18th and 19th September
A decent day on the 18th with the moderate
wind still firmly in the NW; the day’s highlight (for one person anyway!) was
the reappearance of the Long-billed Dowitcher (assuming
it is the same bird anyway) at Brides Loch, it showed well feeding with the
Snipe but had disappeared by the time the rest of the crew was assembled. Other waders across the island included 105
Ringed Plover, 1,419 Golden Plover, 4 Grey Plover, 2 Little Stints still, 20
Ruff and a Jack Snipe amongst the steadily growing 184 Snipe.
Grounded
migrants were again mainly lingering birds with the Marsh Warbler seen briefly again in
Holland, the 2 Barred Warblers still, 3 Yellow-browed Warblers,
3 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 3 Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff, a
Robin, 79 alba Wagtails, 2 Mealy
Redpolls and 2 Snow Buntings.
Bar-tailed Godwit, photo Simon Davies
The
light winds were yet again still in the NW on the 19th but there was
plenty of sunshine in the afternoon to make it pleasurable out in the field;
there was the merest hint of some new birds across the island with a lovely
female Bluethroat trapped at Holland first thing,
where there was also a Yellow-browed Warbler and a Common Rosefinch. Other landbirds included a Robin, one of the
lingering Barred Warblers still, 4 Lesser Whitethroats, single Blackcap
and Garden Warbler, a Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warblers, 2 Mealy Redpolls, 3
Lapland Buntings and 4 Snow Buntings.
Offshore,
birds included an increase to 9 Great-northern Divers, 4 Red-throated Divers, 3
blue phase Fulmars, 15 Sooty Shearwaters, a Manx Shearwater and a skein of 26
Pink-footed Geese; other bits of note comprised an increase of 154 Wigeon,
single Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Merlin and Peregrine, 2 Little Stints still and 64
Black-tailed Godwits including several flocks coming in from the north.
Bluethroat, photo Simon Davies
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