A Bee-eater over the North end of the island at quarter past eight this morning brightened up a rather dull morning enormously. The bird was seen flying south along the mountain, and then reappeared at Nant moments later. It was then seen being attacked by a Peregrine over the North end maritime heath, and soon after the Peregrine was seen flying east carrying a bird. The actual kill was not witnessed, and so the fate of this poor continental migrant is still unsure. The only previous record on the island was of one in July 1984.

The largest arrival of migrants today was of 40 Spotted Flycatchers that were scattered all over the island; two Whinchats in the lowlands and a 'Flava' Wagtail over the Narrows were the only other notable sightings of the day.

The Little Owls are becoming exceedingly approachable. I happened upon this bird whilst walking along the mountain this afternoon, not sure who was more surprised , the owl or me!

Little Owl

 A pair of Swallows currently building a nest in the Cristin pig sties are also very approachable at the moment

Foxglove Pug (upper) and Scalloped Hazel (lower) were trapped in the Nant Withy moth trap overnight. The Puss Moth caterpillars that pupated in the autumn have now emerged, with one adult moth released into Cristin garden

It was a much quieter day than yesterday, although a steady passage of Swallows heading Southward all day amounted to at least 180 birds. The Bar-tailed Godwit remained in Solfach, whilst 10 Spotted Flycatchers were inland and the flock of 17 Collared Doves were again at the North end. The Common Rosefinch was seen briefly at Cristin.

Bar-tailed Godwit

The Thrift is in full bloom on the South end at the moment, although Thrift Clearwings have not yet appeared. One of the heath traps was set on the south end today in the hope of a few migrant moths, although the slight wind may lower the chances of catching any 

It was another superb day both in terms of the weather and birds. A Scarlet Rosefinch was found in the withies early in the morning, which was later trapped and ringed at Cristin. A Firecrest was also seen in Cristin Withy, where it spent most of the day feeding and occasionally bursting into song. Two Cuckoos were seen in the withies and at Cristin, a summer plumage Bar-tailed Godwit flew over the Narrows and a probable Hobby flew over the mountain. Hirundine-counts for the day amounted to five Sand Martins, 140 Swallows and 21 House Martins, whilst five Swifts also passed through; warbler-numbers were up from previous days, with 10 Whitethroats, two Garden Warblers, six Blackcaps, nine Chiffchaffs and three Willow Warblers recorded.

 Common Rosefinch. There have been around 75 records of these finches on the island. The last records here were three in 2012- a singing male at Nant on the 31st of May, and then two in the autumn  in September and November

 At least Two Cuckoos were seen. This first summer male was at Cristin in the afternoon. Note the two retained juvenile secondaries on its left wing.

 Mmmmmealy Redopoll??? Well it is a Redpoll, but which flavour? The whiteness below and undertail coverts could even be approaching exilipes, but this is probably a flammea

 Part of a brood of 12 Shelducklings on Solfach

Another good arrival of Spotted Flycatchers was noted today

Firecrests had an awful year on the island last year, with one on in April being the only record of the year. Even this bird was one that had overwintered from the previous autumn (2010), and so its good that two have already turned up this year

A Clouded Silver (above-third for the island) was in the Nant Withy moth trap, along with a Green Carpet, the first Common Marbled Carpets of the year and a Heart and Dart

The day started off with a bang at 6am this morning when a Black Kite was seen flying Northward over the withies. The bird continued North-east over the track and was seen over an hour later flying over Uwchmynydd by an observer on the mainland. This is the second record for the island, following on from a bird that was seen briefly heading East past Pencristin in October 2009.

 Black Kite

Singing male Black Cap - similar, but different to the above!

 Robins are doing well this season

 young have fledged from two nests in the obs garden

Dunnocks are still up to their 'ways'!

