Ringers Report - August 2015

A monthly roundup of ringing highlights from young birders, whether it be birds ringed, rings read or controlled in the field or ringing recoveries reported from elsewhere. Bird movements are amazing!

Josie Hewitt, 17 - Hampshire

My August ringing highlight was my first ever ringing session on my patch in north east Hampshire where I caught a surprising total of 59 birds of 13 species in just two nets. This included a lovely juvenile Pied Flycatcher which was most unexpected and a Lesser Whitethroat, also a fairly unusual visitor! I also visited 3 bird observatories - Skokholm, Portland and Bardsey where I had a lovely time and saw some cracking species in the hand including Storm Petrel, Manx Shearwater, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Dunlin. 

                                               

Jonnie Fisk, 19 - Pasvik Valley, Finnmark, Arctic Norway 
The Pasvik ringing project is a joint venture between Biotope, ringing groups in Staffordshire and Worcestershire and Stavanger Museum.
A ringing scheme has been in place in Varanger for the last few years. Previously, all ringing was done at the coastal site of Nesseby, this year it was moved to the Pasik taiga forest, on the border river with Russia, a minor flyway for migrants. We caught a nice range of migrant species, Willow Warblers making up the bulk - there was massive variation between these acredula types. The project also caught several taiga forest specialities including loenbergi Williw Tits, Siberian Tits, Siberian Jay, Little Bunting and one livid Hawk Owl. Padding the nets out were some good Scandi stuff: Brambling, Arctic and Mealy 'polls, thunbergi Yellow Wagtails, Bluethroat and Redwing. 
Waiting between net rounds on the river was a opportunity to view Arctic migration, with Crane every day, whinneying Whimbrel flocks, fishing Osprey, Rough-legged Buzzards, White-tailed Eagles and moose commuting to and from Russia. Over the two weeks upwards of a hundred birds we ringed per day and hopefully they'll give some interesting recoveries, painting a better picture of the routes these Arctic breeders take.

acredula "Northern" Willow Warbler on the right

Sophie Barrel - Skokholm Bird Observatory, Wales

The NGB team at Skokholm island were lucky enough to be involved in some ringing with the Teifi Ringing Group and the wardens. Although the week wasn’t great for bird numbers, we still got a mix of Meadow Pipits, Rock Pipits, Reed Warblers, Whitethroats, Reed Buntings, Robins, Swallows and Goldcrests. In addition, one morning we got a bang on the door early morning where we were shown a Lesser Whitethroat that had been caught, which was particularly rare to get on the island.

Of course, the main personal reason for the visit was to get close and personal to seabirds that cover the island. Manx Shearwaters were a ringing lifer for myself and other ringers on the trip. Storm Petrels were also a treat to ring, although only 6 were caught on the last night. Overall it was a great trip and I hope to get involved in more ringing with bird observatories in the future. 

Dan Rouse, 18 - Bardsey Bird Observatory, Wales

Whilst the six other NGB members were on Skokholm, 8 of us were on Bardsey Isalnd. There was four of us who were ringers (plus Bardsey Ben) and we had the pleasure of ringing in a variety of ways including mist netting, Heligoland traps and ringing pulli. Highlights of the trip was my first Spotted Flycatcher and ringing on the beach with Ben resulting in a Dunlin for Josie, Redshank for myself and plenty of Rock Pipits which we got to colour ring. Other highlights included Storm Petrels, which smell amazing! The countless Manx Shearwater pulli took some work to get them out of the burrows in order to ring.

Skokholm Bird Observatory 2015 - Trip Report

Skokholm Island, situated on Pembrokeshire’s south-west tip, has to be one of the most stunning places that Wales has to offer. The island is surrounded by rich seas supporting a wealth of marine wildlife and thriving populations of seabirds. During the breeding season, thousands of Manx Shearwaters and plenty of European Storm Petrels call this beautiful island their home, often swarming in at night to feed their hungry chicks under the cover of darkness. Skokholm also plays host to a wide range of migrant birds during the autumn that often stop for a period of respite. During August, six lucky NGB members were offered the opportunity to spend the last week of the month on this idyllic island assisting the bird observatory with its daily counts and log, as well as being given the chance to take on another team of NGBs at the infamous Bardsey Island Bird Obs in a bird race over the same week. How could anyone resist such an experience? The following is an account of the week’s sightings and events… 

The six eager NGBs (Craig Reed, Sophie Barrell, Kirsty Heiner, Jake Gearty, Michael Murphy and Drew Lyness), to become known as team Skok for the week, first all met together at Martin’s Haven on the mainland all geared up for what adventures day one would bring on the Island. For a few of us, this was to be our first ever visit to an island based bird observatory. After forming what was the first of many chain gangs with the rest of the island visitors to get our belongings onto the boat, we were off. We had close views of Gannets travelling up the sound from their nearby colony at Grassholm Island, and also spotted on the crossing to Skokholm was a (actually notable) flock of six Mallard, however I can safely say this was not the highlight of the trip. We arrived at the jetty to be warmly welcomed by Richard and Giselle, the wardens, along with a very friendly group of volunteers, one of whom turned out to be an NGB too, and swiftly became a valuable member of team Skok.

Following an introductory meeting and a much needed cuppa in the obs, we were given a first class tour of Skokholm by Richard and treated to some very up close and personal views of Manxie and Stormie chicks (adorable doesn’t even cover it). On top of this, day one provided a variety of wader species for the team’s ever growing list. One interesting looking wader spotted flying in off sea was later relocated on north pond and turned out to be Knot, a good island record. Little Stint, Black-tailed Godwit and Greenshank were also among the wader species gained from the day. Sea-watching also proved productive with a minimum of 63 Common Dolphin being seen offshore including a pod of over 30 with calves.

Over the proceeding few days, Arctic Skua, Arctic Tern and Common Scoter were all seen out at sea. Peregrine and Chough also became daily features for the species log, the latter of which reached numbers of up to 16 different birds! Although passage migrants, particularly passerines, still remained thin on the ground during the earlier part of the week, the team did manage to score Goldfinch, Tree Pipit and Reed Warbler. Plenty more wader movement was observed too with Dunlin and Ruff landing on the North pond. The aforementioned Knot also somehow managed to find itself a friend before swiftly departing with no assistance whatsoever from an over enthusiastic NGB. The effort put in by the team over these first few days was impressive and it seemed like very few birds passed through the island without at least one of us picking up on it.

The world’s largest Slow worms were also one of the main highlights of the trip. Being the only reptile on the island, it is known that these legless lizards lack a gut parasite which slow worms on the mainland are susceptible to. One particular individual measured in at 42cm long!

On the 27^th of August during an early evening sea-watch, I was lucky enough to have some fairly close views of a passing Balearic Shearwater off the south side of the island. This would have been the sea-watching highlight of the trip if it wasn’t completely overshadowed by literally thousands of Manx Shearwaters rafting half a kilometre or so out to sea every single evening. It was a true spectacle to behold when the rafts of manxies took to the skies during a spectacular sunset to circle the island waiting for the cover of darkness to fly in and feed their chicks.

Night time on Skokholm created an entirely new atmosphere compared to during the day. It was a very surreal experience to be surrounded by seabirds whirling low in the sky around you and singing on the ground from somewhere out there in the dark. The ringers among out NGB team were lucky enough to ring a manxie or two, caught by simply picking them up from the middle of the path. It really puts into perspective how poorly adapted shearwaters are for life on land and shows exactly why these birds choose to only come in land to feed their chicks during the night. However, there were always times where we could look up in the night sky to observe lingering silhouettes of Great Black-backed Gull lit up by the moonlight, just waiting for an unfortunate shearwater to cross their path. We also assisted with weighing the chicks as part of an ongoing study on Manx Shearwater feeding behaviour. 

We were very privileged to spend one night observing Storm Petrels going about their nightly business through a specialised night vision camera.  It was incredible to get such an insight into the lives of these secretive birds. As if things couldn’t get any better, we were also lucky enough to hold, ring and release some adult stormies during a late night ringing session. Such delicate and beautiful birds to see close up and certainly an experience we will not be forgetting any time soon.

As the week went on, we were gifted the chance to stay on Skokholm for an extra couple of days due to the tidal swell making it difficult for the boat to dock safely on the island. This worked to team Skok’s favour as the weather conditions were changing and the winds were switching to Northerly. This allowed the team to take full advantage of the increase in migrant birds and during the last couple of days a flyover Wood Sandpiper and a juvenile female Merlin topped the highlights. However the flock of 25 Golden Plover is also worth a mention as it was the largest flock to be recorded from Skokholm this decade! Finally passerines began to make a much appreciated appearance with Whinchat, Spotted Flycatcher, Goldcrest and Dunnock all being seen. A small group of 3 Grey Wagtail feeding around the jetty just before our team got on the boat to leave the island was also a very pleasant surprise.

After a very up and down boat journey back to the mainland our highly eventful trip was complete, and what an experience it was. Overall team Skok managed to rack up a grand total of 86 species in a single week. A valiant effort from the team and it is worth noting that not a single species was seen by someone else on the island and not a member of the NGB team. Although this was not enough to defeat team Bardsey, we should certainly all be very proud on what team Skok managed to complete in the time we had. For more information on what we saw and did visit - skokholm.blogsot.co.uk (24^th-31^st August)

I would like to end by saying huge thank you to Richard and Giselle for having us and say that we all thoroughly enjoyed our stay on Skokholm. The trip was really made complete by the friendly and welcoming atmosphere created by the islands volunteers and staff. It wouldn’t have been the same without you. Thank you so much and we all eagerly await our next visit.

Photo credits; Craig Reed (Godwit & Knot, Jetty Sign), Jake Gearty (Sunset panorama, Choughs, Wheatear), Kirsty Hiener (Weathervane Sunset), Sophie Barrel (Stormie Chick) 

-by Drew Lyness (the one in the hat)

A birding guide to Israel - Yoav Perlman

Birding in Israel – where action never ends

First of all, let me introduce myself. I am a birder since the age of 8, and all my adult life I worked in conservation, birding and research, for a large NGO in Israel, the Israeli Ornithological Center. I grew up as a birder in Israel which is one of the most extraordinary places in the Western Palearctic. From a very young age I got exposed to powerful wildlife phenomena. I can still remember vividly my first visit to the famous North Field near Eilat when I was ten – I got off the bus and was in awe – the alfalfa field was literally moving with thousands of Yellow Wagtails, Red-throated Pipits, Ortolans, Whitethroats and Quails. A couple of years later I showed the late Peter Grant his first Black Bush Robin there. Or when I was fourteen I experienced my first BIG Lesser Spotted Eagle day – I participated in the annual raptor count and one day, east of Tel Aviv, 23,000 eagles passed over my head in about four hours. At some moments the sky was black with birds. Back then Israel was so under-watched, and I started finding my own rarities when I was very young. 

I am here in the UK now, doing a PhD at UEA, working on Great Bustards in Iberia. I enjoy UEA very much, and in fact it's an NGB hotspot, with several young excellent NGbirders working the university grounds daily. While here in the UK I go birding less often than I would want to, but I do enjoy what the North Norfolk coast has to offer.

So what is it that makes Israel so special to my eyes? I think that the combination of adrenalin rush of migration almost year-round, several Middle-Eastern specialties, the extremely varied habitats in such a small area, the open and easy access, and the good chances to find one's own rarities. I think Israel is a must-do birding experience for young birders, as it gets you tuned in quickly on species that are on the cards in your local patch in the UK (well, if you live in Norfolk or Yorkshire maybe) – Isabelline Wheatear, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Red-throated Pipit, Masked Shrike – all are common migrants in Israel. And after a season in Israel you should be able to tell a Honey Buzzard from a Common Buzzard two miles away, or a Lesser Spotted Eagle from a Steppe Eagle just by jizz. 

Spring

So what is the best time of year to visit Israel? It’s hard to say, because year-round there are special birds to see. The most popular period is the second half of March and early April, for understandable reasons. In this season most birders head down to Eilat and the southern Arava Valley. This period offers an attractive combination of accelerating migration, peak breeding activity of desert species and lovely weather. Most birders drive up from Eilat to the Negev for a day or two to see the local specialties – MacQueen's Bustards, Cream-coloured Coursers, four sandgrouse species and some interesting larks.

Later on in spring it does become much warmer down in southern Israel, but migration doesn’t stop and in fact increases during April and into early May. For instance, this year during the May 2^nd and 3^rd, 450,000 Honey Buzzards were counted by the IBRCE survey team over Eilat! Now try and pick out the orientals passing through with them… Or what about a flock of 5000 White-winged terns in beautiful summer plumage roosting on the banks of the KM20 saltpans? Or just a nice stroll around Yotvata fields Caspian Plover, Olive-tree and Upcher’s Warblers, Black-headed Buntings…  Another advantage of arriving later in spring is that there are far fewer birders around and you basically have the place to yourself.

 

Caspian plover

Black Bush Robin

White-Winged Terns

Upcher's Warbler

 Accommodation in Eilat and the southern Arava is easy. Eilat is the main tourist destination in Israel and hosts a wide range of accommodation possibilities, from stinking flee-infested dormitories to extra-flashy five star hotels. Many birders choose to stay in B&B’s in kibbutzim north of Eilat, to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, and to enjoy great birding literally at your doorstep. Lotan is popular, but Ketura is a great place to stay as well.

Summer

Later on the summer sets in but the birding goes on strong. Some species that are difficult to see any other time of year are at their peak in summer. One very popular bird is Sooty Falcon. This globally-threatened breathtaking raptor arrives back from its wintering grounds only in June, and peak breeding season is between July and September. Seabirding in Eilat is great in summer, mainly in July and early August. Daily observations of White-cheeked, Bridled and Lesser Crested Terns make the few hours of human temperatures great fun. Lots of skuas around, Sooty and Cory's Shearwaters, and the regulars: White-eyed Gulls, Western Reef Egret and Mangrove Heron make the time there quite enjoyable.

 

Lesser Crested Terns

White-Eyed Gull

In spring a birding trip up to Mt. Hermon, Israel’s highest peak, might be frustrating. Birds haven’t really started doing anything, there's still lots of snow on the ground, and one of the top species on birder’s list, Syrian Serin, doesn’t arrive before late April. But in summer all the local high-altitude species, including Crimson-winged Finch, Western Rock Nuthatch, Sombre Tit, Pale Rock Sparrow and the serin come to drink in huge numbers in the large pools below the lower cable station. 

Western Rock Nuthatch

In recent years, summer months have become the most exciting for mega rarities in Israel. Only this summer produced Israel’s 1^st Senegal Thick-knee and other megas such as long-staying Bateleur and Pink-backed Pelican, and in recent years also several Yellow-billed Storks, Lesser Sand-plovers, and more.

Lesser Sand Plover

Autumn 

In autumn migration dynamics are slightly different to spring migration. While spring birding in southern Israel seems to be more attractive, in autumn the focus moves north. First of all, the massive raptor migration route passes in autumn over northern and central Israel, while over Eilat and southern Israel much smaller numbers pass (not more than several thousand raptors a day, not too busy..). Peak migration of Honey Buzzards is in early September, and in late September and early October about 100,000 Lesser Spotted Eagles and 60,000 Levant Sparrowhawks pass through. There is no other place in the world where you can see such large concentrations of these two species. Passerine migration is massive from early September. Shrikes are everywhere (Red-Backed, Lesser Grey, Woodchat and Masked), pipits, wagtails, larks, warblers, buntings, hirundines, the lot. The Bet Shean Valley is just packed with birds. From early October the Eastern flavour is better pronounced, as Citrine wagtails, Oriental Skylarks, Caspian Stonechats, Sociable Lapwings and Daurian Shrikes show in better numbers. Shorebird migration is not massive in Israel in the way of numbers, because there are no tidal mudflats in the eastern Mediterranean. However, numbers are compensated by quality- Greater Sand-plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpipers and Temminck's Stints are all common migrants.

Oriental Skylark

Winter

The weather in Israel in winter is actually brilliant.There are some rainy days, sometimes quite heavy rain, but then it warms up again and you get beautiful days that you'd enjoy here in the UK as summer days. There are tons of birds around and lots of interesting species as well. The Hula valley is world-known for its bloody cranes, but in fact the Agamon Hula park holds lots more than cranes. It's a real hotspot for eagles, that concentrate there mainly to feed on dead cranes. Seeing 6-7 Greater Spots and 3-4 Eastern Imperials on a dead crane is not a bad experience. In recent years Black-winged Kite had colonized Israel and is easy to see in the Agamon. And the Agamon is a hotspot for wintering Daurian Shrikes, Citrine Wagtails, Caspian Stonechats and lots more. In winter the Bet She'an valley is incredible – huge numbers of birds everywhere. Richard's and Siberian Buff-bellied Pipits and Oriental Skylarks join the huge flocks of pipits and larks in the alfalfa fields. The valley is a hotspot for Pallas's Gulls – you can find a flock of 1000 in an empty reservoir.

In the open fields of the northwestern Negev several steppe species come to winter. It's a unique combination of species that congregates every year along the famous powerline south of Urim junction: Sociable Lapwings, Sakers, Eastern Imperial Eagles, Pallid Harriers and Dotterels, among the thousands of birds from commoner species.

Saker

Sociable Lapwing

Israel is not a great country for waterfowl, but we do have some specialties in winter, the most notable is White-headed Duck: about 10% of the world population winters in Israel, mainly in some reservoirs in the Jizreel Valley and in central Israel, where you can have concentrations of a couple of thousands.

So how to do Israel? 

Israel is a great country for independent birders. In Israel there is no such thing a private land, so basically you can go anywhere (just don't cross fences). Roads are great, car rental is rather cheap, and security is good – there are no restrictions to go anywhere. Birding information is easy. Everybody speaks good English, there's free wifi everywhere (!) and normally Israeli birders welcome foreign visitors and enjoy giving directions and showing around. A good source of information is www.birds.org.il with its linked Facebook page. You can also connect to the IMO 'RBA Israel' group and get notifications when in Israel. Most birds are easy to find yourself, apart for a couple of endangered night birds you need a guide for.

There are unique opportunities to work or volunteer in Israel. Because there are so few birders in Israel (less than 100 proper birders in the whole country) and even fewer ringers, foreign volunteers are welcome in several projects we run every year. The annual autumn raptor count takes place between late August and mid October. You can read here about the experiences of Luke Tiller who worked with us in 2014. Also in Eilat IBRCE resumed its spring raptor counts (they had an amazing year in 2015), and also do daily migrant monitoring - too much fun to be called work. Read about the experience of Doug Gochfeld here. You should ask Tim Jones about the awesome season he had in spring 2015 ringing at IBRCE – I am sure he can recommend it to any keen ringer. There are a few more ringing stations that can host foreign volunteer ringers.

I see myself as an ambassador of the Israeli birder community in the UK. For any questions, advice or comments, please contact me at yoav.perlman@gmail.com

Come and enjoy Israel, witness migration at its best, sharpen your ID skills with tricky species and sub-species, get a sun tan. You don't know how much I miss birding in Israel, so I'm sure you'd enjoy it massively as well.

NGBs on Bardsey 2015

Bardsey Bird Observatory Trip Report 2015

"22nd of August saw the first four members of NGB making their way across to Bardsey Island. The weather was not your usual weather for August, but then again it is Wales! Between the rain and the wind the four members (Dan, David, Ephraim, George) split up and began birding. The first day was a quiet day where it was mainly exploring the island for the best birding spots and getting to know the names of the areas, which quickly went out the window as new names where then appointed: e.g Solfach was transformed to Solvent. 

The Sunday was a much better day for birding, despite the rain again. We set up my scope in a little alcove by the entrance to the Common room so we didn't have to go out into the rain. We collected a number of common species such as Common and Arctic tern. It was my turn to do some sea watching, after glaring into a misty sea, a tern caught my eye and after watching it come out from the mist, I could finally tell what it was: Black Tern! Sunday quickly turned into a Tern-kind-of-day with two hours later whilst down the hide at Solfach, Steve picked up on a Roseate Tern!" Dan Rouse

"The rest of us (Josie, Aidan, Jammy, Ben and I) came over to the island on Monday, after Birdfair, and it seemed that we brought the sunny weather with us, as it ended up being a very pleasant week, which was a huge relief after looking at the weather forecast a few days before and seeing day after day of rain! After a calm crossing and meeting the others, we soon started birding, with the notable birds of the day being a Mediterranean Gull and a Common Sandpiper, and of course the great birds we got used to seeing daily like Manx Shearwater, Chough, Wheatear, Raven and Common Scoter. Every evening we gathered in the common room to help with log, when one of the observatory staff would input all of the day's bird and other wildlife records into a laptop. After log on Monday evening, we ventured to the North end of the island in search of Manxie chicks. where we were able to see these amazing birds close up, and the ringers in the group got to ring a few. The Storm Petrel nets were also put up, and 4 birds were caught, so we all stood in awe at this superb bird, which was a lifer for many of the group. It was truly magical standing in the dark watching a Stormie in front of us (and selling it!) with Manxies calling overhead, and a Little Owl calling in the distance. 

