By Greg Lee
The south-westerly winds ramped up in intensity, therefore curtailing all plans for fieldwork for the day including census. Nonetheless, a myriad of data-entry and office jobs needed attention in the morning. Once the rain had stopped, I did risk a nose outside to scope out the Starling nests around the Village. In a few short days, the noisy brown fledglings will be squeaking around the place and forming small flocks with the parent birds. It is also a good time for rogue pink-coloured Starlings to appear, so I am keeping an eye out, especially as a bird of such description was seen across the Bristol Channel last week.
I took the opportunity to also check the migration hotspots on the Lower East Side. Overall, it was relatively quiet although it was nice to see the various resident birds cracking on with their breeding season with Stonechats and Meadow Pipits carrying food, streaky young Linnets bothering their parents and demanding feeding and the male Whitethroats delivering their scratchy song from the various territories. The plateau itself was extremely windy, with most wildlife sensibly choosing the option to hide in cover. A Reed Warbler singing in Secret Garden was a nice migrant of the late spring migration season, a few seem to turn up later in the UK before presumably moving onwards. A Siskin lingering in Millcombe was also slightly unseasonal. Offshore, a stream of Manx Shearwaters was piling over the tempestuous seas, presumably waiting for darkness to fall to return to their colonies. They will be enjoying the conditions coming up.
