24th May

A completely different day to yesterday, with barely a breath of wind and plenty of late afternoon sunshine. After the sea-watching distractions of the last 24 hours the Paddyfield Warbler was found to still be frequenting the long grass at South Gravity. Once again it occasionally sang, but it can be very mobile and impossible to photograph! There were no sea-watches today, but another 2 Long-tailed Skuas floated north-west along the coast at Twingness mid-morning. There were a few new arrivals on land too, including a 'brown' Common Rosefinch at Holland House, a female 'flava' Wagtail, 13 Snow Buntings, a new male Sparrowhawk and Knot have increased to 20 birds. The 2 Red-backed Shrikes were still in the Ancum area and 8 of the Tree Sparrows also remain.

23rd May

As the wind had picked up and was still NNW, seawatching was again the order of the day with sessions from the point at Westness in both the morning and afternoon producing some excellent spring totals, especially of Skuas. The highlight was a total of 45 Long-tailed Skuas including a fabulous group of eight which spent 15 minutes resting on Torness until they were scattered by one of the territorial Bonxies and 12 Pomarine Skuas which flew though in several groups.   Other species seen during these watches included 17 Great Skuas, 4 Arctic Skuas, a late Little Auk, a Manx Shearwater, 130 Gannets, 54 Kittiwakes, two Common Terns, 67 Puffins and 240 large Auk sp. Land based observations were limited but did include the 1st summer Glaucous Gull still frequenting the recently ploughed fields, the male Red-backed Shrike still at Ancum and a late Snow Bunting.

Long-tailed Skuas - definately worth leopard crawling across wet grass for!

(Photos - Simon Davies)

To put todays movement into context, there have only been 33 previous Long-tailed Skuas recorded in spring on North Ronaldsay on just 14 dates.

22nd May

In the blustery north-westerly winds, sea-watching was the order of the day and after a couple of failed attempts in recent years, catching up with a few passing Skuas was undoubtedly the days highlight. Three and half hours of watching, in two shifts from a sheltered dyke on the point at Westness saw 3 adult Long-tailed Skuas (2 at 14.10, and a single at 14.55) and an adult Pomarine Skua (at 1510) pass by. Also seen during the days sessions were 3 unidentified Skuas, 2 Arctic Skuas, 3 Manx Shearwaters, the first 4 Common Scoters of the year, 2 Red-throated Divers and 136 Puffins. On land the Paddyfield Warbler was still at South Gravity and the Marsh Warbler from 18th has reappeared at Barrenha. 2 Red-backed Shrikes in the Ancum area included a new male, the Turtle Dove was still present and the Glaucous Gull was following a plough at Lenswick.

21st May

A much nicer day, thankfully without any fog! The Paddyfield Warbler was still at South Gravity, although it only showed for 10 seconds in the morning before vanishing for the rest of the day! A first-summer Glaucous Gull was new and there were now 7 Black-tailed Godwits present. The female Red-backed Shrike was still at Ancum and a Turtle Dove nearby was also an old bird, while an extremely fat Dunnock caught at Holland House and found to be wearing a Norwegian ring was presumably the marked bird seen five days ago.

After over a week of avoiding the Holland House mist-nets we finally managed to out-smart and catch a couple of the Tree Sparrows for ringing this morning!



20th May

With thick fog from dawn until mid-afternoon expectations were fairly low today, so the discovery of a Paddyfield Warbler in the long grass at South Gravity was a very welcome surprise. This is the third record for North Ronaldsay but the second in the last two Springs, following last years June bird. The only other new birds today a Black-tailed Godwit, a Collared Dove and 2 Common Redpolls, while likely lingerers from recent days included a handful of common Warblers, the female Red-backed Shrike and 4 Spotted Flycatchers.

 Some record shots in the doom and gloom of today's Paddyfield Warbler. It occasionally sang from deep inside a fuscia bush, but most of the time was fairly mobile and elusive in the long grass-hopefully better photo's tomorrow if it remains!



19th May

The day began and ended with a blanket of fog covering the Island but in-between it was a pleasant warm day, with the wind dropping completely. Highlights included a female Bluethroat in the road near Purtabreck, an Icterine Warbler at Ancum Willows where yesterdays 2 Red-backed Shrikes had also relocated. A Greenshank was seen an the first Manx Shearwater of the year passed by the north end. A new male Sparrowhawk was at Holland, the 9 Tree Sparrows were still at Kirbest but singles of Redwing and Snow Bunting were new arrivals.

Garden Warbler



18th May

The strong north-easterly wind made for a challenging but productive days birding with several new migrants and a few scarcities found during the morning. The best of these were the earliest Marsh Warbler by a couple of days at Barrenha and a stunning 'bright red' male Common Rosefinch at Trebb. The south end of the Island yielded most of the birds where 2 Red-backed Shrikes spent the day around the Observatory. Other notable migrants included the 2 Grey-headed Wagtails still, 11 Tree Pipits, 3 Redstarts, 19 Willow Warblers, a Wood Warbler at Howar, 4 Spotted Flycatchers and 6 Pied Flycatchers. A Little Stint on the Links was the first of the year, the first-summer Little Gull was back at Bridesness and the male Sparrowhawk was also seen again.

Pied Flycatcher

17th May

In an increasingly cool northerly wind there was still a fair bit to see with a few new arrivals and roughly a third of yesterdays migrants remaining. Definite new birds included a Mistle Thrush, a new Cuckoo and a couple of Swifts. Yesterday's most numerous migrants; Tree Pipit and Willow Warblers returned counts of 16 and 18 respectively with the other Warbler species, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers present  in just low single figures, while not a single Redstart could be found (11 yesterday!). The 2 Grey-headed Wagtails were still near Gretchen with the Curlew Sandpiper also still on the loch there and other lingering birds included the Whooper Swan, male Sparrowhawk and Turtle Dove.

16th May

A gorgeous day with a light easterly wind produced an excellent array of common migrants scattered across the whole island; the highlights included an Osprey which flew north up the west coast mid-morning, the first Swift of the year, a female Hawfinch which was trapped at Holland House in the evening and two Grey-headed Wagtails near Gretchen - also the first of the year.   The commonest migrants today were counts of 32 Tree Pipits and 35 Willow Warblers which included a Norwegian control trapped at the Obs at lunchtime.
   The roll call of the other species included a Sparrowhawk, a Peregrine, a Stock Dove, another Turtle Dove, a Short-eared Owl at Hooking, 63 Swallows, two House Martins, 11 Redstarts, a Whinchat, 6 Sedge Warblers, a Reed Warbler, three Lesser Whitethroats, 6 Whitethroats, 7 Garden Warblers, three Blackcaps, a Wood Warbler, 6 Spotted Flycatchers and 10 Pied Flycatchers.   There was also a few birds which are more associated with winter than the lovely spring day we had with yesterday's Whooper Swan near the lighthouse, a 2nd summer Iceland Gull near Bewan, single Fieldfare and Song Thrush and two late Dunnocks.

 Grey-headed Wagtail

Tree Pipit 

Hawfinch

15th May

With the wind back in the east and a bit of rain in the morning there was a nice selection of birds present as the highlights included a single Dotterel on Torness, a Wryneck at Ancum, a female Red-backed Shrike at Brigg and an Icterine Warbler found late on at Lurand.   Other migrants logged through the day included a Sparrowhawk, three Woodpigeons, 5 Tree Pipits, 2 Redstarts, a Fieldfare, 2 Pied Flycatcher, two Sedge Warblers, 4 Lesser Whitethroats, two Whitethroats, the first Garden Warbler of the year trapped at Holland, three Blackcaps, three Chiffchaffs, 9 Willow Warblers, a Common Redpoll and an influx of 6 Carrion Crows while yesterday's Cuckoo and Turtle Dove were still around Holland.   Also of note was an unseasonal Whooper Swan which joined a pair of Mute Swans on Brides Loch and at least 42 Knot feeding with large numbers of other waders around the shore which included 800 Turnstone. 

