A day on Sanday

Taking advantage of the last day of excursion fares I put the car on the Sanday ferry and with a small birding crew we set about seeing if anything was left of yesterday's Yellow-browed fall.

First to Start Point, up in the NE corner to see if, despite the clear night any new birds were in. They weren't but it was still an interesting place to wander around, taking care not to get cut off by the tide of course.

We then had a bit of a tour around the north end of the island in the process locating two Yellow-browed Warblers and failing to nail a likely Grotfinch.

However, a change of plan, a focus on waders, and we were soon searching through the vast flocks of goldies and other waders on Burness. Eventually M said, "What's this?" A group of close waders flew including an interesting smaller one with the goldies, and once we had relocated it nearby it was appropriately identified and photographed - Buff-breasted Sand, very nice.

Follows my photos, M's were considerably better.

A large cow stood in front of the bird and when it had moved Buffy was gone. We couldn't relocate her and neither could the two carloads of birders who we called up. Subsequently we searched the fields most of the way to the sea. We were needing to dash for the ferry but AL could be relied upon to locate something good, and sure enough he'd got the adult American Golden Plover. Reasonable enough views were obtained before we had to scoot south down the island for the boat and an uneventful, though occasionally bouncy trip home.

Back to the mundane...

Today was a standard Orkney day, drive daughter down the track and pick out a Ruff from the field opposite as we wait in the wind and the rain (inside the car) for her school bus to appear. Into the works car park where a White Wagtail calls and scoots off. Usual work stuff but a quick sally outside late afternoon finds 39 Pinkies heading over the building.

I'll post these two videos to relive (recently) passed glories...

You'll need headphones to catch the call

Gyr Crakes

Messing about on t'internet, looking at old blogs and I seem to have missed this bit of genius from the legendary Newton Stringer....

Baird's Sandpiper

I spend all last weekend on North Ron doing solid birding and find... not much. I take the dog for a walk with the girls during a day I'd barely touched the bins and find a Baird's Sand on The Links beach.

I very nearly blew it as I glanced at the bird initially and almost passed it off as a Dunlin, then it flew and called, ah, that's not a Dunlin.

I spend a fair amount of time checking this beach so it was well exciting to find such a cracking little bird.

Fulmar stuff ++

Passing Pt of Buckquoy at 3,000 / hr yesterday morning (average from sample counts) at times the rate was substantially higher than that, my largest sample was 290 in 5 mins. This was yet another attempt to get a decent bird from a seawatch but the wind was with a bit of south in it, certainly no north and maybe its a tad early still for a goodchance of Leach's here (although there have been a couple claimed in recent days).

Whilst on North Ronaldsay at the weekend over 100 Fulmars landed in tall vegetation at Bridesness and were caught for ringing. I went down there the next day under the impression that they had mistakenly gone into the vegetation and was amazed to watch birds deliberately landing in the iris and sedge beds. A good number were down in the vegetation and about 20 others were flying around them, every now and then one of the flying birds would land. Once in this vegetation they could not easily extricate themselves and were flapping around with no chance of flight. This would seem to be rather lemming like behaviour as in time a good number will surely die of starvation.

 These birds were buzzing over the iris and sedge beds, occasionally landing

Not easy ground for a Fulmar

By coincidence we were eating this evening when we noticed a Fulmar on the front lawn. Being 7 miles or so from the sea and Fulmar being fairly infrequent here (first tetrad record this year) I was surprised. Having donned old clothes I went out and caught the bird. With there being almost no breeze attempts to launch it into the air met with failure, long glides and crashing back onto the grass. In the end we loaded the fulmar into a cat basket and took it to Pt of Buckquoy where there were plenty of other fulmars and a fair breeze, it flew off strongly once launched into the air.

First attempt to relaunch

 This looks as if it might be successful... but no

I'm interested in this odd behaviour. Of the birds that were retraps or controls amongst the NRon birds I think I'm correct in stating they were all ringed in the last four years so were probably young and inexperienced. Could this be social behaviour, seeking out nest sites? Its hard to think of a reasonable
explanation.

The Shunan is full of water and unsuitable for much, even the Teal and Wigeon have deserted it of late. However, the field across the track to the east is now flooded in places and this has led to up to 17 Blackwits feeding in there. Yesterday there was a Ruff and 11 Redshank; a good spot for a Pec I should think.

The trip to North Ronaldsay was ok, considering the not so good winds. A seawatch produced 18 Sooties and the same number of Manx along with 7 Euro Stormies. There were plenty of the commoner waders moving and I connected with a couple of rather elusive Barred Warblers. I did spend the best part of three hours trying to see a Phyllosc that I'd glimpsed in Holland House gardens, to no avail, I'd fancied finding Arctic Warbler... maybe next time.

Easterly

The wind blew easterly and shortly after my ill-judged trip to North Ronaldsay there were migrants everywhere. Flights out to the island were cancelled in the mornings due to fog so getting out there wasn't really on but I made the best of it on Mainland. A good seawatch and some decent migrant hunting didn't turn up anything startling, perhaps the Reed Warbler at Palace being the best, but it was all quite exciting nonetheless.

The one that got away was a likely Citrine Wag on the beach at Birsay this morning which I heard call a couple of times but just could not locate.

Point of Ayre produced 9 Sooties on Thursday morning. A search around a nearby plantation found a Pied Fly.

Saturday was the day of the Reed Warbler, over which I spent about an hour to ensure that it wasn't Marsh, it exhibited rather an unmarked face apart from a very distinct eye ring, it had very well marked primary tips; unfortunately it also had a rather long bill, quite even brown plumage and dark brownish legs.

A Dunlin and a Sanderling

This morning there were piles of waders on Palace Beach, including at least 12 Knot and a Ruff. The Shunan has held up to two Blackwits and a Greenshank. Loch of Bosquoy continues to host a male Marsh Harrier.

Double dip

Saturday morning and there appeared to be a small drop at Palace, first a nice adult White Wagtail and then an excellent Black Redstart, both on the Links Beach. Also present were six Grey Herons and a Sandwich Tern.

Encouraged by all this I weakened and went for the Black-headed Bunting on Sunday. This involved over three hours out on the boat, with a little entertainment from a 16 or so Arctic Skuas then just three and a half hours on North Ron before another three hours + back on the boat. The good news was the bunting was there and was seen just a few minutes before I arrived, the bad news was it did its vapourising trick when I started looking for it. Then 50 mins before the boat was due to leave news of a Citrine Wag came in, but from the north of the island. I needed to catch this boat so reluctantly declined the lift to go and search for it; it was found but a while later at a new location. Double dip.

The trip back was long and rather tedious with just a few migrating and distant waders and a couple of Manx to enliven the proceedings.

Quiet patch

I've been unable to get out to North Ron for the Black-headed Bunting, various domestic duties intervening. There have been up to seven Blackwits on The Shunan and the occasional Greenshank, a Pink-footed Goose has been hanging around as well.

Seawatching has looked promising, despite the not so good winds and another Sooty and a Manx today were nice. There have been encouraging numbers of juvenile Kittiwakes and even a few juvenile Arctic Terns passing as well.

Dip and...

Dipped the Lesser-legs,, an uncharacteristic delayed response to the info resulted in the need to search and fail... So it goes. However a Ruff was a bit of a consolation prize and there were 282 Eider in the bay off Carness, but no likely suspects.

The moth trap produced the goods though with The Gothic and this (see below) which is maybe Mere Wainscott (Small Dotted Buff, just a poorly marked one) any help much appreciated.

 The Gothic

Small Dotted Buff (not well marked) (And below)

Today found me hunting waders on some of the local beaches, Sanderling, Knot, Greenshanks were nice with significantly more Lapwings around and a small flock of Golden Plover. An hour or so seawatching in calm, misty conditions produced a single Sooty.

Yesterday, Loch of Bosquoy produced a Greenshank, more broods of Tufted, two broods of Gadwall, two broods of Little Grebe and a Hen Harrier.

Roller

The text came in just on 7.30 p.m. and by 7.50 I was seeing my first UK Roller, very, very... blue.

I went back this morning to get some pictures that were more than just a blue dot, and had great views, although the pictures are not that much better.

Stormies

Photography has returned to the usual standard.

Went out with AL on his annual RSPB ringing expedition last night, only two birds were caught, but seen well flying around the nets as well.

Ring of Brodgar

 Mollie water colour

Mollie pastel sketch

Westray

Noup Head, Westray

We've been Sooth as they say here, thus the lack of posts and birding activity. I guess Sooth is another story, mostly not to do with birds although I was pleased to see Marsh Tit and to get great views of genuine unpolluted Carrion Crows, but more of that in another post maybe.

The plan was that due to it being Louise and my twentieth wedding anniversary at the beginning of July, which we were yet to celebrate, our house-sitter would kindly look after our girls and we'd get away for a night out. The chosen spot was Westray and the very comfy Pierowall Hotel. Now Westray is not especially known for good birds so Louise had reckoned this was a safe bet methinks. Bad call. No sooner had we set out on our first walk when the text comes in, Sharp-tailed Sand, Swartmill Loch, Westray. Now Swartmill is down the south end of the island and we were north of Pierowall with no transport, Westray is quite a sizeable island as well: and there was the wedding anniversary issue.

Fortune smiled; Louise was gracious; I managed to get hold of DO the (only) birder on the island, who was the finder of the bird, and he kindly offered to come and fetch me; and having accomplished the locating each other and getting to the loch, after a nervous 20 minute wait the Sharp-tail appeared; smart. Well, that was unexpected. It would have been an excellent find, and if we had gone over using our bikes that might have been the case, as we would have stopped at Swartmill. As it was I was the second observer, and to some extent, never having seen this species before,  helped to confirm the ID.

The next day we did go for a good tramp, up north to Noup Head where seabirds were doing what they should be doing, fishing and breeding. There were thousands of Kittiwakes feeding over the sea and a constant stream of birds on to the cliffs. A very encouraging, and sadly rather unusual sight here these days.

No pictures of the chief suspect I'm afraid, but here are some other pictures from the weekend.