Strong easterlies and rain produced a decent arrival with 60 birds caught including a rather nice male Whinchat (nfy), a Whitethroat (nfy), 30 Willow Warblers, 5 Chiffs, 8 Blackcaps, 12 Goldfinches (1 control), a Wheatear and 2 Robins

A successful attempt at dazzling the Eider on the Calf of Man last night produced 7 new birds including 4 rather smart drakes!!!

Quality over quantity today on the Calf of Man with a couple of Gropper, Whitethroat, Lesser Redpolls and 2 House Sparrow (scarcity here) the ringing highlights amongst a small arrival of Willow Warblers and Blackcaps.

Nice to have the returning Bonxie back on the Calf of Man and now a regular feature of census. Thought to be it’s 10th year! Hopefully this year it will be the one it finds a mate and breeds!

Another good night dazzling on the Calf of Man. Starting with a Whimbrel (2nd ever ringed here) and 3 GBB Gulls (2S,4S,4S). Before catching 8 Eiders (6 drakes beating the total ever caught on the Calf), including the 1st ever control!! Also an Oyc and 5 Wheatears. I

Nice to here back that the Eider was ringed in Jul 2019 at Foulney Point, Cumbria some 109km away!

Just like buses! Two French Sedge Warblers trapped today following the Spanish bird the other day!! Amongst a small arrival of Sedgies, Whitethroat and Spot Fly with 2 Whinchats including the 4th of the year trapped and my first Swifts.

Breeding Eiders are starting to pick up on the Calf of Man now with females starting to lay across the island. Slowly getting my eye in to this rather cryptic species.

Red-rumped Swallow over the Calf this morning! Showed well for around 10 mins circling the Obs, amazingly the 1st Calf and Isle of Man record!! Also Yellow Wag, c20 Spot Fly, Whinchat, Sib Chiff and Swift Calf of Man Bird Observatory

WESTERN SUBALPINE WARBLER trapped on the Calf of Man this morning!! Calf of Man Bird Observatory

Yesterday the Calf of Man was visited by this stunning white Hen Harrier!!!! The bird spent a short while hunting before gaining a lot of height a disappearing north. What a bird!!!!

With migration slowing recently on the Calf of Man, I’ve been putting effort into nest finding especially Wheatears with the 100th pulli ringed today!!!

I did not expect to flush not 1 but 2 Quails, metres apart from the cliffs on the Calf of Man this afternoon!! Not typical Quail habitat right next to a Herring Gull colony! Calf of Man Bird Observatory BirdGuides

Didn’t expect to have a very vocal LAUGHING GULL fly around above me whilst I went to ring gull chicks on the Calf of Man this afternoon!! The bird stayed around just long enough for others to get there and bring a camera before it headed high north!

Nice to have my 1st Vagrant Emperor on the Calf of Man the other day, only the 2nd Calf record!

A busy start to my time running Carey Ringing Station in Dorset with 1147 birds of 32 species caught in the last fortnight! Highlights have been 527 Sedgies, 157 Gropper, 69 Reed, 15 Garwa, 99 Wilwa, 3 Tree Pipit, 9 Kingfisher and 7 Nightjars!!

North Wiltshire Ringing Group ringing recovery: Sedge Warbler ringed by us on Salisbury Plain on the 11th August 2024, recovered at Carey Floodplain, Wareham, Dorset on the 24th July 2025. 347 days since ringed, 62km movement #birdringing #Migration

Hit 4000 birds ringed at Carey this autumn today with a monster of a 20.0g Sedge Warbler! However, the stand out highlight of the morning was this stunning HOBBY!! Not something I ever thought I would be lucky enough to catch!