26th June - 2nd July
Despite being what is usually considered a quiet period for migration, the last week has seen some excellent birds unearthed, proving it's always worth being out.
26th was quiet with a House Martin at the Lighthouse the day's highlight. However, 27th started well with a Quail discovered at the roadside by the airfield - the fourth sighting of the year. Golden Plovers continued to build, numbering at over 150, and numbers of non-breeding Lapwings and Redshank also increased, with a flock of 105 Lapwings lingering around Ancum. The highlight of the day came in the afternoon when the second Nightjar of the year was found at Westness, which didn't prove particularly popular with the Arctic Tern colony.
28th saw the first Common Tern of the year arrive at Bewan and Grey Herons seen at Hooking and Ancum. The first Storm Petrel ringing session of the year resulted in 3 birds trapped and ringed overnight at the north end of the island. The following day was relatively quiet with two Common Terns at Garso and Gretchen the only noteworthy sightings.
The final day of June delivered in style, beginning with a female Red-backed Shrike which roamed around the fence lines between Ancum Willows and North Manse. A smart Curlew Sandpiper at Westness was then followed by a stunning adult Pacific Golden Plover close by amongst a small flock of Golden Plovers, which was later seen again at the Links. Despite being the first since 2017, this will be the twelfth record for North Ronaldsay if accepted (over ten percent of all UK records), which will continue the island's record as the best site in the country for this species. A Whimbrel and a Redpoll made up the other sightings of note.
July opened with the Red-backed Shrike still at Ancum Willows and the Pacific Golden Plover refound at Breck, although there were no new arrivals of note. 2nd saw the second Mediterranean Gull of the year discovered, with a third calendar year bird at Howar.
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