13th and 14th April
A calmer couple of days albeit with the still brisk wind
remaining steadfastly cold and firmly in the NW; there was however some signs
of wildfowl on the move with many species showing increased counts around the
lochs on the 13th including the first 3 Garganey (a drake and 2 females) of the year on Hooking along
with island figures of 2 Whooper Swans, 22 Pink-footed Geese (with a flock of
19 near Howar), 783 Greylag Geese, 9 Gadwall, 18 Shoveler and 30 Tufted Duck while
the single Goldeneye remained and 6 Red-throated Divers and 15 Great-northern
Divers were counted on calmer seas.
A
few wader species were also up including 274 Oystercatchers, 343 Golden Plover,
154 Purple Sandpipers and 409 Turnstone while a Water Rail was squealing away
in Brides. Landbirds of note largely
consisted of lingering birds but some turnover was evident with counts of 6
Woodpigeons, 7 Rock Pipits, 57 Pied Wagtails, 3 Robins, 33 Wheatears, 52
Redwing, 3 Lapland Buntings and single Chiffchaff, Goldcrest and Snow Bunting.
Merlin, photo Simon Davies
The
14th was a pretty nice day with plenty of sunshine but also plenty
of showers to keep us on our toes; the first Swallow of the year was the most notable new arrival while the rest
of the day’s highlights consisted of lingering quality with the Northern Harrier drifting around, the Green-winged Teal still on Gretchen and a pair of Garganey still on Hooking.
Other
birds of note in no particular order consisted of 3 Merlins, the huge, young
female Peregrine again, 5 Woodpigeons, a bit of a corvid influx with 3 Rooks
and 6 Carrion Crows, 43 Redwing, a smart male Brambling, an increased roost
count of 170 Linnets, 5 Snow Buntings and the 3 Lapland Buntings still.
Bar-tailed Godwit, photo Simon Davies
'perhaps you should check the wind direction before vomiting on someone'?!
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