29th-30th October - Costa del North Ronaldsay?
It's been a very good couple of days on the Costa del North Ronaldsay, you might wonder why we're calling that?! You'll have to read on to find out!
I'll start with ducks and other wildfowl 108 Whooper Swans on the 29th grew to 141 on the 30th, there were 8 Bean Geese on the 30th, an astonishing 405 Wigeon on the 29th were supported by 12 Gadwall, 87 Teal, 60 Mallard, 5 Pintail, 38 Shoveler, 31 Tufted Duck, the same female Scaup, 21 Long-tailed Duck, 11 Red-breasted Mergansers, 1 Goldeneye and the long staying Green-winged Teal.
A couple of days of good sea-watching provided some large numbers and a massive surprise for Gary and Sam! Over the two days 28 Pomeraine Skua, 4 Manx Shearwater, 869 Kittiwake, 228 Sooty Shearweaters, 6248 Fulmars including a couple of blues and that big surprise was a second Fea's Petrel of the year off Dennishead, the bird showed very well for both the guys and prompted a very excited response from Sam!
Good numbers of Red-throated and Great-Northern Divers were present with 12 and 16 respectivly.
The Northern Harrier is still present, just the way we like it! As is the Hoopoe (one of our Southern specials!)
Our Waders are still begining to build up with 5 Golden Plover, 54 Purple Sandpipers, 87 Dunlin, 261 Snipe and 3 Woodcock.
Other birds of intrest include a very pale Yellow Wagtail seen breifly at Brides, 5 Waxwing were at Holand on the morning of the 30th, 12 Robin, 4 Blackcap, 1 Goldfinch, 7 Chiffchaff, 1 Mistle Thrush, 56 Twite and 30 Snow Bunting.
The big surprise came in the shape of another Southern speciality! Our 3rd record of Glossy Ibis was found at Hooking Loch before relocating to the beach. Another suprise was a for now un-identified Bat species, if anyone can give us some pointers that'd be great! So that's why we're calling it Costa del North Ronaladsay.
I'll start with ducks and other wildfowl 108 Whooper Swans on the 29th grew to 141 on the 30th, there were 8 Bean Geese on the 30th, an astonishing 405 Wigeon on the 29th were supported by 12 Gadwall, 87 Teal, 60 Mallard, 5 Pintail, 38 Shoveler, 31 Tufted Duck, the same female Scaup, 21 Long-tailed Duck, 11 Red-breasted Mergansers, 1 Goldeneye and the long staying Green-winged Teal.
A couple of days of good sea-watching provided some large numbers and a massive surprise for Gary and Sam! Over the two days 28 Pomeraine Skua, 4 Manx Shearwater, 869 Kittiwake, 228 Sooty Shearweaters, 6248 Fulmars including a couple of blues and that big surprise was a second Fea's Petrel of the year off Dennishead, the bird showed very well for both the guys and prompted a very excited response from Sam!
Good numbers of Red-throated and Great-Northern Divers were present with 12 and 16 respectivly.
The Northern Harrier is still present, just the way we like it! As is the Hoopoe (one of our Southern specials!)
Our Waders are still begining to build up with 5 Golden Plover, 54 Purple Sandpipers, 87 Dunlin, 261 Snipe and 3 Woodcock.
Other birds of intrest include a very pale Yellow Wagtail seen breifly at Brides, 5 Waxwing were at Holand on the morning of the 30th, 12 Robin, 4 Blackcap, 1 Goldfinch, 7 Chiffchaff, 1 Mistle Thrush, 56 Twite and 30 Snow Bunting.
The big surprise came in the shape of another Southern speciality! Our 3rd record of Glossy Ibis was found at Hooking Loch before relocating to the beach. Another suprise was a for now un-identified Bat species, if anyone can give us some pointers that'd be great! So that's why we're calling it Costa del North Ronaladsay.
 |
| Glossy Ibis - George Gay |
 |
| Glossy Ibis - George Gay |
 |
| Hen Harrier - George Gay |
 |
| Bat sp. - George Gay |
Comments