Another smattering of migrants

31st August 2012 – sunny spells/calm
Offshore
The sea provided a feeding flock of 50 Sandwich Tern.
Grounded Migrants
Again a smattering of migrants with 25 Wheatear, 6 White Wagtail, 5 Robin, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Willow Warbler and single Whitethroat, Redstart and Garden Warbler logged.
Diurnal Migration
Two Yellow Wagtail were the highlight amongst small numbers of Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin.
Miscellaneous
Two Raven and 2 Little Egret were the best of the rest.
Ringing
A poor month for migrants meant that the ringing total was well down on the same month last year with just 103 birds of 17 species ringed. Individual species totals involved House Sparrow (42), Willow Warbler (18), Greenfinch (10), Goldfinch (10), Robin (5), Blue Tit (3), Goldcrest (3), Chiffchaff (2), Spotted Flycatcher (2), Pied Flycatcher (1), Whitethroat (1), Blackbird (1), Cuckoo (1), Linnet (1), Tree Sparrow (1), Reed Bunting (1), Garden Warbler (1)

Another small fall

30th August 2012 – sunny spells N2/3
Offshore
Observations on the rising tide provided just small numbers of Gannet, Common Scoter and Sandwich Tern.
Grounded Migrants
More grounded migrants were in evidence than has recently been the case with 20 Willow Warbler, 20 Wheatear, 4 Robin, 2 Goldcrest and single Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler and Redstart logged.
Diurnal Migration
Again some movement was evident with 60 Swallow, 10 House Martin, 4 Sand Martin and single Grey Wagtail and Tree Pipit recorded.
Moths
A poor catch yielded just 2 Large Yellow Underwing and a Lesser Yellow Underwing.

Little Egrets begin to build

29th August 2012 – sunny spells and heavy showers SW3/4
Offshore
Observations on the rising tide (0930-1030) produced 27 Common Scoter, 18 Gannet, 6 Sandwich Tern and a Razorbill .
Wildfowl and Waders
Waders included 14 Black-tailed Godwit.
Miscellaneous
At least 5 Little Egret were along the eastern shore of the island over the tide.
Moths
Immigrants included Silver Y and Rusty Dot Pearl while the first Frosted Orange are now on the wing.

A few seabirds

28th August 2012 – sunny spells SW3
Offshore
Observations on the rising tide (0930-1030) produced single Black Tern and Great Skua and 2 Arctic Skua amongst 28 Sandwich Tern, 24 Gannet, 12 Common Scoter, 2 Manx Shearwater, 2 Kittiwake, 2 Guillemot and single Arctic Tern and Razorbill .
Grounded Migrants
A few Robin were all that was in evidence.
Miscellaneous
A Little Egret was the best of the rest.

First Goldcrest of the autumn

21st August 2012 – sunshine and showers S2
Grounded Migrants
The first Goldcrest of the autumn and a Spotted Flycatcher were amongst a handful of Willow Warbler.
Wildfowl and Waders
Waders included 8 Black-tailed Godwit .
Moths
A poor and rather weather battered catch included Brown China Mark and Dotted Clay.

First Wigeon return

20th August 2012 – sunny spells S3
Offshore
A quick check over the sea provided a feeding raft of 100 Manx Shearwater, associate with this frenzy were 51 Sandwich Tern, 10 Gannet and 2 Arctic Skua .
Grounded Migrants
Many of yesterday’s birds had quickly moved on with just 4 Willow Warbler and single Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher and Wheatear logged.
Diurnal Migration
Two Sand Martin moved through.
Wildfowl and Waders
The monthly WeBS count produced the first Wigeon of the autumn along with 4960 Oystercatcher, 1740 Redshank, 1194 Curlew, 574 Turnstone, 280 Dunlin, 272 Sanderling, 195 Cormorant, 159 Ringed Plover, 110 Golden Plover, 106 Grey Plover, 100 Lapwing, 38 Teal, 12 Bar-tailed Godwit, 11 Snipe, 9 Greenshank, 7 Whimbrel and 5 Black-tailed Godwit .
Miscellaneous
Merlin and Little Egret were the pick of additional sightings.

