Friday, 17 February 2017

17th February


Arrived in Kirkwall late last night and had today to wander around before heading over to North Ronaldsay tomorrow; it was a fantastic day, sunny and calm with plenty of birds around highlighted by a big, pale first year Glaucous Gull which spent most of the day on the Peedie Sea along with the ace, yodelling Long-tailed Ducks and displaying Goldeneye.  

                I walked NE from Kirkwall along the coast past the Northlink ferry terminal where offshore there were c25 Velvet Scoter with big numbers of Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks and smaller numbers of Great-northern Divers, Slavonian Grebes and Tysties.  While on the land 3 Tundra Bean Geese were with a small flock of Greylags (although another group of 15 ‘grey geese’ were also probably these rather than Pink-feet), big flocks of Curlew and Oystercatchers fed in the fields and a single Twite flew east.


Big, pale (probably 1st year) Glaucous Gull



Male and female Long-tailed Ducks

Goldeneye


My first of many pictures of Black Guillemots this year



and my first of very many pictures of Fulmars this year

Shiny shiny Starling

Eider

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