Another nice arrival of migrants on Barra this morning. Our third Wood Warbler of the spring was belting out song beside the pitch at Castlebay, Lesser Whitethroats were singing here and at Nask and Spotted Flycatchers were scattered around the island.

Two new birds for the year on Barra today, an early morning Turtle Dove at Cuithir and an afternoon Tree Sparrow, one of my favourite species, at Bruernish.

The Tango Twins are back! What must be the same 2 drake Mandarins that spent time on Barra in the summer of '22 have reappeared, splitting their time today between exploring the rooftops and chimneys of Nask and dining with their old Indian Runner Duck mates in Castlebay.

A good start to the day with a Wood Warbler singing at Creachan, our second on Barra this spring. Also a fresh arrival in Sedge Warblers and Whitethroats around the island. Feels like a promising day!

Popped up to Eoligarry this morning to have a look at the 7 Snow Geese that dropped in for a surprise visit. Always a lovely species to see, they looked the part when they flew off north, but likely came from feral European populations rather than wild North American stock.

An obvious increase in Corncrakes on Barra in the past few days after a quiet start to the season. This one popped up beside us this morning, 'crexed' a few times, then ducked back down to slip away unseen. They're experts at that!

The bird with the big bill almost paid the price today! We saw our 1st Hawfinch of '24 drop into Ardmhor. Unfortunately so did a Sparrowhawk that chased it down the valley to a chorus of alarm calls from the Hawfinch and us. It was a VERY close encounter but the finch got away.

Two legs good, six legs better! Great to see successful Lapwing broods hatched on Barra's machair this week.

These Black-throated Divers seen from the ferry in the Sound of Barra were a pleasing sight on a work visit to Eriskay this morning, along with a raft of 100 Long-tailed Ducks, 4 species of auk and a Bonxie.

Message from a neighbour this evening: could it be a Waxwing by their conservatory window? Cue competition-speed bike ride to the end of our road and jostling for window positions with their cats for point blank views of a chubby Waxwing feasting on Berberis.

It's been a wet afternoon and evening on Barra with a fresh north-easterly blowing. Four dishevelled House Martins dropped into our township looking for a sheltered roost site, eventually settling on a neighbour's house for a much needed early night.

We were delighted to discover our first Sea Coconut yesterday, a sea bean we never really expected to find here. So we were utterly shocked to stumble upon another on Vatersay this evening! It seemed so improbable we had to sit down for a few minutes while realisation sank in.

Popped over to Cleat to check out a report of a dead seabird on the beach and accidentally found a freshly arrived Sea Coconut aka Golf-ball Bean from the American tropics, a new sea bean species for us and one we never realistically expected to find on Barra.

Our first Brambling of the year bringing a splash of colour to the treetops in Castlebay on this wet Monday afternoon. It was even giving a few bursts of song, though it's fair to say Bramblings aren't highly accomplished vocalists!

Perfect conditions to look for Short-necked Oil Beetles on Barra today: sunshine and warm enough to leave my jacket at home! Counted 32 in 1.5 hours, most were in 2 tiny hotspots. Feels like numbers are down this year compared to previous 3 seasons. OilBeetlesUK Species on the Edge

A noisy flock of Pink-footed Geese heading north over Barra this morning. Next stop Iceland.

Great Northern Divers are looking fabulous now as they moult into breeding plumage. This one was close in at Brevig just now, a further 45 visible more distantly. Also today, up to 3 Minke Whales offshore plus 10 Common Dolphins and 2 Porpoise.

We thought our sea bean season was over, but I couldn't resist a quick look at the strandline on Vatersay this afternoon. Shocked to find yet another Bay Bean, our 4th this year, 3 of which have been on the same 25m stretch of beach.

Whimbrels taking a pit stop at Allasdale, part of a hundred-strong flock feeding on the machair on the west side of Barra today.

More migrants on Barra today including our first House Martins and Arctic Terns of the year, a big arrival of Whimbrels, a late flock of 13 Whooper Swans flying north offshore and best of all a male Ring Ouzel at Glen, a very scarce species here in spring.