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.