3rd October

Very often the best laid plans don't reach fruition and today's anticipation of some quality on the back of the arrival of freshening easterlies proved to be well wide of the mark. Visible passage continued apace, with a strong movement of House Martins in particular over the north of the island and another 1500 Meadow Pipits and 400 alba wagtails over the Bill; however, on the ground yesterday's numbers weren't sustained, with 140 Skylarks, 40 Chiffchaffs and 22 Stonechats the only worthwhile totals amongst the varied selection at the Bill. Minor quality came in the form of a Wryneck at Avalanche Road (perhaps the individual last reported from there a week or more ago?), a Ring Ouzel at Southwell and singles of Green Sandpiper and Ring Ouzel at the Bill. A little bit of sea passage included 5 Arctic Skuas and 2 Great Skuas through off the Bill, whilst 7 Common Gulls were new in at Ferrybridge.

Despite it dropping pretty chilly overnight there was a slight improvement in immigrant moth numbers, amongst which yet another Radford's Flame Shoulder was a notable highlight at the Obs; 21 Rush Veneer, 4 Rusty-dot Pearl, 2 each of Pearly Underwing and Delicate, and singles of Diamond-back Moth, White-speck and Silver Y made up the rest of the tally there.

It's a sad reflection of the quality of the birding that we're reduced to posting photos not of interesting vagrant birds but of a pretty dawn - our day will come, but it certainly wasn't today © Joe Stockwell


The Radford's Flame Shoulders continue to come like buses, with yet another caught overnight at the Obs