A light/moderate north-westerly wind dropped in strength during the day, whilst sunny intervals dominated. The seawatch produced 23 Manx Shearwaters flying north, a juvenile Marsh Harrier heading north, then later south, with southbound waders including 50 Sanderling, 64 Whimbrel and 93 Redshank. In addition, five Arctic Skuas flew north, together with three Bonxies, 22 Common Terns and 17 Arctic Terns.
Thornwick Pool hosted three Snipe, a Redshank, two Green Sandpipers, two Dunlin and two Yellow Wagtails. An additional two Yellow Wagtails were on the Outer Head, where a Willow Warbler was an undoubted migrant, with a Cuckoo also present at Oceanview. A flock of 150 Common Scoters remained off South Landing.
Perhaps the day’s highlight was the spectacle of a huge influx of Swifts onto the Headland during the evening. At least 1750 birds were present, including 500 in the Buckton/Bempton area and 1250 east of the Dykes.
A Gatekeeper in South Landing represented an excellent record of a butterfly which is very scarce locally.
