A calm day with a slight South East wind. This, combined with cloud cover resulted in another big arrival of ~100 Willow Warblers this morning that trickled through Millcombe from 06:30 - 10:30. A bit of ringing resulted in 53 more Willow Warblers caught and ringed in this time period. There was a bit of wader passage this morning with a Curlew heard distantly out in the Bristol Channel calling as it presumably migrated Southeast whilst the calls of our breeding Oystercatchers were heard in the Landing Bay. This was closely followed by a Redshank that arrived from the Southeast, circled around the Landing Bay before heading back out East. This was the first of the year and a pleasant surprise during census and ringing. The last notable wader of the day was at Quarter Wall where a Ringed Plover was heard and seen briefly as it flew from the West cutting across the island and heading out East. The seabird surveys were undertaken today for our remaining productivity survey species: Kittiwake and Fulmar with both species doing okay considering a pretty turbulent season so far. A fun evening at the Battery, resulted in a Rock Pipit, a mix of Herring and Lesser-Black Backed Gulls as well as a singular Fulmar seen whilst down by the Cannons.
Ringing
Willow Warbler caught and ringed in Millcombe. ©Lucy Pécasse
Millcombe Willow Warblers.