Strong westerly winds reaching Force 5 along with a matching sea state of five brought an impressive day of seabird movement. The standout highlight of the day was the first Sooty Shearwater of the season heading northeast along the West Coast.

Seawatching off the West Coast featured a heavy morning passage of 6,013 Manx Shearwaters heading North, with peak movement reaching around 2,500 birds per hour. An evening seawatch from the South End produced an estimated 5,000 birds past the point, gathering around the island waiting for it to get dark bringing the daily total of Manx Shearwaters to 11,013. Additional seabirds pushing North off the West Coast included 159 Gannets (with a further three off the South End bringing the total to 162), 11 Fulmars, 55 Kittiwakes (alongside 20 off the South End and 17 at Carreg yr Honwy for a total of 92), 13 Black-headed Gulls, two Great Black-backed Gulls, two Shags, one Lesser Black-backed Gull, and six Herring Gulls. Heading south off the West Coast were 11 Sandwich Terns.

Coastal counts around Carreg yr Honwy, Solfach, and Pen Cristin included 493 Herring Gulls split between 250 at Pen Cristin and 243 at Carreg yr Honwy, 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Carreg yr Honwy, ten Black-headed Gulls across Carreg yr Honwy and Solfach, six Great Black-backed Gulls at Carreg yr Honwy, three Shags at Carreg yr Honwy, a lone Oystercatcher at Pen Cristin, and a Moorhen in Withies.

Landbird migration featured ten Willow Warblers spread across Nant, Withies, the Observatory, and Wetlands, two Sedge Warblers and a single Reed Warbler along Green Lane. Other passerine records included two Chiffchaffs at the Observatory, 12 Stonechats, four Swallows and two Pied Wagtails at Nant. Raptors were represented by single records of both Kestrel and Sparrowhawk near the Observatory. 

During the afternoon we went to monitor and ring some of the Manx Shearwater chicks which are growing quickly and starting to look quite large and downy.

Five week old Manxy chick (c) Steven Stansfield