27th February

Sitting on the obs patio in the morning, one could have been tricked into thinking that it was going to be a gloriously pleasant day. The wind had swung round overnight into a stiff northerly breeze, but the morning coffee was spent in the shelter of the lighthouse in the first truly warm bit of sunshine for quite some time. Whilst basking, the now uncommon wheeze of a Greenfinch amongst the Goldfinch flock came to our attention, sadly this is the first record of the year at the Bill for a once ubiquitous species. The rest of the Bill remained relatively quiet with 11 Purple Sandpipers and a smattering of six Stonechats the only birds of note. The harbour produced singles of Great Northern and Black-throated Diver, three Common Scoter and six Black-necked Grebes.