NORTH RONALDSAY - 2nd September

Not a bad day all in all, with a moderate westerly wind and some sunshine but with a few hours of rain in the afternoon before clearing up again to produce a fine evening; most of the interest was offshore during the morning with a couple of hours producing the best totals so far this autumn including 105 Sooty Shearwaters, 124 Manx Shearwaters, a Storm Petrel, 200 Kittiwakes, 500 Auk sp. and a Minke Whale.   The passage was short lived though with subsequent watches drawing a Shearwater blank, although a Basking Shark was lingering off the Lighthouse in the afternoon – our second of the year.   Other birds of note comprised 2 Herons, an influx of 28 Wigeon, a Hen Harrier, 735 Golden Plover, 234 Lapwing, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, the Shorelark again at Westness, a Whinchat, 168+ Wheatears, a Whitethroat and 4 Willow Warblers.

Raven