Today's weather was quite cold first thing and rain moved in in the afternoon, this came as quite a shock to all of the islanders as we have been getting to used to blue skies and warm, sunny weather!!

Sam opened up the nets at the Observatory first thing as conditions were relatively calm; he did however have to close early as the drizzle moved in. While the rain is a pain as it means our outside work has to be put on hold, and rainy conditions aren't really conducive to any of our project work efforts, it is certainly needed as the well has started falling and it is remarkably early in the season for this to be happening (highlighting what a dry spring it has been so far).

a Chiffchaff caught at the Obs this morning

After ringing, it was time to continue with the indoor work that we still have to do - with guests not being here, this has taken somewhat of a back seat while passage has been good, but as it has started to slow, we can start on this again - especially on rainy days like today. Sam continued in the Common Room, scraping back the lime mortar and revealing the original stones beneath. For the last few years, a problem with the roofing has meant the walls have been coming increasingly damp, so until that can be sorted, the walls will remain bare to allow them a chance to dry out. Any further plaster on the wall before then, would likely just become weakened and damp, and have to be stripped off again.

once the mortar has been brushed off properly to reveal the stone underneath, the plan is to point around the stones and turn it into a feature wall.

Later in the day saw Sam and George head down to Cafn to wait for Colin Evans to bring in a delivery of diesel for the Observatory. It was then unloaded into the Tractor and trailer and the Buggie and taken back unto the Observatory. These diesel deliveries should soon become a thing of the past once the Solar panels are installed, however, for now, the diesel generator remains to be the only way of generating electricity at the Obs.

So, due to the less than ideal weather and the busy day, the only birding today was between Cafn and Ty Nesaf. There were still a few nice bits about though, the best of which was probably a Black Redstart which appeared in the Courtyard at the Observatory in the afternoon and fed there until late evening.  On the narrows, there were 90 Oystercatchers, 18 Whimbrels and two Dunlins along with two Rock Pipits displaying near Cafn and a pair of Choughs feeding in Henllwyn - a count of 104 Grey Seals was made at low tide too when they hauled out on the rocks there.

Other birds today included: one Gannet, four Turnstones, nine Swallows, seven Pied Wagtails, one Robin, five Stonechats, 14 Wheatears, three Blackcaps, 13 Chiffchaffs, 20 Willow Warblers, three Great Tits, 25 Goldfinches and 40 Linnets.

Ringing produced: Chiffchaff 3, Blackcap 5, Goldfinch 4. Total 12 birds of 3 species.

The moth trap was empty unsurprisingly after a cold and windy night.