30th November and 1st December
Still very cold, strong northerlies on the 30th
with a Little Auk off Brides the only bird really worth mentioning. A big change in the weather on the 1st
with the winds swinging back into the west and dying down to almost nothing for
a while but the change brought waves of mist, murk and drizzle which drifted in
and out through the day; a seawatch first thing before the weather closed in
produced a Sooty Shearwater (it’s amazing how late in
the year they still pass the island!), 526 Fulmars (with one Blue one), 6
Great-northern Divers, 65 Gannets, 18 Kittiwakes and single Little Auk and
Puffin with 674 Auk sp. There were then
13 Pintail, 17 Gadwall and a Merlin around Bewan.
Other
birds included a Water Rail around the Obs, still one Common Redpoll on the
coast at The Lurn and 2 Pink-footed Geese by Holland before a look round
Southness / Brides produced a Fieldfare, 7 Redwings, 4 Meadow Pipits, 2
Skylarks and 2 more Pintail while offshore there were 6 Red-breasted Mergansers
and 9 Long-tailed Ducks.
Raven showing off
Snow Bunting, Simon Davies
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