Sunday 5 May 2019

The weather today started nice and ended nice with a couple of showers and cloudy patches in between. The temperature stayed around 10 degrees and the win was cool and from the north.

Although the day felt quiet in terms of migrants there were a few highlights and two new birds for the year. The first of which was a Firecrest heard singing in the observatory garden mid morning. the bird showed briefly but was fairly elusive and was not seen again. The second came later in the day when a Common Swift past through the middle of the island luckily spotted as it flew through the scope while looking at a Common Buzzard. Other key highlights included a corvid flock in the morning seen heading north made up of four Carrion Crows, three Jackdaws and a Hooded Crow, and the Swallow Passage was again noticeable today with 100 birds seen heading through the narrows and over pen cristin in just an hour and a half, the day count tallied over 200 birds.

The breeding season is also underway and it showed today, the Mallards were out with their young, one brood of 7 and another of 6, and the Stonechat pair at the farm were seen feeding two fledged juveniles.

More birds of interest include one Sparrowhawk, one Peregrine, seven Dunlins and three Ringed Plovers. 


Willow Warbler                

Small Copper
 

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