11th September

Sadly, anticipative morning census rounds found no trace of the previous day's transient Tringa, that particular yellow-legged cherry having clearly departed without any offer of a second identifying bite. C'est la vie.

But, on the bright side, a growing collection of its compatriots was still around: both American Golden Plovers remained, bird 1 mingling with the hundreds of plovers by the main road, bird 2 preferring the comparative solitude of the west coast; and Pectoral Sandpipers, too, achieved plurality with a new bird appearing at Hooking in addition to the lingering individual on Gretchen Loch. With shorebird stars and stripes arriving in such profusion, it was hard not to feel just slightly cheated when 3 tiny waders on the west coast turned out to be all 'just' Little Stints.

The recent dearth of passerine migrants was alleviated very slightly by a Whinchat, 2 Garden Warblers and a Willow Warbler, while 5 Lapland Buntings, 2 Snow Buntings, 77 Wheatears and 284 Meadow Pipits were also counted around the island. Pink-footed Goose passage came to 185 birds, mostly passing south during the morning.

Purple Sandpipers have been quietly passing through recently, with counts in excess of 70 birds on some days.

Comments