22nd -24th February


The influx of white-wingers faded away as the wind dropped and the weather became very pleasant as Storm Doris largely missed us, passing far to the south; just 2 Glaucous Gulls remained on the 22nd.   The bird highlights remained the same with the Northern Harrier seen again, this time in the north of the island on the 23rd, the drake Smew still going back and forth between Bewan and Hooking and the Green-winged Teal still on Gretchen.

                Decent wildfowl counts in this period included 420 Greylag Geese in amongst which was still a single White-fronted Goose, 205 Wigeon, 79 Teal, 27 Long-tailed Ducks and 8 Goldeneye while the glorious, sunny, calm conditions on the 24th produced some much improved wader counts with 289 Purple Sandpipers, 245 Turnstone and 33 Bar-tailed Godwits standing out.

                Two Hen Harriers on the 23rd included a ringtail at Brides and a fine adult male which cruised round the Obs several times after appearing to have come in from the south while passerines remained at a premium with the odd Snow Bunting seen at various sites and a couple more wintering Robins sticking their heads up during the fine weather on the 24th.


Purple Sandpipers - photo Simon Davies

Comments