SWEDEN - 25th September

 A good, long day at Ason with light southerlies at the start which swung round into the NE halfway through the morning; the nets were busy (but not as busy as two days ago) with the highlights being 14 Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and a Sedge Warbler along with a few Nuthatches, Treecreepers, Goldcrests, Reed Buntings etc.   

The day’s highlight though was some good raptor passage, mainly heading SW across the lake cutting across the island of Ason halfway up (or further north – hence most things were distant) concentrated around lunchtime but bits going through all day; totals included 2 Honey Buzzards, 2 Rough-legged Buzzards (one distantly over the north shore, one SW over the lake), a good 46+ Buzzards – with big kettles of spiralling birds of 29 and 7 distantly over the north shore and a trickle of birds heading SW across the lake, 5 Hen Harriers SW across the lake (including an adult male), 8 Sparrowhawks, 2 Marsh Harriers and a Kestrel plus at least 6 White-tailed Eagles floating around and a monster female Goshawk which zoomed up the road as I was closing the nets.   

Other birds seen included a Shoveler (an Ason tick!), a Goosander, 2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls, a Bittern seen landing in the reeds on the east side, the usual Black Woodpecker calling and 33 Jays heading south along with 8 Ravens, 9 Coal Tits, 110+ Blue Tits, 40+ Great Tits, 36 Skylarks, 16 Bearded Tits (including an ace flock of 8 really high up heading south), 40+ Chaffinches, 20+ Brambling, 20+ Redpolls, 150+ Siskins and 7 Yellowhammers.  

Redpoll sp. – if I caught this bird on North Ronaldsay I would call it a Mealy but I’m not too sure, I think I’d call it a Mealy now as well, with a wing of 75 but they lump them all here in Sweden so who cares!

Goldeneye

The Mute Swan brood that we’ve watched grow up on every visit to Ason with its three normal cygnets and two ‘polish’ ones (a distinctive white colour morph)

Great Black-backed Gull

Cormorant

NORTH RONALDSAY - 18th May

Another lovely day, extremely calm with varying cloud cover; it turned out to be a decent day in the field with the highlights being a Great White Egret on Ancum, twitched in the morning but still present in the afternoon (only the 4^th island record!) and a cracking female Hawfinch I caught in Holland a bit later.   I also caught a Blackcap, a Willow Warbler and a Collared Dove in Holland.

                The definite highlight of the northern census route was a pod of at least 6 ORCAS off the seawatch hide which showed well but distantly as they moved off south and out; birds included a Wood Sandpiper on Garso, 4 Tree Sparrows, also at Garso, 4 Chiffchaffs, a Sedge Warbler, 2 Common Redpolls (I guess they were anyway but they were almost Lesser-like), an influx of 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and at least 12 Bonxies following a fishing boat.

                The pod of Orcas reappeared later in the afternoon and I saw them distantly off Gretchen as they headed west and out; there were a pair of Garganey on Gretchen along with 4 Black-tailed Godwits and at least 8 Great-northern Divers offshore on flat calm seas.

Hawfinch

Wood Sandpiper

Redpoll sp.

NORTH RONALDSAY - 5th May

Fairly nice with a bit of cloud coming and going and a chilly easterly breeze; nets were quiet at Holland first thing with 4 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers and a Robin caught while a Whitethroat and 2 Redwings were around.  

I then took yet more people up to Garso where the Red-winged Blackbird showed well on the wires and gas bottles before I carried on a walked round the northern census route where birds included 160+ Arctic Terns at Bewan, a pair of Pintail (my first ones for ages), a Whimbrel, a Woodpigeon, 13 Dunlin, a Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff and 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls while a big 1^st winter female Sparrowhawk caused chaos by landing on the beacon, right underneath the Raven nest – they did not like that!   

There were then 2 Goldfinches at Holland in the evening where I caught a Tree Pipit and some kind of Redpoll sp.

I don't often put them down as Redpoll sp. but this one was very confusing!

Tree Pipit

Sparrowhawk