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Sunday 13 May 2018

7th to 11th May – A promising start but then migration stopped

Dean Jones, the warden, reports that the period started off very promising with a lovely diversity of long distant migrants arriving on the island throughout the morning of the 7th. Unfortunately this buzz of passage did not continue over the next few days and the birds that were already here quickly moved off before the wind picked up and the rains arrived. There was however a few super birds to continue the excitement of spring.

Highlights from the period include:

May 7th

  • Whimbrel: 4
  • Kestrel: 1 hovering over SW field in the afternoon.  
  • Hirundines: 26 Sand Martin, 120+ Swallow and 7 House Martin.
  • Swift: 5 over the south end of the island in the afternoon.
  • Chiffchaff: 10 including a number of singing individuals in Millcombe and St Helen’s Copse.
  • Willow Warbler: 7
  • Blackcap: 7
  • Garden Warbler: 1
  • Whitethroat: 4 in the Millcombe/St John’s area.
  • Sedge Warbler: 9 in the Millcombe/St John’s area.
  • Whinchat: 1 female perched on a fence post at the top of Millcombe.
  • Finches: 20 Linnet, 8 Goldfinch, 1 female Chaffinch and a lone male Lesser Redpoll singing his heart out on Government House roof.

May 8th

  • Whimbrel: 2
  • Dunlin: 2
  • Collared Dove: 1
  • Swift: 3
  • Hirundines: 8 Sand Martin, 66 Swallow and 2 House Martin.
  • Phylloscs: 8 Chiffchaff and 3 Willow Warbler.
  • Blackcap: 7
  • Sedge Warbler: 1
  • Yellow Wagtail: A beautiful female was found feeding with the ponies in Barton’s Field, the first of the year.
  • White Wagtail: 1 female in Barton’s Field.
  • Finches: 37 Linnet, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Chaffinch, 20 Goldfinch, the female Bullfinch again and a stunning male Hawfinch was seen on the Laundry Garden wall in the afternoon (Z Barton).

May 9th (Someone has turned off the migrant tap)

  • Whimbrel: 1
  • Dunlin: 1
  • Collared Dove: 1
  • Hirundines: 1 Sand Martin, 15 Swallow and 3 House Martin.
  • Phylloscs: 3 Chiffchaff and 1 Willow Warbler.
  • Blackcap: 1
  • Finches: 30 Linnet, 14 Goldfinch and the male Hawfinch again, this time from the top of Millcombe in the early morning and subsequently on Sue Waterfield’s feeders on a number of occasions up until the late afternoon.

May 10th (Another very quiet day)

  • Whimbrel: 3
  • Manx Shearwater: 23 past Rat Island in 5 minutes.
  • Collared Dove: 1
  • Hirundines: 3 Sand Martin, 44 Swallow and 3 House Martin.
  • Chiffchaff: 2
  • Willow Warbler: 1
  • Blackcap: 2
  • Sedge Warbler: 1
  • Yellow Wagtail: 1 male & 1 female, both in Barton’s Field.
  • Linnet: 35
  • Goldfinch: 20

May 11th. Don’t the birds know that it is World Migratory Bird Day this weekend?

  • Collared Dove: 1
  • Chiffchaff: 2
  • Willow Warbler: 1
  • Blackcap: 1 female
  • Spotted Flycatcher: 2 in the Sycamores near Bramble Villas. 

Hawfinch © Dean Jones

Yellow Wagtail © Dean Jones

Yellow Wagtail © Dean Jones

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