Bird Sightings
March 23rd Sightings - Windy With Good Coverage
A cool Northwesterly wind graced the island again but a few migrants were getting through, even if they looked very tired...
Tired male Blackcap in Millcombe. ©Thomas Weston
The day started with the census. Counts included 3 Mallard, 8 Woodpigeon, single Oystercatcher, 137 Herring Gulls, 19 Lesser Black Backed Gulls, 2 Fulmar, 3 Gannet, 5 Shag, 2 Peregrine, 38 Carrion Crow, 5 Raven. 4 Skylark, Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 5 Goldcrest, 6 Wren, 27 Starlings, 8 Blackbirds, Song Thrush, 5 Robins, single Wheatear, 2 Stonechat, 6 Dunnock, 10 House Sparrows, 2 Pied Wagtails, single ‘alba wagtail’, 12 Meadow Pipits, 5 Chaffinches, Linnet and 6 Goldfinches.
Thank you to fellow birders Andy and Tim for their sightings today that included the American Green-winged Teal male still on Pondsbury with 5 Eurasian Teal, a Red-throated Diver off the Ugly, a Great Northern Diver off The Terraces, at least 41 passing Manx Shearwaters off the North/East Coast, an arrival of Wheatear with at least 10 seen involving two colour ringed birds near the Battery, and a singing Greenfinch (scarce here) in Millcombe. There was no sign of the Purple Sandpipers today at Brazen Ward. However, the Lower East Path was the most sheltered spot throughout the day and therefore the best place to see Stonechats, Blackcap (see photo above) and Chiffchaff all feeding in the bracken and ivy.
March 22nd Sightings - Sunny but cold!
A change in wind direction led to a cool North Westerly wind pushed away the humid, foggy conditions we have had the last few days leading to a sunny day and cooler temperatures. Due to it being a changeover day, the census was split with Joe and Thomas taking half the census each.
Census counts included a single Water Rail, 6 Woodpigeons, 3 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff, 7 Goldcrest, a Firecrest, 12 Wrens, a Song Thrush, 3 Blackbirds, 3 Robins, 6 Dunnocks, 8 Chaffinches, a single Linnet, 3 Goldfinches, a single Fieldfare, and 32 Redwing were in Millcombe. Interesting sightings from the Ugly included a flyby Woodcock and Cormorant whilst in the Landing Bay 2 Guillemot, 3 Fulmar, 2 Gannet, single Red-throated Diver and a single Great Northern Diver were seen. Off Benjamin’s Chair, 38 Razorbills, a Peregrine, and 10 Shag were sheltering from the wind. At Rocket Pole Pond, a Mallard, and a small flock of 15 Redwing were seen whilst a Kestrel was on the Church for the second day in a row. Between Southwest Fields and the Airfield, 8 Skylarks, 3 Stonechats, 4 Pied Wagtails and 26 Meadow Pipits were seen. Moving northwards, in Tillage and Brick Fields, a Chiffchaff and 28 Carrion Crows were spotted with counts from The Village included 4 Ravens, a pair of Blackbirds, 30 House Sparrows, and 42 Starlings. Gulls seen throughout the census included 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 99 Herring Gulls and 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
A singing Dunnock on the Terraces. ©Thomas Weston
A quick check of The Terraces and Heligoland Trap resulted in a small flock of Redwing, a couple of Dunnocks, a pair of Blackbirds, a Chiffchaff, and a pair of Stonechat. It's always good to record any breeding behaviour of birds seen on the island as demonstrated by this Dunnock above. With jobs needing to be completed this afternoon, highlights between tasks included a Siskin over Millcombe and 2 Gannets off South Light. With new guests on the island, it was great to hear that the American Green-winged Teal was still with 6 European Teal on Pondsbury.
March 21st Sightings - A Fall of Migrants
One of the many Chiffchaff seen feeding on the floor in Millcombe. ©Thomas Weston
A night of northerlies swapped to a south westerly wind resulting in an arrival of migrants to the island’s East Coast.
