Bird Sightings

The Firecrest in Millcombe. ©Thomas Weston

A humid morning, foggy afternoon and relatively calm night resulted in a nice little arrival of migrants today with a flock of 6 Cormorants, 4+ Wheatears, 75+ Sand Martins, 2 Swallows, White Wagtail, 8 Chiffchaff and our first Blackcap of the year seen across the island by allcomers.

Other notable records from today included the American Green-winged Teal male still on Pondsbury with a pair of European Teal, the female Merlin was hunting the Old Stone Crusher Site/main helipad site, a pair of Kestrel were seen on the East Coast around the Quarries, 2 Red-throated Divers in the Landing Bay and the Firecrest remains for a second day.  

Alongside the divers and the Firecrest, census was busy with 4 Mallard, 5 Woodpigeon, single Oystercatcher, Great Black-backed Gull, 86 Herring Gulls, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Guillemot, 35 Razorbills, 4 Shag, one of the two Kestrels, a Peregrine, 30 Carrion Crows, 6 Ravens, 18 Skylarks, single Sand Martin, 8 Chiffchaff, 5 Goldcrest, 11 Wren, 76 Starlings, 7 Blackbirds, 2 Song Thrushes, 5 Robins, single male Wheatear, 3 Stonechat, 6 Dunnocks, 21 House Sparrows, Pied Wagtail, 4 ‘alba wagtails’, 40 Meadow Pipits, 3 Chaffinches, 5 Linnets and a single Goldfinch.

Ringing

A couple of hours in Millcombe resulted in a single Chiffchaff caught and a nocturnal session walking around the fields resulted in a few Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. The highlight was a Meadow Pipit originally ringed in September 2021 as a juvenile.

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A foggy Red-throated Diver in the Landing Bay. ©Thomas WestonA foggy start after a stormy night resulted in a census of two halves. Millcombe was very warm and humid with a Raven, a Chiffchaff, 5 Robin, 12 Dunnocks, 5 Woodpigeons, 3 Chaffinches, a single lost looking Sand Martin, 3 Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, 11 Wrens and 7 Blackbird were spotted. The fog lifted enough to see the Landing Bay and the visibility was good. Here, 2 Red-throated Divers (scarce here), the overwintering adult winter Great northern Diver, a Guillemot, a Gannet, 2 Shag, 3 Oystercatchers, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Great Black-backed Gull and 15 Herring Gulls were spotted. The fog soon dropped and the walk past Benjamin’s Chair resulted in a small flock of Linnet feeding on the clifftop. Rocket Pole Pond had a pair of Mallard (4 seen today in total) and the pair of Stonechat continued to build their nest. Walking through Southwest field and the Airfield saw singing Skylarks and Meadow Pipits noted but by this point even we were getting lost and disorientated today! Finding ¼ wall was an achievement but the small flock of Carrion Crows and a Pied Wagtail in Brick Field alongside a few flyover ‘alba wagtails’ were the highlights.    

Outside the census period, notable sightings by allcomers:

• 1^st Firecrest of the year was in Millcombe around midday.
• Single Swallow flew south through the Village.
• A female Merlin flew over St Helen’s Copse.
• Male Wheatears were seen beyond ¼ Wall, in Barton’s Field and in Tillage Field.
• A small flock of Puffin made landfall at Jenny’s Cove this morning with a flock later noted offshore.
• A flock of 6 Sand Martins flew south through Millcombe this afternoon.

Ringing

With the weather calming down enough to open the nets, a couple of hours in Millcombe resulted in just one bird being caught, a new Chiffchaff.

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A calm, nice, sunny day today.

One of our returning Linnet near Pondsbury. ©Thomas Weston

Census counts from involved 13 Wrens, the singing male Song Thrush, 3 Oystercatchers in the Landing Bay, 3 Robins, 11 Ravens, 27 House Sparrows, 7 Blackbirds, female Merlin flew below the Tavern, 4 Pied Wagtails, 2 Redwing, 8 ‘alba’ Wagtails north, 4 Chaffinch, 7 Dunnock, an increase to 10 Goldcrest, 14 Meadow Pipit, singing Goldfinch, 2 Gannet, 3 Fulmar, 151 Razorbill, single Guillemot, 4 Shag, 6 Chiffchaff including one in subsong, 3 Woodpigeon, 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 5 Stonechat with two pairs noted, 3 Linnet, 32 Carrion Crow, 14 Skylark, Rock Pipit, 114 Herring Gulls, 3 Mallards, 52 Starling, 3 Sand Martin flew North and 2 Cormorants also flew North.

A quick check on Pondbury resulted in the Green-winged Teal male, a female Teal, a Linnet, 5 Sand Martins, 4 Meadow Pipits, 6 Skylarks and a Wren.

Puffin off Jenny's Cove. ©Thomas Weston

A foggy day to start with census being affected by visibility most of the morning but after midday the sun came out and it was a lovely day. Good coverage was achieved again with the second day of feral stock counts being undertaken. As a result, the sightings below are combined with counts from across the island today.

New migrants included an exciting sighting of a single (first of the year) Ringed Plover that flew high south over Tillage/Brick Field towards Pondsbury but did not seem to stop, the first 13 Sand Martin and 2 House Martins of the year, an increase to 6 Chiffchaff, 4 Wheatears, 8 Linnet, a potentially new Red-throated Diver off of North Light this afternoon and a migrant flock of 3 Cormorant flew North this morning.

Moreover, the reappearance of the American Green-winged Teal was very welcome, and it was seen associating with a female (presumed) Eurasian Teal this evening on Pondsbury. The only other waterfowl seen today were 9 Mallards spotted on suitable ponds/waterbodies from the south up to Pondsbury. The first of the year for us here. Meanwhile, a total of 7 Oystercatchers were seen today (8 yesterday) and a nice daytime count of 26 Snipe were made – this is a species we see a lot at night but never know where they all go in the daytime.  Seabirds were having a slow day with 15 Kittiwake, 14 Gannet, 22 Shag, 30+ Fulmar, 207 Herring Gulls, 11 Great Black-backed Gulls, 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 13 Razorbill, a single Guillemot, and a small flock of 6 Puffins seen. Along the coast at least 5 Rock Pipits were seen. Birds of prey were showing well again today with a female Kestrel, female Merlin and 8 Peregrines seen. In the fields, 34 Carrion Crows, 8 Ravens, 28 Skylarks, 107 Starlings, and 6 Stonechats were spotted. Counts from Millcombe including 5 Woodpigeons, a singing Goldfinch, singing Song Thrush, 9 Blackbird, a single Goldcrest, 6 Robins, 7 Dunnocks, 57 Meadow Pipits.

We also found a dead Glaucous Gull adult on the island today. The bird has been swabbed for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and appropriately bagged/disposed of in line with current guidelines.