By Greg Lee
The westerly wind remained quite breezy this morning, but census certainly had activity. Spotted Flycatchers are a staple of May migration, so it was pleasing to see at least five birds around Millcombe, sallying from prominent perches and generally showing very nicely. On occasion, the loud bill-snapping was heard indicating that another winged insect had met its fate. A Reed Warbler was perhaps less accommodating, but the warm, brown colouration contrasted nicely to the greener Chiffchaff sharing the same Sallow bush with a Sedge Warbler snatching briefly into song. A different migration was happening at the same time as the island welcomed a large cruise ship full of visitors, who were working their way up the beach road as I walked about on census. On the upper plateau of the island, House Martins and Swallows were pulsing through with 33 and 28 counted respectively this morning, although this seemed to tail off further into the patrol, on the other hand, the Meadow Pipits and Skylarks seemed to be quite quiet today, preferring to hunker quite low in the breeze. A Siskin over the Quarry Cottages seemed a little unseasonable but was something quite different on census. The male Kestrel drifted along the coast as well; the first time I had seen him for a week.
Cuckoo by T.Weston
Heading back into the Village, their appeared to be lots of Starling and House Sparrow activity with chicks of the former heard squeaking from various cavities and the Sparrow team reporting the first hatched chicks of the year. A Cuckoo was seen by multiple observers across the island during the day, with this particular bird occasionally singing away and decimating the large caterpillars. However, top prizes go to the summer-plumaged Turnstone down near Rat Island, a good record of this surprisingly scarce species on the island and a small tidbit of that lovely May passage of arctic-bound waders that the rest of the country enjoys. In addition, a first for the year arrived in the form of a Quail, which was flushed along the East Side.
Turnstone by T.Weston