concentrated on Cristin, Withies, Nant, Tŷ Pellaf, the South End, Solfach and the Narrows, and it quickly became apparent that migrant numbers had increased slightly. Willow Warbler was the most numerous migrant passerine, with 13 recorded across Cristin, Withies, Nant and the South End. A further six Chiffchaffs were scattered between Tŷ Pellaf, Withies, the mountain and the Lowlands, while a Sedge Warbler was found along Green Lane.

The South End held the greatest concentration of visible migrants. Four Wheatears, three Willow Warblers, seven Meadow Pipits, two Whimbrels and 15 Linnets. Elsewhere, seven Stonechats were spread across the South End, Lowlands, mountain and Traeth Ffynnon, including a juvenile at the latter site.

Coastal birding was productive, particularly around Carreg yr Honwy, Henllwyn and Solfach. A gathering of 41 Curlews at Carreg yr Honwy was notable, while Oystercatcher numbers reached 50 around the coastline. Five Common Sandpipers were present at Henllwyn, a Dunlin was recorded at Solfach and a Little Egret at Solfach provided one of the day's more noteworthy records. Four Mediterranean Gulls were logged between Carreg yr Honwy and the west coast, while an adult and juvenile Sandwich Tern were present at Carreg yr Honwy, as well as the first two Arctic Terns of the autumn moved south after stopping briefly on Garreg yr Honwy.

At sea, Manx Shearwaters saw 211 recorded including two rafts of more than 50 birds off the South end. Gannets, Kittiwakes and a few lingering Puffins added to the seabird interest.

The highlight of the day came from the west coast, where a group of approximately 40 Common Dolphins was encountered. This was comfortably the largest cetacean record of the day and provided memorable views for those lucky enough to connect with them.

The season's first Grey Seal pup from yesterday was still alive, a welcome sign as the breeding season begins to get underway.

Seal Pup no 1 - lets hope it survives! (c) Phoebe Moss

Butterflies remained active, the Lowlands held 30 Meadow Browns, while Peacocks, Common Blues, Large Whites, Green-veined White and a Small Copper were also recorded from around the island. A Wood Mouse around Cristin was the only noteworthy non-avian record on land. 

Today’s conditions presented a stiff F4 West southwesterly wind during the morning which switched towards a Northwesterly wind in the afternoon. Temperatures peaked at 19°C with the day remaining largely overcast with spells of sun breaking through. 

Some high butterfly counts were taken today with 91 Meadow Browns and ten Common Blues observed. Two Northern Eggars were also noted around the Observatory in the evening. 

With the wind swinging Westerly, a short seawatch was attempted during the morning which proved fairly quiet. Some movement was evident however, with 692 Manx Shearwaters, 25 Gannets, 17 Puffins and 96 Kittiwakes past the South End in one hour. 

Numbers of Gulls roosting on the South End and Henllwyn have increased dramatically with estimates this morning of ~320 Kittiwakes, ~460 Herring Gulls, 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, ten Great Black-backed Gulls and one Black-headed Gull. 

Part of the Kittiwake roost on the South End. (c) Ezra Sherwell

A few waders are still present around Henllwyn and Solfach. This includes three Whimbrels, 11 Curlews, one Redshank and two Common Sandpipers.

Hirundine, pipit and wagtail numbers were generally low in the southern parts of the Island with 12 Swallows and three House Martins present. A total of 18 Meadow Pipits, six Rock Pipits and two Pied Wagtails were observed between South End, and the Narrows.

The Withies hosted some early migratory warblers boosting the breeding population, with six Chiffchaffs and four Willow Warblers present. An additional seven Willow Warblers and a Goldcrest were also seen at Nant. A small flock of 37 Linnets were also present on the South End.