4th and 5th March
A decent day on the 4th
with light easterly winds and the thaw gathering pace as the fields and lochs
slowly returned to normal allowing waders and ducks back to their usual feeding
sites; the only new bird through the day was a smart adult Iceland Gull at Bewan while the Glaucous Gull, Kumlien’s Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull
were all still in place.
Wildfowl included 472 Wigeon, 25 Goldeneye, 6
Red-breasted Merganser and the drake Smew while an
impressive number of Passerines which came out of the woodwork after surviving
the freeze comprised 88 Skylarks, 21 Rock Pipits, 10 Meadow Pipits, the Black
Redstart, 6 Robins, 55 Fieldfares, a Song Thrush, 26 Redwings, 6 Reed Buntings
and 54 Snow Buntings.
A generally unpleasant day on the 5th with
long spells of rain and a much stronger easterly wind making things tricky in
the field but helping complete the thawing process leaving only small areas of
ice on most of the lochs. There were
some new birds on offer though as we braved the conditions with the first 2 Black-tailed Godwits of the year at Westness, the first Little Auk of the year past the
seawatch hide and further increases in duck numbers including 20 Pintail, 3
Shoveler (the first ones after they all left as soon as the cold weather
arrived!), 17 Goldeneye and the Green-winged Teal which appeared back on
Gretchen like nothing ever happened!
The suite of scarce Gulls were all still present with
the adult Iceland Gull up at the north end and the Glaucous Gull and Kumlien’s Gull feeding together at Brides
where the Ruff also reappeared and the Hen Harrier floated around.
Iceland Gull George Gay
Glaucous and Kumlien's Gull Lewis Hooper
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