Bits and Bobs

 

Redwing - Sandy Bay.

A few bits and bobs today. Nick and I did Orcombe from first light but it was colder and cloudier than expected. A single chiffchaff moving rapidly along a hedgerow was probably a migrant but the hoped-for wheatear never materialised. Offshore, good numbers of auks went past with 5+ red-throated diver and a probable black-throat. Also a single common scoter and small numbers of gannet. A harbour porpoise was seen briefly, along with a pristine adult summer mediterranean gull, with a small group of east-bound black-headed gulls.
I managed to get out again a couple times later, getting my first brimstone butterfly of the year, at West Lodge, and first sandwich tern, sat on a sandbar off Mudbank.
Sandy Bay produced half a dozen redwing and a few robins, but there was no sign of the black redstart.
Finally, a late afternoon look at the local cirl site produced 2/3 cirl bunting, 3+ yellowhammer, c6+ reed bunting, c50+ chaffinch, 2 green woodpecker, nuthatch, treecreeper and c6+ redwing.

Male cirl bunting - nice to be able to watch these locally.