Meadow Pipits are starting to fledge

Elsewhere on the bird front, a Redstart was seen at the Schoolhouse, a Goldcrest was in Nant Withy, 11 Spotted Flycatchers were scattered throughout and 28 Swifts flew overhead with four Sand Martins, 60 Swallows and 28 House Martins. Two stunning summer plumage Knots were seen in Solfach in the afternoon, along with nine Ringed Plovers, 15 Dunlins and three Curlews.


An extremely skulky warbler in Cristin Withy mid-afternoon unfortunately escaped the clutches of identification. Only seen once or twice and into bright sunlight, the bulky warbler with a large bill could have been a Hippolais warbler.

They're knot called Red Knots for no reason!

A misty day with very little wind saw a slight increase in the numbers of migrants on the island, with 10 Sedge Warblers now mostly singing males on territories, and eight Whitethroats, two Blackcaps, five Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and 11 Spotted Flycatchers seen in the island’s withies and gardens. A single Sparrowhawk flew over the withies in the afternoon, whilst in Solfach, a Sanderling joined 21 Dunlins and four Sandwich Terns fished offshore.

 Puffins

Common Carpet. Five Esperia sulphurella were seen in the gardens during the day, whilst a record count of 160 Cocksfoot Moths in the New Plantation blew the previous highest day total of 13 out of the window. Indeed, up until last year, this tiny species (3-4mm in length) had only been previously recorded at Cristin on the 23rd of May 2010

It was another beautiful day, although a lot of migrants seemed to have cleared off. A single Turtle Dove remained at the North end, and 12 Sand Martins and 46 Swallows passed through

 Meadow Pipit

A nice male Orange Tip was found in the greenlane in the afternoon. Elsewhere on the lepidoptera-front were the first two Cocksfoot Moths of the year

As Ben is away doing his GCSE exams I will add a few bits from the past day or so. Migration has slowed dramatically, and other than a few left-over Spotted Flys, a scattering of Redpolls and a Whinchat, little else happening. 

A few passage Wheatears are still on the move. Most of the remaining birds on the island are of the nominate race now, but one or two leucorrhoa are still tricking through on their way to Greenland and Iceland to breed.

Not often these days are we faced with a bird we truly cant ID, especially when high quality digital images of the bird are available... However, this Phylloscopus Warbler has well and truly got us stumped and falls well into the willow/chiff category!

Initial thoughts were of Willow Warbler. In appearance it looks long, long primary projection, longish bill, pale below, greenish fringes to the flight feathers and so on. So what is the problem? Firstly the legs (which do vary considerably in colour in Willow Wartblers and Chiffchaffs, with acredula Willow Warblers having fairly dark legs, and some Chiffs having pale legs). The legs look dark, but the bird does not look like a brown or grey acredula type Willow Warbler. If we take a closer look at the wing formula it is clearly a Chifchaff. It has emarginations on primaries 3,4,5 and most confusingly 6 (Chiffchaffs are always emarginated on p6 and Willows only ever to p5). Primary 2 is quite long (better for Willow Warbler!) The wing is rather pionted as p5 falls quite a bit short of the wing point as in Willow Warbler; wing point on chiff is usually 3,4,and 5, giving it a rounder wing). So we are truly stumped. A hybrid has been mooted, but other suggestions are welcome!

Below we have a proper Chiffchaff for caparison and below that a Willow Warbler

On an easier note we have a Whitethroat  picture. Until a few weeks ago these little beauties were in very short supply, but fortunately it was just the clod northerly winds in April that were keeping them from our shores and not another population crash due to drought in the Sahara.

Despite the obvious movement of migrants throughout the day, there were still no scarcities amongst them. The more noteworthy sightings of the day included the pair of Turtle Doves, a Cuckoo, a Tree Pipit, a smart male Black Redstart, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Garden Warbler. Eight Swifts, six Sand Martins, 102 Swallows and 22 House Martins represented a steady passage of birds throughout the day, whilst 24 Sedge Warblers, 26 Whitethroats, 19 Blackcaps, two Goldcrests and 11 Spotted Flycatchers were amongst a small number of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs.

