NORTH RONALDSAY - 24th August

A nice day with a moderate SSE breeze and plenty of sunshine but a few light showers creeping in during the evening; the unremarkable day was saved when a SUBALPINE WARBLER was glimpsed in the thick garden at Upper Linney, the bird was super skulking so a net was put up and the bird was easily caught.   It was still not clear which subspecies was involved, even in the hand as it was in heavy wing and tail moult but the best guess would be a Western – the very fact that it was in such heavy moult strongly suggested that it had been present for a good long time as it would not have even attempted a sea crossing in such a state!   Other birds included 6 Sooty Shearwaters, 17 Manx Shearwaters and 2 Storm Petrels off the Lighthouse, the young female Peregrine still, 60 Knot, a Sandwich Tern and a Willow Warbler.

Subalpine Warbler ssp.

NORTH RONALDSAY - 23rd August

Spitting, drizzly rain through much of the day, only clearing up by mid-afternoon with the moderate SSE wind dropping off as well; we hoped at least a few birds would pop up after the rain stopped but in keeping with the autumn so far, this was not to be, as bits included 3 Sooty Shearwaters, 5 Manx Shearwaters and 5 Storm Petrels off the Lighthouse in the afternoon, a Greenshank, still little flocks of juvenile Knot scattered around in funny places, 11 Ruff and the Song Thrush back in Holland – last seen on the 1st.

Arctic Skua

Kittiwakes

Arctic Tern

Knot

Sedge Warbler

NORTH RONALDSAY - 22nd August

A decent day, weather-wise with moderate winds and some bright sunshine until mid-afternoon when a nasty little weather front moved in, bringing strong winds and some driving rain; it was quiet birdwise but somewhat enlivened by the impromptu first dazzling session of the autumn, inspired by the rough weather when I managed to catch a cracking juvenile Little Stint on Gretchen along with single Ruff, Knot and Dunlin.   Other birds seen during the pleasant morning included 14 Whimbrel (a 3 and an 11) heading south, 2 Swifts and 2 Willow Warblers.

Ruff

Little Stint

Whimbrel heading south

Peregrine and Raven

NORTH RONALDSAY - 19th - 21st August

A steady few days, dominated by brisk SSE winds, long spells of sunshine interspersed by showers sweeping through; waders continued to pass through as high counts through this period included 102 Knot, 242 Sanderling, 16 Black-tailed Godwit, 14 Ruff, a Green Sandpiper and 192 Turnstone.   Other birds comprised a decent seawatch on the 21st with 26 Sooty Shearwaters and 39 Manx Shearwaters past the Lighthouse in the morning while a Swift also came in off, up to 3 Peregrines, a Merlin, 2 Stonechats still, a Collared Dove and a Garden Warbler on the 20th.

Sanderling

Swift

Golden Plover

Bonxie

NORTH RONALDSAY - 18th August

After a few showers in the morning it was a decent day with moderate SSE winds which died off in the evening; it was a good day in the field with a few new arrivals hinting that proper autumn might just be on the way.   Birds seen included a Sooty Shearwater off the Lighthouse, a Heron, a Merlin, 107 Oystercatchers, 495 Golden Plover, a good 179 Knot (still mostly juveniles), 23 Ruff (again, mostly juveniles), an excellent arrival of 62+ Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Green Sandpipers, a Greenshank, 3 Sandwich Terns – first ones for ages and finally a few passerines with 30 Wheatears, 2 Reed Warblers (Scotsha and Holland), a Whitethroat at the Obs and a Willow Warbler.

The fledgling Herring Gulls at Trinley

NORTH RONALDSAY - 17th August

A breezy, showery morning improving into a bright, sunny afternoon; a few new bits were found through the day including 2 Herons, a Merlin, 79 Knot, 9 Ruff and the first Goldcrest of the autumn around the Obs - certainly a dispersing youngster from Orkney rather than a Scandinavian migrant!

Heron

NORTH RONALDSAY - 16th August

Very wet and windy through most of the day with limited coverage; 94 Knot were at Bewan, continuing the excellent passage over the last couple of weeks and a single Manx Shearwater passed the Lighthouse.

Bonxie

NORTH RONALDSAY - 15th August

A different day with strong NW winds but plenty of sunshine, the wind added a new dimension into the Fulmar ringing, dramatically increasing their spitting range if you approached from the wrong side; birds of note seen through the day included a Sooty Shearwater, a Wigeon, the first Merlin of the autumn at the Obs, 78 Knot, a Ruff, 6 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Whimbrel, a Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpipers, 223 Turnstone and 2 Willow Warblers.

More Knot