It's been much of the same up here, but that's winter birding I suppose! A single
Iceland Gull flying along the West side of the island was the only bird of noteworthy accreditation on the 6th. The 7th bought a break in what has seemed relentless wind and showers, it bought another first for the year, but again not hugely exciting, it came in the shape of a pair of Razorbill seen heading west from Westness, other noteworthy species for the day were 10 Goldeneye, 6 Pintail, 12 Bar-tailed Godwits and the ever present
Northern Harrier still terrorising the aforementioned ducks!
The 8th saw a return to the nasty weather, this time it was squalled showers and mist, this meant visibility was rubbish for the majority of the day, which by the way aren't very long at the moment! Surprisingly the drake
Smew was back on Bewan with a flock of 6 Goldeneye, the
Northern Harrier did its best to sneak up on the observatory staff, as it has done on many occasions this year and last, shooting past without detection until you see the back end of it hawking around the now empty loch where the ducks you were watching once fed. The other bird of note was also a newbie for 2017, a smart female Sparrowhawk was seen flushing from the trees in Holland to draw the day to a close.
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| Sparrowhawk - George Gay |
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| Drake Smew - George Gay |
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