17th-19th September
The last few days have involved a lot of time spent staring at the sea, but this has given us some of the best counts for large shearwaters and other sea-birds in recent years.
The 17th was dominated by left overs from the previous week of birding. A Curlew Sandpiper was on Bewan, while 7 Ruff remained in various spots. A lone Tree Pipit was on the west coast, Redstarts were around the obs and the North end. There were also Whinchats at the Shooting Gallery and around Brides, while only one Willow Warbler remained. The Nightjar was also still present around the obs.
The 18th and 19th were both dedicated mostly to sea-watching and with good reason! With a total of 17 Great Shearwaters on 18th and three on 19th there isn't much to argue against! Other sea-watch goodies included 2 Long-tailed Skuas, 326 Sooty Shearwater, 234 Manx Shearwater and a single Pomarine Skua on 18th and the following day would see 249 Sooties, 354 Manxies, 8 Pomarine Skua and 5 Long-tailed Skua, not to mention over 10,000 Fulmars, 160+ of which were Blue Fulmars! On the land things were also good, a Barred Warbler was at Veracott while a Stonechat in Loch Park and a Little Stint on Bewan lead the way.
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