Wheatear and Whitethroat amongst the day's migrants at the Bill © Joe Stockwell:
21st September
Gallows humour aplenty today as the best efforts of a few stalwarts uncovered not a sniff of an American passerine despite a veritable torrent of their congeners in other parts - our day's been before and it'll come again. What did unfold for those out on the hunt was a decent enough day with most routine mid-September migrants represented overhead and on the ground. Passing Meadow Pipits got well into four figures at the Bill, where 141 Siskins, singles of Hobby and Merlin, and the first Reed Bunting of the season were of note amongst the wide variety of other overhead movers. Blackcaps dominated on the ground, where the lingering Barred Warbler again showed occasionally in the Obs Quarry but there was little else beyond the routine; the middle and north of the island was busier, with singles of Turtle Dove and Pied Flycatcher of note at Coombefield. In benign conditions and after yesterday's excesses the sea was always going to disappoint so a passing Sabine's Gull off the Bill - along with just 18 Balearic Shearwaters - was a surprise.
