willow warbler
It was a great pleasure to do some birding with phenomenal bird artist and superb birder -Tim Worfolk this morning. Unfortunately it was pretty quiet bird-wise and the hoped for yellow-legged gulls didn't materialise, though we did have a 'probable' fly distantly in to the bay before heading inland. Birds logged included a summer-plumaged great northern diver, 5+ manx shearwater, 4 common tern (Tim later had an arctic tern), several sandwich terns, small numbers of kittiwake and gannet, 2 juv mediterranean gull, 1 fulmar, 2 dunlin, 1 curlew and 25+ common scoter.
I left Tim to have a quick scoot around the tip of Orcombe Point and found at least 3 willow warblers and a grasshopper warbler along with a few phyllosc sp that were probably mostly willows. I suspect a more thorough search of the whole patch would have revealed many more migrant passerines. Three swallow went through during the short time I was up there.
A quick scan off the Imperial produced a single greylag goose in with 82 canada geese. Back for breakfast at 0830.
A crap photo of the grasshopper warbler but to be honest I was pleased to get anything! A phyllosc sp is just visible below it - probably a chiffie. I didn't get a single spring gropper this year or a single autumn one last year so this bird represents the first record in quite some time.
Common Blue
Marbled Green (above) and Clouded Border attracted to the outside light last night.
Honestly Matt, I think that may be a bit over the top - I'm seriously embarrassed. I'd have been more than happy with 'reasonably competent'. Anyway, thanks and the cheque's in the post.
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