28th June

The two halves of today couldn't have been more different with a calm, sunny morning giving way to a wet afternoon that saw a near gale force westerly set in. On the migrant front a late Reed Warbler was in song at the Bill, whilst heading in the other direction a Curlew passed over and Swifts were still trickling away to the south. After 4 Storm Petrels had been tape-lured overnight at the Bill there was some hope for the sea coming up with more interest, but morning watches at the Bill came up with little more than 34 Common Scoter and singles of Mediterranean Gull and Sandwich Tern. The evening was busier, with Manx Shearwaters featuring quite strongly once the wind increased: a sample total of 450 passed the Bill in an hour; 8 Common Scoter and 2 Arctic Skuas also passed through at Chesil Cove at this time.


Little Owl - Cheyne, 28th June 2016 © Mark Eggleton