Saw my first ever sunspot a couple of sunsets ago so have posted a (filterless) photo here as I suppose that it counts as a life tick! :- The 'spot' is at approximately 5 o'clock in the photo.
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| sunspot, lower right |
Visible migration has changed tempo with far more swallows heading north (6 yesterday and 7 today). Other migrants have included 3 blackcaps, 1 chiffchaff, 2 yellow wagtails and a subalpine warbler. It feels as if there is a tangible urgency to passage now, with all the birds appearing more 'restless' and reluctant to stop off on the ship. All the observed birds today have stopped on the decks for only a matter of seconds (as opposed to hours or even days in some recent examples) and all looked around in an agitated fashion before resuming their northward flights. Conditions onboard are unchanged and we are not expecting any difficult weather and yet the birds have noticeably changed their behaviours.
The Blackcaps & Chiffchaff are already with me in Manchester and singing their hearts out, I've not seen any Swallows myself yet, but they have been reported locally. If the birds still crossing the Med don't get a move on there will be no territories left for them!
ReplyDeleteHoping to spend a week in the Haute Pyrenees before the end of the month, so might catch some migrants around there, fingers crossed!