8th October
The wind finally dropped; the rain abated; the mist nets were opened with high hopes of trapping all the Catharus thrushes that had spent the week sheltering unseen under the fuchsia bushes; but the most interesting passerine of the day, winning by a clear head, was a single Dunnock.
Sea passage was a bit more interesting. The species composition had a distinctly late-autumn feel, with 25 Little Auks, a juvenile Glaucous Gull and 3 Long-tailed Ducks indicating that winter is not that far away, and a total count of 2759 Fulmars including 28 northern 'blue' birds among them. Other counts from 5 and a half hours in the hide included 135 Sooty Shearwaters, 17 Manx Shearwaters, 583 Gannets, a Common Scoter, 9 Great Skuas, 194 Kittiwakes and 350 or so mixed Razorbills and Guillemots.
Sea passage was a bit more interesting. The species composition had a distinctly late-autumn feel, with 25 Little Auks, a juvenile Glaucous Gull and 3 Long-tailed Ducks indicating that winter is not that far away, and a total count of 2759 Fulmars including 28 northern 'blue' birds among them. Other counts from 5 and a half hours in the hide included 135 Sooty Shearwaters, 17 Manx Shearwaters, 583 Gannets, a Common Scoter, 9 Great Skuas, 194 Kittiwakes and 350 or so mixed Razorbills and Guillemots.
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