11th October

With the fresh easterly wind now well established there were plenty of birds about but quality remained stubbornly hard to come by, with the best of the newcomers - a Red-backed Shrike at the Bill - only putting in a subliminal appearance. At least 4 Yellow-browed Warblers were again dotted about the island but further interest involved a step still further down the quality ladder to the likes of 3 Black Redstarts, 3 Firecrests, 2 Hobbys, a Merlin, a Jack Snipe and a Short-eared Owl. Robins and Chiffchaffs featured strongly amongst the commoner migrants, with totals that included 40 of the former at the Bill and perhaps more than 200 of the latter across the island as a whole; thrushes were also starting to get more conspicuous, with a scatter of the first few grounded Redwings amongst a good spread of Song Thrushes and Blackbirds. The Ferrybridge Brent Goose total increased to 550.

Two Delicates at the Obs were the only immigrant moths worth a mention from overnight trapping; single Hummingbird Hawk-moths continued to be seen by day at several sites.