7th - 9th December

An incredible few days as Storm Caroline wreaked her foamy vengeance upon the island with storm force winds battering the Northern Isles; not much birding was done on the 7^th as the winds reached their peak but some hardcore dazzling produced some good results after dark with a good selection of Gulls and waders caught.   We ventured out briefly on the 8^th into the still gale force winds and wintery squalls with 2 Glaucous Gulls (an adult and a juvenile) off Brides in amongst good numbers of other Gulls, Ducks and Waders feeding along the marginally sheltered side of the island.

                Still extremely windy on the 9^th with huge waves and long, heavy snow and hail showers; a few hours spent at the top end produced the highlights of 3 Glaucous Gulls (two juveniles and a different adult) and a juvenile Iceland Gull (which may have had some kumlieni in there somewhere).   Other birds included 32 Snow Buntings, an increased 7 Goldeneye, 10 Pintail, 22 Bar-tailed Godwits and 21 Curlew.

Glaucous Gulls,   Simon Davies

Iceland Gull,   Simon Davies