11th September

Another bleak and miserable day was brightened by the ever confiding Lapland Bunting that delighted all who went to see it by feeding openly on the footpath beneath the Lobster Pot. Less confiding was the loitering Wryneck that gave itself up just once before skulking back into the bushes (presumably the ants weren't playing ball in the howling westerlies). Other migrants were incredibly thin on the ground and little more than a single Whinchat, single figures of Wheatears and Blackcaps and the occasional Phyllosc were recorded throughout the day and across the island. The sea was quiet but, probably due to the constant sea-watch by those not wishing to expose themselves to the elements, a selection including Arctic Skua, Bonxie and Balearic Shearwater was amassed before dark.


Lapland Buntings have a reputation for being wonderfully tame, and this bird was no exception © Martin Cade...



...and © Brendan Sheils:


Initially the bunting spent time feeding along the shoreline before being pushed off by territorial Rock Pipits © Erin Taylor: