22nd June

Were it not for the pair of dazzlingly pink Rosy Starlings remaining at Weston (alright one was more dazzling than the other), today might have been an almost total write-off. The rest of the birding day left a lot to be desired with a lingering Reed Warbler making up the remains of the migrant tallies. It was down to the breeding birds to complete the ringing totals with some freshly fledged Whitethroats and a Greenfinch, sadly now a rarity in the nets. The sea was exceptionally quiet, and the haze that set in around mid-morning didn't help matters, meaning totals reached a paltry one Common Scoter, one Mediterranean Gull and two Sandwich Terns.


The Rosy Starlings continued to show nicely at Weston today © Martin Cade (top) and Pete Saunders (bottom):



  The unbroken sunshine warming the ground and vegetation saw the emergence of some more Gatekeepers, the first photographed at the Bill this year © Roy Norris: