9th May

Disappointment on two fronts today: for travelling listers there was the rapid realisation that the Spectacled Warbler had moved on overnight, whilst the residents were left baffled that near identical conditions to yesterday produced scarcely a sniff of a fall of new arrivals. Willow Warblers accounted for most of the numbers on the ground, but they were down to barely more than 50 at the Bill; there were no surprises amongst the very thin spread of other newcomers, with none of the other routine species getting even close to a double figure total at the Bill. Visible passage was a lot stronger, with House Martins outnumbering Swallows for periods at the Bill; 2 passing Hobbies and a single Greenshank were of note at the Bill, where 14 Yellow Wagtails amongst the back-up tally further boosted their already well above average showing this spring. For the most part the sea was quiet, with an Arctic Skua one of the few worthwhile sightings at the Bill.

A party of around 15 Bottle-nosed Dolphins lingered off the Bill for most of the evening.

The events of the last couple of days have seen us get a bit behind with photographs we've been sent for the blog (...we can only repeat what we've said before that if we don't get round to posting things it almost always because we've got so tired by the late evening of a long day that we simply can't stay awake long enough to get the job done!). Anyway, Peter Moore sent us through a few migrant photos from the centre of the island on Sunday; Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher and Whinchat © Peter Moore petermooreblog:




And thanks also to Steve Carey for a particularly fine photo of yesterday's star bird © Steve Carey stevecareybirdphotography:


And finally, from today a couple more butterflies that are now out and about on the wing - Small Copper and Common Blue © Ken Dolbear: