NORTH RONALDSAY - 15th October

A decent day with a moderate easterly based wind and plenty of dry, pleasant conditions to enjoy your birding; the rarity highlight of the day was a bit of a kick in the guts as a dead 1cy BROWN SHRIKE was picked up off the road near Holland House, having been freshly hit by a car – certainly not how we wanted to get our second record of this seemingly increasing eastern mega.   There were birds arriving right through the day with repeated checks of the same areas yielding increased numbers every time – really exciting birding, we couldn’t pull out another high quality rare but some good totals included 9 Herons, 202 Wigeon, 63 Teal, the drake Green-winged Teal still on Gretchen, 23 Shoveler, 3 Hen Harriers, 3 Merlin, 2 Grey Plover, a Woodcock, 20 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Short-eared Owls, 157+ Robins, a Black Redstart, 2 Redstarts, a Whinchat, a Wheatear, a Ring Ouzel, 50 Blackbird, 17 Fieldfare, 93 Song Thrush, 230 Redwing, an eastern Lesser Whitethroat, 20 Blackcap, 3 Yellow-browed Warblers, 22 Chiffchaff, the first Siberian Chiffchaff of the year, 35 Goldcrests, the Red-backed Shrike again at Barrenha, 11 Brambling, a Greenfinch, 3 Siskin, 13 Common Redpoll, a Hawfinch whizzing around (first of the autumn), a Tree Sparrow and 77 Snow Buntings.

Brown Shrike

Fieldfare

NORTH RONALDSAY - 14th October

Still lovely and calm, very pleasant to be out and about but it has to be said that we do feel slightly hard-done-by with quality birds all around us and hardly any new arrivals here!   Our meagre totals comprised 2 Hen Harriers, 2 Merlin, a further influx to 23 Black-tailed Godwits, a Short-eared Owl, 17 Robins, 2 Wheatears, 10 Fieldfare, 20 Song Thrush, 143 Redwing, a new Eastern Lesser Whitethroat at the Beacon, 4 Blackcap, a Yellow-browed Warbler at the north end, 9 Chiffchaff, 5 Goldcrest, 5 Bramblings, a Goldfinch, 3 Siskin, a Common Redpoll and a good 94 Snow Buntings.   On a sadder note a juvenile Osprey was picked up from under a wind turbine in the north of the island after having struck the blades.

Osprey talon

Merlin

Skylark

NORTH RONALDSAY - 13th October

Another lovely, calm day, largely bright and dry but with a few spots of rain to give us some hope of something dropping in but unfortunately, we couldn’t compete with next door!   Birds unearthed included the regularly returning drake Green-winged Teal back on Gretchen (or rather he has finally moulted enough for us to be sure its him, its probably been here for a while already), a big influx of 82+ Tufted Ducks on Brides in amongst which was a single Scaup, 2 Hen Harriers, a Merlin, a Ruff, an arrival of 14+ Black-tailed Godwits, a Short-eared Owl, a Grey Wagtail, 17 Robins, 7 Fieldfare, 110 Redwing, the Eastern Lesser Whitethroat still at Holland, 4 Blackcap, a Yellow-browed Warbler on the coast by Gretchen (first one since the 6th), 5 Chiffchaff, 5 Goldcrest, a/the Red-backed Shrike at Barrenha – it’s unclear whether it was a new bird or the long-staying individual last seen in that area on the 6th, 3 Chaffinches, 3 Brambling, the first 2 Greenfinches of the autumn, 3 Common Redpolls, the Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll re-trapped in Holland, a Lapland Bunting and 22 Snow Buntings.

Yellow-browed Warbler

Short-eared Owl

NORTH RONALDSAY - 12th October

Lovely and calm through the day with the bright conditions making it a joy to be out in the field, not big arrival weather but still a good selection of common migrants with enough of a turnover of birds to keep your enthusiasm going.   Totals included 4 Herons, 5 Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Hen Harriers, 2 Merlins, a Jack Snipe, a Short-eared Owl, the Shorelark again on the beach at Howar, 110 Meadow Pipits, 44 Robins, 2 Redstarts, a Whinchat, 5 Wheatears, 11 Fieldfare, 38 Song Thrush, 185 Redwing, the Eastern Lesser Whitethroat still, 3 Blackcap, 9 Chiffchaff, 8 Goldcrest, the Great Grey Shrike still roving the south of the island, 3 Chaffinches, 11 Brambling, 2 Siskin, still 180 Linnets, 6 Common Redpolls, a Lesser Redpoll trapped in Holland (the first of the autumn), a Lapland Bunting and 79 Snow Buntings.

