A bright and breezy day on Wed 6th saw enough hazy sunshine to stimulate three Skylarks into song in Middle Park; wonderful to hear and the first of the spring, whilst the overall Skylark total of 7 was the highest of the year so far. There also appeared to be something of an arrival of Shags returning to the island, with 31 counted along the East Side, most showing resplendent breeding plumage. Other notable sightings included the Jackdaw, feeding with Crows around the Tillage/Brick Field pig sty (where there was also a flock of 200+ Starlings), two Chiffchaffs, two Goldcrests and the female Great Spotted Woodpecker in Millcombe, a single male Kestrel, and the Great Northern Diver in the Landing Bay. The number of Fulmars visiting the Gannets’ Rock ledges had risen to 115 and we counted 42 Grey Seals hauled out at low tide along the East Side, mainly between Gannets’ Bay and Tibbetts Point, including 12 perched atop the inner Knoll Pin. Snowdrops are in full flower in Millcombe, with a few Primroses beginning to show.
Thu 7th was a blustery day with hefty showers passing close by on a stiff westerly, but for much of the morning the island itself was bathed in sunshine and it was actually very pleasant along the Lower East Side Path. The female Sparrowhawk reappeared, over Quarry Beach, after eluding us for a couple of days. There were again plenty of seabirds off the East Side, including an estimated 750 Kittiwakes, a tight flock of 23 feeding Shags, five Red-throated Divers and small numbers of auks. Passerines included a Goldcrest at Quarry Beach, a Chiffchaff in Millcombe and a Stonechat at the head of St John’s Valley. The Jackdaw was in with the pigs again and the Great Northern Diver was still in the Landing Bay.
Our last day for this visit, Fri 8th, coincided with the arrival of Storm Erik and conditions were pretty much unbirdable until a partial clearance around lunchtime. It was touch and go whether we'd be able to leave at all, but before our eventual mid-afternoon departure we managed to see the female Sparrowhawk and the Great Northern Diver, but most species were keeping a low profile in the still strong and gusty winds.
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