3rd and 4th September

A very tough day in the field on the 3rd with a very strong SE wind blasting across the island making even walking around a tiring business!  Two Common Rosefinches were the day’s highlight with juveniles seen at Holland and Westness while also on the land a Pied Flycatcher was new at the Lighthouse along with a Lapland Bunting, 3 Willow Warblers, 21 Wheatears, 67 alba Wagtails and a Collared Dove.

                Seawatching conditions had deteriorated from yesterday with just 7 Sooty Shearwaters, a Manx Shearwater and 6 Puffins logged; 4 Herons, 24 Teal, 20 Black-tailed Godwits and 16 Bar-tailed Godwits were also seen through the day.

                An awful day on the 4th as we kept the blazing force 7-8 SE wind and gained constant, heavy, driving rain pretty much throughout the whole day, not drying up until the evening only giving us a couple of hours of decent weather.   Despite the day being ‘unbirdable’ for long periods some good totals were unearthed including the first Whitethroat of the autumn at Holland, a Grasshopper Warbler trapped at the Obs in the evening, a Swift over the Obs, 2 Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff, 3 Collared Doves and a Woodpigeon on the land.

                A decent spread of waders included a Grey Plover, 6 Greenshank, a Whimbrel, 2 Ruff and 9 Black-tailed Godwits while also of note were 2 Common Terns which flew through in the morning (the first since mid-July), 5 Arctic Terns, 33 Teal and a Sparrowhawk.




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