Fresh southwesterly force 5 winds generated rough sea conditions, good visibility, and heavy rain, with temperatures reaching 17°C.

Seawatching from the observatory yielded two Balearic Shearwaters moving along the West Coast alongside 152 Manx Shearwaters heading south. Additional seabird movement included an Arctic Skua off the West Coast, 37 Gannets, 14 Kittiwakes, eight Shags, five Common Scoters, four Sandwich Terns, two Cormorants and a single Fulmar. Coastal waders and wetland species were represented by 34 Curlews, 18 Turnstones, two trapped Dunlin at Narrows, a single Bar-tailed Godwit heading south off the West Coast, a Whimbrel at Carreg yr Honwy, and a Redshank at Solfach. 

Passerine counts and visible migration was headlined by 28 White Wagtails (including 25 moving south at South End), two Pied Wagtails, 14 Swallows, seven Meadow Pipits, and a House Martin. Grounded passerines and residents included 12 Rock Pipits, a Song Thrush (trapped and ringed at the Observatory), a Willow Warbler, a Robin and a Wheatear. 

Offshore seal monitoring recorded 140 Grey Seals hauled out with pup numbers now reaching four. Invertebrates recorded despite the rain included five Painted Ladies, two Humming-bird Hawk-moths, a Speckled Wood, and a Silver Y.

Grey Seal pup (c) Phoebe Moss

The students were taken out for an afternoon of rockpooling which produced some interesting sightings including several Blennys, Green Shore Crabs and a range of Sea anemones.

Students rockpooling on Solfach.

Force 5 south-westerly winds led to sea state 5 with good visibility, although rain showers were present throughout the day, and a maximum temperature of 18°C.

A morning seawatching session produced the highlights of today, with a Balearic Shearwater seen going south, although difficult to pick up in the rougher waves, whilst a Great Skua was seen high off the west coast. Other seabird highlights included 11 Common Scoter, 19 Sandwich Tern, 10 Arctic Tern, five Guillemot, and six Razorbill passing through. A total of 76 Gannet were recorded across the island, as well as six Fulmar, four Cormorant, 12 Shag, 80 Kittiwake, and 20 Manx Shearwater off the west coast.

Yesterday’s Quail had stayed overnight and was relocated for a second day in the lowlands. Wader numbers weren’t as high as in recent days but included five Ringed Plover, five Whimbrel, 37 Curlew, four Redshank, six Turnstone, and 16 Dunlin, two of which were ringed during a dazzling session in the evening. Passerines included a single Tree Pipit flying over the observatory, 10 Meadow Pipit, seven Rock Pipit, four White Wagtail, and 73 Alba Wagtail throughout the day. Other migrants included 35 Swallow, one House Martin, and five Wheatear, whilst warblers included three Blackcap, five Chiffchaff, three Willow Warbler, and one juvenile Whitethroat in the wetlands.

Several butterflies were of note, including a Small Tortoiseshell, and one Small Copper, as well as a good count of five Humming-bird Hawk-moth. No cetaceans were seen today, but other wildlife included two Violet Ground Beetles, a possible Southern Migrant Hawker, and five Slow Worms in the observatory garden.

Students on a Manx Shearwater chick walk

The students from the University Week helped out with ringing today, with a total of five Storm Petrels at the north end at night, followed by 23 Manx Shearwater chicks ringed from burrows during the day, giving everyone a chance to gain valuable experience.

Northwesterly force 5 winds generated rough conditions at Sea State 5, accompanied by very good visibility and a top temperature of 17°C.

An exciting day of seawatching comprised much of the birding for the day with all the staff and students lining up on the terrace to watch seabirds fly past the West Coast. Three Sooty Shearwaters provided some early highlights with the first two going through within half an hour after sunrise. Skuas also provided a lot of interest throughout the morning with a variety of different ages and morphs of Arctic Skuas moving through and two Great Skuas, the second of which flew in to the West Coast before circling up over the coast providing good views for the students. Much of the passage was comprised of southward moving terns with a total of six species recorded during through the morning. The highlight was a Black Tern moving south in with a mixed flock of Sandwich and Arctic tern off the West Coast and a juvenile Roseate Tern off the North End. Counts of other species totalled 189 Sandwich Terns, 44 Arctic Terns, 37 Common Terns, eight Commic Terns, and a Little Tern off the West Coast. Headlining the gulls was a juvenile Sabine's Gull passing the West Coast and six Little Gulls also off the West Coast. Other gull counts included two Yellow-legged Gulls, 663 Kittiwakes, 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 15 Herring Gulls, 11 Great Black-backed Gulls, four Black-headed Gulls,  and two Mediterranean Gulls. Other seabirds passing offshore included 208 Manx Shearwaters four Grey Phalaropes off the North End, 373 Gannets, 31 Common Scoters, 26 Shags, 16 Razorbills, 13 Fulmars, four Cormorants, two Puffins, and a single Guillemot.