Merlin

Rock Pipit

Reed Bunting

Goldeneye

NORTH RONALDSAY - 11th October

A lovely calm day, only marred by a few hefty showers scattered throughout, most species enjoyed notable increases due to a combination of new arrivals, birds coming out of hiding in the calm weather and a rise in observer’s enthusiasm as it felt very promising; the highlights though were the same again with the Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll still showing well, the Grey-headed Wagtail popping up again and the mobile Great Grey Shrike still whizzing around.   Some good totals for the log included 18 Red-throated Divers, 5 Great-northern Divers, 9 Herons, 5 Pintail, 6 Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Goldeneye, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Hen Harriers, a Sparrowhawk (a British control caught at Ancum), a Merlin, 2 Peregrines, 3 Grey Plover, a Ruff, 3 Jack Snipe, 226 Snipe, a Woodcock, the Black-tailed Godwit with 26 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Woodpigeon, a Swallow, 130 Meadow Pipits, 21 Rock Pipits, 2 Grey Wagtails, 2 Dunnocks, 51 Robins, a Black Redstart, a Redstart, a Stonechat, 9 Wheatears, 42 Fieldfare, 53 Song Thrush, 159 Redwing, the Eastern Lesser Whitethroat still, 3 Blackcap, 15 Chiffchaff, 16 Goldcrest, 7 Chaffinches, 9 Brambling, the first Goldfinch of the autumn, a Siskin, 2 Common Redpolls, a Lapland Bunting, a notable influx of 93+ Snow Buntings and 13 Reed Buntings.

Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll

NORTH RONALDSAY - 10th October

Predominantly another rough day with a strong westerly wind and quite a few showers whipping through but it began to ease off through the afternoon, leading up to a (hopefully) calmer few days ahead.   Highlights through the day included the Shorelark again around Kirbest and the Great Grey Shrike still zooming all over the place.   Totals comprised 9 Red-throated Divers, 2 Great-northern Divers, 4 Herons, a family party of 4 Whooper Swans, 167 Wigeon, 13 Shoveler, single Long-tailed Duck, Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Hen Harriers, a Merlin, 3 Grey Plover, a single Black-tailed Godwit with 22 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Puffin past the Lighthouse, a Woodpigeon, a Swallow, 8 Robins, a Stonechat, 6 Wheatears, a Ring Ouzel, 7 Fieldfare, 9 Song Thrush, 78 Redwing, a Mistle Thrush, single Eastern Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest, 3 Chaffinches, 3 Brambling and 12 Snow Buntings.

Shag

Razorbill

Red-throated Diver

NORTH RONALDSAY - 9th October

A rough, very windy morning with frequent showers giving way to a not-so-rough afternoon with slightly fewer showers and some bright spells but still tough in the field; highlights comprised the Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll still up at Nether Linney and the Great Grey Shrike still bombing around the island.    There were some new birds to be had though, keeping us going out and about as totals included a Great-northern Diver past the Lighthouse (unusually scarce this autumn so far), 6 Heron, 128 Wigeon, 133 Teal, 3 Pintail, 8 Shoveler, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, the first Goldeneye of the autumn, 2 Hen Harriers, a Grey Plover, 2 Jack Snipe, 92 Snipe, a Woodpigeon, a Short-eared Owl, 2 Swallows, 24 Rock Pipits, 80 Meadow Pipits, 14 Robins, 9 Wheatears, 2 Ring Ouzels, 8 Fieldfares, 33 Song Thrush, 247 Redwing, the first Mistle Thrush of the autumn, the Eastern Lesser Whitethroat still lingering in Holland, 3 Blackcap, 5 Goldcrest, 5 Chaffinches, 3 Brambling, 5 Siskin, 2 Common Redpolls, a Lapland Bunting, 21 Snow Buntings and 13 Reed Buntings.

Chiffchaff