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    Great Northern Diver © S Cossey

  • Pale-bellied Brent Goose

    Pale-bellied Brent Goose © R Taylor

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    Common Rosefinch © D Jones

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    Lapland Bunting © R Campey

  • Hoopoe

    Hoopoe © D Jones

  • Red-rumped Swallow

    Red-rumped Swallow © D Fox

  • Sora

    Sora © D Jones

  • Baltimore Oriole

    Baltimore Oriole © T Wright

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8th March - 121

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Bird Sightings

Page 38 of 93

September 14th Sightings - A Little Bunting

A lack of new migrants was the theme of this morning, however there were bits and bobs seen on census including 5 Whinchat, Yellow Wagtails, Firecrest, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers in the breezy southerly winds. The origin of these winds were super exciting with the wind coming from the Bay of Biscay in France and originating a long way east from there. It was therefore no doubt that we could get something a bit more unusual and this came in the form of a Little Bunting. This species is an island rarity and was only the second of its species to make it to the UK this autumn following one in Kent last week. We are looking forward to seeing what else may turn up on these winds.

Ringing

The first Rock Pipit of the year and the second Whinchat of the year caught and ringed today in Tent Field whilst targeting Meadow Pipits of which a few of them were also caught and ringed today.

September 13th Sightings - A Kingfisher

Census was completed this morning and resulted in 5 Mallard, single Water rail, single Woodpigeon, single Ringed Plover, 2 Snipe, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Kestrel, 37 Carrion Crows, 5 Ravens, 14 Skylark, 3 Sand Martins, 28 Swallows, single Garden warbler, 20 Blackcap, 2 Whitethroat, single Sedge Warbler, single Reed Warblers, 2 Willow Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, 10 Goldcrests, 14 Wrens, 53 Starlings, 7 Blackbird, 6 Spotted flycatchers, 2 Pied Flycatcher, 9 Robin, 2 Wheatears, 8 Whinchat, 7 Stonechat, 2 Dunnock, 32 House Sparrows, single Yellow Wagtail, 7 Pied Wagtails, 6 alba wagtails, 47 Meadow Pipits, 7 Chaffinches, 221 Linnets, and 14 Goldfinches.

Other species seen today included a Kingfisher, this species is a rare bird for the island and was seen flying around the Landing Bay this morning. An evening attempt to catch Storm Petrels in the Landing Bay did not result in catching any petrels, but 2 Ringed Plovers, the 6th and 7th ever ringed on the island. The evening was rather exciting as we saw the aurora from the Landing Bay. Amazing as it was only supposed to be an amber alert today.

Ringing

24 09 13 RingedPlover LandingBay Thomas WestonRinged Plover caught and ringed in the Landing Bay. ©Thomas Weston

A busy morning with ~120 birds caught and ringed in Millcombe including a nice pulse of Meadow Pipits, Blackcaps, a few Goldcrest and a mix of flycatchers and warblers. An evening session in the Landing Bay resulted in two Ringed Plover caught and ringed.

September 12th Sightings - Showery pulses downed another Wryneck

Winds remained moderate NW, with dozens of brief showers over the course of the morning and then a bright sunny afternoon. A classic dawn pulse of Blackcap ensued with 20 ringed, and Goldcrest numbers continued to rise, with birds now also present in numbers in the bracken and trees along the east coast and a total of 16 logged. The heavier showers downed some migrants, with a female type Common Redstart, our second autumn Lesser Whitethroat and our fifth Wryneck of the autumn all dumping into Millcombe mid morning. Single Firecrest, Tree Pipit and Reed Warbler, three Pied Flycatcher, nine Spotted Flycatcher, 10 Chiffchaff, two Willow Warbler, four Swallow, one Sand Martin and three House Martin made up the rest of the migrant passerine highlights. 14 Oystercatcher were also seen at roost near Montagu's Steps.
 
 

September 11th Sightings - Some Nice Birding

Strong winds from the NW continued, although with mostly bright sun instead of the precipitation of yesterday. The top of the island was very quiet, with almost no birds picked up between Rocket Pole and Quarter Wall on census. A couple of seawatching efforts picked up a few of the more typical species, but no skuas or waders to match yesterdays highlights. The east coast was relatively sheltered and ringing efforts from the most sheltered nets in Millcombe were productive, with ~30 Blackcap ringed, and highlights of two Pied Flycatcher, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Firecrest. Phylloscopus warblers were low in numbers, with two Willow Warbler and 7 Chiffchaff. As well as the modest arrival of Blackcap, there were more Goldcrest in today, with two on the terrace and 12 in Millcombe. Good numbers of Whinchat continue, with a day count of 9 remaining from our peak of 15 a few days ago. Other observatories such as Skokholm and Dungeness have reported great Whinchat counts too, and so it looks like it has been a positive breeding season for this species. The big clear out of Wheatears yesterday left us with just 5 seen today. A Grasshopper Warbler was present on the bund at Pondsbury along with the Grey Heron, although no sign of the Teal that has been around for a week. Lots of the new in Carrion Crows were still around Quarter Wall, with 38 counted on census.
 
24 09 11 Mallard BartonsField ThomasWestonMallard caught and ringed in Barton's Field. ©ThomasWeston
Logbook counts included: 16 Mallard, 1 Feral Pigeon, 5 Woodpigeon, 2 Water Rail, 3 Oystercatcher, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Common Snipe, 2 Razorbill, 1 Guillemot, 33 unidentified auk spp., 18 Kittiwake, 3 Herring Gull, 10 Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 6 Fulmar, 6 Manx Shearwater, 25 Gannet, 4 Cormorant, 16 Shag, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Kestrel, 2 Peregrine, 40 Carrion Crow, 6 Raven, 10 Skylark, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 19 Swallow, 7 House Martin, 2 Willow Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, 62 Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, 14 Goldcrest, 1 Firecrest, 13 Wren, 80 Starling, 6 Blackbird, 5 Spotted flycatcher, 6 Robin, 6 Pied Flycatcher, 9 Whinchat, 15 Stonechat, 5 Wheatear, 4 Dunnock, 17 House Sparrow, 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 7 Pied Wagtail, 7 alba wagtail, 106 Meadow Pipit, 7 Rock Pipit, 7 Chaffinch, 280 Linnet and 24 Goldfinch.

Page 38 of 93

Bird sightings archive