22nd July

A few hours birding was possible today before the heavens opening and the best part of a gale sweeping in wrote off the afternoon and evening. The sea was well watched for precious little reward, with just 28 Manx Shearwaters, 17 Common Scoter, 4 Yellow-legged Gulls, 3 Arctic Skuas, a Whimbrel and a Puffin through off the Bill. Ferrybridge continued to tick over, with 300 Mediterranean Gulls, 25 Dunlin, 12 Sanderling, a Redshank and a Common Sandpiper the pick of the morning selection. Elsewhere on the land a Grey Heron dropped in at Sweethill.

So comprehensive was the downturn in the weather that whatever might have dropped in later in the day at Ferrybridge escaped attention; earlier, the wader selection had been routine, with Sanderlings, Dunlins and a Common Sandpiper as good as it got © Pete Saunders:

The rain and wind did dump this young Grey Heron into a garden at Sweethill © Pete Saunders:

And back to yesterday for news from Bryan Edwards of a new bee for the island. While checking the Golden Samphire on East Cliffs Bryan found plenty of Green-eyed Flower Bees Anthophora bimaculata; Brian further tells us: 'can't believe it was overlooked in the past as it is easily identified and makes a very distinctive high-pitched whine when darting between flowers. It was frequent on east cliffs from near the obelisk along to the huts, foraging from the samphire and seen entering holes in bare ground on the cliff top. It is generally a species of sandy soils and is frequent on Dorset heaths, and more local on the coast, the nearest sites being Durdle Door to the east and Cogden to the west' © Bryan Edwards: