NORTH RONALDSAY - 2nd - 4th August

A busy few days, not really on the bird front but with the annual Sheep Festival in full swing there was hardly a spare moment, with dances, football matches, dyke building and feeding up to 40 people taking centre stage; once the fog cleared it was a lovely couple of days weather wise with light winds and plenty of warm sunshine.   This few days kicked off with 110 Storm Petrels caught overnight on the 2nd while a Leach’s Petrel was heard calling back to the tape and even better a stunning Bedstraw Hawkmoth was bashing around the moth trap just as we finished at silly o’clock in the morning.   The rest of the news consisted 2 Red-throated Diver, 365 Golden Plover, 5 Ruff, 2 Whimbrel, the first juvenile Arctic Skua and Kittiwake noted off The Lurn on the 4th, the Shorelark which reappeared at Bewan on the 3rd and a very slow trickle of returning warblers with a Reed Warbler at Ancum on the 3rd (only the second of the year), a Blackcap at Holland also on the 3rd and the Garden Warbler still around the Obs.

Bedstraw Hawkmoth

Storm Petrel

Shorelark

Juvenile Twite

Reed Warbler