Zilpzalp

A very pleasant start to the day with light winds and the sun appearing every so often led to 18 new birds caught in the first few hours of the morning including the overdue first Chiffchaff of the spring and the first Common Redpoll of the year to be trapped - it did only last a few hours though as by mid-morning it had clouded over, the wind had picked up and light rain had moved in!

Chiffchaff, Chaffinch and Robin from this morning

 

Before the weather closed in there was a good flow of north-bound migrants passing overhead including 50+ Chaffinches, a Brambling, 10 Common Redpolls, 25 Greenfinches, 20 Siskins, 7 White Wagtails, a handful of Jackdaws and Rooks out at sea and a few Linnets and Reed Buntings; grounded migrants were less plentiful with a couple of Song Thrushes, a second Chiffchaff and a handful of Blue Tits and Great Tits (the Tits trapped had very high fat scores so were definitely on the move!).  A smart young male Merlin also bombed overhead taking a swipe at some careless Blue Tits, only just missing!

 

The sea was pretty quiet although 360 Barnacle Geese (in two flocks), 33 Mute Swans, two Oystercatchers and a Ringed Plover accompanied the few Eider flocks that were heading off to the NW.   The afternoons birds comprised 52 Long-tailed Ducks and a Red-throated Diver off the tip and a single Purple Sandpiper on the rocks just north of the tip.

 

My afternoons highlight was checking out the supermarket in town for the first time - it kept me entertained for at least 10 minutes!    In case you were wondering absolutely nothing paid the slightest bit of attention to the road-kill bait in the front field, not even a Hoodie!