22nd February

If we'd have known at dawn what the results of our overnight nocmig attempt were - this was the first try this spring - we'd have had a pretty fair indication of the level of passage that awaited us today: in some ways it really wasn't too bad with birds clearly getting moving pretty promptly now that a mild, southerly airflow is established. The overnight nocmig tally at the Obs consisted of 15 Redwings and singles of Dunlin, Robin and Song Thrush, whilst the feature birds by day were Stonechats and Redwings: a good 20 new arrivals of the former were at the Bill, with at least 12 of the latter scattered about around the Bill and Southwell. The first couple of Chiffchaffs of the season were fresh in (one actually watched arriving at the Bill tip and the other at Southwell), with a duo of arriving Meadow Pipits also making the tally at the Bill. The sea also came up with a trickle of movement, including 23 Brent Geese, 8 Red-throated Divers, 6 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Black-headed Gulls and a Shelduck through off the Bill. Old faithfulls still featuring on the day list included the Rosy Starling at Easton, the Redpoll at the Bill and the 2 Eider offshore there.