Wot, still no Alpine Swift? - although fieldwork was severely curtailed by some pretty grim damp and dreary conditions there was still a fair bit of legwork put in traipsing around many a suitable swift location but all to no avail. What was in evidence included a nice little arrival of Firecrests - at least 8 scattered between the Obs and Reap Lane - amongst a good drop of Chiffchaffs. Rather oddly, other grounded migrants looked to be poorly represented with no more than a single figure total of Wheatears at the Bill, where 2 Fieldfares were of minor note; elsewhere, a Black Redstart was at Weston. In some of the few periods of better visibility 2 Red-throated Divers passed through off the Bill.
With flying insects at a premium, many of the Chiffchaffs were reduced to scratching about on the ground for sustenance © Nick Stantiford:
