19th and 20th August

After a little lighthouse attraction overnight, which consisted of mainly waders and Meadow Pipits the 19^th (despite a damp start to the day and a moderate NW breeze) there was some renewed anticipation for a day in the field but the first Garden Warbler of the autumn was the only real grounded migrant; there were also noticeable influxes of 102 Wheatears (including several Greenland birds), 162 Meadow Pipits, 110 Swallows and 94 alba Wagtails – many of them Whites. 

                The White-winged Black Tern was seen again – this time in torchlight at Bewan in the wee small hours while waders of note consisted of 183 Ringed Plovers, 112 Dunlin, 3 Ruff, 36 Black-tailed Godwits, 23 Bar-tailed Godwits, 120 Redshank, a Greenshank and 187 Turnstone.   Other birds of note through the day included 6 Herons, a Sparrowhawk, our ringed, juvenile Arctic Skua still on Torness and a Short-eared Owl while a single Risso’s Dolphin put on an impressive breaching display off the north end.

                With the autumn properly starting on Fair Isle and Shetland to our north we were hoping that the little burst of easterlies two days ago, would have produced something for us on the 20^th but the best we could manage was 5 Willow Warblers, the Garden Warbler and 2 Short-eared Owls – the damp conditions first thing and the brisk NW wind hasn’t helped us!   Other birds included 10 Sooty Shearwaters, a Manx Shearwater and a Red-throated Diver offshore, 4 Herons, a Sparrowhawk in Holland, 5 Ruff and roving parties of Black-tailed Godwits coming together to roost on Gretchen in the evening.

Dunlin

Our juvenile Arctic Skua still on Torness

Photos Simon Davies

17th and 18th August

A pleasant day with plenty of sunshine and a moderate southerly breeze on the 17^th although the wind had dropped to almost nothing by the evening; there was still no real signs of any grounded passerines through the day but it was an enjoyable day in the field with some early autumn passage noted including 169 Swallows, 41 Sand Martins and 5 Swifts south (mainly down the west coast) while other landbirds also showed some increases with 130 Meadow Pipits, 7 Ravens (including 3 seen heading off south), a Short-eared Owl, 2 Sparrowhawks and a Peregrine.

                Obviously waders also had a good day with the Buff-breasted Sandpiper still present on The Links, 181 Ringed Plover, 854 Golden Plover, a Grey Plover, 162 Lapwings, 115 Sanderling, 2 Little Stints on Gretchen, 18 Purple Sandpipers, 5 Ruff, 47 Black-tailed Godwits (roosted on Gretchen overnight), 109 Curlew, 192 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, single Wood and Green Sandpipers and 237 Turnstone with mixed flocks seen heading south.   Other waterbirds also showed signs of passage with notable influxes of 94 Mallard, 61 Teal and 21 Shoveler along with 5 Gadwall and 3 Herons.

Kittiwake at the pier

                A calm day on the 18^th with the light breeze coming mainly from the east, sunny in the morning, the cloud built through the day with the promised rain not arriving until late evening; the day was most notable for the first ‘proper’ grounded migrant of the autumn with a juvenile Whinchat seen near Lenswick – not a big rarity but a bird that brings with it much promise!

                Other birds seen through this quieter day included the Buff-breasted Sandpiper still, 2 Short-eared Owls, 1,275 Golden Plover, 21 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Whimbrel, 3 Greenshank, good numbers of loafing Great Skuas still (including one which killed a Mallard), a single Swift and a decent post-breeding flock of 12 Reed Buntings at Peckhole while 40 Storm Petrels were caught overnight.

Little Grebe chick at Brides

Sedge Warbler

Some of the Fulmar chicks are looking like they'll be off soon

Photos Simon Davies

15th and 16th August

Heavy, persistent rain lingered across the island until late morning on the 15^th delayed proceedings but it brightened up into a lovely, sunny afternoon; despite the rain and poor visibility 13 Manx Shearwaters and 2 Storm Petrels passed the seawatch hide but it generally wasn’t until the afternoon that people got out into the field.   Unsurprisingly, waders dominated the day’s log with the Buff-breasted Sandpiper still on The Links while other totals comprised 720 Golden Plover, 3 Ruff, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Whimbrel, 123 Curlew, 185 Redshank, a Green Sandpiper and 263 Turnstone with added interest coming from a Norwegian colour flagged Ringed Plover which, after being ringed in Norway in September 2016 was seen on North Ronaldsay shortly afterwards, so this is the second autumn in a row that it has been seen here.

There are still some Arctic Terns remaining, some of which have juveniles in tow, so are still aggressive!

                Other little bits included a Heron, still 63 Arctic Terns (including several juveniles, either from here or further north), 3 Collared Doves still in Holland, a single Swift and good roost totals of 160 Linnets and 1,140 Starlings.

                Pleasant throughout the day on the 16^th although the southerly wind gradually increased to become very strong by the evening; waders today included a few new odds and ends in amongst the larger flocks with 1 or 2 Wood Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper, 14 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Ruff and a Grey Plover while 850 Golden Plover and 110 Lapwings were in the fields around the Obs.

                A big, juvenile female Peregrine was cruising around, 30 Teal on Ancum was a notable influx, 10 Sand Martins were over Gretchen and a distinctive, dark, melanistic Heron which came in off the sea caused a few pulses to race and maybe was the same individual that was seen last autumn.

Its been a tough breeding season but now its time to relax!

Black Guillemots are starting to moult now that their breeding season is over

Photos Simon Davies

13th and 14th August

A decent day on the 13^th with lightish winds and a fair bit of sunshine poking through, especially in the afternoon; it proved to be a great day in the field despite much of the time being taken up with the continued Fulmar chick ringing around the island with the two standout highlights consisting of a fine adult Buff-breasted Sandpiper found feeding at the southern end of The Links, associating with Ringed Plovers and then Bar-tailed Godwits and the reappearance, yet again of the adult White-winged Black Tern up at Bewan – it looked very different to when it was here two weeks ago as it is now in full moult, so I guess there is a chance of it being a new bird?

Buff-breasted Sandpiper,   Simon Davies

                The other feature of the day was a good total of 57 Black-tailed Godwits, which included a flock of 42 which came in from the north along with counts of 5 Ruff, 32 Bar-tailed Godwits and 161 Turnstone.   Two juvenile Peregrines caused havoc across the island while 5 Wigeon, 5 Gadwall, 19 Teal and 10 Shoveler were noteworthy and offshore a Sooty Shearwater, 3 Manx Shearwaters and 120 Kittiwakes were seen.

                The wind had swung into the east on the 14^th and with rain forecast, hopes were high for the first signs of autumn Passerine migration but even though the rain duly arrived at lunchtime, it proved to be a vain hope with wader passage again, pretty much the only signs of movement!   They were highlighted by an excellent total of 73 Black-tailed Godwits with several flocks heading south through the day while other good counts included 1,175 Golden Plover, 2 Ruff, 22 Bar-tailed Godwits and 3 Herons while the Buff-breasted Sandpiper still strutted around on The Links.

                Offshore today were 9 Manx Shearwaters, a Sooty Shearwater and 3 Storm Petrels (including one close in to Gretchen) with good numbers of southbound Great and Arctic Skuas lingering around the island.

White-winged Black Tern,   George Gay

The Water Rails around Ancum hide are unusually active and obvious with their chicks getting bigger,   Simon Davies

11th and 12th August

Still breezy and overcast with a few spots of rain on the 11^th with the major surprise of the day being the typically brief reappearance of the White-winged Black Tern in front of the seawatch hide to a visiting birder – with the vast majority of the Arctic Terns already departed south we naturally assumed that it had also headed off back to whence it came!   As with every blog post this summer, the rest of this one will end up with a list of wader numbers which today included 167 Oystercatchers, 1,110 Golden Plover, 63 Sanderling, 83 Dunlin, 4 Ruff, 4 Black-tailed Godwits, 136 Redshank, 2 Greenshank and 215 Turnstone.

                Other little bits of note included a couple of medium sized Little Grebe chicks which appeared on Brides Loch, 9 Manx Shearwaters offshore, a Heron, 8 Wigeon (the first ones for about a month), 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (very scarce over the summer) and another juvenile Stonechat at Westness.

Ruff,   photo George Gay

                Still overcast on the 12^th but with much lighter winds, only a couple of brief showers and the end of the time consuming Sheep Festival we finally had the chance to concentrate on ringing the now pretty well grown Fulmar chicks spread around the island and enjoy the sights, sounds and definitely the smells of this joyful task!   There was some time for birding though and today’s wader report comprised 86 Ringed Plover on The Links (a notable increase), 1,086 Golden Plover, 135 Lapwing, 25 Purple Sandpipers, 2 Ruff, 4 Black-tailed Godwits, 29 Bar-tailed Godwits and 2 Whimbrel.

                Also seen today were a female Peregrine south past the airstrip, 4 Manx Shearwaters, a Heron, 3 Gadwall, 13 Teal, 12 Shoveler, 9 each of Arctic Skua and Great Skuas marauding about the place, a start to the post-breeding build-up of Kittiwakes roosting along the coast with 46 off The Lurn including several juveniles and 9 Sand Martins.

Twite,   photo Simon Davies

Wheatear,   photo Simon Davies

9th and 10th August

A bit more cloud on the 9^th with a brisk westerly breeze and a few little spells of drizzle; there was single Sooty and Manx Shearwater, 2 Storm Petrels and 2 Tufted Ducks offshore in the morning, although the seawatch was more notable for a big bull Orca which surfaced once before disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared and yet another pod of 6 Risso’s Dolphins which came in close to the seawatch hide.

                The rest of the day was fairly quiet with 3 Herons, an increase to 18 Mallard, single Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits, 10 Bar-tailed Godwits, 82 Curlew and only 46 Arctic Terns which have all but moved on now.

and let the lion lay down with the lamb..

                Overcast through the day with a much stronger westerly wind than we have been used to of late on the 10^th; there was some good signs of wader passage through the day as 1,364 Golden Plover was a much larger total - the first time they have passed a thousand birds this year and several flocks of Black-tailed Godwits were seen to fly straight through the island, perhaps totalling 45 birds.

                Other birds included 5 Ruff, 3 Whimbrel, a little influx of ducks with 30 Mallard, 7 Gadwall and 6 Shoveler on Ancum, a Red-throated Diver, 2 Sooty Shearwaters and a Manx Shearwater offshore and at least 9 Arctic Skuas and 11 Bonxies were obvious across the island terrorising anything that crossed their path!

Black-tailed Godwits passing through Gretchen

Just had the details of this colour ringed Turnstone that was in Nouster in May.  It was ringed in December 2012 in Mauritania, NW Africa, was re-sighted there the following winter but it hadn't been seen again until our sighting (although the letters on the flag had faded away to nothing, leaving just indentations that could only be read at very close range)

Photos Simon Davies

7th and 8th August

Rain overnight and through the first few hours of the morning soon departed, leaving a fine, bright and sunny day on the 7th; the day’s highlight was a brief adult Pectoral Sandpiper on Torness with a Golden Plover flock but it soon flew off to the north, not to be seen again.   Also up the west coast, a Grey Plover was with the same Goldie flock while 8 Purple Sandpipers were on the rocks and 9 Arctic Skuas patrolled up and down.

                The only other birds of note were offshore during an early morning seawatch and included a single Sooty Shearwater, 9 Manx Shearwaters, 150 Puffins and 170 Fulmars with 2 Risso’s Dolphins also of note.

Fledgling Pied Wagtail, Simon Davies

                Another stunning summer’s day on the 8th however, most of the focus was directed at rounding up sheep and building dykes but with many eyes working long hours along the islands coastline and a very calm sea it was a recipe for some cetacean success and we were rewarded with 2 Orcas seen in the morning off the north end, followed by two pods of Risso’s Dolphins with c10 seen of The Lurn at lunchtime and then another 5 seen heading past the Obs in the evening.

                Birds of note were few and far between but 3 Ruff and a Greenshank were on the excellent looking Brides Loch while 19 Knot and 11 Purple Sandpipers were also noted.

Dunlin and Ruff, Simon Davies

Ruff, George Gay

5th and 6th August

Overcast with a brisk westerly breeze and the occasional shower on the 5^th but with most of our focus on the array of other things happening at the Obs time in the field was limited; the first Short-eared Owl of the autumn was flushed off a freshly killed Redshank at Brides was the highlight while the Goldcrest lingered in Holland gardens and a Heron and a good selection of waders were around the Brides coast.

                A completely different day on the 6^th with endless blue skies, warm sunshine and a light westerly breeze which had switched round to the east by the afternoon.   Good counts of 47 Ringed Plover, 69 Sanderling and 390 Golden Plover were on The Links, a Merlin flashed by the school and just 5 Sand Martins remained from the unprecedented breeding numbers this year.   Two juvenile Willow Warblers were trapped in Holland during the evening, perhaps a result of the easterly wind where there were also 150 Linnets coming into roost and the 4 Collared Doves still.

Short-eared Owl,   photos Simon Davies

3rd and 4th August

Wet and windy on the 3^rd and the paucity of records through the day reflects that time was spent on other tasks than being out in the field as the only records came from round the Obs with 2 Herons, 330 Golden Plover, 8 Bar-tailed Godwits and 10 Knot of note.

The Fulmar chicks have definitely passed the cute and fluffy stage and moved on to the scraggly, angry and spitty balls of vengeful vomit stage

                Still overcast and windy on the 4^th but largely dry and we made up for yesterday by spending some good time out in the field which produced the unexpected surprise of a Stock Dove coming in off the sea at Brides – a pretty rare bird on the island, usually seen in early spring and late autumn so an August record is doubly noteworthy!   More in tune with the time of year our attentions naturally turn to seawatching and with large Shearwaters finally starting to appear in the North Sea we have our targets – a nice start today produced 10 Sooty Shearwaters, 18 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Storm Petrels and 326 Puffins in just two hours watching.

                Other birds of note through the day included the first Gadwall for a few weeks, 890 Golden Plover (the highest count so far this autumn), 40 Dunlin (including a second fledgling in East Loch Park), 10 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Green Sandpiper, 92 Turnstone, at least 17 Arctic Skuas (including 8 roosting together at Bewan), 3 Collared Doves still, a new Chiffchaff and the Goldcrest lingering in Holland.

Skylark fledgling

The second Dunlin fledgling in East Loch Park, photo George Gay

This unfortunate looking (I hesitate to use the word ugly!) Chiffchaff has over summered in the Holland House gardens

Other photos Simon Davies

1st and 2nd August

Beautiful, calm and sunny again on the 1^st with the nets at Holland first thing providing the first surprise of the day with a juvenile Goldcrest trapped early on – it hadn’t quite finished its post-juvenile moult so it hadn’t come too far, just from elsewhere in Orkney you would suspect; also in the gardens were a Willow Warbler and a Common Redpoll while just below Holland an almost fully grown Dunlin was running happily down the middle of the road – proof that a second pair of Dunlin bred successfully on the island in the Loch Park / East Loch Park area.

Dunlin chick

                The second surprise of the day came later on when some of the volunteers took a lighthouse tour and when at the top, the first bird they saw was the adult White-winged Black Tern flying in to Bewan after its jaunt up to Fair Isle but typically it soon disappeared and was not seen again – there are far fewer Arctic Terns present now for it to hang around with than when it was last here.  

Other birds of note included the Black-throated Diver still in Nouster, the first Merlin of the autumn up the west coast, 550 Golden Plover, 39 Knot, 7 Black-tailed Godwits, the first fresh juvenile Kittiwake lingering off Torness, 2 Collared Doves and at least 5 Swifts.

The 2^nd was (if possible) an even better day with wall to wall sunshine and hardly a breath of wind; the many eyes and calm seas produced the highlights of the day with 2 Orcas seen off Seal Skerry which cruised round the coast to the Beacon then out to sea and included a huge bull and later in the day a pod of 12-15 Risso’s Dolphins frolicked off the west coast.

Birdwise it was a bit quieter in the fine conditions with two small Water Rail chicks showing well next to the Ancum hide perhaps the highlight while other totals included 2 Herons, 580 Golden Plover, 12 Bar-tailed Godwits, 8 Whimbrel, a Greenshank and at least 3 Swifts.

Our Arctic Skua chick is now flying!

The Water Rail chicks at Ancum are not yet!

and this Kittiwake has been for a while!

photos Simon Davies

30th and 31st July

Another gorgeous day on the 30^th, sunny and warm with a light easterly breeze; a huge juvenile female Peregrine was causing havoc wherever she went through the morning – the first dispersing juvenile of the autumn and a Kestrel flew south pursued by squadrons of Arctic Terns in the afternoon.   Other landbirds included the 4 Collared Doves still and 2 Swifts heading south while 5 Tufted Duck on Brides perhaps included a couple of returning migrants.

                Waders included a Wood Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpipers and a Little Stint on the excellent looking Brides Loch (there’ll be something good there soon!), 551 Golden Plover and 2 Black-tailed Godwits while typically, after six weeks of constant presence and just after we spotted the geolocator there were no Phalaropes on Gretchen – we have heard that it certainly is not a Shetland ringed bird which, like most of the other geolocator projects attach the device to the birds back, so we still have no clue to the birds origin!

Tysties are bringing in bigger and bigger fish to feed their bigger and bigger chicks

                A mixed bag of weather on the 31^st with an overcast start with light winds and even a hint of misty fog brightening to produce a stunning, warm, sunny afternoon; the first Ruff of the autumn was at Brides while other wader counts comprised 82 Sanderling, 5 Purple Sandpipers, 113 Dunlin, 18 Bar-tailed Godwits, single Green and Common Sandpipers and at least 20 Whimbrel with an obvious afternoon passage of southbound migrants.

                Other bits and bobs included a Heron, an influx of 324 Greylag Geese, 13 Teal, a single Garganey again, 2 Sandwich Terns, 5 Swifts heading south and a new Chiffchaff while overnight a Leach’s Petrel was singing away up at Bewan (without the stimulation of payback) – maybe one to watch!

Peregrine

In amongst the regular turnover of Sanderling there are usually a few colour ringed individuals, most regular are those, like this bird who have a lime coloured flag in the combination, indicating it was ringed next door on Sanday

Photos Simon Davies

28th and 29th July

Nice and sunny on the 28^th with a brisk SE breeze; waders were again the main interest with a new Little Stint on Gretchen the highlight along with 66 Knot (including a Norwegian colour ringed individual at Bewan), 60 Dunlin, 9 Black-tailed Godwits, a Green Sandpiper, 124 Turnstone and a single lingering Red-necked Phalarope, still on Gretchen.

                Other little bits included a single Garganey still, 4 Collared Doves still and a Swift which was seen going to roost in the wall near the Gretchen hide and promptly was caught and ringed – only the 8^th to be ringed on the island.

Young Starlings are looking interesting at the moment, moulting into adult plumage and covered in pollen!

                Another lovely, sunny day on the 29^th but with much lighter winds creating a very pleasant day out in the field; the nets at Holland first thing produced the first juvenile Willow Warbler of the autumn – the first signs of returning passerine migrants along with locally dispersing juvenile Reed Bunting and three Swallows (two of which were ringed as chicks nearby).  

                Waders through the day included 465 Golden Plover, 128 Lapwing, 128 Sanderling, 7 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Green Sandpiper, a Wood Sandpiper at Brides, 176 Turnstone and again, a single Red-necked Phalarope on Gretchen – which, upon giving incredibly close views today was seen to be carrying an orange geolocator on its right tibia!   Despite bobbing around within feet of observers it was impossible to get any details on the ring but I suppose it is not supposed to be looked at in the field.

                Also seen through day were at least 7 Herons (including 4 which flew south offshore), the Black-throated Diver again, 24 Teal and a single Swift.

This is the best view of the Red-necked Phalaropes geolocator but we still haven't traced where it originates, Shetland is the best guess

The first juvenile Willow Warbler of the autumn

This colour ringed Knot was ringed in Porsanger, at the top of Norway in 2007 and has been re-sighted there every year since, as well as a few winter/passage sightings in The Netherlands.   This is the first time this bird has been seen over this side of the North Sea - a great series of re-sightings building a detailed picture of movements

All pictures, Simon Davies

26th and 27th July

A pleasant couple of days with plenty of sunshine and light(ish) winds (with the exception of a very wet afternoon on the 26^th!) but there was little to shout about in terms of new arrivals; the 2 Red-necked Phalaropes on Gretchen and the Black-throated Diver in Nouster were still in place on the 26^th while another dispersing juvenile Stonechat which popped up at the Obs was a bit of a surprise.  

Other birds of note included 4 Manx Shearwaters offshore in the morning, 6 Whimbrel up the west coast, at least 8 Arctic Skuas still terrorising the Black Guillemots bringing food into their colonies and a sprinkle of out-of-context, dispersing Sedge Warblers lurking in random patches of long grass giving us a hint of the autumn birding yet to come.

Arctic Skuas are still hassling the Tysties

A stunning summers day on the 27^th was still ornithologically quiet with a Kestrel and a Common Redpoll the only new arrivals while other birds of note comprised the 2 Red-necked Phalaropes still (although one of them is becoming rather elusive, spending long periods of time elsewhere), 2 Herons, a Swift and counts of 275 Oystercatchers, 86 Dunlin and 9 Black-tailed Godwits.

Our one Skua chick is near fledging but is pretty skinny, so it hasn't been an easy time for them

The last of the few Arctic Terns are now flying

There are many Fulmar chicks though,   photos Simon Davies

24th and 25th July

Overcast through the 24^th with spells of light drizzle coming and going but the slightly miserable conditions did drop a few waders in through the day, including the first Wood Sandpiper (a juvenile at Cauldhame) and Little Stint (an adult on Gretchen) of the autumn.   The rest of the day’s birds (as has been the case through the last month) consisted of wader counts, which today were 326 Oystercatchers, 343 Golden Plover, 11 Black-tailed Godwits (dropped in briefly to Gretchen in the afternoon), 7 Bar-tailed Godwits, 7 Whimbrel, 123 Turnstone and 2 Red-necked Phalaropes again.

                Other little bits of note through the day included 2 Red-throated Divers and the Black-throated Diver again in Nouster, 2 Manx Shearwaters and a single Storm Petrel offshore during a little seawatch, the 2 juvenile Garganey again on Gretchen and the 4 Collared Doves around still.

Arctic Tern

                A similar day on the 25^th but with lighter winds and fewer drizzly spells and yet again, all the birds to mention were the fluctuating wader counts across the island (there is a daily turnover of birds but it does vary a little bit down to coverage); good observer coverage today produced 323 Oystercatchers, 599 Golden Plover, 180 Lapwing, 81 Knot, 146 Sanderling (numbers are building every day), 5 Purple Sandpipers, 154 Dunlin, 9 Black-tailed Godwits, 24 Bar-tailed Godwits, 4 Whimbrel (high over to the south), 105 Curlew, 174 Redshank, a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper (the first of the autumn at Westness), 171 Turnstone and the 2 Red-necked Phalarope.

                Single Red and Black-throated Diver in the bay, a single Heron on Ancum and a Swift over Hooking completed the day’s sightings while overnight ringing included 60 Storm Petrels, a couple of Arctic Terns and some juvenile Sedge Warblers while attempting a Pied Wagtail roost (the Wagtails failed to show!).

Wood Sandpiper

Black-tailed Godwit,   photos Simon Davies

22nd and 23rd July

Another similar day on the 22^nd with plenty of bright sunshine but a brisk easterly wind to take the edge off; once again, waders dominated the migrant totals with some good coverage in between scouring the coast for Black Guillemot chicks producing some high counts including 372 Oystercatchers, 95 Sanderling and 326 Dunlin while the rest consisted of 39 Ringed Plover, 51 Knot, 2 Greenshank, 90 Redshank, 81 Turnstone, 5 Whimbrel and the 2 Red-necked Phalaropes still.

Fledgling Arctic Tern having a bit of a stretch

                Other bits and pieces comprised the Black-throated Diver again in Nouster, a Heron, 4 Collared Doves commuting between Howar and Holland and at least 4 Swifts moving south over the island.

                There was still plenty of sunshine on the 23^rd but the wind had switched a little into the north and remained a bit chilly; single Greenshank and Green Sandpiper were noteworthy in amongst good totals of 439 Golden Plover and 154 Lapwings while the Black-throated Diver was still present, 3 Herons toured the island, the 2 Red-necked Phalaropes still spun round on Gretchen and a dispersing juvenile Sedge Warbler was caught in Holland.

Twite

Rocks (and a Purple Sandpiper)

1st summer Arctic Tern,   photos Simon Davies