The last few days have been quite busy, not so much bird wise but still enough to keep us guys happy, I have to make an admission first though, the 2nd and 3rd were a bit of a write off due too a staff night out on Kirkwall, I know what you're saying, "But it's the start of September!!" but it was all the name of team bonding and with some of the guys leaving it was a fitting way for us to all celebrate the fantastic season we've had so far, we just hope it continues in the same way once the guys leave us.
Right now on to the birds, we'll start on the sea, a very productive couple of sea-watch days provided 173 Sooty Shearwaters, 79 Manx Shearwater, another
Great Shearwater,
a Pomerine Skua and most surprisingly, a bit of North Ron mega a single
Balearic Shearwater as a combined total over two days.
Hirundine numbers have also been on the up and 76 Swallows were accompanied by 10 Sand Martin, 12 Swift and a single House Martin.
Waders numbers are staying steady with 5 Little Stint, 7 Ruff and a single Common Sandpiper being the most notable of the period.
Elsewhere passerine numbers continued to fluctuate with only 2 Willow Warblers and a single Chiffchaff but in saying that we had our first Lapland Bunting of 2016 and well over 100 Wheatear. Non-passerines of note came in the shape of a Carrion Crow, 1 Great-Northern Diver and 2 Red-throated Divers. Also very interestingly a colour ringed Bar-tailed Godwit, that has previously visited the island in 2011 and 2013 was photographed. The bird was initially ringed in Finnmark, Norway on the 15/4/2010.
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| Bar-tailed Godwits (Left hand bird with colour ring) - George Gay |
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| Colour ring on Bar-tailed Godwit - George Gay |
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| Lapland Bunting - George Gay |
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