5th May

Birding was very hard work in today's blasting easterly but there were rewards to be had, with visible passage particularly conspicuous. For the second day in succession there was a strong passage of Swifts that from the evidence of a variety of sample counts likely topped 1000 for a day as a whole; Swallows looked to be running neck and neck, whilst a good many of the day's other arrivals - including 60 Willow Warblers, 50 Wheatears, 7 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Tree Pipits, 2 Cuckoos and a Wood Warbler - also headed straight through. Wader variety increased again, with 13 Bar-tailed Godwits and 3 each of Grey Plover, Knot and Sanderling among the selection grounded at Ferrybridge. Sea passage was never sustained but 16 Sanderlings, 15 Little Terns, 3 Pomarine Skuas, a Great Northern Diver and an Arctic Skua passed through at the Bill, 65 Bar-tailed Godwits and 3 Grey Plover were the best off Chesil and 3 Black Terns passed over Ferrybridge.

Whilst it was pretty grim out in the buffeting wind, sheltered spots were pleasantly warm in the sun and there was plenty of butterfly activity; this Orange-tip and the Small Blues were at Bottomcombe  © Ken Dolbear: