One of two Redwing in South Aerogenerator this morning. ©Thomas Weston
With today being a travel day, census was split, and sightings were a bit few and far between with the team doing other jobs. A noticeable arrival of Redwing occurred yesterday and this morning with this species not being noted for at least a week. The majority, if not all the birds seen, were of the Icelandic subspecies coburni with varying shades of brown bellies noted on the birds. The calmer wind also encouraged 142 Razorbills back to their breeding grounds off Benjamin’s Chair this morning. Other sightings from census will be added in the coming days.
In the meantime, we are really grateful for sightings and photographs collected from members of the public/guests who are spotting birds on our behalf. All reports have been added to the logbook, but a few of the notable sightings included here:
- ‘Hundreds’ of Puffins off Jenny’s Cove.
- Ring Ouzel male near Tibbets.
- Hirundines passing through the island and heading out the North end.
- A Collared Dove at North Light – The first of the year and an odd location!
In addition, the Terraces saw 8 Redwing, a male Blackcap, 4 Wren, 2 Dunnocks, 2 Meadow Pipits, 8 Herring Gulls, 41 Razorbills, 2 Skylarks, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 Shag, 2 Gannet, a pair of Stonechat and a Willow Warbler. The activity in this area varies throughout the day but it is worth checking as migrant species seem to pass through regardless.
Ringing
The weather allowed a short ringing session in Millcombe this afternoon with ~20 birds caught, ringed or processed. This included a nice selection of new Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler showing another smaller arrival this afternoon. There were a couple of recaptures from earlier this week associated with the fall, and a Robin and Dunnock retrap from last year.