Saturday 5 September 2020

Today seemed promising for seawatching with north-westerlies overnight, continuing into the morning and good seawatching being had just up the coast. With this in mind, most of the obs staff had their eyes to the sea in the morning and afternoon.

Sunrise at the North End

A walk around the South End in the morning did not produce much, just the usual waders on the Narrows, including 16 Oystercatchers, 24 Ringed Plovers, one Dunlin, 12 Curlews, five Redshanks and 29 Turnstones.

One very unexpected surprise was a Lapland Bunting that was heard flying over the Obs in the early morning! One of the earliest autumn records for the island, and there was a second one later in the day, too! Whether or not it was the same bird is impossible to know... Another Wryneck was once again present by the schoolhouse, too!

Wryneck on the track just below the Schoolhouse

Seawatching didn't produce huge numbers, but there was a really good variety today. Totals were: the first Red-throated Diver of the autumn, 38 Fulmars, 1027 Manx Shearwaters, one Storm Petrel, 796 Gannets, five Common Scoters, two Grey Phalaropes, two Pomarine Skuas, eight Arctic Skuas, seven Great Skuas, three Mediterranean Gulls, 2218 Kittiwakes, 356 Sandwich Terns, one Roseate Tern and 48 Arctic Terns. 39 Common Dolphins and eight Risso's Dolphins were also seen, it's amazing to have sights like this on the doorstep here!

Risso's Dolphins

George was checking his Manx Shearwater burrows today, many are starting to fledge by this point so it's getting easier and easier to check them! It's sad to see that the season is almost at an end, though...

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