By Greg Lee
A calm start to the day with fog and light rain curtailing any opportunity to open the nets in Millcombe. With a busy day for the boat, my main task was joining Emma out at Jenny's Cove to run the seabird station mid-afternoon after tackling some of the rarity descriptions for the spring early morning.
On my journey out to Jenny's Cove, I sighted a Meadow Brown whizzing over the ground, my first of the year for this grassland butterfly species of high summer. Certainly it made me think of the numbers that would be out across some of my favourite Cotswolds butterfly haunts, Prestbury Hill, Rough Bank, Swift's Hill, Daneway Banks etc. In the long grass, a Heath Spotted Orchid was still in flower, though was surprisingly cryptic. I also spotted a Swift scything through the air, just one of many seen by several observers across the island today. At this time of year, many non-breeding adults will wander around looking for potential nest-sites for the following season. These immature birds are sometimes known as "bangers" as they will knock potential nest-sites to check if they are occupied. In Jenny's Cove itself, the gurgling of Guillemots and whinnying of Kittiwakes filled the air and it was certainly a good show of Puffins, all in all making for a good day for showing members of the public our special seabird colonies. A Kestrel passing through interesting sighting, we're speculating that at least three individuals are currently on the island at the moment.
Heath Spotted Orchid by G.Lee
Later on, we said goodbye to researcher Jayden Parker who has been with us for the past three weeks. As we headed down to say our goodbyes at the Oldenburg, we noted an impressive amount of jellyfish in the Landing Bay, mostly Moon and Blue. A small shoal of Sand Eels shimmered as they caught the light, these fish are a very key part of the diet of many of our breeding seabirds. Fortunately, the waters were quite settled and with the low cloud, made for quite a pleasant late afternoon.
The Oldenburg departing by G.Lee
Other sightings across the island for the day included a Reed Warbler chuntering down in Millcombe, two House Martins moving south and a grand total of 26 Swifts passing through. 56 Painted Ladies reflected the further increase of these butterflies.