Last days of summer: a quiet, sunny day of regular migration and small local increases

# Overview A high-pressure system brought warm, calm weather in the low 20s and steady activity around East Side and Church Norton. The day was largely quiet for rarities, but produced solid counts and a few autumn firsts for local migrants.

# Morning at East Side The morning seawatch and counts at East Side yielded 69 species and over 1,700 individual birds. There were no headline rarities, but a handful of species showed noticeable increases compared with recent days:

• Turnstone: 54 present.
• Shelduck: 29 present.
• Small upticks in Pintail and Wigeon numbers.

Skylarks were seen flying over for the first time this autumn, indicating the early stages of passage. Small waders like Dunlin and Ringed Plover were close inshore but did not reveal anything unexpected.

# Midday and garden notes A break at home included routine garden and household tasks. Clouded Yellow butterflies were recorded in small numbers in several places, including the garden, suggesting they remain locally widespread. There were no noteworthy moths in the trap that night.

# Afternoon walk: Ferry to Church Norton An afternoon walk along the channel and around the harbour added a few more migrants. The key sightings on this leg were:

• Juvenile Marsh Harrier: the standout raptor of the afternoon.

• Yellow Wagtail: only a single individual after several weeks of good numbers.
• Hirundines: still present in reasonable numbers around the area.

# Seals and waders A personal record count of Common Seal was made at East Side with 16 animals hauled out on the banks. Waders were present but not showing anything out of the ordinary that day.

# Other wildlife and field observations A Little Egret observed had extensive yellow on the legs and some yellow in the lores, which the observer attributes to immature or transitional traits. The day provided a mostly ordinary set of observations, described by the author as "a crap day" for rarities, but pleasant weather and good local counts made it worthwhile.

# Miscellany

# Bottom line Warm, settled weather produced solid overall numbers and a few tidy autumn indicators—first Skylarks, juvenile Marsh Harrier, Stonechat passage and steady hirundine presence—without any major rarities. The day was a reminder that steady local counts and small discoveries can make an otherwise quiet day satisfying for a field observer.