A big overnight deluge of rain was enough to partially fill some of the ponds that have dried up and add some much needed moisture back into the soil. With yesterday's changeover boat cancelled, everybody was keen to get things moving again, and despite the best efforts of the swell to hamper crossings for a second day, Colin made a series of well-timed boat trips late in the afternoon to ensure that our guests got on (and off!) the island safely.

Willow Warbler passage seems to be well underway now, with an impressive 96 birds logged around the island. The sight of brightly-coloured juveniles hopping around the walls of the Lighthouse compound is a sure sign that autumn migration is just around the corner. Other birds seen today included two Fulmars, 494 Manx Shearwaters, six Gannets, two Grey Herons, a Sparrowhawk, two Ringed Plovers, a Sanderling, the first Purple Sandpiper of the autumn, two Dunlins, two Whimbrels, 11 Curlews, nine Redshanks, a Common Sandpiper, 23 Turnstones, a Black-headed Gull, four Kittiwakes, 10 Puffins, a Cuckoo, a Swift, 20 Swallows, six House Martins, three Wheatears, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, three Chaffinches and 27 Linnets.

Ben found this striking black-and-yellow marked leafhopper on the side of his moth trap. It's called Evacanthus interruptus and is likely to be the first record for the island. © Ben Porter

The wispy patterns that were visible on the horizon tonight are noctilucent clouds. They're formed of ice crystals (and smoke from meteors!) in a layer of the atmosphere called the mesosphere - higher up than any other clouds. Noctilucent clouds can only be seen long after sunset, when all other clouds have darkened, as they catch the last of the sun's light high up in the atmosphere. They're only visible in the north-western sky for a few weeks during the summer, making them a truly eerie and beautiful phenomenon.