Strong southerly Force 7 winds brought rough conditions (Sea State 5) and moderate visibility today, accompanied by some heavy showers, with temperatures reaching 17°C.

Seawatching and coastal counts were strangely quiet considering the weather with just 44 Kittiwakes, 18 Razorbills, 12 Gannets, two Manx Shearwaters and a Common Scoter passing. Wader numbers were a bit higher with 35 Curlews on Carreg yr Honwy, 14 Ringed Plovers, four Dunlins, three Turnstones, two Whimbrels and a Sanderling on Solfach.

Passerine records were harder to come across with the weather, however nine Swallows, 12 Meadow Pipits, eight Rock Pipits, three White Wagtails, six Robins, a Wheatear at North End, a Skylark at Lowland, three Woodpigeons, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a male Blackcap, a Chiffchaff, a Goldcrest, and singles of both Spotted Flycatcher and Pied Flycatcher at Nant.

Pied Flycatcher at Nant (c) Steven Stansfield

Moderate southwesterly Force 5 winds brought moderate seas (Sea State 4) and good visibility, with scattered showers throughout the day and mild temperatures peaking at 17°C.

The Spotted Sandpiper was once again spotted on the North End of the island but proved elusive, keeping largely to the cover of the rocks around the pool. Other wader sightings included 17 Ringed Plovers, 11 Turnstones on the Narrows, seven Redshanks along the West Coast, four Whimbrels, two Dunlins and one Snipe. Seabird movement was generally quite low with one Artic Skua observed off the North End, 91 Kittiwakes, 71 Razorbills and 13 Black-headed Gulls and two Mediterranean Gulls.

Juvenile Kittiwake (c) Steven Stansfield

Landbird counts brought a mix of migrants, including three Pied Flycatchers at Nant, three Spotted Flycatchers, five Chiffchaffs, four Goldcrests, 23 Robins, one Great Spotted Woodpecker, one Wheatear, 14 Swallows, 21 Skylarks, 56 Meadow Pipits, 40 Rock Pipits, five Grey Wagtails, nine White Wagtails and 22 Linnets.

Pied Flycatcher at Nant (c) Steven Stansfield

Insects noted were three Humming-bird Hawk-moths, a Clouded Yellow at North End, a Migrant Hawker at Nant, and the second ever Brown Hawker for the island seen in the rushy fields below Ty Nessaf. The first record for the island was last year at Plas With.

The highlight of the day came in the form of a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper discovered in the afternoon around some freshwater pools above the rocky shoreline on the North End. Initial views were brief before it wandered back behind some rocks but were sufficient to show bright yellow legs and a relatively clean back. The bird was refound a few minutes later providing better and slightly longer views of other key features. Not long after, the Sandpiper flew straight out to sea heading Northwest providing some brief biews of the upperwing before turning around about 300-400m out and heading back towards the hide at the Northwest corner of the Island. The bird was refound about 30 minutes later and provided a couple more fleeting views near the rocky pools around the hide  before the rain came pelting down forcing searches to cease. The bird was not seen again after this point.  This is only the second record for the island following one attracted to the lighthouse and trapped on 16 September 1977!

Spotted Sandpiper (c) Ezra Sherwell

Some seabird movement and coastal passage was also evident today with fresh south-southwesterly Force 5 to 6 winds and rough seas (Sea State 6). Despite only moderate visibility the morning seawatch from the Observatory produced three Arctic Skuas, one Sooty Shearwater, five Manx Shearwaters, 27 Arctic Terns, 14 Common Terns, eight Commic Terns, five Sandwich Terns, 565 Kittiwakes, 10 Black-headed Gulls, one Common Gull, 176 Gannets, 12 Common Scoters, 189 Razorbills, three Guillemots, two Grey Plover and 11 Ringed Plover. Temperatures peaked at 17°C and some heavy showers were present in the evening. Other shorebird counts from the Narrows produced 37 Curlews on Carreg yr Honwy, five Whimbrels, and an additional 11 Ringed Plovers and 14 Turnstones on Solfach.

Sightings on the island included a notable influx of Pied Flycatchers at Nant with a final total of eight, alongside two Spotted Flycatchers. Other records included two Blackcaps, four Chiffchaffs, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers and one Firecrest at Nant, as well as three Goldcrests, five Robins, two Skylarks, 26 Meadow Pipits, 14 Rock Pipits, two Alba Wagtails, two Chaffinches two Goldfinches and two Linnets.

Grey Seal counts recorded 146 adults across island haul-outs alongside 35 pups which included five new arrivals.