26th August

Where do we begin today? A day of quantity over quality, but as they say quantity has a quality of its own. The first real autumn fall of the year with 114 birds ringed across all sights including 51 Willow Warblers. Following on from the recent theme Yellow Wagtails were the most conspicuous species with 175 around the Bill area alone and 250+ across the whole island. Tree Pipits continued to move and 50 were recorded within the obs area. Wheatears and Whinchats were also visibly moving through throughout the day with 150 and 20 respectively. Across the island there was a noticeable increase in flycatchers with an island total of 27 Pied Flycatchers and 14 Spotted Flycatchers. Other migrants of note included a pair of Redstarts (including one trapped in the garden), 12 White Wagtails amongst the feeding flocks of Yellow Wagtails, a Marsh Harrier heading south down the East side of the island and the first Water Rail trapped of the autumn.

Ferrybridge continued its streak with high counts of the regular migrants as well as a flock of 8 Knot and a very smart looking Little Gull ©Debby Saunders: