1st and 2nd September
Overcast with the continuing SW wind on the 1st
again meant there were few new grounded migrants so most of the day’s attention
ended up being directed out to sea again which handsomely paid off with another
Great Shearwater north past the seawatch hide at 15:10 while other
totals included 82 Sooty Shearwaters, 11 Manx Shearwaters and 327
Kittiwakes. Otherwise it was still
quiet with the elusive Barred Warbler still in Holland along
with a female Sparrowhawk, 13 Black-tailed Godwits, 23 Bar-tailed Godwits and 2
Willow Warblers.
The Holland Barred Warbler
The
moderate SW wind gradually moved round into the SE by the afternoon of the 2nd
and the overcast morning gradually turned into a sunny, bright afternoon; it
was another day with most of the attention focused on the sea and yet again, it
definitely paid off with a [presumed] FEA’S PETREL which flew past the seawatch hide at
15:50, it was however quite distant and the three observers feel that it will
likely end up as ‘just’ a Pterodroma
sp. even after a full description is submitted however awesome the sighting
was!
Long
hours staring out to sea produced some other decent day totals which included 337 Sooty Shearwaters, 45 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Storm
Petrels, 6 Red-throated Divers, 2 Great-northern Divers, 7 Arctic Skuas, 16
Great Skuas, 856 Kittiwakes, 7 Arctic Terns and 394 Auk sp. with the vast
majority being Razorbills with a handful of Guillemots and Puffins.
It
was quiet across the rest of the island but with seawatching and other events
coverage was perhaps reduced but the switch to the SE wind did produce the
first Common Rosefinch of the autumn at Holland House in the evening
along with 5 Willow Warblers and a new Garden Warbler.
Willow Warbler
Purple Sandpiper
Photos Simon Davies
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