Today’s weather brought a South-Easterly wind blowing at Force 4, good visibility, and a smooth sea state of 3, with no precipitation as temperatures reached 13°C.

With this calmer weather came a strong movement of passerines South through the island, largely dominated by Starlings with 2,653, and Chaffinch with 1,769 recorded. Good numbers of supporting species were also observed with three Stock Doves, 156 Woodpigeons, 97 Skylarks, two Swallows, 29 Blackbirds, four Song Thrushes, 39 Redwings, one House Sparrow, 76 Meadow Pipits, 29 Rock Pipits, two Pied Wagtails, 15 Alba Wagtails, 11 Bramblings, 26 Greenfinches, 37 Linnets, one Lesser Redpoll, 41 Goldfinches, 52 Siskins, seven Reed Buntings, 56 Choughs, 190 Jackdaws, 30 Rooks and 38 Carrion Crows. Other species noted around the island included three Chiffchaffs, four Blackcaps, eight Goldcrests, 32 Robins and 45 Magpies.

Flocks of Chaffinch migrating over the Wetlands (c) Joel Tragen

Seabird and wader counts featured 38 Gannets, 33 Kittiwakes, 28 Razorbills, nine Mediterranean Gulls, 27 Curlews, five Whimbrels, 17 Turnstones, 16 Purple Sandpipers, one Ringed Plover, and one Redshank. Raptor and owl sightings featured two Peregrines, one Merlin, one Sparrowhawk, and one Long-eared Owl.

Seal monitoring around the island haul-outs recorded a total of 297 Grey Seals, alongside seven pups. Other non-avian records included three Wood Mice and two Peacock Butterflies.

South-Westerly winds blowing at Force 5 were present today alongside good visibility and a sea state of 3 as temperatures reached 15°C.

Coastal and wetland bird counts produced 120 Kittiwakes, 31 Gannets, 25 Shags, 21 Razorbills, six Cormorants, and one Arctic Skua from the South End, three Whimbrels, 40 Curlews, 21 Turnstones, four Snipes, three Redshanks, one Dunlin, and one Water Rail.

A small influx of Starling was notable today with numbers reaching 380 on the narrows. Other sightings included 13 Robins, four Blackbirds, four Song Thrushes, four Redwings, two Chiffchaffs, one Blackcap, three Goldcrests, 19 Rock Pipits, 16 Meadow Pipits, nine Chaffinches, 15 Goldfinches, 14 Linnets, one Brambling, one Redpoll, and one Reed Bunting.

South-Westerly winds blowing at Force 7 continued today with good visibility, a sea state of 4, and light showers between in the afternoon as temperatures reached 13°C. Seal monitoring recorded 108 Grey Seals around the Narrows. Mammal and insect sightings produced one Wood Mouse, three Red Admirals, one Peacock, and one Diamond-back Moth.

Sunset at Nant (c) Ezra Sherwell

Seabird movement offshore included 895 Kittiwakes, 517 Razorbills, eight Guillemots, 93 Gannets, four Manx Shearwaters, two Fulmars, one Little Gull, and one Mediterranean Gull. Wildfowl and waders diversity increased slightly with 44 Curlews, one Lapwing flying over the Lowlands, one Snipe, one Woodcock, and one Water Rail.

Passerine movement was also higher today with small movements of starling and finches including 105 Starlings, 37 Chaffinches, six Goldfinches, two Siskins, ten Linnets, one Redpoll, ten Robins, six Skylarks, nine Rock Pipits, three Meadow Pipits, four Redwings, seven Blackbirds, seven Goldcrests, three Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, and one Reed Bunting.