By Thomas Weston
Some good birds were seen this morning. Starting the day in Millcombe, I opened a few nets with Greg and Lucile. There was some nice cloud cover at dawn which led to some new birds being caught. These included a single new adult Whitethroat in full wing moult, multiple Willow Warblers including a retrap from a few weeks ago, 2 new Stonechats, 4 new Wrens, 3 new Linnets, and a single new Blackap too. There were some lovely sunrise views and whilst the sun was gaining, the breeze changed from SW to NW. The change in wind led to a Curlew heading out of the Landing Bay an hour into sunlight, as well as quite a few passing Gannets, a steady but consistent line of Manx Shearwaters, a possible large shearwater seen distantly shearing south, and a pod of closer-in Bottlenose Dolphins which was a good surprise for the three of us. In fact, they were Lucile's first dolphins ever.
We closed the nets just after 08:00, after which Lucile joined me for census this morning. There was a nice range of species seen throughout the route, and many nice views of some of the residents and passage migrants currently on the island. In total, there were 5 Mallards, 5 Woodpigeons, 2 Oystercatchers, 5 Kittiwakes, 6 Great Black-Backed Gulls, 22 Herring Gulls, 17 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, 8 Gannets, 24 Shags, a single Kestrel, 4 Carrion Crows, 8 Ravens, 18 Swallows, 4 Willow Warblers, single Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler, 18 Wrens, 81 Starlings, 8 Blackbirds, one of the breeding Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Stonechats, 10 Wheatears, 27 House Sparrows, 2 Dunnocks, 2 Pied Wagtails, 28 Meadow Pipits, a single Chaffinch, 166 Linnets, and 25 Goldfinches.
The rest of the day was spent organising the plan for the upcoming Young Birders Week, as well as inputting ringing data from the previous few sessions we have undertaken.
Colour ringed House Sparrow juvenile caught in the Village – by Thomas Weston
Plus as always, a few retrap Starlings and House Sparrows from the traps.
House Sparrow in moult in the Village – by Thomas Weston
This one in some nice primary moult.