The Glossy Ibis put in a brief appearance in the morning, then vanished as per usual. The female Stonechat had moved to Ancum Willows, a Pied Wagtail was on the Links where a Rook appeared to come in and a second Bean Goose appeared near Waterhouse.

Tundra Bean Goose (right)

3rd-4th March

A quiet couple of days with just a Woodpigeon of note on 3rd, a female Stonechat at Acum on 4th and the Green-winged Teal remains faithful to Gretchen Loch. 

Green-winged Teal

  

2nd March

After a continued search the Glossy Ibis was finally relocated, on a small wet area near South Gravity. Only the second North Ronaldsay record, the former being on 6th September 1986. Both the Canada and Tundra Bean Goose were still present and a new Greenland White-fronted Goose was with 5 European White-fronted Geese. At least 40 Twite were in the weedy field at Gravity and a Robin was in Holland.

Glossy Ibis

1st March

Skylarks were trickling south through the morning with 49 logged plus a single Snow Bunting. The Green-winged Teal remains on Gretchen and a Robin and 2 Water Rails were by T1.

27th February

What was a much better day for birding was surprisingly quite, the only noteworthy sightings in winter terms were an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull in Nouster Bay and a first-winter Little Gull at the airfield. All of which was more than made up for by a fine and lengthy display of the Northern Lights.
Apologies to those who log in just for the pretty pictures, we are trying but it's never quite photography weather during February.

26th February

A stroll around the middle of the island picked up all the recent 'unusual' geese bar the European White-fronted Geese, but a cycle to the north revealed a Greenland White-fronted Goose by Dennis Hill. Also in the north were the first-winter Iceland Gull at Neven and another by Rue. Many small - medium flocks of Skylarks were spread around the island. 4 Shelducks were on Trolla Vatn Loch and 9 Whooper Swans were also at the north end

25th February

A Grey Plover had joined the Green-winged Teal on Gretchen Loch and the Canada Goose was still roaming amongst Greylags, but the surprise arrival was a male Stonechat at Purtabreck. Both male and female Hen Harriers were seen at Viggay and a Merlin was chasing a flock of 26 Twite at the Bird Observatory.

24th February

Not a huge amount to report but a smart first-summer Little Gull was on Brides' Loch amongst 61 Common Gulls. Two each of Rock Pipit and Skylark came in off the sea there and a further 14 of the latter flew south. The Canada Goose was by Holland and last weeks Iceland Gull was still at Neven.

23rd February

The first Pied Wagtail of the year was seen near Purtabreck, but there was no sign of either the Glossy Ibis or Green-winged Teal. The majority of interest is currently amongst the many Greylag Goose flocks with singles of Pink-footed, Tundra Bean and Canada Goose plus the 6 White-fronted Geese. There were now 3 Grey Herons at Ancum Loch where the male Hen Harrier was seen hunting Snipe. A trickle of 19 skylarks through the day was encouraging.

Hen Harrier

22nd February

The Green-winged Teal had relocated to Bride'sness Loch which held good numbers of wildfowl including 9 Red-breasted Mergansers sitting out from the rough seas, 4 Pintail, 14 Gadwall and a Little Grebe. A first-summer Iceland Gull patrolled the coastline there and nearby were 6 White-fronted Geese.
Passerines were still hard to locate with just 7 Twite and 14 Skylark at Kirbest and 9 Snow Buntings on the shore near Howar. Double figure counts of Fieldfare kept a male Hen Harrier and a Merlin busy.

21st February

Despite not being seen by Observatory staff, we're told the GLOSSY IBIS has been seen regularly early morning near Ancum in recent days. The Green-winged Teal remains faithful to Gretchen Loch and just a single Bean Goose was seen near Milldam. Small numbers of thrushes remained including a Song Thrush trapped at the Bird Observatory and two Grey Herons were at Hooking Loch.

26th-27th January

Wind, wind and more wind-will it ever cease?! A couple of un-birdable days as persistent 50mph easterlies battered the Island once more. An attempt was made on 27th but just a single European White-fronted Goose and 4 Whooper Swans were on offer.

Full-time Ornithological staff will be off-Island now until the third week of February, but details of casual sightings until then will appear on our Facebook page. So click on the link on the right hand side to keep in touch of any latest news.

24th-25th January

More wind and rain on the 24th with the former building to gale force 10 overnight. The drake Green-winged Teal was seen on both bates and after the storms an adult Little Gull dropped into the airfield briefly on a more pleasant 25th. The 3 Tundra Bean Geese were also still present, along with 3 White-fronted Geese (2 European and the lingering Greenland). The juvenile Iceland Gull was seen again at the north end with 25 Snow Buntings nearby at Bewan.

23rd January

A drop in the wind, encouraged a trek up to the north end, but it wasn't long before the heavens opened once again. Nevertheless there were things to see with a juvenile Iceland Gull near the lighthouse new for the year. Similarities between the recent Bean Goose influx and that of 2011 are being realised, primarily due to the accompanying European White-fronted Geese which have started arriving too. 5 were seen today, with 3 of yesterday's Tundra Bean's also still present-it will be interesting to see if the numbers reach the level of a few years ago. The Canada Goose was also seen again, while 11 Whooper Swans, included a new family party of 4 at Garso.  A couple of Hen Harriers were also logged along with 16 Fieldfares and 34 Snow Buntings, all at the north end.

21st-22nd January

A strong easterly wind, touching gale force on the 22nd appears to have influenced a few arrivals. After a handful had been seen in Shetland the day before, it wasn't that surprising when 2 Tundra Bean Geese were found with the Greylags west of the Kirk on 21st. By 22nd at least 4 were present with 2 new singles (also Tundra) around the middle of the Island and what was thought to be the original pair on the west side. Along a similar theme, the Greenland White-fronted Goose and 4 Pink-footed Geese were seen again on the first date, while the Canada Goose and Green-winged Teal were seen on both. There was also some evidence of other new birds on 22nd with 4 Woodcocks and 6 Fieldfares along the sheltered western side.

Tundra Bean Geese