Bird Sightings

Millcombe at sunrise. ©ThomasWeston

A hot day with ringing and seabird surveys undertaken throughout the morning. Ringing started at dawn and continued until midday. Numbers from the valley included high numbers of warblers including ~150 Willow Warblers amongst a small selection of Sedge Warblers and a single Reed Warbler. Breeding finches continued in the valley with both Goldfinches, Linnets and a couple of Chaffinches present and juveniles noted throughout.

Meanwhile, at the seabird surveys, there has been an increase in Kittiwake fledglings from our productivity site with 7 chicks fully flying around the site. The Fulmars chicks have reached an age where they can be left at the productivity site alone, and they are doing really well.

An afternoon of data input and enjoying the sun was necessary for the team. The first summer weather we have had this year and hopefully the birds respond positively.

Ringing

A big day for Willow Warblers today with 52 caught and ringed amongst a good selection of migrants and residents.

FlavaxFlavissima hybrid in Barton's Field. ©ThomasWeston

An early morning ringing session in Millcombe resulted in half of census being completed in the valley whilst ringing. And the other half completed before Housekeeping began. In total, a Mallard, a Feral Pigeon, 3 Woodpigeons, 2 Collared Doves, 2 Oystercatchers, 4 Great Black-Backed Gulls, 41 Herring Gulls, 6 Lesser-Black Backed Gulls, 2 Gannets, 2 Shags, 3 Cormorants flew high South over Old Light before heading out to sea over Benjamin’s Chair, 2 Kestrels, 13 Carrion Crows, 6 Ravens, 2 Swallows, single Blackcap, 5 Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaff, 6 Wrens, 27 Starlings, 2 Blackbirds, 2 Robins, 2 Stonechats, single Dunnock, 26 House Sparrows, single Blue-headed Wagtail female with one of the Flava x Flavissma Wagtail hybrids, single Pied Wagtail, 26 Meadow Pipits, 31 Linnets, and 12 Goldfinches.

A busy afternoon led to few birds being seen in the heat.

Ringing

A good morning for Willow Warblers with flurries of birds moving through Millcombe this early morning. A couple of Sedge Warblers in the mix as well as some of the ‘locals’.

Census this morning was completed after a brief half an hour ringing session in Millcombe. Millcombe hosted an arrival of warblers with the first 2 Sedge Warblers of the ‘post-breeding period’, 30 out of the 42 Willow Warblers seen and 2 Chiffchaffs. Other species spotted included 2 Woodpigeon, 2 Kestrels, a flyover Peregrine calling high over, 2 Swallows, 8 Carrion Crows, a single Blackbird, 3 Wrens, single Robin, a single Stonechat, 4 Dunnock, a single Chaffinch and 15 Goldfinches. Mixed gull flocks across the census area included 2 Great- Black Backed Gull, 10 Herring Gull and 2 Lesser-Black Backed Gull. In the fields, 10 Meadow Pipits, 21 Linnets, 55 Starlings, 5 Wheatears, 2 Pied Wagtails and 3 Raven. In the Village, 21 House Sparrows and 3 Mallards were seen.

Kittiwake at our Study Site. ©Thomas Weston

A check on the Kittiwake productivity site resulted in the first two fledglings of the year. This is a great achievement for the adults who have had a really tough season this year.

Ringing

Mid-census session resulted in 8 Willow Warblers caught in half an hour.

A foggy start, sightings to be added when we can see/find some birds!

Well here are some here.

Sightings from across the island by all-comers involved 6 Mallards, 3 Feral Pigeon, 4 Woodpigeon, 3 Collared Doves, 10 Oystercatchers, a Common Sandpiper in the Landing Bay, 13 Puffins, single Guillemot, 12 Kittiwakes, 46 Herring Gulls, 2 Great-Black Backed Gulls, 10 Lesser-Black Backed Gulls, single Fulmar, 56 Manx Shearwaters, 8 Gannet, 33 Shags, 3 Kestrels, 2 Peregrine, 6 Carrion Crows, 5 Ravens, 2 Skylarks, 2 Sand Martins, 2 Swallows, 2 Willow Warbler, single Chiffchaffs, 5 Wren, 45 Starlings, 4 Blackbird, 2 Robin, 7 Stonechat, 14 Wheatears, single Dunnock, 35 House Sparrows, 5 Pied Wagtails, 2 Meadow Pipits, single Chaffinches, 30 Linnets, and 6 Goldfinches.