NORTH RONALDSAY - 27th October

A similar day with the cold, strong northerly bringing more nasty hail / rain showers throughout; there were a few birds in the Brides census route including the first Glaucous Gull of the autumn past Stennabreck with plenty of Great Black-backs and big, ugly, dark Herring Gulls, yet another Yellow Wagtail on the shore by Howar (the Trolla bird was still present), single Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Wheatear also along that sheltered bit of coast in Nouster, 5 Long-tailed Ducks, a Great-northern Diver, 17 Snow Buntings, 9 Reed Buntings, single Song Thrush and Fieldfare and a few Redwings.

                A seawatch in the late afternoon was unremarkable apart from a good, steady movement of 1,890 Fulmars in an hour along with a few Auks and a single Bonxie.

Yellow Wagtail

NORTH RONALDSAY - 26th October

A change in the wind as it became a strong, very cold northerly which cut right through you bringing frequent and nasty hail / rain showers through the day but it was bright and sunny in between; a seawatch first thing was disappointingly quiet with just a Blue Fulmar of note but there was a Little Grebe on Bewan and the Yellow Wagtail was still at Trolla.   Birds in the Obs census route then included 2 Common Redpolls at Holland, 20 Brambling, 10 Chaffinch and 12 Twite still in Funny Park, a Kestrel, the Green-winged Teal, a Black-headed Gull, 4 Robins, a Fieldfare, 30 Redwing and c400 Golden Plover.

Green-winged Teal

Common Redpoll

Twite

NORTH RONALDSAY - 25th October

A nicer day with lighter WNW winds albeit pretty wet in the morning but drier and brighter in the afternoon; a Bonxie chasing Geese was the only bird of note during a short seawatch before a walk round the northern census route produced a handful of things with a Yellow Wagtail ssp. showing well around Trolla the highlight (I guess one of the western races but it sounded a bit buzzier than a British bird) along with 4 Long-tailed Ducks, a Pintail, 7 Gadwall, a Wheatear, a Common Redpoll at Senness, 14 Snow Buntings, 3 Brambling, 2 Chaffinch, 3 Robins and a handful of Redwings and Fieldfares.

                A little look round the Obs in the afternoon then produced 40 Brambling, 15 Chaffinch and 8 Twite still in Funny Park and a Merlin before I realised it was actually calm enough to open the nets at Holland but it was very quiet apart from re-trapping the long-staying Great Grey Shrike several times.

Yellow Wagtail

Great Grey Shrike (again)

Rainbows

NORTH RONALDSAY - 23rd October

Another really rough day after an incredibly windy and wet night with force 8 WNW winds and vicious squalls coming through every few minutes (more wet than dry); I started out carrying out the middle census route and after about an hour I had seen 8 Whooper Swans, 5 Pink-footed Geese, 2 Barnacle Geese, a Hen Harrier and a few Brambling, Chaffinch and Redwings before I was called away over to Brides.   It took about two hours but I eventually got reasonable views albeit in horrible conditions of a really smart and distinctive looking presumed EASTERN YELLOW WAGTAIL feeding around the edge of the loch – the afternoon was then just unbirdable so we didn’t bother!

Eastern Yellow Wagtail (picture by GG)

NORTH RONALDSAY - 22nd October

Very strong winds throughout the day being dryish in the morning before heavy, persistent, driving rain moved in late morning essentially ending the day halfway through; I managed to see a few bits in a brief and rushed Hooking census route before the rain arrived with the Great Grey Shrike at Holland as I passed, a female Common Scoter off The Links, the late Whinchat still near South Gravity and a juvenile Dark-bellied Brent Goose which flew south down The Links.   Other birds included 8 Whooper Swans, a Hen Harrier, 2 Great-northern Divers and the odd Redwing, Song Thrush, Robin and Chaffinch.

Snow Bunting

Sanderling

Reed Bunting

NORTH RONALDSAY - 21st October

A rough day with a strong SW wind and a very wet morning but some sunshine in the afternoon; there were a few birds in the Brides census route highlighted by the surprise reappearance of the Little Egret in a field near Southness and (presumably) the same Common Rosefinch in a field by Brides with Reed Buntings.   Other birds included the 4 Yellowhammers in Kirbest, 12 Twite, 2 Hen Harriers (adult female and 1cy male), 2 Merlin, 2 Kestrel, 9 Reed Buntings and 10 Pink-footed Geese with small numbers of Redwing, Chaffinch and Brambling.   Offshore were 6 Red-throated Divers, 2 Great-northern Divers, 2 Long-tailed Ducks and 5 Red-breasted Mergansers.

Song Thrush

Redwing

Willow Warbler

NORTH RONALDSAY - 20th October

A bit breezier but still OK really with a decent selection of birds around the Obs census route with the highlights being a Yellow Wagtail north over the Obs (a flava ssp. really but it just sounded like a normal Yellow Wagtail) and the returning drake Green-winged Teal on Gretchen – its probably been present for a few weeks but is only just moulting into its male plumage allowing us to tell what it is!   Other birds included a female Sparrowhawk in Holland, a Merlin, a Kestrel, 6 Pink-footed Geese, 450+ Golden Plover, 22 Chaffinches, 24 Brambling, 12 Twite and the lingering Willow Warbler round the Obs but generally fewer Thrushes, Robins etc. around.    The four Yellowhammers were still in Kirbest.

                A little seawatch in the afternoon was then quiet with just a Bonxie and 9 Puffins in amongst 105 Auk sp. of note.

Green-winged Teal

Purple Sandpiper

Yellowhammer

Kittiwake

NORTH RONALDSAY - 18th October

A good day with a lightish SW wind and the occasional spell of drizzle which created and excellent day for some visible migration; the main feature of the day was a fantastic, rolling southerly movement of Redwings, piling through in flocks of 3-400 birds, landing in fields and feeding for a few minutes while the wave behind them moves over before flying low across the fields, I was out for five hours in the afternoon in the middle census route and 1,030+ moved through.   Other birds moving included constant flocks of Geese coming in from the north with 700+ Greylags, 56 Pink-footed Geese and 11 Barnacle Geese, a total of 48 Whooper Swans in many flocks, a Merlin which went through high up and 3 Rooks – the first of the autumn.

                Other birds in the middle census area included 2 Hen Harriers, 2 Kestrel, 2 Shelduck seen over The Links (an unusual autumn record and the first since July), 2 Snow Buntings, 6 Reed Buntings, 15 Song Thrush, 2 Yellowhammers by South Gravity, 6 Robins and 3 Blackcap.    The evening ringing was very productive as we caught many, many Redwings at both Ancum and Holland along with a Long-eared Owl at Holland and the Great Grey Shrike again at Ancum.

Whooper Swans

Golden Plover

NORTH RONALDSAY - 16th October

A real change in the weather with a blazing strong force 8 SW wind and some nasty little showers making things difficult out in the field; the main and slightly surprising feature of the day was a strong and prolonged southerly passage of Thrushes heading low, into the wind with thousands of Redwing and Fieldfare piling through in small flocks pretty much throughout the day.   I didn’t really go out until the afternoon but it was pretty quiet compared to recent days with presumably yesterday’s Long-eared Owl behind T1 and a Ring Ouzel in Holland the highlights along with hundreds of Redwings and Fieldfares covering all the fields around the Obs.

                Other birds in the Hooking census route included 15 Whooper Swans, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Hen Harrier, a Merlin, a Kestrel, 48 Ringed Plover and 43 Dunlin.

Long-eared Owl

Teal

NORTH RONALDSAY - 15th October

Nice again through the day with light winds and some sunshine; the Brides census route was good with plenty of common migrants but little in the way of new arrivals with the exception of a smart Siberian Lesser Whitethroat near Stennabreck (an eastern race Lesser Whitethroat anyway, probably blythii).   Other migrant totals included a Hen Harrier, a Kestrel, a Short-eared Owl, 30 Skylark, 10 Wheatears, 7 Rock Pipits, 6 Robins, 15 Song Thrush, 122 Redwing, 4 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 17 Chaffinches, 10 Brambling, 23 Twite (Kirbest), 21 Reed Buntings, 9 Snow Buntings and most noteworthy, 4 Yellowhammers in Kirbest.   Other birds in the area included 7 Whooper Swans south, 21 Pink-footed Geese (plus another 35 south), 6 Red-throated Divers offshore, a Long-tailed Duck, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers and 2 Jack Snipe.

                There were another 14 Whooper Swans on Gretchen and 8 Greenfinches flew south (been a much better year for them) before another go at Ancum Willows produced fewer birds than yesterday but a few Bramblings and Chaffinches came in to roost along with another Yellowhammer while the Great Grey Shrike was still around, as was another Hen Harrier and another Short-eared Owl.   A Long-eared Owl was caught in Holland last thing.

Siberian Lesser Whitethroat

Yellowhammers

Twite

Whooper Swans

NORTH RONALDSAY - 14th October

Another busy day once the early morning rain had moved through with light winds and a dry rest of the day; opened the nets around 09:00 once it was dry and I caught a nice selection of the usual birds including the first Dunnock of the autumn but it was nearly fantastic as a big, female Peregrine bounced out of the end net leaving a dead Fieldfare – I’m not sure exactly what happened, whether the Peregrine chased the Fieldfare into the net, carried it there or attacked it when it was already in the net but the outcome was the same…the Fieldfare was dead and the Peregrine flew off!

                Totals for the rest of the Obs census route included a very late Common Sandpiper on the coast at The Lurn, a Great-northern Diver, 6 Whooper Swans on Gretchen (two adults and four juveniles), a Woodpigeon, a Swallow, 5 Rock Pipits, 17 Robins, 2 Wheatears, 20 Blackbirds, 10 Fieldfares, 7 Song Thrushes, 210+ Redwing, 5 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, 4 Goldcrest, 12+ Chaffinches, 95+ Brambling (80 in Funny Park), 6 Greenfinches (four south over Holland, two at the Obs), a Goldfinch, a Siskin, the Common Rosefinch in Funny Park, a Snow Bunting and a Reed Bunting.

                I opened the nets at Ancum mid-afternoon and it was a very productive session, especially at dusk when 100+ mixed Chaffinch, Brambling and Linnets came in; the same Great Grey Shrike was also re-trapped, a Yellowhammer came into roost while other birds caught included 3 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaffs, a Goldcrest and some Redwings, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds.   It was another case of what if, as a large ‘ticking’ Bunting came into roost at dusk, calling loudly but didn’t find the nets – I really have no clue what it was but it was definitely rare…

                Other bits around Ancum included a Hen Harrier, a Kestrel, a Jackdaw south, a different 6 Whooper Swans on the loch (four adults and two juveniles) and a late Red Admiral.

Bramblings and Chaffinches