Whilst not quite a wholesale change in the conditions, some much welcome hazy cloud cover saw another pulse of migrants rapidly work their way up the island today, with 75 Chiffchaffs, 10 Blackcaps, 5 Willow Warblers, 4 Black Redstarts and 3 Firecrests logged. Among the scattering of Wheatears around the Bill it was particularly pleasing to see the return of the regular singing male that holds territory there - fingers crossed he'll have more luck than last year when he looked to be paired up for a time but if there was a breeding attempt it failed. Overhead, just a trickle of Sand Martins and Swallows made up the bulk of day's visible migration, with a single Redwing also seen. The low cloud made for poor visibility out to sea, with 7 Velvet Scoters easily the best of the lot, with just 15 Red-throated Divers, 3 Manx Shearwaters and a Greylag Goose of note.
We had a nice little event a couple of mornings ago when two 'control' Chiffchaffs were trapped literally next to each other in one of the Obs garden mist-nets. We received the ringing details on these birds today that revealed one had been ringed as a juvenile - presumably close to its breeding site - two summers ago in Cheshire, whilst the other had been ringed four years ago as an autumn migrant in north Hampshire © Martin Cade:
