7th October

A better day for routine passage today under heavy cloud cover and occasional pulses of light drizzle. Scarcity-wise, the best that could be mustered were a Common Rosefinch at Coombefield Quarry and a couple of Yellow-browed Warblers in the Avalanche Road/Craft Centre area; Ring Ouzels staged a bit of an arrival with maybe as many as 20 around the centre and south of the island, whilst 4 Short-eared Owls were at the Bill. Commoner migrants trickled through all day, with Chiffchaffs totalling perhaps 150 at the Bill, where other notable counts included 100 Blackbirds, 70 Song Thrushes and 32 Stonechats; Blackcaps were conspicuous around the centre of the island, where counts included 28 at Coombefield/Avalanche.

Despite the seemingly unsuitable brisk north-easterlies immigrant moth numbers surged at the Obs, where 123 Rush Veneer, 16 Rusty-dot Pearl, 13 Diamond-back Moth, 11 Silver Y, 3 Scarce Bordered Straw, 2 Delicate and singles of Convolvulus Hawk-moth and Red Admiral butterfly were trapped overnight.

It's fascinating and frustrating in equal measures to discover just how much passes over the island at night without stopping and Nick Hopper has provided us with yet more evidence from earlier this week. Monday (3rd) was the quietest day of the week for grounded migrants, but Nick's recording gear had been deployed overnight and his migrant totals were 607 Song Thrush calls (only 18 before midnight, but a big push between 1.00 - 2.30 am when most calls were logged), 162 Redwing calls, 6 Goldcrests, 3 flocks of Dunlin, 3 Robins, 3 Ring Ouzels, 2 Meadow Pipits, 1 flock and a presumed single Wigeon and singles of Grey Heron, Skylark and Blackbird.

And finally, one of today's Ring Ouzels, this one trapped and ringed at the Obs: