A nice lot to get amongst today even if the main rarity - the Blyth's Reed Warbler from a couple of days ago that was retrapped at the Obs after being missed yesterday - proved to be an 'in-hand only' bird. Yesterday's Common Rosefinch was also seen fleetingly at Coombefield, the likely Siberian Lesser Whitethroat showed up again at the Craft Centre and single Yellow-browed Warblers were at three sites around the centre and south of the island; less frequent migrants included an all-island total of around 30 Ring Ouzels (including 16 at West Weare) and at least 6 Short-eared Owls at the Bill. Common migrant-wise it was perhaps a tad disappointing, with less in the way of numbers than the overcast skies and frequent hints of damp in the air might have come up with; noteworthy totals from the Bill area included 100 Chiffchaffs, 80 Skylarks, 75 Blackbirds, 36 Stonechats, 30 Robins and 25 Blackcaps on the ground and 500 Linnets, 200 alba wagtails, 100 Chaffinches, 94 Wood Pigeons and 50 Starlings through overhead.
Immigrant moth totals continued to creep up, with 122 Rush Veneer, 29 Rusty-dot Pearl, 15 Silver Y, 6 Diamond-back Moth, 3 Delicate and singles of Pearly Underwing, Merveille du Jour, Scarce Bordered Straw and Red Admiral butterfly trapped overnight at the Obs.
We're not really sure why Yellow-browed Warblers are avoiding the island - in comparison with just about everywhere else they've been genuinely hard to come by in recent days; this bird at the Craft Centre did at least show fairly well today for the weekend visitors © Duncan Walbridge:
On the moth front this Merveille du Jour at the Obs was the night's highlight - this is a far rarer visitor to the island than, for example, Radford's Flame Shoulder:
