Sunday, 2 April 2017

NORTH RONALDSAY - 2nd April


A good day with plenty of sunshine and a moderate westerly breeze; birds at Holland first thing included a smart, very white Mealy Redpoll, 2 Goldcrests, a Dunnock and a few Blackbirds and Redwings.   We then dashed up the isle where, after about an hour of searching we finally connected with a MAGPIE sat on the foghorn at the very north tip, it posed nicely for a while before moving to sit on the seawatch hide and then the beacon!   A real island mega, only the 3rd ever and the first for over 20 years! (presumably the same bird that was seen on Eday yesterday).

                I then walked the Hooking census route in the afternoon where birds included the Northern Harrier seen over the school, 16 Snow Buntings, a Chaffinch, a Brambling (rather strangely foraging in the middle of a field with a flock of Meadow Pipits!), a singing Chiffchaff, the single Pink-footed Goose and Whooper Swan, 7 Great-northern Divers, 52 Sanderling, 6 Bar-tailed Godwits and 245 Golden Plover.

                A few hours at Holland in the evening produced 3 Lapland Buntings which flew over, a Fieldfare, 4 Woodpigeons and at least 140 Linnets which came into roost.

Magpie on the foghorn, with Fair Isle in the background!


Snow Bunting

Brambling




This Kittiwake was fishing like a Gannet!




Worked though!



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