27th January

Another fine day gave plenty of fieldwork opportunities, with a big increase in the Ferrybridge Mediterranean Gull tally to at least 1820 suggesting that their spring passage may be getting underway; auks were also spectacularly numerous off the Bill, with sample counts indicating there were 15-20000 offshore during the morning. More mundane happenings included 21 Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver through off the Bill and several Purple Sandpipers and 2 Black Redstarts still knocking around the Bill tip.

Another single Dark Sword Grass was trapped overnight at the Obs.

This dead Puffin was a rare find amongst the tideline debris at Chesil Cove today; despite the huge numbers of commoner auks wintering offshore, mid-winter sightings of live Puffins are nowhere near annual here and even then very often involve sickly birds wrecked close inshore, most of which presumably up dead like this hapless individual © Mark Dobson via Nikki Fryer

With their numbers having tumbled at most breeding sites on the island's cliffs it was good to see that the Grove Point ledges still had 20 or more birds in residence today; on the downside, yet again there doesn't look to be a Wallcreeper wintering at this poor man's Les Baux © Martin Cade: