Had great views of snoozing seals lately, with more of both Grey & Common Seals appearing on the shore and coming into the harbour while it's relatively quiet. It's important to not disturb these sleeping beauties, so we watch their behaviour from a distance and use a long zoom

Spotted a Yellow Wagtail in flight from the beach this afternoon and knew exactly where we'd find it - the deliciously muddy edges of the marsh at Glebe. A male of the flava subspecies this time. And then to top it off the Corncrake starting singing in the background!

Today started wet and dreary, but our first Common Whitethroat of the year cheered us up nicely. Just a smattering of auks on the cliffs as they're still preparing for egg-laying, but a few pairs of Puffins were showing well. Lots of pellets and grisly bits left by Ravens too!

Early-purple Orchids are starting to pop up all over the island now - the chapel lawns are putting on the usual vibrant display, and there are some particularly scenic specimens to enjoy along the clifftop walking trails

Two Dunlins were poking around in the seaweed this morning, and we're eagerly looking forward to more migrating waders following in their footsteps over the next few weeks. Also a dark hybrid crow that was noticeably smaller than the Hooded Crows it was with

Hello Mr Sedge Warbler, welcome back! Heard this rowdy character making his joyful raucous racket from deep within the reeds this morning. Didn't notice it at the time but the photos show he is wearing a ring 🧐

Found this splendid Garden Tiger caterpillar munching on dock leaves in Church Bay yesterday - surely not far off pupating now, and well ahead of two earlier instars we saw 10 days ago

Then Corncrake for an after-dinner snack 😉 After one arrived last week, we passed by the usual fields many times and never heard a peep. But finally last night we did hear him and his echo, both merrily singing away under a beautiful full moon

Twites for breakfast this morning, or at least we watched this pair enjoying Dandelion seeds for theirs. We're suddenly seeing them returning to the island now, after being away for the winter

Redpolls have suddenly started appearing all over the island this week - we tend to hear them more than we see them, but this bonny pair showed very well yesterday. Lovely to see more Swallows returning now too

Watched a Whimbrel working along the seaweed in Mill Bay today - hopefully this ripening pile will feed many more migrating waders over the coming weeks. Also on the shore were 3 Purple Sandpipers having a snooze, & surprisingly an amorous pair of Sandwich Terns doing the deed 🧐

Been keeping an eye out for St George's Mushrooms lately, and struck lucky on the weekend with these beauties nestling at the roadside. Only found them in this one spot so far

Rathlin's annual wagfest was happening today at Ushet Lough, and this stunning male Yellow Wagtail was the surprise star of the show. A supporting cast of 60+ White Wagtails (plus a few Pied Wagtails) made for our biggest ever single wagtail count - what a lotta Motacilla!

Our locally breeding Wheatears started to appear about a month ago now. A small arrival of new birds this morning probably included some of the larger northern subspecies, just passing through on their way to Iceland or Greenland