Gentle southerly force 3 winds brought very poor visibility with morning mizzle, calm sea state 2 conditions, and a maximum temperature of 16°C, making seawatching impossible for most of the day.

Wetland, shore, and inshore counts produced 10 Ringed Plovers at Solfach, six Curlews, six Turnstones, five Grey Herons, two Redshanks offshore, a Whimbrel at the Narrows, a Dunlin, and a Little Egret at the North End. Raptor activity featured a Sparrowhawk at Tyllwyd and a Kestrel at Pen Cristin. Visible overhead migration and grounded songbirds picked up noticeably. Moving southward totals featured 71 Lesser Black-backed Gulls passing south, 23 Swallows, a House Martin, 41 Meadow Pipits, 12 Grey Wagtails, three Tree Pipits, and an alba wagtail. Grounded migrants and residents included 28 Robins, 18 Linnets, 12 Rock Pipits, six Blackcaps, six Chiffchaffs, four Goldcrests, and a singing Willow Warbler at the Observatory. 

Marine mammal monitoring recorded a Harbour Porpoise off the West Coast. Insect activity was limited due to the overcast weather but did produce five Bedstraw Hawkmoth caterpillars found on the Fuscia around the Observatory.

Bedstraw Hawkmoth Catterpiller (c) Ezra Sherwell

Today's sightings were highlighted by the record of an adult LAUGHING GULL seen passing south down the west coast just before we did changeover. This is the first record of this North American gull for the island. The bird passed close in shore and disappeared over the Narrows as it made its way south. Unfortunately, a thorough search post-changeover proved fruitless and so far the bird hasn't been relocated.

Other notable records during the morning's seawatch included a 2CY Pomarine Skua, seven Arctic Skuas, three Great Skuas, a juvenile Sabine's Gull off the West Coast, a Sooty Shearwater, and a Red-throated Diver off the North End. Heavy movement of more common species included 984 Kittiwakes, 899 Razorbills, 229 Manx Shearwaters, 138 Gannets, 22 Guillemots, 22 Common Scoters, 23 Arctic Terns, 16 Sandwich Terns, and seven Common Terns. Gentle westerly force 3 winds brought calm sea state 2 conditions, excellent visibility, and dry weather, with a maximum temperature of 17°C.

Coastal species and waterfowl produced 36 Curlews, five Whimbrels, three Redshanks, three Turnstones, a Ringed Plover, a Dunlin, a Teal at Pwll Gareth, 16 Shags, four Cormorants, and three Grey Herons. Raptor activity was highlighted by a Marsh Harrier (the fifth record this year) moving north over the island, along with  two Sparrowhawks and a Kestrel.

Marsh Harrier circling high over the Observatory (c) Steven Stansfield

Landbird migration and grounded songbirds featured 14 Chiffchaffs, 12 Blackcaps, 10 Goldcrests, two Willow Warblers, a Spotted Flycatcher at the Observatory, 15 Robins, 13 Stonechats, two Wheatears, 21 Swallows, a House Martin, 33 Meadow Pipits, and 24 Linnets.

Insect activity during the calm, clear conditions included eight Red Admirals, six Painted Ladies, five Small Coppers, three Green-veined Whites, two Speckled Woods, a Large White, a Comma (which may well have colonised the island now, with the number of records in the past two years), a Migrant Hawker, and five Humming-bird Hawk-moths.

 Fresh southwesterly force 5 winds generated rough seas (Sea State 5) and poor visibility accompanied by morning rain showers, with temperatures reaching 17°C.

Sunset over the West Coast (c) Steven Stansfield

A quiet start to the days seawatching delivered results late morning and in the evening with a Leach's Petrel passing south past North Hide and three Sabine's Gulls, two of which passed south off the West Coast in the morning and another south past North Hide in the evening. Other offshore passage included one Curlew Sandpiper in with a flock of 13 Dunlin, 598 Kittiwakes, 101 Manx Shearwaters, five Arctic Skuas, 129 Gannets, 117 Razorbills, nine Guillemots, three Sandwich Terns and two Arctic Terns.

Other wader counts were generally low with five Curlews, a Whimbrel and three Grey Herons noted. Raptor sightings featured two Sparrowhawks. Landbird migration included a Firecrest at Nant alongside 12 Goldcrests, five Chiffchaffs, five Blackcaps, 17 Robins, two Grey Wagtails, two Swallows, 19 Rock Pipits and four Meadow Pipits across the island.

Cetacean monitoring recorded at least 10 Risso's Dolphins moving off the West Coast. Grey Seal counts reached 99 adults across the island's haul-outs alongside 23 pups.