16th August

A rather overcast dawn dropped a handful more migrants, with the Bill area coming up with 20 Tree Pipits, 15 each of Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler, 10 each of Yellow Wagtail and Wheatear, and singles of Grey Heron, Garden Warbler and Pied Flycatcher. Offshore, Balearic Shearwaters reached at least 25 - and likely quite a few more if they'd ever aggregated together - and 13 Common Scoter, 3 Great Skuas, 2 Whimbrel and a Manx Shearwater padded out the variety.

A Striped Hawkmoth was a surprise overnight capture in the Obs moth-traps, with 9 Rush Veneer, 7 each of Rusty-dot Pearl and Dark Sword Grass, and singles of Diamond-back Moth, Marbled Yellow Pearl, Waste Grass-veneer Pediasia contaminella and Dark Spinach making up the rest of the immigrant tally there; a Vestal at the Grove was the pick of the catches elsewhere.

With it having been a poor year nationally for Striped Hawkmoths there had been no expectation of coming across one in the moth-traps: 


Marbled Yellow Pearl is recorded around the island just about often enough these days that you'd imagine it might sometimes breed but we still don't have any direct evidence that it has done © Martin Cade: