20th May

With yesterday's thunderstorms arriving earlier and fizzling out sooner than anticipated overnight rainfall was all but non-existent, which perhaps played a part in there being little improvement on the land. A very thin scatter of newcomers at the Bill included 2 Spotted Flycatchers and singles of Whimbrel, Wheatear and Reed Warbler on the ground, whilst overhead there were still a trickle of Swifts and hirundines arriving. Seawatching was slightly more eventful, with 70 commic terns, 6 Sandwich Terns, 3 Great Northern Divers and singles of Red-throated Diver, Arctic Skua and Pomarine Skua through off the Bill.

Yesterday's thunderstorms were no doubt instrumental in depositing the year's first substantial flurry of immigrant lepidoptera around the island: Red Admirals begun appearing around the Obs garden yesterday afternoon, whilst overnight moth-trapping there came up with 17 Diamond-back Moths, 4 Maiden's Blush and 2 Silver Y; highlights elsewhere included singles of Orange Footman at Sweethill and Maiden's Blush at the Grove. A Hummingbird Hawk-moth was in the Obs garden today.