28th and 29th August
A tough day in the field on the 28th with
heavy rain first thing brightening up through the day but with a strong and
increasing SW wind blasting across the island; the first visiting birders of
the autumn combined with a Heatherlea tour group made sure there was some good
coverage though and a range of birds were eventually seen, the highlights were
lingering birds from yesterday with the juvenile Marsh Harrier at Hooking and the elusive
Barred Warbler still in Holland Gardens.
Other grounded passerines were in short supply with 8 Willow Warblers, 2
Reed Warblers and a Whinchat logged while 60 Swallows, 8 Sand Martins and 3
Swifts were overhead.
Seawatching
totals included 12 Sooty Shearwaters, a Storm Petrel, 17 Great Skuas and a
Red-throated Diver while other mentionables comprised 4 Herons, 21 Teal, 7
Shoveler, 2 Peregrines, a Kestrel, 33 Black-tailed Godwits, 33 Bar-tailed
Godwits, 124 Redshank and 4 Ruff.
Kittiwake playing in the wind at the pier
Bright
and sunny again on the 29th but the strong SW still swept across the
island meaning it was again sometimes an effort to keep bashing around in the
field; perhaps the most interesting [new] bird was an adult Red-necked Phalarope on the small pool at Westness which, on very close views was
revealed to have an orange colour ring suggesting it was the same individual
that was last seen on Gretchen on 29th July which, we now believe to
be a Shetland ringed bird which originally had a geolocator attached to its
back but has now fallen off.
The Marsh Harrier was still present along with 2 Peregrines, 3 Kestrels and a
Merlin while some increased seawatching efforts produced 40 Sooty Shearwaters,
15 Manx Shearwaters, a Storm Petrel, 21 Great Skuas and 20 Arctic Terns. Other birds of note included 5 Wigeon, 7
Shoveler, 4 Herons, 17 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Ruff, a Whimbrel and an influx
of 16 Lesser Black-backed Gulls while landbirds comprised the first House Martin
and Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn, 7 Willow Warblers, 3 Sedge
Warblers and 7 Sand Martins. Also of
great note was a Convolvulus Hawkmoth picked up off the road
near the Post Office.
Great Skua coming back to the Mallard it just killed
Adult and juvenile Purple Sandpiper
Red Admirals
Photos Simon Davies
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