A changing wind produced some classic signs of migration. 395 swallows flew south, along with 45 house martins and a single sand martin. A whinchat and a stonechat were feeding in front of the observatory and wheatear numbers were up to 4. A lone lapwing was our lone wader passage of the day.
Our seventh sparrowhawk of the autumn, and third female of the year, was ringed in the early morning, along with the years first stonechat. It does seem like sparrowhawks have done well this breeding season, at least locally, though there is always an autumn movement of young birds, which may be clouding the picture.
Yellow Belle is currently very common, both in the traps and on the wing during the day.
Birds Ringed: Robin 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Stonechat 1, Willow Warbler 1