Purple Rain . . . 

Internet access has finally been restored after several days of lightning, heavy rain, hurricane force winds & numerous power cuts! Yesterday (Saturday) saw the strongest winds I have ever been out in, force 12! over 100 mph . . . it was quite difficult to walk about & not get blown over, let alone pick up the bins or camera! Watching the sea & skies became fascinating, even more so when a large thunder & lightning storm rolled around the Island on Friday night - seeing Sheep Rock lit up by purple lightning was quite something, I had never seen lightning on the Island before. Today I enjoyed photographing more Purple Sandpipers on South Haven which were very approachable. There are still good numbers of Fieldfare & Redwing about & the weekend weather brought in good numbers of waders with small flocks of Dunlin & Sanderling in the south & a lone Bar-tailed Godwit. On Friday afternoon as the weather deteriorated I had a Corncrake at the roadside up near Furse which flushed up from a roadside ditch & landed in the heather briefly before catching the wind & disappearing in the storm force winds towards north light. Also today we noted one of the Grey Phalaropes heading south past Chalet, being battered by the wind & the other Grey Phalarope had left South Haven by the evening.