NORTH RONALDSAY - 7th August

A nice calm day so I opened the nets at Holland where I caught the first Garden Warbler of the autumn.   I then walked round part of the middle section but it was pretty quiet with the highlight being my first Greenshank of the autumn which flew over Westness, it was still calm so I opened the nets again in the evening but just caught Linnets, there was however as steady stream of 23+ Swifts heading south overhead in small flocks.

Juvenile Ringed Plover

2cy Arctic Tern

NORTH RONALDSAY - 6th August

After a drizzly morning I walked up the west coast census route but it was pretty quiet with 47 Dunlin and 10 Black-tailed Godwits on a slightly filled up Gretchen and a Green Sandpiper on the shore at West Beach the only birds of note.

Juvenile Arctic Tern

NORTH RONALDSAY - 4th August

Another pleasant day with again, most of the highlights being in the cut fields up the island; there were now 3 Mediterranean Gulls in fields near Ancum (all juveniles) with the 360+ Common Gulls along with 5 Black-tailed Godwits and a Ruff.   There was very little in the Brides census area apart from the 2 Roseate Terns again on the rocks at Bridesness Point and a single Swift.

Mediterranean Gull

Roseate Tern

Juvenile Arctic Terns

NORTH RONALDSAY - 3rd August

Beautiful and calm with extensive cloud cover; opened the nets first thing but it was pretty quiet with the obvious highlight being a smart Pied Flycatcher, the juvenile Cuckoo was again round the garden as was a single Willow Warbler.   Walked round the rest of the Obs census route where most of the birds were in the cut fields and included 850+ Golden Plover, a single Black-tailed Godwit, 300+ Common Gulls and at least 25 Lesser Black-backed Gulls with 10 fresh juveniles while a Great-northern Diver was offshore.

Black-tailed Godwit

Meadow Pipit

NORTH RONALDSAY - 2nd August

Continuing the nice weather with light winds and cloud coming and going; opened the nets first thing where I managed to catch a single Willow Warbler and some Wrens but the highlight came just as I had finished opening and walked a few metres down the road to scan a big flock of 320 Common Gulls in a recently cut field and almost immediately picked out a smart juvenile MEDITERRANEAN GULL – a North Ron tick and the first on here since 2009.   The long staying juvenile Cuckoo also made an appearance, perching on a mist net pole before heading down towards the Obs mobbed by about 30 Swallows.

                Other birds round the rest of the Obs census route included a single Roseate Tern which flew low over T5 heading for a big feeding flock of Terns off The Lurn (two were seen again at Brides an hour beforehand), two Ruff south over the Obs, a Swift over Holland, a Heron, 14 Dunlin on Gretchen and at least 15 Arctic Skuas off the south end.

Mediterranean Gull

Arctic Tern

NORTH RONALDSAY - 1st August

A nice day with light winds and bright sunshine; a morning seawatch was very quiet with a single Manx Shearwater the only bird of note.   A walk round Brides and Hooking then produced a huge juvenile female Peregrine which flew south over the Obs (the first one for ages), a Roseate Tern which flew past the gate at Brides calling but I couldn’t re-find it in the flock at Bridesness Point (probably one of the birds from 27^th July) and a big flock of mixed waders at Hooking with hundreds of Golden Plover, Redshank and Lapwings.

Nice moulting Purple Sandpipers

Turnstone

Juvenile Great Black-backed Gull

NORTH RONALDSAY - 31st July

A calm start with the SE wind picking up through the day; opened the nets first thing after some early morning drizzle had moved through which produced nine juvenile Swallows (eight new ones), one of yesterday’s Sedge Warblers and a bright yellow, juvenile Willow Warbler.   Other bits around the garden included a Black Redstart by the Kirk (present round the Obs the last couple of days, the Hummingbird Hawkmoth again and a Heron over to the south.

                There wasn’t too much else around the rest of the Obs census route with 18 Purple Sandpipers round the pier, 8 Dunlin and a couple of Sanderling on Gretchen which now has a bit of water in it and 3 Knot.

Sedge Warbler

Willow Warbler