22nd August

With any luck today's dismal showing will represent something of a low point in this autumn's birding...although we're not holding our breath. The spectacle of migration in action was certainly underwhelming, with the only migrant mist-netted at the Obs being one of the local Whitethroat youngsters, and singles of Balearic Shearwater and Arctic Skua through on the sea and a lone Grasshopper Warbler on the land being the only even faintly worthwhile reward from the morning's fieldwork in the Bill area.

In common with the birding, the less said about recent mothing the better; something of a nadir was reached at the Obs where fewer than 10 individual immigrants made it into the 4 traps we're still running for the first time since 18th July.