A moderate westerly wind through the first part of the
morning brought waves of drizzle moving across the island with a Dunnock by the
Obs and absolutely nothing caught in Holland not producing much hope but I was
walking down the road near Cauldhame Ditch, about to carry out the middle
census route when a crazed phonecall had me scanning the sky to the north for
under a minute before an awesome SNOWY OWL appeared
overhead followed by a bunch of Crows and proceeded to fly straight over my
head! Presumably the wintering Eday
bird which has been seen on several other islands – it’s about time it made its
way over here!
It
then flew off over Hooking, putting everything up and disappeared near The
Mill; we then spent the rest of the morning searching unsuccessfully to re-find
it, I guess it carried on straight through, away to the south and Sanday.
After
another trip to show someone the Red-winged Blackbird at
Garso – where there was also the first Greenshank
of the spring I did little parts of the middle census route with the waders at
Westness the highlight as there were 25+ Knot, 70+ Dunlin, 160+ Turnstone, 40+
Sanderlings, 20+ Purple Sandpipers, 5 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Common Sandpiper and
20+ Ringed Plovers all in stunning summer plumage.
Two Red-breasted Mergansers
and a strange flock of 120 Kittiwakes were also in the bay there but it was
quiet for passerines with just 2 Lesser Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler, a few
Wheatears and a singing Mealy Redpoll of note while there was a new first
winter Black-throated Diver in
Nouster. Ringing at Holland was cut
short by persistent rain but we managed to catch a smart young male Sparrowhawk
(there were 2 others around as well).
SNOWY OWL!!
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