2nd October

Usually it'll be a rarity that makes a day at this time of year but sometimes - like today - there's just so much about that the absence a rare almost goes unnoticed. The first really quiet weather conditions for ages coupled with the first really chilly dawn of the autumn saw a conspicuous push of migrants everywhere. Meadow Pipits, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Linnets made up the bulk of the numbers with totals of well into the hundreds of each through the island as a whole; even scare-ish migrants were few and far between though, with 4 Firecrests, a Merlin and a Grasshopper Warbler the best on offer at the Bill. House Martins won out overhead, with a strong northbound movement along West Cliffs where Swallows and Meadow Pipits were also moving in quantity.