16th May

Today didn't disappoint on the migrant front with the decent cloud cover and brisk northeasterly dropping a steady flow of latecomers - enough to make it one of the best days of the month which was enjoyable enough on the one hand although a rather damning indictment of the numbers on offer over the last fortnight on the other. An Osprey over Blacknor and the lingering Tree Sparrow at the Bill were the only oddities putting in appearances but it was the numbers and movement that really entertained, with 500 Swallows, 200 House Martins, 50 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 40 Spotted Flycatchers, 30 each of Sand Martin and Willow Warbler, 15 Wheatears, 10 Chiffchaffs, 3 each of Garden Warbler and Blackcap, and singles of Hobby, Greenshank, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat logged around the south of the island.

You'd have thought that a grey-backed 'yellow' wagtail migrating high over the Bill in mid-May stood at least a chance of being Citrine but, sadly, our luck wasn't in and today's bird was no more than just a very unseasonable Grey Wagtail © Martin Cade: 

And back to the last few days for a bit of catching up. Common Blues and Dingy Skippers are both now on the wing - these two were at Bottomcombe on Tuesday © Ken Dolbear: 

And Nick Hopper popped us through a note on his last nocturnal recording visit on Saturday night (12th/13th May): singles of Greenshank, Whimbrel, Dunlin and Spotted Flycatcher were logged along with a small flock of Bar-tailed Godwits and single flocks of Common Tern and Arctic Tern; the oddity of the night was a Moorhen (it was a night when pretty well everything was distant, with the Moorhen just about the closest bird and even that recording had to considerably amplified - a 'record shot' recording!):