Blessedly calm in the
morning after a truly horrendous day yesterday (force 9 WNW and heavy showers),
in fact, shortly after dawn it was almost flat calm! Opened the nets first thing with the first I
caught being a smart BLYTH’S REED WARBLER, it was unfortunately very
weak though and after ringing I fed it some sugar water and released it ASAP
but it was found dead later in exactly the same place it was released; a
Blackcap was the only other migrant caught along with a re-trap Redwing which
had been ringed in April – must be the bird that over-summered.
The Brides census route was then not too bad but
there was limited new arrivals, just very pleasant in the calm conditions (a
real rarity in the last month!) as birds included single Peregrine, Kestrel and
Merlin (chased a Wheatear which landed right next to someone in their garden to
escape!), a northwestern-type Redpoll at Kirbest, a Song Thrush at Southness, a
Lapland Bunting, 3 Snow Buntings, 11 Reed Buntings, a Short-eared Owl which
drifted north and a Grey Plover at Howar while offshore in the calm conditions
were 10 Red-throated Divers, 3 Great-northern Divers, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers
and an adult Arctic Skua.
Persistent but fairly light rain moved in by mid-afternoon
and I went out round the Obs coast but it was very quiet with the exception of
an impressive flock of 60 Snipe which seemed to come in off the sea.
Blyth's Reed Warbler
Common Redpoll
Eiders
Gannets of various ages
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