27th September

A rapid change in the weather today with the quiet, misty conditions of dawn giving way to wind and rain by mid-afternoon. Migrant numbers on the ground took a conspicuous dip, with far fewer Chiffchaffs in particular than in recent days, but there were still plenty of birds on the move overhead. An 'eastern' Lesser Whitethroat showed up in the Pulpit Bushes but a brief Yellow-browed Warbler in the nearby beach hut fields at the Bill didn't linger; Dartford Warbler and Bullfinch were both first records for the autumn at the Bill where other less frequent migrants included singles of Hobby and Merlin, and a small arrival of 5 new Firecrests. Elsewhere, a Yellow-browed Warbler was at Pennsylvania Castle and 4 Little Stints and a Short-eared Owl were at Ferrybridge.

The lingering party of Bottle-nosed Dolphins remained off the Bill all day.

Immigrant moth numbers remained at a similar level to the last couple of nights, with the tally at the Obs consisting of 30 Rusty-dot Pearl, 27 Delicate, 3 Rush Veneer and singles of Pearly Underwing and Red Admiral butterfly.

Unfortunately the Lesser Whitethroat didn't permit closer scrutiny than is shown in these photos but on this evidence it certainly looks to be of eastern origin © Martin King:



The Bottle-nosed Dolphins continued to put on crowd-pleasing displays © Mike Trew (upper photo) and Martin King (lower photo):




One of the Ferrybridge Little Stints and the Short-eared Owl that flew over there © Pete Saunders:




And back to the last couple of days for some extra photos; the Greenish Warbler and Yellow-browed Warbler at the Obs on Monday © Simon Colenutt thedeskboundbirder:




...and a Goldcrest and Yellow Wagtail at Southwell yesterday © Pete Saunders: