Friday 25th May

A good and varied day for birds. Two Gargeney were only the fifth ever sightings on the island, and the first since 1974. The Subalpine Warbler was still around from yesterday, and a Curlew Sandpiper was found on the beach. Stangest of all though - a Black Swan was seen flying over the island, a very long way from it's Australian home.

Wednesday 23rd May

Today a Christian conservation group were holding an impromptu outdoor service in the abbey ruins. I was looking for birds nearby. Suddenly one of the group stood up in the middle of a hymn and started waving his arms up and down. I of course thought it was part of the prayer ritual. He then started looking through his telescope but not for a Godly vision - he had actually seen a Marsh Harrier flying over my head. I missed it. I may have to join in the prayers in future.

Tuesday 22nd May

I don't want this journal to turn into 'David's Gardening Corner', but all my vegetables have started to grow! The only cloud on the horizon are the local moorhens which have taken a shine to the freshly dug soil.

Saturday 19th May

Today was a very windy day, up to force 8 south westerly. I went out and photographed some of the rough seas. There aren't many birds around in this weather but I love the wind and power of the seas. The foam blows around the south end in huge lumps. The gannets and shearwaters fly close inshore and gulls feed on the huge piles of kelp washed in by the storm. The noise of the sea can be heard all over the island.

Tuesday 15th May

As we live on a fairly quiet island it often seems that relatively small 'dramas' become talking points. Today there was a loud clanking noise coming from the lighthouse. As I got nearer I could pinpoint the noise to the light-room itself. A ladder had dropped from the roof and was catching on the rotating lenses every 30 seconds. Through the day everyone was asking me about it! The problem was reported and fixed the next day by Colin and Ernest and we could all sleep easily again.

Saturday 12th May

Today Emma and Connor found an abandoned turkey egg on the farm. The rest of the brood had hatched but this one had been left behind. It was put on a tray on the Rayburn and duly began to hatch. It emerged as a rather dumpy, fluffy, squeaky chick. However this story does not have a happy ending - the chick did not thrive without its mother, and died after 3 days. The rest of the brood is still fit and healthy. Survival of the fittest!

Thursday 10th May

After an afternoon inputting ringing data I fancied a spot of fresh air. As I walked on the short turf south of the lighthouse I discovered 3 Dotterel feeding on the grass. They are pretty colourful at this time of year, and unusually it is the females which are the brighter of the sexes. I managed to get some shaky pictures before they suddenly decided to fly. They landed again but unfortunately did not stay around for the rest of the island visitors to enjoy them.

Tuesday 8th May

Today was a momentous day as I started work on my vegetable plot. It is a long way into the season but I am hopeful of some late crops. I have started to dig over an area of the terraced gardens at the front of the Observatory. This has been the traditional Assistant Warden's garden in the past. I had not realised that digging is actually quite easy with a good fork! People stood around and said it was good to see the island gardens being worked again.

Saturday 5th May

There was quite a change at the Observatory today - 12 new visitors arrived and it all became very hectic. Lots of day visitors also came over too and the island was 'absolutely jammers' as Henry Blofeld might say. Anyone would think it was a Bank Holiday or something...oh it is! Sunbathers, barbecues, dogs and boats. Enlli has become very unfamiliar.

Wednesday 2nd May

Today I went litter picking with Richard, a volunteer who is staying with us for a month. We decided to clear all the fields and fence lines of rubbish that had blown off the beaches in the winter. We managed to fill 15 bags and hopefully the island looks a lot tidier as a result. It really shocks you to see how much plastic and polystyrene we throw into the sea, and the impact it can have.

Tuesday 1st May

Today I decided to go fishing on the west coast. The fish were not plentiful but I managed to catch two pretty large pollack. They fought very well and should do nicely for tea tomorrow. It was great to be out on the rocks fishing on a nice calm sea, and topping up my tan in the process. What could be better?

Sunday 29th April

Today I saw a lark on the south end of the island. It was very small and pale, probably a short-toed lark but I did not see it well enough to be sure. We had a good search for it, but it eluded us. Later in the day Steve came up to the lighthouse and set about mending the washing machine. We replaced the pair of tights (which were acting as a drive belt) with an elastic band! It seemed to do the trick.

Friday 27th April

Today was very hectic. Firstly we had to transport eight bottles of gas and a load of food for the Observatory shop. Having driven this up to the Observatory from the boat, and unloaded and unpacked the lot, we had to then dash back down to the slipway to unload 400 litres of heating oil before a thunderstorm broke. This was very exhausting but at least we'll be fed and warm for a few months!