NORTH RONALDSAY - 27th September

A wonderful day after yesterday’s blitzkrieg, light ESE winds and some spells of sunshine with some brilliant migrant totals, probably made up of new arrivals and birds emerging from under whatever stone they had been hiding and enhanced by some increased coverage.   Scarcities comprised an excellent total of 16 Yellow-browed Warblers, 2 Red-breasted Flycatchers (Holland and Doo Geo), the Barred Warbler again in the north and presumably yesterday’s Red-backed Shrike moving over to Hooking.   The rest of the counts consisted of 5 Herons, 40 Barnacle Geese, 2 Hen Harriers, a Sparrowhawk, 4 Kestrels, single Grey Plover, Little Stint and Ruff, 2 Jack Snipe, 3 Woodpigeons, a Short-eared Owl, 10 Tree Pipits, 380 Meadow Pipits, 9 Rock Pipits, 3 Dunnocks (the first of the year), 89 Robins, 19 Redstarts, 3 Whinchats, 84 Wheatears, 4 Fieldfares, 190 Song Thrush, 83 Redwing, 6 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Whitethroats, 18 Blackcap, 29 Chiffchaff, 11 Willow Warblers, 6 Goldcrest, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Pied Flycatchers, 13 Chaffinches, 3 Lapland Buntings, a Snow Bunting and 18 Reed Buntings.

Whitethroat

Another eastern Lesser Whitethroat; a very different feeling bird to the last one with a longer P2, probably a more typical blythi