Bird Sightings

Ringing

Census was completed this morning with nothing notable spotted. The team were still helping out with retrieving Storm Petrel GPS tags so a night at North End resulted in a single Storm Petrel caught and ringed and anothr ~50 birds seen within the colony. A few Manx Shearwaters were calling and flying around.

A migrant Spotted Flycatcher in Millcombe. ©Thomas Weston

Census was busy and the number of species recorded gave a very autumnal theme this morning. Millcombe was particularly busy with 6 Woodpigeons; the first Water Rail heard since the Spring; a flyover Turnstone heading North up the East coast calling – an island rarity but it may have been present for a while with the Oystercatchers in the Landing bay; 2 Shag offshore; 2 Carrion Crows; 2 Ravens; single Swallow roosting in the trees; 5 Willow Warblers demonstrating a small arrival of this species with another few noted on the plateau; single Goldcrest in Millcombe Pines heard all morning; 17 Wrens; 48 Starlings; 9 Blackbirds; single Spotted Flycatcher in the trees near the Gas Store/Battlements, with at least another 4 or 5 seen elsewhere; 6 Robins giving their autumnal ‘ticking’ call; 3 Stonechats; 6 Dunnocks; 4 House Sparrows but plenty more in the Village after a successful breeding season; single Meadow Pipit in the field by Castles; single migrating flyover Tree Pipit headed high SW over the Landing Bay heading towards Rat Island/South Light; 4 Chaffinches; 6 Linnets; and 4 Goldfinches.

A Pondsbury Sunset. ©Thomas Weston

A night of Storm Petrel surveys resulted birds seen at multiple breeding colonies. More on this to come in due course.

Logbook sightings to be added.

Mallard in Barton's Field. ©ThomasWeston

Census was undertaken this morning within ex-hurricane Ernesto. Census counts included 16 Mallard, single Woodpigeon, 7 Great Black-backed Gulls, 18 Herring Gulls, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, single Manx Shearwater, 8 Shag, single Peregrine, 3 Carrion Crows, 5 Ravens, 2 Wrens, 12 Starlings, 2 Blackbird, 3 Robin, 2 Wheatears¸ single Dunnock, 14 House Sparrows, 3 Pied Wagtails, 11 Meadow Pipits, 2 Chaffinches, 21 Linnets, and 3 Goldfinches. Most unusually, a Whimbrel came in off the sea at Benjamin’s Chair and flew high North.

Pied Wagtail in Barton's Field. ©ThomasWeston

We have mentioned our hybrid wagtails for a while now, but if you are keen to spot them, you have to be aware of the juvenile Pied Wagtails in the same field. These birds are more grey and black, rather than the olive cast of the hybrid Channel Wagtials.