 A few weeks ago, a single Gannet was seen prospecting for a nest site on the east side, as it dropped several times onto the grassy slopes. In the last few days, there has been a pair flying back and forth along the east side, although its probably a bit late for nesting now

 Lesser Whitethroat (top) and Whitethroat (bottom)

The moth traps are finally yielding some more Lepidoptera recently, with last night’s totals including the first Small Magpie and Green Carpet of the year, and this stunning Treble-bar. This is the first record for the island, and was separated from the similar Lesser Treble-bar by the distinct shape of the tip of the abdomen when viewed from below. In males (such as this one), the tip has long, pointed claspers, narrowing down to quite a small point; in Lesser Treble-bar, the claspers are shorter and curved, with the tip being blunter.

It was another relatively calm day with a scattering of common migrants, although there were fewer notable sightings. Singles of Short-eared Owl, Cuckoo and Yellow Wagtail were recorded in the morning, whilst the pair of Turtle Doves were once again at the North end. A smaller number of 30 Spotted Flycatchers were scattered around with 16 Sedge Warblers, 23 Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 14 Chiffchaffs and  two Goldcrests, whilst over 120 Redpolls flew overhead with 62 Goldfinches.

 The greenland race of Wheatear (O.o. leuccorhoa) undertake a much longer migration than the nominate race, travelling from sub-Saharan Africa to their Arctic breeding grounds. Birds that breed in Alaska travel almost 15,000 miles each way, and cross Siberia and the Arabian desert at around 290km a day! The bird above is a British-race bird gathering nesting material on the North end

 Garden Warbler

 The Shears. A Diamond-back Moth was also seen during the day

A very good day of migration and a few scarcities thrown in saw the Easterly winds continuing. A Marsh Harrier flew South over the mountain midday, which Is the first record of the year and the 36^th record for the island; a lovely Firecrest was the second good find of the day in Cristin garden late in the afternoon. An excellent count of 70 Spotted Flycatchers passed through during the day, whilst a Tree Pipit, a male Ring Ouzel, 18 Sedge Warblers, 28 Whitethroats, 14 Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, 17 Chiffchaff, four Willow Warbler and four Goldcrests were also recorded. The Turtle Doves remained in the ruins field at Nant, whilst a Short-eared Owl was flushed from the wetlands and a Grey Heron remained on Pwll Cain.

There have been 25 records of Marsh Harrier since 1998, including today's bird, with only 11 sightings before that year. The bird above was an adult male that flew South over the mountain ridge, before heading back North half an hour later

The count of 70 Spotted Flycatchers today is the highest total of birds since the 30th of August 2005, when 149 were seen. The highest island record was of 500 birds on the 17th of August 2002, which broke the previous highest total of 200 in 1969

 A few Sedge Warblers (above), Whitethroats, Wheatears and plenty of Manx Shearwaters were attracted to the lighthouse during the overcast and drizzly conditions overnight

The Broom Moth's typical habitat includes open woodland and heathland. The caterpillar feeds on Broom, bracken and other trees and plants (hence the name), and is brown and yellow striped in appearance

It was another calm day with a scattering of common migrants and a steady passage of hirundines during the day. Two Swifts, 31 Sand Martins, 46 House Martins and 435 Swallows were seen throughout the day, whilst Goldcrests had arrived, and were amongst 14 Whitethroats, 15 Blackcaps, 14 Chiffchaffs and 17 Spotted Flycatchers. On the wader front, four Turnstones, three Dunlins and a pair of Ringed Plovers were in Solfach at high tide, whilst 12 Whimbrels and a Curlew were seen on Pencristin.

 The pair of Turtle Doves continue to feed in the field at the North end

 Some 50 Redpolls flew over in the morning, although some were once again a little too pale to be Lessers. A smart male bird is pictured on the left above

The calm conditions finally coaxed out a few moths, with the first Common Carpet (top), Plum Tortrix (bottom) and Esperia sulphurella of the year seen