NORTH RONALDSAY - 15th December

A much better day with lighter, southerly based winds and some good spells of sunshine; a fine selection of wintering birds were found across the island during the day which included 9 Herons, 273 Wigeon, 169 Teal, the Green-winged Teal still, 3 Hen Harriers, single Merlin and Peregrine again, a lone Knot on the rocks off Torness, 161 Purple Sandpipers, a Woodcock in Holland, 12 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Black-headed Gull (scarce in the winter), 8 Skylarks, 17 Rock Pipits, 3 Robins, 3 Fieldfare, 3 Song Thrush, 60 Redwing, 75 Twite remaining in the Obs sacrificial crop and 25 Snow Buntings.

Purple Sandpipers

Fulmars

NORTH RONALDSAY - 10th August

A bit of a mixed day with generally light N / NE winds and fog which kept drifting in and out throughout but in between foggy spells it was really warm and sunny; coverage was limited the day after the final dance of the sheep festival with a few sore heads but birds did include another male Grey-headed Wagtail (maybe a first year bird with a less defined head pattern) at Ancum - another unseasonal bird after the male last month, a new Reed Warbler trapped in Ancum Willows, 5 Ruff, 12 Knot, 3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Greenshank and 3 Willow Warblers.

Greenshank

Fulmar chicks

NORTH RONALDSAY - 16th and 17th July

Light south-easterlies dominated proceedings and while always appreciated, it meant that the fog drifted in and out over these couple of days – although it was more in than out!   It was quiet for migrants although a clear start to the 16th allowed the Hobby seen on the 15th to head south out to sea off The Lurn followed by a cloud of screaming Terns while a handful of waders including a Whimbrel and 3 Collared Doves also left to the south; not much else to mention really although the very unseasonal Shorelark reappeared at the Lighthouse (first seen on the 12th) and the two ringed Common Crossbills.

Shorelark

Black Guillemots

Fulmar family

NORTH RONALDSAY - 1st May

A similar start to yesterday with almost flat calm conditions and extensive cloud cover, the wind slowly picked up through the day and switched round into the NW by the afternoon – a final end to the weeks of easterly based airflow.   The spread of migrants today included a Sparrowhawk, a late Woodcock by the Lighthouse, 4 Whimbrel, 5 Arctic Terns, a Collared Dove, a Tree Pipit, a male Blue-headed Wagtail at the Lighthouse (the first flava Wagtail of any kind this year) but I only saw it briefly in flight, a White Wagtail, a Dunnock, 24 Robins, a Black Redstart, 47 Wheatears, 2 Ring Ouzels, 4 Song Thrush, 2 Redwing, a Grasshopper Warbler near the Lighthouse, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, 21 Chiffchaff, 7 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest, a Carrion Crow, 5 Brambling and 2 Common Redpolls.

                Other birds of note comprised an excellent whole-island total of 91 Great-northern Divers – the second highest island total after 132 in April 2009, 2 Pintail, 22 Golden Plover and an influx of 8+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls which appear as if by magic as soon as any ploughing starts.

Woodcock

Fulmar lovin'

NORTH RONALDSAY - 22nd April

Wall to wall sunshine and a brisk SE wind; there wasn’t too much around but there were a few year ticks with a Tree Pipit behind T4, an Arctic Skua back on Torness (a pale phase bird, possibly one of the breeding birds), a Short-eared Owl at Nether Linney – long overdue and three Common Scoters past the Lighthouse in the afternoon.   Migrant totals from the Obs and up the west coast included a Sparrowhawk, 6 Sandwich Terns, 3 Woodpigeons, 12+ Swallows, 21 Robins, the female Stonechat still at Trebb, an increased 80+ Wheatears, a Fieldfare, a Song Thrush, 2 Redwing, a Blackcap, 7 Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warblers, a Rook, 5 Carrion Crows, a Chaffinch, 3 Brambling and a Goldfinch.

                A little drive round in the afternoon produced a brilliant total of 65 Sand Martins (40 on Brides and 25 on Hooking) – only just short of the island record count, a Whimbrel by the Lighthouse and an increased 450+ Black-headed Gulls back on Hooking.

Short-eared Owl

Woodpigeon in off

Arctic Skua

Wheatear

Fulmars

Shags

NORTH RONALDSAY - 14th March

Overcast and calm first thing becoming sunny and calm becoming sunny and breezy by the end of the day; some increased coverage in the pleasant conditions produced some increased counts but it didn’t seem like there was much new around but the first Snipe was drumming and Black-headed Gulls were displaying at Westness, illustrating that the spring is indeed progressing, albeit slowly!   Totals included 29 Great-northern Divers, 5 Mute Swans, the Eurasian White-fronted Goose and 3 Pink-footed Geese still, the drake Green-winged Teal on Gretchen, 19 Long-tailed Ducks, a Hen Harrier, 380 Golden Plover, 51 Sanderling, 70 Black-headed Gulls, the 2 Woodpigeons, 210 Skylark, 10 Rock Pipits, 53 Twite, a Common Redpoll and 12 Snow Buntings.

Fulmars

Redshank

NORTH RONALDSAY - 10th March

A gorgeous day with plenty of sunshine and light westerly winds after a couple of horrible, wet and windy unbirdable days; some good coverage in the fine weather revealed that everything was still in place and nothing had changed (the only out-of-place birds were two Coots wandering around on The Links!).   Totals through the day included 3 Pink-footed Geese, 208 Wigeon, 5 Gadwall, 180 Teal, the drake Green-winged Teal still on Gretchen, 8 Shoveler, 20 Tufted Duck, 17 Long-tailed Ducks, a Hen Harrier, 116 Oystercatchers, 46 Ringed Plovers, 260 Golden Plover, 172 Lapwing, a Knot, 53 Dunlin, the Ruff again, 120 Snipe, 220 Snipe, 4 Meadow Pipits, 14 Rock Pipits, 6 Fieldfares, 8 Redwing, the 5 Chaffinches still, 40 Twite, 2 Common Redpolls, 17 Snow Buntings and 5 Reed Buntings.

                It was nice and calm in the evening so I opened the nets at Holland for the first time in ages and while not much was caught, the catch did include a couple of very long-winged, adult male Blackbirds which suggests that the first few migrants are sneaking back through.   Two Linnets also came into roost, the wintering Water Rail was seen again and a new Robin was trapped.

Fulmar

Still some huge waves rolling in after the previous couple of days rough weather