NORTH RONALDSAY - 28th April

An awesome day with hardly any wind and plenty of sunshine; the light northerly wind gradually swung round to straight east so there was plenty of hope!   The nets at Holland first thing produced a Willow Warbler, a pair of Reed Buntings, some Starlings and Linnets and re-trap Blackcap and Goldcrest while a Swallow and a Song Thrush were also around.

                There wasn’t too much new around the middle census route with the first Ruff of the year on Ancum the highlight but there were some signs of passage with a male Merlin seen heading high north and a few Herring Gulls doing the same; other birds included the pair of Garganey on Ancum, a Chiffchaff, 5 Wheatears and 2 Bar-tailed Godwits in with the good numbers of Purple Sandpipers and Turnstone at Westness.

Garganey

Shoveler

Redshank

Skylark

Pink-footed Geese