NORTH RONALDSAY - 8th July

A day with lots going on so it deserves a blog post to itself!   Glorious conditions with wall to wall sunshine and an easing westerly breeze moving round into the east by the evening; the good array of birds was highlighted by a drake Goosander over Westness (a good island scarcity!), a nice group of 4 Red-necked Phalaropes on Bewan and the Black Tern again at Trolla.   Other bits of note  comprised good late summer influxes of waders including 165 Oystercatchers, 140 Golden Plover, 183 Lapwing, the first 11 returning Purple Sandpipers of the ‘autumn’, 4 Black-tailed Godwits, a Whimbrel, 127 Redshank and 65 Turnstone, an adult Common Tern at Bewan, the 2 Little Terns still, a Collared Dove, 7 Swifts and a little influx of butterflies with 30 Painted Ladies, 12 Red Admirals and 7 Large Whites.

Red-necked Phalaropes

1st summer Black Guillemot

Juvenile Black-headed Gull

Juvenile Shoveler

Arctic Tern