19th July

A spectacular flock of Arctic Terns around Bewan Loch, numbering in excess of 1850 birds, was an impressive sight as they swarmed over the water and nearby rocks. Although such large gatherings are certainly not unprecedented here (day-counts of 5000 have occurred several times in the past), 4-figure totals have been very infrequent in the last decade.

A Manx Shearwater was the only noteworthy passing seabird. There was little change in the number of waders, although 97 Redshanks and 222 Turnstones were new highest counts of the return passage period.