Monday 24 September 2018

Today started off bitterly cold but by mid-afternoon it had turned into shorts and t-shirt weather, rounding off with one of the most stunning evenings we've been treated to this season. Birdwise, a Lesser Whitethroat in Nant Valley was the first of the autumn and only the second to be recorded this year. The Redstart remained at Nant and before the wind dropped off there was a small overhead movement of 67 Swallows and 16 Grey Wagtails.

Today's supporting cast included four Manx Shearwaters, 39 Gannets, seven Cormorants, 19 Shags, a Sparrowhawks, two Buzzards, three Kestrels, three Peregrines, a Snipe, a Whimbrels, 55 Curlews, 19 Turnstones, 305 Kittiwakes, a Sandwich Tern, two Guillemots, 391 Razorbills, a Woodpigeon, a Little Owl, 23 Skylarks, 67 Swallows, seven House Martins, 16 Grey Wagtails, 14 White Wagtails, 44 Robins, a Redstart, 20 Stonechats, two Wheatears, a Song Thrush, a Lesser Whitethroat, nine Blackcaps, 18 Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler, 21 Goldcrests, a Jackdaw, six Chaffinches, seven Siskins, 61 Goldfinches and 130 Linnets.



By late afternoon the wind had died to barely a whisper. Even the smallest of tree branches hung suspended in midair and the whole island glowed in warm low sun until it eventually dipped behind the Wicklow Mountains 67 miles away.

The warm weather enticed a couple of unseasonal butterflies onto the wing. A Grayling up on the mountain was a couple of weeks out of season as was a Common Blue at Ty Pellaf.

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