The 18th was by far the quieter of the two days with things very much the same as they had been on previous days. Overnight South-Easterlies meant the 19th was a far more interesting day involving a couple of year ticks.
The highlight of the 18th was the re-appearance of the dark backed Lesser Black-backed Gull that had disappeared a couple of days previously. The thinking is the bird is an
Intermedius Lesser Black-backed Gull, the bird sat on Gretchen for a few minutes before being flushes by a Bonxie. A Willow Warbler and a Chiffchaff were around the obs traps as were 2 Blackcaps.
The 19th as previously stated was slightly more interesting. Ten Sedge Warblers were accompanied by 3 Blackcaps and a Chiffchaff. A Grey Wagtail was at Bewan Pier during the morning and represents only the second record for the year. A Tree Pipit was around the traps and a Short-eared Owl was at Burray, but the highlights of the day were a female Marsh Harrier that appeared over the middle of the island before doing a little tour of the lochs and 2 Cuckoos; one at Bridesness and another around the obs trapping area before eventually finding its way into heligoland trap.
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| A rather hazy Cuckoo GG |
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| Woodpigeon GG |
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