Bird Sightings
July 5th Sightings - Census Counts
The Village this evening. ©Caoimhe Abdul-Wahab
After a stormy night of Manx Shearwater catching, a very clear day with full cloud but excellent visibility with Wales and Devon very clear on census today.
Totals from census today included a 7 Mallard, 3 Woodpigeon, 7 Collared Dove, 4 Oystercatcher, Kittiwake, 11 Great-Black Backed Gulls, 2 Lesser-Black Backed Gull, 38 Herring Gulls, 8 Puffins, 262 Guillemots, 42 Razorbills, 82 Manx Shearwaters, single Gannet, 4 Shag, 23 Carrion Crows, 8 Raven, 3 Skylark, single Swallow flew South, single House Martin in Millcombe, 2 Whitethroats, single Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 14 Wrens, 40 Starlings, 7 Blackbirds, single Song Thrush, single Robin, 4 Wheatears, single Stonechat, 6 Dunnock including a family party of 4 juveniles, 29 House Sparrows, 7 Pied Wagtails, 26 Meadow Pipits, single Rock Pipit, 19 Linnets and 10 Goldfinches were seen.
The Yellow Wagtail male and Blue-headed Wagtail female were still in Barton’s Field with the horses.
July 4th Sightings - A Busy Manx Shearwater evening
A busy night for Manx Shearwater ringing with 53 caught between 23:45 tonight and 01:00 tomorrow. This involved a crazy number of birds returning to the colonies with hundreds if not thousands of birds seen/heard throughout the evening. Out of all the birds, 30 new birds were ringed probably involving non-breeders/prospecting/failed breeders scouting out the colony.
July 3rd Sightings - A Jenny's Cove Sunset
A Jenny's Cove Sunset. ©Thomas Weston
A wet day on the island with low cloud and fog throughout the day lead to few sightings. However, the Landing Bay was one of the clearest spots throughout and it was nice to see Oystercatchers, Rock Pipit, a few passing Manx Shearwaters, a mix of gulls and a few auks pass by. The sun came through in the afternoon resulting in a lovely sunset across Jenny’s Cove noted.
July 2nd Sightings - A Seabird Day from Start to Finish
A breezy day on the island with sightings of Manx Shearwater and Guillemot from the Oldenburg reported to us by visitors. Census is not required throughout July so our efforts are primarily based around the seabirds. Our Seabird Station was productive with Puffins (including Pufflings), Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Herring Gulls, Lesser-Black Backed Gulls, and Great-Black Backed Gulls all seen. A quick check of our Herring Gull productivity site resulted in at least 21 chicks noted, and amazingly, they seem to be doing well. Our Manx Shearwaters are doing great, with our productivity site continuing to be in full swing.