Visible migration picking up.....

Although the chiffchaffs have largely cleared out, with the persistent east-south-east air flow, cloud cover and chill, visible migration has finally picked up this morning.

Garden and Zig Zag Road:

Alba wagtails: 50
Meadow pipit: 3
Linnet: 8
Hirundines: 52
Phyloscs: 3
Goldfinches: 21
Song thrust / redwings: 5 (west over garden)
Blackbird: 1 (high north over garden)

Winter Gardens:

Hirundines: 256
Phyloscs: 8
Alba wags: 36
Goldfinch: 55
Meadow pipit: 41
Great-spotted woodpecker: 1
Robin: 2

Rex Cinema:

Hirundines: 85
Alba wagtails: 35
Meadow pipit: 7
Phyloscs: 3

Finally......

A smart yellow-browed warbler in Ventnor Park at 3.15! In an immobile tit flock (chiffchaff flock) by the band stand. In full sun which was rather nice. This tit flock has a rather restricted circuit so my guess is the YBW would be easy to re-find (was still present when I left). My second YBW in this bit of Ventnor Park since 2013, making this the joint most reliable part of Ventnor for YBW, alongside the Ventnor Industrial Estate area!

Also one goldcrest and 30+ chiffchaffs (i.e. the 'tit' flock) and two blackcaps, a jay, and five skittish continental blackbirds.

At nearby Flowersbrook, 5 chiffchaffs, a grey wagtail, two robins and a chaffinch drinking and bathing at the cascade.

Blowy easterlies

Strong easterlies which are set for the rest of the week and, predictably, the east coast is full of rares, with an eastern-crowned warbler and black-browed albatross at Flannelborough, White's thrust on Holy Island, etc etc.

The garden this morning produced a chiffchaff.

The walk into town was even better, with c.100 swallows battling east, a couple of chiffchaffs, and, well, that was it.

Strengthening easterlies....

Well, more like south-easterlies here on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, but from a generally easterly airflow. Things were a bit blowy up in the garden first thing, with just three or four chiffchaffs and fewer than ten meadow pipits and 50-odd swallows overhead.

The walk down into town was equally uneventful, with very few Phyloscs and barely any meadow pipits nor Hirundines overhead. There's still no sign of the heavy linnet, goldfinch nor siskin movements getting going. That said, I did have three parties of linnets fly NE over Rew Down, summing to around 60, a couple of evenings ago, and yesterday evening there were around 500 swallows feeding up on Week Down and the gold course, with 20-odd chiffchaffs in the area and a couple of blackcaps.

Two wrynecks remain up on Ventnor Downs - not somewhere I'll be venturing much as I'm frantically trying to find something - anything - in Ventnor Park this autumn......

4pm update

A wander around Ventnor Park produced a firecrest in with two gold crests (bringing my 'crest totals to three golds and two fires for the Autumn....). The Ridge held around 25 chiffchaffs with another 15 at Flowersbrook, and a couple of jays and four chaffinches. REALLY quiet!

Lovely weather, but boring....

We have south-easterlies and clear skies, so the Undercliff is dead! Ventnor Park managed a meagre ten chiffchaffs, a lone blackcap, seven or so noisy jays, and the usual grey wagtail. The rest of the country is awash with yellow-browed warblers - even Poole had three earlier - not us though. Maybe having basically no birders in the Undercliff is part of the problem?

Easterlies and a firecrest in the garden

Having seen but a single goldcrest in Ventnor so far this Autumn, the sight of a smart firecrest nip through the garden via the crab apple this morning was a pleasant surprise. The skies are clear and overnight was nippy, but this morning, like yesterday, has rapidly warmed up. We're set for another warm day, with the temperature rising above 20 degrees C.

Also over the garden were c.20 meadow pipes and 5 Alba wagtails, and a male blackcap was hopping around in the willow, with 10 odd chiffchaffs in adjacent gardens and the willow. The walk down into town was noticeably quieter than yesterday - only 3 or 4 chiffchaffs.

Jay numbers are now beginning to pick up, with a couple over the garden and three or four at Grove Road Car Park first thing.

At dusk last night, there were five-odd chiffchaffs fly catching from the willow and adjacent trees and shrubs in the garden.

Garden tick which I can't tick!

Garden tick which I can't tick: medium-sized wader with three feral pigeons, redish underside, shortish bill, lanky - OK I don't do waders but I say ruff! 

Good upturn in meadow pipit numbers with c.35 in over the garden, plus 12 Alba wags, a siskin, and three chiffchaffs in the garden. Good gang of c.35 chiffchaffs in a long-tailed tit flock (actually a chiffchaff flock) on Zig Zag, and three blackcaps in with them. Meadow pipits continuing in off the sea and small numbers of swallows from Rex Cinema. Love visible migration!