6th - 13th August

Its been a good few days with bits and bobs to keep us going while we wait for Autumn to kick into action. The American Golden Plover has remained faithful to almost the same section of the Links, it's probably one of the most reliable birds on the island at the moment, the 6th also saw three Merlin, two Ruff and two Whimbrel as the other most the notable birds of the day. The 7th proved to be a good day with the discovery of a White-winged Tern on Gretchen, just the fourth island record and our first ever juvenile, it remained on the island until 12th, despite being initially seen only around Gretchen, it quickly widened its range and was seen as far north as Ancum. A Swift and seven Knot were the only other notables for 7th. The 8th saw the Turtle Dove re-emerge from the crop at Nether Linnay, but it still gave fairly awful views as it shot off, its been seen fairly intermittently since and was still present on 13th. Things remained pretty much the same on the 9th with just Greenshank to keep attentions going. The 10th provided some good sea-watching totals with highlights being a Leach's Petrel and a Great Shearwater, the latter now being a staple of Autumn sea-watches. A late evening trip to ring some Ringed Plover chicks on 11th saw us pick up the first Short-eared Owl of the autumn. While the 12th promised a lot with the wind finally swinging east it produced little, the first half of the day was almost unbearably windy however by the afternoon it was nearly pleasant and we finally got a warbler! A Lesser Whitethroat in the Lurand Pund was very welcome and got hopes up, however it was a false dawn and we still await a Willow Warbler! The 13th saw a few more bits, with Common Sandpiper and juvenile Red-necked Phalarope were both on Ancum while a Grey Plover rounded the day off as it flew over Gretchen. 

                                                       White-winged Tern - both GG