8th March

Topsy-turvy weather conditions saw the island miss out on snow that set in a few dozens of miles inland but it still felt raw in a stiff easterly at dawn; however, within hours it was mill-pond calm and the temperature had shot up to not far off double figures. In between the day's frequent showers there was some surprisingly rewarding migrant-watching to be had at the Bill, with Lesser Black-backed Gulls - 58 in total - trickling in from the south all day; also in from the south were 50 Wood Pigeons, 26 Meadow Pipits and a Pied Wagtail. The sea returned totals of 25 Brent Geese, 6 Red-throated Divers, 5 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Black-headed Gulls and a lone Great Crested Grebe. Grounded migrants hardly featured, with a lone Redwing the only arrival at the Bill; elsewhere, a Hooded Crow at Weston was presumably the bird seen at the Bill for the last few days and a Bullfinch at Verne Common was the first reported on the island this year.