Once the chill of dawn had passed, an appreciable drop in the strength of the wind made for a pleasant day's birding, even if what was on offer was in a very similar vein to recent days. Bits and pieces of interest around the Bill included 7 Redstarts, 5 Black Redstarts, 2 Ring Ouzels and singles of Yellow Wagtail, Pied Flycatcher and a Bullfinch, with a Marsh Harrier over Reap Lane the only oddity reported amongst the similar selection further up island. It was another fine day for hirundines to be on the move, with 100 Sand Martins and 56 Swallows logged in a sample hour on West Cliffs where a constant trickle of Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Goldfinches, along with a single Redpoll, accompanied them. Sea passage off the Bill included 139 Common Scoters, 62 Sandwich Terns, 24 Red-throated Divers, 3 Shelduck, a Whimbrel and a Manx Shearwater.
It was a good redstart day, with both Common and Black getting well into double figures around the centre and south of the island © Debby Saunders:
