NORTH RONALDSAY - 30th May

A day of real quality!   The wind was in the NE so it felt pretty good and it kept the fog away; I opened the nets at Holland first thing where the Bee-eater was still cruising round the garden and managed to catch a female Red-backed Shrike, the lingering male Hawfinch, a female Pied Flycatcher, the long overdue first Redstart of the year and a Willow Warbler.   There were then 3 more Pied Flycatchers round the Obs.

                I finally got up to start the north census route but soon shot up to Bewan where we had great views of a stunning full adult ROSE-COLOURED STARLING strutting around with the sheep by Bewan House – poached!   My actual census route was quiet but with some good birds thrown in with an elusive Marsh Warbler along Rosefinch Dyke (which I initially called a Blyth’s Reed but subsequent photos proved the ID), a stunning, classic male Grey-headed Wagtail in fields by Vincoin (much nicer than that intergrade thing at Brides earlier in the spring!) and the first 2 Curlew Sandpipers of the year (Trolla and Bewan) – both summer plumaged adults with a selection of Sanderling, Knot, Dunlin etc.

Rose-coloured Starling

Grey-headed Wagtail

Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin

Dunlin and Sanderling

Knot

NORTH RONALDSAY - 29th May

Thick fog through most of the day but it became patchier as the day wore on with an extended sunny spell in the afternoon; the Bee-eater was showing well most of the day round Holland but resisted any attempts to catch it!   The middle census route was then quiet in the afternoon with pretty much the only migrant being a Garden Warbler in Ancum Willows but the highlight was catching a Moorhen by hand at Westness!

Lapwing chicks

Yesterday's Reed Warbler (not a straightforward one!)

NORTH RONALDSAY - 28th May

A lovely start to the day, warm and sunny with light easterly winds but inevitably fog rolled in mid-morning and continued to come in and out through the remainder of the day – there were long sunny spells though.   I opened the nets first thing and managed the first Reed Warbler of the year, a Garden Warbler, a Sedge Warbler and a new Chiffchaff before heading off up the west coast where the highlights included a smart Red-necked Phalarope which circled the Obs calling loudly before pitching down on Gretchen (but when I got round to the loch there was no sign!), a Whitethroat by T3 and a Black Redstart along the Lenswick footpath.

                The days highlight came mid-afternoon as after a dash up to Holland we eventually got excellent views of a cracking BEE-EATER flying around, perching on wires and catching bees!  It had been seen earlier in the day on the north end of Sanday before hopping across here.

Bee-eater

Hooded Crow

Arctic Tern

Redshank

NORTH RONALDSAY - 27th May

Yet again, not much to report so here are some more pictures!

Arctic Tern

Blackbird fledgling

Curlew

Skylark

NORTH RONALDSAY - 26th May

Not too much to report so here's some pictures.

Lapwing

Gannets diving off the pier

Gannet

Snipe

NORTH RONALDSAY - 25th May

Bright and sunny with lightish winds swinging round from westerly to northerly and back; opened the nets at Holland first thing with the highlight certainly being a first summer male Red-breasted Flycatcher seen and then caught early on, other birds in the area included a Black Redstart and 8+ Chiffchaffs.   The rest of the Obs census route was pretty quiet apart from a smart male Hawfinch at Holland late morning which turned up around the Obs in the afternoon and a random flock of 7 Tufted Ducks which flew south and out past The Lurn.

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Hawfinch

Arctic Skua

NORTH RONALDSAY - 24th May

Despite the great conditions – mist and fog drifting in and out on the brisk easterly wind, there was literally not a single migrant Passerine around the northern census route, what a year!   Highlights though included the first Little Stint of the year on Trolla with a handful of other waders, a colour ringed, dark morph Arctic Skua on Bewan and 3 Barnacle Geese on Ancum on the way up.  

                My first Pied Flycatcher of the year – a female, was around the Obs in the afternoon.

Little Stint

Pied Flycatcher

Colour ringed Arctic Skua

NORTH RONALDSAY - 23rd May

A stunning day with extremely light winds and wall to wall sunshine; there was a new Garden Warbler and a Cuckoo around Holland first thing before the only migrants in the middle census area were 3 Chiffchaffs and 3 Sedge Warblers.

Snipe chick

Arctic Tern