24th-27th July

A fairly productive few days with a dribble of a migrants passing through the island. The Long-tailed Skuas have remained on Tor Ness in varying numbers, we're not seeing the same birds every day so it begs the question where are the birds when they're not here? For example the adult bird went missing for two days before re-appearing on the 27th. Away from the skuas the highlight was a Roseate Tern seen briefly on several occasions between the 25th and 26th but was never seen particularly well. 

A pair of Grebes were seen flying over Bewan while we were setting up nets for another Tern session, the likelyhood is that they were Slavonian Grebes but they remain unproven. The Tern session was quite productive with 13 Terns trapped however a bumper catch of 38 Turnstone were the highlight along with singles of Dunlin and Mallard. 

The 26th also bought about a Short-eared Owl at Westness followed by a male Sparrowhawk that came off the in the same location. The following day saw the start of some heavy rain that continued into the night and is still going on now as I write! The morning however was birdable and again produced a few bits, five of the Long-tailed Skuas, including the adult. A lone Kestrel was seen heading West over Brek and 4 Whimbrels headed South over Garso.

                                   Kestrel                                                                                  GG

                                   Long-tailed Skua                                                                  GG