Today started very differently to what we have been getting used to. The sunshine disappeared and was replaced in the early morning by a downpour of rain and some thick fog which at time was wet to walk through. The rain was on and off for most of the day and the fog didn't clear until the afternoon.

A mornings walk at high tide was again useful for wader counts, although the fog meant you had to get a good look at any waders taking off from the rocks quickly before they vanished into the murk. Our first returning Sanderlings were seen today with two briefly off the south end and another three seen feeding on solfach with two Dunlin. Whimbrels totalled 12, seven Redshank were around along with 11 Turnstone and four Common Sandpipers.

Passerine were still few and far between apart from the usual breeding birds, Rock Pipits tallied 27 today, perhaps a few adults migrating through, and the narrows held lots of juvenile Pied Wagtails and some second brood juvenile Wheatears.

An hours seawatch in the evening from the observatory saw 681 Manx Shearwaters past in an hour, if we get some stronger winds from the west over the coming week we are hoping to get a few more seabirds in the mix.

Juvenile Wheatear

Juvenile Wren