Melodious Warbler heads sightings

19th August 2012 – overcast SE1
Rarities
A Melodious Warbler showed well in the road side gorse at Snab Point. View only from the road and do not enter the private fields.
Grounded Migrants
Another small fall of Willow Warbler was evident with 50 birds logged along with 5 Wheatear, 4 Whitethroat and single Pied Flycatcher and Chiffchaff.
Diurnal Migration
A Grey Wagtail and 14 Sand Martin moved through.
Wildfowl and Waders
Waders included 4 Whimbrel, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Ruff and a Green Sandpiper.
Images
Melodious Warbler.
Ringing
Intriguingly a Merlin was trapped and found to bear a ring from elsewhere – we await developments with interest.

A small fall occurs

18th August 2012 – sunny spells SW3/4
Offshore
Sightings were limited to 100 Sandwich Tern and a few Gannet.
Grounded Migrants
A small fall of Willow Warbler occurred with 25 birds logged along with 6 Spotted Flycatcher and single Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler.
Diurnal Migration
A flock of 20 Sand Martin was logged.
Wildfowl and Waders
Waders included 2 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Common Sandpiper.
Miscellaneous
Merlin, Short-eared Owl and Little Egret were the best of the rest.

Arctic Skua

17th August 2012 – overcast/heavy showers SSE3/4
Offshore
An Arctic Skua chased 40 Sandwich Tern and other sightings involved 22 Gannet, 5 Common Scoter and a Guillemot .
Grounded Migrants
Only evidenced by a single Willow Warbler.
Diurnal Migration
A flock of 23 Sand Martin and a Swift were logged.
Wildfowl and Waders
Waders included 210 Sanderling and a Whimbrel.
Miscellaneous
There are now 3 Little Egret on the island.

Little Egret

15th August 2012 – overcast/heavy showers E5/7
Offshore
Little was moving over the sea excepting for a few Gannet, Sandwich Tern and Common Scoter.
Grounded Migrants
A trickle of Willow Warbler was all that could be mustered.
Wildfowl and Waders
Shoveler decreased to two while Teal increase to nine and a Common Sandpiper was the best of the waders.
Miscellaneous
A Little Egret was logged.
Moths
A large catch was dominated by Large Yellow Underwing, Dark Arches and Smoky Wainscot with Square-spot Rustic new for the year. However, highlights were both Acleris forsskaleana and Acleris aspersana being added to the island list!
Images
Acleris forsskaleana

Short-eared Owl and Merlin

14th August 2012 – sunny spells S2/3
Offshore
Little over the sea excepting for a few Gannet.
Grounded Migrants
Some evidence of migration at last with 20 Willow Warbler, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Sedge Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher logged.
Wildfowl and Waders
Three Shoveler were seen and waders included 80 Turnstone, 60 Ringed Plover and 60 Sanderling.
Miscellaneous
The first Short-eared Owl and Merlin of the autumn were logged.
Moths
A poor catch included Dingy Footman, Small Rufous and Fen Wainscot.

Kingfisher new for the year

5th August 2012 – overcast/showers SE1/2
Grounded Migrants
Limited to 9 Willow Warbler and a Whitethroat.
Miscellaneous
A party of 21 juvenile Shelduck were accompanied by two adults and a Kingfisher was new for the year.

Swift influx

4th August 2012 – sunny spells S1
Offshore
Little over the sea except for a handful of Gannet.
Grounded Migrants
Early autumn passage continues with 6 Whitethroat, and single Cuckoo, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler.
Diurnal Migration
An impressive flock of 500 Swift were over the island as they moved ahead of thunder clouds.
Wildfowl and Waders
Waders included 14 Sanderling and 7 Whimbrel.
Miscellaneous
A juvenile Marsh Harrier again hunted over the island.
Moths
Small Rufous, Crescent, Least Yellow Underwing and Lesser Broad bordered Yellow Underwing were new for the year.