Yesterday's Cuckoo was eventually trapped today



14th May

A very blustery day with frequent, nasty showers whipping through saw the first Cuckoo of the year seen around Holland House in the evening but unfortunately it bounced out of the mist nets a couple of times without getting caught; unlike the Turtle Dove which did manage to get caught - an unusual and not annual capture!   Migrant totals included a Heron, single Wood and Common Sandpipers, three Collared Doves, a Tree Pipit, a Sedge Warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroats, three Blackcaps, 4 Chiffchaffs, 4 Willow Warblers and a Pied Flycatcher.   The 1st summer Little Gull and the flock of Tree Sparrows remained.

Wood Sandpiper

13th May

Strong south-westerly winds with heavy rain hitting mid-afternoon saw a handful of new arrivals with the highlights being a Hobby at the lighthouse and a 1st summer Little Gull at Brides Loch.   Other totals through this quieter day included 5 Black-tailed Godwits, two Common Sandpipers, two Sedge Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, 5 Blackcaps, three Chiffchaffs, 8 Willow Warblers and a Pied Flycatcher while the flock of 9 Tree Sparrows were relocated at Caven.

Black-tailed Godwit



12th May

A lovely, sunny, calm morning with a light westerly wind which gradually changed into a very wet late afternoon with a strong SE wind saw only a few new arrivals with a Turtle Dove at Sangar, a smart breeding plumaged Curlew Sandpiper on Gretchen and a record equalling flock of 9 Tree Sparrows which bombed over Holland House in the afternoon the pick of the sightings.   Other birds recorded through the day included a Common Sandpiper, a Short-eared Owl at Ancum, two Tree Pipits, three Lesser Whitethroats, two Whitethroats, 4 Blackcaps, 5 Chiffchaffs, 4 Willow Warblers, a Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Pied Flycatchers, 10 Rooks feeding on a recently ploughed field, a Siskin and a Common Redpoll.

1st summer male Pied Flycatcher

11th May

Light rain all morning left at lunchtime making way for a glorious, sunny, calm afternoon which produced the highlight of a fine male Bluethroat at Lochend; other migrant totals included two female Red-backed Shrikes lingering from yesterday, single Tree Pipit, Redstart, Whinchat, Ring Ouzel, Fieldfare, Spotted Flycatcher and Sedge Warbler, a small influx of 6 Pied Flycatchers, three Lesser Whitethroats, 5 Whitethroats, 10 Blackcaps, three Chiffchaffs, 14 Willow Warblers and two Song Thrushes.   The wind had switched to the west by early evening, hopefully the change in weather will produce some different birds after this spell of easterly airflow.

Bluethroat

10th May

With the wind still in the east and some light rain in the early morning, hopes were high for some more new birds through the day but it proved to be slightly quieter than expected with the days highlight being three Red-backed Shrikes - a female at the Obs, a male at Westness and another female at Longar and the first Whinchat of the year in the north.   There was a scattering of other migrants across the island but it was unclear whether they were new birds of 'leftovers' from yesterday; totals included a Peregrine, 4 Woodpigeons, 30 Swallows, two House Martins, a Tree Pipit, two Redstarts, a Ring Ouzel, two Song Thrushes, two Sedge Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, 8 Blackcaps, three Chiffchaffs, 12 Willow Warblers, a Spotted Flycatcher and a high count of 9 Reed Buntings.  
   Definite 'leftovers' included the Green Sandpiper at Sangar, the Grasshopper Warbler at the Obs and at least five Goldfinches remaining around Holland House.

Red-backed Shrike 

Spotted Flycatcher