8th-10th January
With winter ticking along nicely and birds slowly adding
themselves to the year list it’s been a topsy-turvy few days in content and
weather wise.
The 8th was much the same as the previous two
days, a second Glaucous Gull of the year, this time a 1st Winter or
2nd Calendar Year (whichever you prefer) was loafing around Bewan
with other Gulls.
A flock of Snow Buntings were seen feeding in the fields
that surround South Ness and a short sea-watch provided the first Great
Northern Diver of 2018 and a probable White-billed Diver that showed all the characteristics
of White-billed but in fading light it cannot be a certainty.
Poor weather on the 9th and having a few jobs
to do lead to very little in the way of birding being done. The highlight being
a large count of Great Black-backed Gull and Herring Gulls posting totals of
188 and 112 respectively, the biggest surprise was a lack of white-wingers.
Weather improved considerably on the 10th, a
pair of Pink-footed Geese kicked things off, one in East Loch Park and one
behind the Kirbest Myre. Gull numbers were still high following rough weather
and Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls were joined on the Links by yet
another Glaucous Gull.
A clear increase in Redwing numbers was evident, numbers
rising to an impressive 41 and Fieldfares seemed to stay steady at around 13
birds. Another Great Northern Diver was joined by 17 Long-tailed Ducks off the
Links, 3 Robins were dotted around the island and the Chaffinch that has spent
the winter around the obs croft was lingering at T4.
The biggest surprise of the year (all 10 days of it) was
the appearance of 7 Common Cranes at Nether Linnay! They’re not a usual visitor
to the island and caused a small-scale twitch! The birds were eventually
flushed by curious cattle and flew South towards Sanday. Not a bad start to
2018!
 |
| Common Cranes |
 |
| Common Cranes shortly after being investigated by the Cows |
 |
| 1w Glaucous Gull at Bewan |
Comments