NORTH RONALDSAY - 25th May

A nice day, warm and sunny; we tried unsuccessfully to catch some waders at Westness in the morning where there was 50+ Knot and a Grey Wagtail on the beach.   Walked round the Brides census route in the afternoon which was pretty quiet with a Kestrel and 5 Sedge Warblers on the land and good numbers of waders around the coast including 238 Sanderling; the highlight though were 2 dark phase Arctic Skuas on the beach at Nouster making forays against the foraging Arctic Terns and Black-headed Gulls in the bay.

Some great flybys

Some acrobatics against Arctic Terns

and Black-headed Gulls

and a bit of stick from Common Gulls

and finally some success!