With the blustery winds of the last few days having finally abated there was an opportunity for passage to resume even if, with a clear sky throughout the hours of darkness, numbers didn't look to be on the cards. Variety certainly improved, with Bill area totals of 60
Wheatears and 50
Willow Warblers backed up with a good spread of mid to high single figure totals of most typical late season migrants that included 10
Reed Warblers and 10
Garden Warblers. A
Serin put in a very brief appearance at the Obs and a
Siberian Chiffchaff was at Ladymead, whilst odds and ends of less regulars included single
Short-eared Owls at the Bill and Barleycrates Lane,
Black Redstarts at the Bill and Reap Lane, and a
Merlin at the Bill. The sea was busiest in the less than appropriate offshore breeze during the morning when 55
Common Scoter, 3
Great Northern Divers and 3
Arctic Skuas passed by off the Bill; surprisingly, a shift to a more onshore wind direction during the afternoon killed off what movement there was.
For obvious reasons, the Harbour breakwaters are generally a no-go area for local birders but the very occasional visits that are made are always revealing. Nick Stantiford ventured out to the vicinity by boat today and discovered a few of the usual suspects in residence, including a sitting Canada Goose, a pair of Shelduck together with an extra single and the usual sitting Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls; additionally, there was a migrant tally of 10 Wheatears, a Whimbrel and a Bar-tailed © Nick Stantiford:
