A quiet day for birds with strong South-Westerly winds blowing at Force 7 dominating alongside moderate visibility, morning rain, and a sea state of 5 as temperatures reached 15°C. 

Seabird, wildfowl and wader counts were generally low but featured 17 Shags, 23 Curlews, seven Redshanks, five Whimbrels, five Moorhens, four Turnstones, one Woodcock, one Water Rail, one Black-headed Gull.

Passerine numbers were also low but produced some diversity with one Yellow-browed Warbler still at Cristin, two Chiffchaffs, four Goldcrests, seven Robins, one Skylark, our Blackbirds, three Song Thrushes, three Redwings, one Brambling ringed at Cristin, two Redpolls over the Wetlands, six Goldfinches, three Chaffinches, one Linnet, one Meadow Pipit and eight Rock Pipits.

Gale-force Westerly winds blowing at Force 8 dominated the day alongside a heavy sea state of 7, though visibility was good with no precipitation as temperatures reached 12°C. Grey Seal numbers around the island haul-outs tallied 133 with many of the seals taking shelter on the top of the Narrows to avoid the storm waves.

A morning seawatch produced 722 Gannets, 678 Razorbills, 11 Guillemots, 618 Kittiwakes, three Arctic Skuas, nine Manx Shearwaters, seven Fulmars, three Grey Goose species, one Great Northern Diver, one Common Scoter, two Knots and one Dunlin. Other wader sightings throughout the day included four Turnstones, four Snipes and one Bar-tailed Godwit caught in the wetlands.

Bar-tailed Godwit caught in the Wetlands (c) Steven Stansfield

Landbird counts were generally low under the high winds, with recording efforts producing two Chiffchaffs, one Goldcrest, 11 Robins, six Meadow Pipits, two Rock Pipits, six Stonechats, one Redwing, two Song Thrushes, six Blackbirds, five Skylarks, ten Linnets, two Chaffinches, one Brambling, and one Goldfinch.

Stormy conditions set in today with a gale-force South-West wind blowing at Force 9, moderate visibility, and a rough sea state of 6, with rain persisting throughout much of the day as temperatures reached 15°C.

Stormy seas on the Narrows (c) Ezra Sherwell

Seabird passage offshore featured 175 Kittiwakes, 59 Gannets, 28 Manx Shearwaters, five Shags, and three Razorbills. Wader and shorebird counts across the island included 25 Turnstones, 24 Curlews, five Moorhens, four Whimbrels, four Redshanks, one Snipe, and one Woodcock at Nant. Raptor sightings featured one Sparrowhawk and one Peregrine.

One of the Redshank in Solf (c) Ezra Sherwell

Landbird migration and grounded passerines were subdued due to the weather, with records for the day featuring nine Robins, one female Blackcap, four Chiffchaffs, three Goldcrests, one Meadow Pipit, four Rock Pipits, four Chaffinches, three Blackbirds, three Redwings, and one Song Thrush.

A day of stormy weather with high winds blowing at Force 8 and heavy seas at sea state 7 made birding difficult today with temperatures of 10°C (reaching feel-like temperatures as low as -7°C) and poor visibility overall. Seal monitoring produced a total of 125 Grey Seals around the island including 10 pups.

Stormy season the West Coast (c) Steven Stansfield

Wader and seabird counts included some variety with three Lapwings including two arriving in off the sea onto the Narrows in the afternoon producing some interesting movement. Other species included the first two Woodcocks of the season, one Bar-tailed Godwit, five Turnstones, two Ringed Plovers, two Whimbrels, one Curlew, one Redshank, 14 Gannets, 19 Kittiwakes, and one Razorbill.

Landbird counts were generally low, however, records for the day included one Collared Dove, four Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, ten Goldcrests, eight Robins, one Meadow Pipit, nine Rock Pipits, 13 Redwings, two Song Thrushes, six Blackbirds, two Starlings, one male Brambling, five Chaffinches and two Goldfinches. Raptors counts featured one Sparrowhawk and one Merlin.