The most notable landbird sighting came from a Quail flushed in the lowlands during the afternoon. Wader and wildfowl passage along the coast produced four Purple Sandpipers on the Narrows, 17 Turnstones, 13 Redshanks, nine Whimbrels, six Curlews, six Dunlin, five Ringed Plovers, a single Lapwing, and a Greenshank. Passerine numbers were generally low but were bolstered in the afternoon by a Whinchat in the lowlands, a Skylark passing over the lowlands, 12 Robins, six Wheatears, five Willow Warblers, one Sedge Warbler, two Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap and four Stonechats. Overhead hirundines, wagtails, and pipits included 25 Swallows, 10 House Martins, 23 White Wagtails, 20 Rock Pipits, and 16 Meadow Pipits. 

Whinchat (c) Ezra Sherwell

Cetacean monitoring off the West Coast and North End yielded seven Common Dolphins and three Risso's Dolphins. Invertebrates started to show later in the day as the wind died off with two female Red-veined Darters, 15 Migrant Hawkers, 283 Rush Veneers, 31 Common Grass Veneers, 22 Painted Ladies, 14 Silver Ys, eight Red Admirals, four Humming-bird Hawk-moths and a Grayling seen. Six Slow Worms were also noted under the refugia at the Observatory. 

In the afternoon the students were taken up the mountain to assist with finishing off the final square of the Manx Shearwater census, providing some useful expereince conducting species monitoring as part of a long-term project. 

Students helping out with the Manx Shearwater census on the mountain (c) Joel Tragen

Southerly force 4 winds were accompanied by Sea State 3, moderate visibility, persistent showers throughout the day, and a top temperature of 19°C.

Overhead visible migration picked up despite the wet conditions, headlined by a large surge of wagtails and pipits. Alba wagtails totaled at least 145 individuals, including 100 moving south (70 at South End and 30 at Narrows), 34 confirmed White Wagtails (including 13 moving south at South End and nine south over North End), and a single Pied Wagtail at Solfach. These were joined by nine Grey Wagtails, 25 Meadow Pipits (nine heading south along the West Coast), two Tree Pipits, and 14 Rock Pipits. Hirundine passage produced 64 Swallows and two House Martins. Grounded passerines and songbirds included 11 Willow Warblers, three Chiffchaffs, three Blackcaps, a Whitethroat on the Mountain, 19 Robins (three trapped and ringed), 20 Wrens (two trapped), 18 Linnets, 12 Woodpigeons, eight Wheatears and six Stonechats. 

Seabird counting was productive, highlighted by two Little Terns heading along the West Coast alongside 63 Sandwich Terns and four Arctic Terns. Offshore passage also produced 98 Gannets, 37 Manx Shearwaters, 35 Common Scoters off the West Coast, 20 Shags, nine Razorbills, seven Fulmars, and seven Cormorants. Coastal waders were well represented with 55 Oystercatchers, 40 Turnstones, 37 Curlews, 17 Redshanks, 12 Ringed Plovers, 10 Dunlin, three Whimbrels, a single southbound Black-tailed Godwit off the West Coast, a Greenshank at Narrows, and a Sanderling at Carreg yr Henwy. Gulls included 18 Kittiwakes, six Black-headed Gulls, three Mediterranean Gulls, and a Common Gull.

Kittiwake in Solfach (c) Ezra Sherwell

Sandwich Tern in Solfach (c) Ezra Sherwell

Marine mammal activity off the West Coast and South End included 10 Common Dolphins and two Risso's Dolphins. Invertebrate records despite the showers included five Humming-bird Hawk-moths, five Migrant Hawkers, two Common Blues and two Speckled Woods.