By Thomas Weston
An extremely wet morning on which Eleanor and I decided it would be a good idea to do census... With Greg ill, and luckily staying in bed, we took it on ourselves to get up, eat croissants with tea, before heading out to brave the weather. On the route, we firstly noted the local Carrion Crows – they were braving the weather and sat feeling sorry for themselves in the fields around the Village. Meadow Pipits decided today was probably not the best time to migrate and with 17 noted, it was not much to write home about. The regular 5 Blackbirds in Millcombe, sums up the current thrush migration. Where are the deluge of Redwing, and the first few Ring Ouzels?
Swallow in Millcombe by Thomas Weston
The Swallows definitely looked like they wanted to be in Africa right now, as they sat – some motionless – on the brambles and flew centimetres away at your feet looking for food. A sad look on their faces too did not help the situation. In Millcombe, we struggled to pick out many birds in the wind and rain. A single Dunnock, 10 Robins, 4 Wrens, 3 Chaffinches, and a Woodpigeon were some of the best of the residents. Migrant-wise, it was slow, with 6 Goldcrest, 2 Chiffchaffs, 9 Blackcap, a ringed Firecrest, and the most unusual species of the morning, a quiet Yellow-browed Warbler at the top of the trees around Battlements. Offshore a flock of 3 Gannets and 4 Shags were the only birds. Walking around the plateau did not add too much to the selection, with a couple of Skylark flushed from underfoot, a Lesser Black-backed Gull with 9 Great Black-backed Gulls on the Airfield, and 8 female and 3 male Mallards in Barton Field.
Little Egret from the Terrace by ThomasWeston
The rest of the day off was spent making cake, drinking tea, writing a report for the Large Gull Survey (which somehow crashed and deleted so you will have to wait for that)! before heading off for a walk in the evening once the wind died down a tad and the sun came out. On our adventure down to Millcombe and along the Lower East, a couple of additional Goldcrest were of note, including two on the Terrace. No sign of any more Yellow-browed Warblers, but there were two Little Egrets spotted by Eleanor flying in from midchannel, before coasting, and heading north off the island. In addition during our wanderings, a Spotted Flycatcher was in Millcombe, 2 Snipe were flying around in the wind, a Sparrowhawk was spotted on the down pipe to one of the Barton cottages, and a nice flock of 20 Oystercatchers were below Millcombe with 44 Great Black-Backed Gulls at North End.
Amazing news came in of a Manx Shearwater chick ringed on the island on the 19th August 2026. It was found dead on a beach in Brazil, some 9000km away just 46 days later. It is great to know the bird got close to its wintering grounds, but a shame it ended up being found dead on a beach. Hopefully not the first of many!