Under clear skies and with a fresh easterly blowing, the West Cliffs were always going to corner the bulk of the day's visible passage and perseverance there paid off with first a
Red-rumped Swallow and later a
Honey Buzzard heading through; numbers-wise,
House Martins and
Swallows were both moving through at around 300 per hour, with
Swifts just making 100 per hour and
Sand Martins still passing in the dozens; a
Marsh Harrier and a
Hobby also headed north, as did 12
Yellow Wagtails and several
Spotted Flycatchers. Grounded arrivals hardly featured, with only
Wheatear amongst the commoner migrants just about managing a double figure total at the Bill; a single
Cuckoo there was the only minor oddity on offer. Despite a seemingly favourable wind direction the sea was quiet, with nothing better than 3
Great Northern Divers and an
Arctic Skua through off the Bill.
Both Guillemot and Razorbill eggs are proving popular with one of the Ravens at the moment © Joe Stockwell (flying) and Barry Titchener (settled):
...in fact the crows were going out of their way not to endear themselves to us today - this Jackdaw was ripping apart a Slow-worm © Barry Titchener:
On the butterfly front Dingy Skippers are now on the wing (in these photos a male at the top and a female at the bottom) © Ken Dolbear:
And finally, many thanks to Andrew Jordan for some more lovely photos of Monday's Spectacled Warbler that we certainly don't need an excuse to indulge in
© Andrew Jordan ajordanwildlife:
