Friday 20 October 2017

Overall another quiet day, but slightly calmer conditions did permit a few new arrivals on the land. Out to sea it was generally very quiet, but some of our new guests for the week struck lucky with a Leach's Petrel past the North End. Otherwise a decent movement of 61 Shags was logged, with other species heading south being 32 Black-headed Gulls, eight Dunlins, a Mediterranean Gull and a Wigeon.

A Lapwing on Henllwyn was the most interesting of a small selection of waders, with a single Purple Sandpiper, three Whimbrels and an increase to 50 Curlews also of note. A single Water Rail was seen in the Withies, with a Buzzard new in, and one Kestrel and two Merlins also present.

For passerines, it was a fairly decent showing, highlighted by a Lapland Bunting over the Wetlands in the late morning, the third of the autumn. The commonest migrant was Redwings, numbering 74, while 30 Blackbirds, 15 Song Thrushes and 45 Robins was a decent showing of other thrushes and chats. It's still a long way off the totals on the East Coast just now though! Six Blackcaps was a decent showing, with five Chiffchaffs the only other warblers; three Firecrests remained in the Plantation with 39 Goldcrests scattered around the island. Five Coal Tits at the Plantation were the other most interesting new arrival, with two Great Tits including one new bird in the Withies. Starlings numbered just 15 today, five Skylarks were on the deck, while a single Great Spotted Woodpecker lingered. It was a fairly poor showing for Finches, one Brambling being notable, as was a good  total of 13 Lesser Redpolls. 24 Goldfinches, 14 Siskins, 12 Chaffinches and four Reed Buntings made up the rest of the totals.

Firecrest, Ephraim Perfect; Ephraim's Bird Blog

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