by Greg Lee
A fantastic morning today, despite the very fresh and very cold easterly wind coming off the sea. It wouldn’t have been foolish of me to think that census would be similarly quiet to the westerly winds experienced over a week ago, but it was a pleasant surprise to have a lot of bird activity as soon as I stepped out of the door for census. Fieldfares, in particular, were certainly notable in number, with great chattering flocks flying up into the sky and going high. It seemed as though a lot were looking at the mainland but I’m not sure where the main direction of passage was going. A couple of stratospheric Blackbirds were also sighted, whilst raptors were well represented by two each of Peregrine and Sparrowhawk, plus the lingering young Kestrel. The bushes in Millcombe were never going to be easy to sift through, with very little in the way of warblers or crests, though a few Goldcrests did give away their presence by squeaking. Heading up and around Millcombe, I was noting more and more Chaffinches seemingly moving overhead and a good increase in Linnets as well, which have seen a sudden spike of passage. As I was nearing Government, I heard the familiar sound of hurried wingbeats in undergrowth and watched as a Woodcock flushed out of the bracken near the top before flying across the Valley and disappearing. Things would get wackier though, when, as I approached Old School, a ringtail Hen Harrier suddenly appeared at eye-level before bombing northward, though not before I was able to achieve some good shots.
The plateau, although usually the quieter side of census, was also quite busy with a good number of thrushes flying up the island as well as two Snow Buntings at Rocket Pole pond, followed quickly by a Snipe flushed by the main track up to Old Light. Another nice surprise was up at Old Light with a Jackdaw hanging around on the wall, the first for a little while. The Terraces were quiet, but a Firecrest at Ruppell’s Quarry was a nice enough discovery, with the rattling of a Mistle Thrush heading northwards over Quarter Wall as I headed back up.
The main aspect of the day was a lot of goodbyes to Tim Jones and Kirsty who both left the island today, Tim helping to log some of the very heavy days of visible migration over the past week or so and Kirsty who had been with us since the end of August with the busy task of monitoring the Seal pups. It’s going to feel quite quiet in the Lodge and soon enough, I’ll be stepping on that helicopter too! Later on, a small patrol of Millcombe and the Lower East Path did yield a few more Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests in the slightly warmer temperatures, however, I probably left it slightly too late as the path was quite shaded even by 15:00pm. Interestingly, for the second day in a row, I witnessed the young Kestrel take a small passerine, having seen it similarly dispatch a Chaffinch in a similar manner yesterday evening.
Hen Harrier over Millcombe by G.Lee