It was another day for seawatching today, partly cloudy and winds picking up throughout the day and coming straight from the West before swinging round to the South by late afternoon. Most of today’s action was noted out to sea, but despite the conditions a fair selection was noted on the land.

Manx Shearwater numbers were a little lower than what we’ve become accustomed to now, just 296 were recorded, evidence that ever more of these charismatic birds are heading to their wintering grounds and disappearing from our shores. Among the Manx Shearwaters today was a Leach’s Petrel the first of the year an individual seen flying slowly past the South End of the island! Sea passage also consisted of 87 Gannets, 17 Common Scoters, three Arctic Skuas and 12 Sandwich Terns.

A Sanderling was the only new wader, with numbers remaining fairly stable over the past week. A small movement of Hirundines culminated to 44 Swallows and four House Martins. A reasonably high count of Meadow Pipits involved 84 birds, whilst overhead 13 Grey Wagtails were noted. Some dedication bashing the bushes produced a fair haul, 18 Robins, one Whitethroat, nine Blackcaps, 38 Chiffchaffs, six Willow Warblers and 15 Goldcrests were logged. A Barn Owl was seen at Ty Pellaf in the evening its white wings standing out in the moonlight.

Grey Heron

Meadow Pipit