29th June

Whilst the east coast of the country experienced an extraordinary passage of Swifts, we were experiencing another incredibly blustery, grey day with little in the way of land-based migration apart for the likely lingering Yellow-legged Gull. The sea was a different matter with an evening spectacle of swirling gulls, Balearic and Manx Shearwaters (a good 10 of the former, 250+ of the latter). The gusting on-shore winds also saw the second day-time Storm Petrel of the year, as well as an Arctic Skua, what will presumably be one of the final Puffins of the year, and a single Sandwich Tern amongst the local Common Terns. At the north end of the island, a Sanderling at Ferrybridge was present for the second day along with a new Turnstone.

Balearic Shearwaters are never going to be winners in the beauty stakes and some of the moulting birds look truly grim at this time of year © Martin Cade:



It remains to be ascertained if all the recent sightings of a Yellow-legged Gull are of the same lingering individual - apparent plumage differences might just be the result of moult progress © Keith Pritchard:


The Chesil Little Terns seem to be making a brilliant recovery after some predatory set-backs earlier in the season © Pete Saunders