31st January-7th February

A very unsettled period of weather for the beginning of February saw little in the way of new arrivals, with a single Yellowhammer on the 1st and a flyover White-tailed Eagle on the 7th the only oddities to report. Among the regular winterers, up to 11 Purple Sandpipers and 3 Turnstones were present at the Bill whilst the Grey Heron continued to frequent the observatory ponds. On the sea, Red-throated Diver numbers reached a maximum of 43 on the 2nd whilst 2 Shelduck past by on the 4th. Windier conditions at the end of January saw 12 Little Gulls present at the cove, with both the Red-necked Grebe and Black-throated Diver regularly seen in the harbour. Sunny intervals on the 4th saw the first Peacock butterfly on the wing whilst belated news of the first Hummingbird Hawkmoth came from the 22nd of last month.

Recent windy conditions have provided plenty of detritus for the local Ravens to begin their necessary nest building and repairs © Jodie Henderson


Whilst both the Black Redstart and Grey Wagtail remain at Church Ope Cove © Jodie Henderson


Pretty unsatisfactory views of this morning's White-tailed Eagle as it rounded the tip of the Bill, causing plenty of chaos among the local gulls  © Jodie Henderson