A rather strong westerly wind had arrived overnight and greeted us at dawn and throughout the rest of the morning, slowly changing to a southerly air flow in the early afternoon. This had a rather welcoming effect for a small fall of migrants to the observatory with a variety of species being found and ringed.
New migrants today during our small fall consisted of 15 Common Tern, 2 Sandwich Tern, 2 Common Gull, 5 Cormorant, 11 Oystercatcher, 9 Golden Plover, 7 Redshank, 4 Knot, 4 Dunlin, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Turnstone, 1 Sanderling, 3 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Common Redstart, 7 Tree Pipit. 3 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, 10 Wheatear, 5 Whinchat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 50+ Willow Warbler, 1 Common Whitethroat, 9 Goldfinch, 48 Swallow, 8 Sand Martin, 5 Swift and 1 Short-Eared Owl.
Several Sparrowhawks are hanging around the observatory at present including this stunning individual.
Ringing: 32 birds ringed during the course of the day which included 26 Willow Warbler, 2 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Common Redstart, 1 Robin, 1 Greenfinch and 1 House Sparrow.