It was lovely day to be out looking but the current passage hiatus saw to it that migrants were still hard to get amongst. The season's first
Whimbrel was an on cue arrival off the Bill but a
Whinchat at Barleycrates Lane was well ahead of schedule; oddities were limited to a
Marsh Harrier over the Bill, the
Iceland Gull at Southwell and the
Hume's Warbler still about at Thumb Lane. Numbers remained less than impressive at the Bill where
Wheatear,
Blackcap,
Chiffchaff and
Willow Warbler all hovered around the 20 mark and there was precious little visible passage; the sea came up with variety if not numbers, including 8
Red-throated Divers, 2
Velvet Scoter and singles of
Black-throated Diver and
Red-breasted Merganser.
A single
Painted Lady was at the Bill and a
Brimstone was a good island record at Bottomcombe.
Butterflies on the wing around the centre of the island included Comma © Duncan Walbridge...
...and Speckled Wood © Ken Dolbear: