With the wind veering right round to the east and bright, clear conditions overhead, evidence of grounded arrivals was fairly slim at the Bill, with just a scattering of
Chiffchaffs, alongside 2 new
Firecrests and singles of
Wheatear,
Black Redstart,
Yellowhammer,
Siskin and
Greenfinch; further coverage up-island unearthed the first
Willow Warbler of the year at Easton and 3
White Wagtails on the Reap Lane puddles. Visible migration showed signs of improvement, with totals of 84
Meadow Pipits, 43
Linnets, 5
Goldfinches and 2
Sand Martins from a sample hour on West Cliffs. It was a bit of a duck day offshore, with 199
Common Scoter, 27
Teal, 7
Pintail and 5
Shoveler heading east off the Bill along with 5
Red-throated Divers, 6
Sandwich Terns, a
Bar-tailed Godwit and
Manx Shearwater.
Non-avian highlight of the day was a Large Tortoiseshell seen at Church Ope Cove, with up to 6 Hummingbird Hawkmoths by day and the year's first Dark Sword Grass from last night's moth traps further evidence of some recent arrival.