Day highlights:
- 45 Chiffchaff – highest count of the year!
- 26 Goldcrest – highest count of the year!
- 8 Cormorants North
- 3 Blackcaps – 1st of the year was only yesterday!
- Green-winged Teal male on Pondsbury
Census was productive with the section through Millcombe resulted in 7 Robins, 6 Blackbirds (7 seen in total), 10 Dunnocks, our singing male Song Thrush, singing male Goldfinch, 8 Wrens (17 in total), 9 Chaffinches and a single Stonechat (4 in total), 24 Goldcrest, 30 Chiffchaff and 3 male Blackcap. From the Ugly, I was joined by two guests looking for the divers. We ended up spotting a flock of 8 Cormorants heading North, 120 Razorbills (388 in total), 4 Shag, single Fulmar, 2 Gannet, 3 Guillemot and 2 Great-northern Divers. From the descriptions it sounds like one of the Red-throated Divers were here but unfortunately whilst I was there, I could not see it. Up to Benjamin’s Chair resulted in sitting Herring Gulls, a Peregrine, a Rock Pipit, and a few singing Meadow Pipits to add to the totals. Rocket Pole Pond was quite with a couple of Mallard (4 in total), nesting Stonechat (4 in total) and a flock of Carrion Crow. A female Merlin, passage Sand Martins and a small flock of Pied Wagtails were along Highstreet Field. In the Village, a Blackcap and Wheatear came inoff and landed joining our resident Starlings and House Sparrows.
Green winged Teal male on Pondsbury. ©Thomas Weston
A walk down the Terraces found another arrival of Chiffchaff with an additional 15 here! Also, another male Blackcap and a couple of Goldcrest in the Willows too were nice to see and begs the question of how many of the latter three species are currently on the island. The usual Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds and Stonechat were the best of the rest. Moving onto Pondsbury and the male Green-winged Teal was still present alongside three European Teal and a small flock of Sand Martins were feeding over the water.
Ringing
Despite the fall, the wind was unfortunately in the wrong direction to open the Millcombe nets. However, one Robin was caught in the Heligoland.
March 20th Sightings - A Trickle Of Migrants
The Firecrest in Millcombe. ©Thomas Weston
A humid morning, foggy afternoon and relatively calm night resulted in a nice little arrival of migrants today with a flock of 6 Cormorants, 4+ Wheatears, 75+ Sand Martins, 2 Swallows, White Wagtail, 8 Chiffchaff and our first Blackcap of the year seen across the island by allcomers.
Other notable records from today included the American Green-winged Teal male still on Pondsbury with a pair of European Teal, the female Merlin was hunting the Old Stone Crusher Site/main helipad site, a pair of Kestrel were seen on the East Coast around the Quarries, 2 Red-throated Divers in the Landing Bay and the Firecrest remains for a second day.
Alongside the divers and the Firecrest, census was busy with 4 Mallard, 5 Woodpigeon, single Oystercatcher, Great Black-backed Gull, 86 Herring Gulls, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Guillemot, 35 Razorbills, 4 Shag, one of the two Kestrels, a Peregrine, 30 Carrion Crows, 6 Ravens, 18 Skylarks, single Sand Martin, 8 Chiffchaff, 5 Goldcrest, 11 Wren, 76 Starlings, 7 Blackbirds, 2 Song Thrushes, 5 Robins, single male Wheatear, 3 Stonechat, 6 Dunnocks, 21 House Sparrows, Pied Wagtail, 4 ‘alba wagtails’, 40 Meadow Pipits, 3 Chaffinches, 5 Linnets and a single Goldfinch.
Ringing
A couple of hours in Millcombe resulted in a single Chiffchaff caught and a nocturnal session walking around the fields resulted in a few Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. The highlight was a Meadow Pipit originally ringed in September 2021 as a juvenile.