5th July

Another rather samey bird day, with a Blue-headed Wagtail at the Bill the best of the few new arrivals on the land; a single Sand Martin passed through there and a Willow Warbler may have been one of the two that showed up last week, whilst a Grey Plover and the first 2 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls of the summer were at Ferrybridge. Totals from the sea included 100 Manx Shearwaters, 83 Common Scoter, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Sandwich Terns, a Whimbrel and a Great Skua through off the Bill, where 8 Storm Petrels had been sound-lured and trapped overnight.

Moth immigrants/wanderers included nothing that hadn't already been recorded in the last fortnight, with singles of Barred Red, Pine Hawkmoth and White Satin - all at Sweethill - the best of the night's catch.

It was a particularly lovely night for Storm Petrel catching...


...and the 8 trapped in the couple of hours we could stay awake for made it the best session we've had so far this summer © Martin Cade:



It looked as though maybe the bright moon led to subdued moth activity - or at least the traps were quieter overnight - but there was still some quality about, with the third Pine Hawkmoth of the summer...


...and, also straying from the pine woods, the second Barred Red (which was a 'normal' red form and so a nice contrast with the freaky green one caught last week) © Debby Saunders:


The Grey Plover at Ferrybridge looked to be a lot like the one-footed individual that lingered there for a long time in the spring - has it been hiding nearby and just resurfaced or did it completely leave for a while? © Pete Saunders:


The first juvenile Mediterranean Gulls of the summer are always a fine sight © Debby Saunders


These days, Raven families are a virtually permanent fixture around the car parks at both Ferrybridge and the Bill © Pete Saunders: