Weather: SE force 1, sunny and warm
Not so much mist around the coast this morning so no surprise that there were not many migrants about. Early morning 2 Willow Warblers and a Greenland Wheatear were ringed,
.... indeed up until noon the only other birds ringed were another Willow Warbler and a female Blackcap, quite a contrast to the last 2 days!
A Whinchat, 6 Greenland Wheatears and a couple of White Wagtails were also about the island from early on, while overhead passage was also very quiet with just a couple of Redpolls, 5 Goldfinches, a few Swallows and a Sand Martin recorded. A surprise was a Green Sandpiper calling over the reef as the tide ebbed. Concentration on the sea paid off with 4 Black Terns flying south into the estuary, the Long-tailed Duck was seen again this morning with several Common Scoter off the east side, and then a really exciting sighting of a Puffin diving in on arrival off the west side. Shortly afterwards it reappeared floating distantly off the east side for about 30 minutes, and finally it was seen flying south down the estuary off the west side. Although still a rare Hilbre bird it has become almost an annual visitor over the last few years.
Looking to the west paid off again when an Arctic Skua was seen way out in the Dee, it was the first of the year at Hilbre. In the same direction and another first of the year were 2 Little Terns feeding, while a mute Swan floated out of the estuary and 3 Canada Geese flew inwards. Apart from the Little Terns there were 200 Sandwich and 6 Common, also at least 6 Red-throated Divers, 120 Gannets and 4 Great Crested Grebes. Twenty one Whimbrel are here now, much more noticeable than the few Curlew at the moment, other waders are 250 Bar-tailed Godwit, 250 Sanderling, 500 Dunlin, 25 Knot, 8 Ringed Plover and 10 Redshank. Regulars around the islands included 5 Eider (3 males), 8 Shelduck, a female Goosander, 4 Little Egrets and a Grey Heron. Three butterflies today, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Speckled Wood.
Ringed: 2 Greenland Wheatear, 3 Willow Warblers, 1 Blackcap.
Photos CJW, SRW.
No comments:
Post a Comment