Bird Sightings

A foggy start, sightings to be added when we can see/find some birds!

Well here are some here.

Sightings from across the island by all-comers involved 6 Mallards, 3 Feral Pigeon, 4 Woodpigeon, 3 Collared Doves, 10 Oystercatchers, a Common Sandpiper in the Landing Bay, 13 Puffins, single Guillemot, 12 Kittiwakes, 46 Herring Gulls, 2 Great-Black Backed Gulls, 10 Lesser-Black Backed Gulls, single Fulmar, 56 Manx Shearwaters, 8 Gannet, 33 Shags, 3 Kestrels, 2 Peregrine, 6 Carrion Crows, 5 Ravens, 2 Skylarks, 2 Sand Martins, 2 Swallows, 2 Willow Warbler, single Chiffchaffs, 5 Wren, 45 Starlings, 4 Blackbird, 2 Robin, 7 Stonechat, 14 Wheatears, single Dunnock, 35 House Sparrows, 5 Pied Wagtails, 2 Meadow Pipits, single Chaffinches, 30 Linnets, and 6 Goldfinches.

A day that started with a Greenshank over the Village at 04:41 whilst getting ready for ringing was a surprise and only the second/third this year. The bird was seemingly flying around in circles before heading off high SE and out to sea. The day remained misty and damp with low cloud draping the island. Whilst ringing, a flock of 24 Common Scoter flew south past the island mid-channel – these were the first of the year. The sea was alive with birds and fish, with about 500 Manx Shearwaters and 12 Gannets feeding above jumping Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. A Curlew flew in off the sea at the Landing Bay and rested on the beach before flying back North, potentially to feed on the East Coast. Millcombe was quite busy with Goldfinches and Linnets as well as the Chiffchaff brood in the bushes. A slight passage of Willow Warbler occurred with birds departing throughout the morning.

The afternoon was wet and rainy, so few birds were seen. A Lapwing in Barton's Field and a Ringed Plover in the Landing Bay was the most noteworthy of these species. This means an amazing 7 different species of wader have been seen on the island in the last two days.

Ringing

Juvenile Blackbird caught and ringed in Millcombe. ©Lucy Pecasse

An early morning session until lunch time resulted in a nice selection of birds caught and ringed as well as retraps from previous sessions/years.

Pied Wagtail juvenile at Old Light. ©Thomas Weston

Census counts from today began in Millcombe, where 3 Woodpigeon, single Swallow, 4 Carrion Crows, a single Blackbird, 6 Wrens, a single Stonechat, 4 Dunnock, a single Chaffinch, 2 Goldfinches.  involved 8 Willow Warblers near Millcombe Valley and a family party of 4 Chiffchaffs (2 adults and 2 juveniles). On the South coast, 4 Manx Shearwater, 2 Gannets, single Rock Pipit and 6 Shag. A new brood of Pied Wagtails were seen with 2 adults and 2 juveniles seen at Old Light. Highlights Mixed gull flocks across the census area included 8 Great- Black Backed Gull, 96 Herring Gull and 6 Lesser-Black Backed Gull. In the fields, 3 Skylark, 27 Meadow Pipits, 104 Linnets, 56 Starlings and a single Raven. In the Village, 28 House Sparrows, 4 Mallards, a single Feral Pigeon, and an adult Yellow Wagtail spp with one of the fledged juveniles were heard calling over Barton’s Field.

The seabird surveys went well today. The Kittiwake surveys were successful with juveniles seemingly doing better than last week when there was a shockingly high number of fails. The Puffins are rapidly decreasing in numbers as they leave the island for the Autumn with one remaining flock of 70 in Jenny Cove. A few Razorbills remained on the water, as did a flock of 20 Guillemots. Also in Jenny’s, a slight passage of Gannets occurred and a flock of 112 Kittiwakes were seen. The Fulmars have another new chick which is great news and seem to be growing well. A quick check of the Manx Shearwater artificial boxes resulted in all chicks doing well. Whilst we were close, we checked on the mixed Lesser-Black Backed/Herring Gull colony which resulted in three broods of both species recorded and four chicks seen in total which is incredibly low.

Others seen this afternoon involved a Whimbrel heard calling at Gannet’s Rock, a report of 2 Green Sandpipers on Pondsbury and a Lapwing on Barton’s Field. An island rarity in the form of a Little egret was seen flying past the Landing Bay heading North but unfortunately was not seen again by any other observer. An afternoon seawatch from Millcombe resulted in large flocks of Manx Shearwater and smaller flocks of Gannets feeding in the Bristol Channel and on the edge of the Landing Bay. Millcombe was quite quiet with the weather changing as the evening progressed.

Ringing

An afternoon’s ringing session resulted in a mix of species caught in Millcombe throughout the late afternoon/evening.       

Sightings from across the island by all-comers involved 6 Mallards, 2 Feral Pigeon, 5 Woodpigeon, 3 Collared Doves, 4 Oystercatchers, 2 Kittiwakes, 25 Herring Gulls, 5 Great-Black Backed Gulls, 4 Lesser-Black Backed Gulls, single Fulmar, 82 Manx Shearwaters, 8 Gannet, 16 Shags, single Kestrels, single Peregrine, 15 Carrion Crows, 6 Ravens, 3 Skylarks, 2 Swallows, single Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaffs, single Blackcap, 2 Whitethroats, 5 Wren, 54 Starlings, single Blackbird, single Robin, 5 Stonechat, 16 Wheatears, 2 Dunnocks, 56 House Sparrows, 4 Pied Wagtails, 47 Meadow Pipits, single Rock Pipit, 3 Chaffinches, 86 Linnets, and 10 Goldfinches.