1st and 2nd October were very quiet, with most birds from the busy end of September falls departing. Storm Amy then arrived on 3rd and 4th, with very poor visibility hampering any birding on 3rd, and an appallingly quiet census and log! The winds picked up late morning on the 3rd with heavy showers and max gusts of 55mph (Force 9) on 3rd and 4th.
Just a couple of Firecrest remain after a brilliant run in late September, with Goldcrest numbers falling from around 20 on 1st and 2nd to half that latterly. Despite small numbers of Siskin and the odd single Redpoll starting to pass over recently, there is a notable absence of much finch migration thus far - checking data from last year we had our first 'in-off' flock of Chaffinches on the 21st September, but records in 2025 are still pretty exclusively attriuted to the half dozen local breeding birds. This should start to change very soon, and morning vigils at Government Platform will be accompanied by an ever-increasing churruping and tinkling! The influx of Greenfinches that we have recently enjoyed has been petering out, with just singles recorded on 2nd and 3rd. Blackcap have reduced from 7 birds on 1st and 2nd to 2 on 3rd and 4th, but a single Garden Warbler on the Upper East was nice on the 2nd. A single Spotted Flycatcher on the 1st has the potential to be our last record of the year!
Best bird of this period probably goes to a flighty Turtle Dove on the airfield and around Quarter Wall on the 2nd.
One or two Snipe are recorded most days, and Storm Amy pushed what must be the entirity of the island Oystercatcher population round to Miller's Cake, where 28 were roosting on morning of 4th, sheltered from the Force 8 westerly. On the raptor front a male and female Sparrowhawk are both frequently seen around Millcombe, as well as two male Kestrel and daily records of Peregrine Falcon. Hirundines have petered out to practically nothing, with 2 Swallow on 4th. A Yellow Wagtail went over on census on 2nd, with two Grey Wagtail on 1st.
A seawatch from the castle on the morning of 4th produced 130 Gannet moving west, 15 Kittiwake moving North and a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Herring Gulls.
The weather forecast now looks favourable for a larger influx of migrant in the coming week, and with a great number of birders staying on the island stay tuned for hopefully a busier period of sightings incoming! North end has been chronically under monitored for about a week and so we're looking forward to much more thorough coverage.