One of the most fascinating things about working at an island bird observatory during September and October is the way we get to experience bird migration in its most obvious form. Being surrounded by water on all sides, we know that many of the birds we're seeing have just arrived from an often treacherous sea crossing. They'll use the island as little more than a pit stop or navigational aid before continuing on their way. When you're a tired migrant you can't be too choosy about the habitat you land in on Bardsey, as today's Corncrake found out when it flew in off the sea and landed in front of volunteer Theo during his morning seawatch. Corncrakes are well known for their extremely elusive and skulky nature in the overgrown nettle beds of western Scotland and Ireland where they breed, but this individual was drenched and exhausted from a morning spent battling against the wind in the Irish Sea, and had little option other than to drop down onto the South End clifftop and scurry away under a rock crevice where it attempted to see out the worst of the morning's stormy weather. Over the period of an hour a steady stream of islanders came to witness this once in a blue moon event, a Corncrake in full view on a cliff top! We left the bird as it began to perk up. The skies cleared and the wind died down, and presumably it was able to continue on its way south after this important pit stop.

The rest of today's action came from the sea, with a Leach's Petrel flying past off the South End whilst the Corncrake was being watched (!) and a Black-throated Diver passed off the West Coast midway through the afternoon.

Other birds today included nine Fulmars, 109 Manx Shearwaters, two Cormorants, three Grey Herons, a Wigeon, a Sparrowhawk, two Buzzards, three Kestrels, nine Golden Plovers, a Purple Sandpipers, three Whimbrels, 18 Curlews, 47 Turnstones, two Pomarine Skuas, 16 Arctic Skuas, Seven Great Skuas, 656 Kittiwakes, 86 Sandwich Terns, a Common Tern, 38 Razorbills, a Little Owl, the Barn Owl, 17 Swallows, 12 House Martins, five Robins, two Whinchats, nine Stonechats, four Wheatears, five Blackcaps, 13 Chiffchaffs, seven Goldcrests, two Spotted Flycatchers, two Chaffinches, two Goldfinches and 46 Linnets.

There can't be many places in the UK where you can watch a Corncrake and then turn your head to see a Leach's Petrel fly past. 

A photo (admittedly from a sunnier day!) showing the South End cliff top where the Corncrake dropped onto. The pointy rock above the hide is where it hunkered down.