On Tuesday, among the usual stuff we had a Whitethroat, Grey Wagtail, Peregrine and Purple Sandpiper, and whilst sea-watching from the observatory we had 3 Gadwall and a Teal fly north incredibly fast (good birds for Bardsey!). We also had a Great Skua, and there was a lot of excitement and the frantic setting up of scopes when a juv Long-Tailed Skua was called. The bird kindly flew at a leisurely pace reasonably close in, so everyone present at the time could get onto the bird and have good views, and it was a lifer for some of us.

Wednesday was quite a quiet day bird-wise, but we did see a Razorbill resting on the sea while on the beach at Solfach. Thursday was quite the opposite though, with some good waders seen whilst sea-watching from the Obs. I spotted a mixed flock of waders flying south, and soon Steve  had identified them as 9 Whimbrel, 8 Knot (first for the trip), at least 2 Bar-tailed Godwits (first for the trip) and a Grey Plover (the only one of the trip). In fact, Grey Plover is a scarce bird on Bardsey, with only 3 records from 2013, and my bird was only the second record for this year, so not a bad find! Ringed Plover, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Turnstone were the other waders seen that day. In the afternoon we headed up the mountain slightly in search of Manxie chicks to ring, and even the non-ringers in the group, Ephraim, George and I, were able to ring these incredible birds under the guidance of Steve, an A permit holder, which was a real privilege and an unforgettable experience. 

That evening all the NGbs, obs staff and birding visitors to the island gathered in Steve's house for the bird quiz, where we split into two teams each with a fair distribution of older birders and Ngbs. It was great fun, with questions about rare bird records, identifying and ageing birds, and some general bird-related questions, and in the end it was very close between the two teams.

Friday was the day of the bird race between the NGBs and the rest of the birders on the island (the warden and assistant wardens; Steve, Mark and Steffan, and two birders Kevin and Jess). The race technically started at midnight; when we all still in Steve's house after the quiz, and it ended at 7:30pm for log. In the morning out team split into pairs to cover the island, with Josie and I staying at the observatory to sea-watch, But before everyone else was up, George saw a Grey phalarope out to sea, the only one seen on the trip so a great tick, however it couldn't be counted in our race list as 2 people had to see every species. I managed to find a Pomarine Skua (the only one of the trip) and a Golden Plover (also the only one of the trip) but unfortunately in order to identify any birds found whilst sea-watching we had to alert 'the enemy', so the birds went on their day list too. In the end the NGBs saw 59 species, and the other team saw 60, painfully close! However, it could be argued (and we did) that the obs staff cheated, as they went to the East Side (where we weren't allowed to go because it's too dangerous) and played a Stormie tape into a Stormie burrow (that only they knew was there) and they heard the bird call back and ticked it-cheats! Also, during the day a couple of  Barn Owl feathers were found, so after log Jammy, Ephraim and Ben went out to find the owl, and they were succesful (albeit just a 3 second view), but that couldn;t be included in our bird race total as it was after 7:30, so technically I think we can say that the NGBs won!" Sorrel Lyall

"The ringers of the group got to experience a variety of species! The mist-nets in the garden in the obs provided the usual species for some of us, such as; Goldcrest, Robin, and Wrens. On the Saturday, one of my favourite birds appeared in the nets; Spotted Flycatcher! Once, Ben arrived on the island, we went down to the beach at Solfach to set up the portable Heligoland trap in the hopes of catching some Rock Pipits. The idea was a success with a few Pipits caught, however, the trap provided some very exciting birds such as a Dunlin which Josie ringed and a Redshank which I had the pleasure of ringing. We tried numerous times to trap the Turnstones that were strutting up and down the beach, but despite trying different methods it wasn't a success. On the last day, Steffan brought Steve some Goldfinch pulli which myself and Josie ringed, these little birds were tiny and just adorable to ring." D

"On Saturday afternoon we got the boat back to the mainland (after leaving Jammy on the island for another week!) and saw some close Manxies from the boat and a Guillemot on the water. 

From Saturday to Saturday NGBs and the obs staff saw exactly 100 species, and from Monday to Saturday NGBs saw 94 species, meaning we beat the Skokholm crew in the NGB Islands Bird Race by 10 species. So all in all a fantastic week!" S

- By Sorrel Lyall & Contribution by Dan Rouse

Sorrel Lyall Website

Sorrel's Twitter 

Dan's Blog

Dan's Twitter