It's been fairly standard late spring fair in the past eight days or so, usually with one highlight bird a day and very little else!
The big news on 6th was two Quail, both singing, one at Brides and one near Holland, while nine Woodpigeon made for a respectable count near Brigg. The following day marked the first Sunday excursion of the year, and meant it would be a busy afternoon for the staff, so birding was started early and this was quickly rewarded with our third Temminck's Stint of the year on Ancum, Spotted Flycatchers were at the Observatory, Holland and Ancum Willows, as were the two long-staying Crossbills. Ancum was the place to be, as the day was concluded with two Curlew Sandpiper dropping into the loch just before dusk (if you can call it that!). The 8th was another very good day in terms of species, the previous days Temminck's Stint remained in-situ on Ancum, with a Greenshank for company, while the willows held an Icterine Warbler. The bird of the day was a Nightingale sp. in the Bewan garden, after brief initial views and a near two hour wait for it to re-appear, we were still unsure on it's identity, but it was quickly trapped once a mist net was deployed and it proved to be a Common Nightingale, not the rarity we perhaps wanted, but still a good bird this far north. An unseasonal Marsh Harrier was a close second as it drifted south through the island. Four Canada Geese at Viggay, a Tree Pipit at Grind and a Quail flushed from the Kirbest ditch were mere footnotes in what was probably the best day this spring has offered up. A Redstart on 9th was amazingly our first of the spring, and it felt long overdue, yet another Quail was also present in the fields north of Waterhouse. The 10th started with a Bluethroat in the Kirbest ditch, a Swift at Neven and once again two singing Quails were near the Coastguard hut and at Brides. A Marsh Warbler in the small garden at Trebb proved a total nightmare as it seemed to shape-shift while hopping from Heebee to Honeysuckle bushes, it was touted as many different species before it eventually gave itself up! The two Crossbill also remained on the island with one (a ringed bird) eventually making its way from Veracott down to the Observatory traps, a journey of almost two miles. The 11th started with, you guessed it, a Quail on the airfield. A very smart male Red-backed Shrike became the first added to the colour-ringing project we've joined (The African-European Shrike Project), if you see a smart male Red-backed Shrike sporting blue colour ring 'ZA' do let us know! The only highlight on 12th was a pod of Orca that passed the sea-watch hide, thought to be the 27's. The next day saw the wind drop and heavy showers arrive, that didn't stop Holland playing host to two Marsh Warblers, one behaving in bizarre fashion as it was seen frequently feeding in the tops of the Sycamores in between bursts of song. The 14th saw the wind swing into the north and this seemed to produce the first Lapland Bunting of the year as it fed on sea-weed around Bewan.
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| Marsh Warbler - GG |
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| Marsh Warbler - GG |
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| Nightingale - GG |
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| Orca - GG |
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| Marsh Harrier - GG |
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