Now that's what I call birding

On 13th a juv Hobby decided to spend the middle of the day roaring about the garden and environs. Heard initially from indoors whilst I was sanding the kitchen table I passed it off as a Kestrel. An hour later I was sitting outside in the sun, taking a break, tea in hand, watching swallows trickle westward with a thought of "a hobby would be nice", two minutes later the speedy one returned chasing and chased by swallows it then picked on a passing hen harrier and enjoyed a good joust with that before heading high, returning to the garden and then disappearing.

Today there were two Spotshanks on The Shunan mid morning, seen briefly, but well. Whilst scanning the water and mud a distant raptor call was heard and looking up to home there were two juv kestrels roaring around the rookery with a diminutive Merlin. Also on The Shunan today 7 Blackwits and a ruff.

Soot

A brief seawatch of an hour from Brough of Birsay produced a single close Sooty going west this evening.

Waders still have chicks shock. Oystercatcher with one 3/4 grown chick by the Shunan where Curlew still have chicks as well. At Evie the usual site had a late brood of Ringed Plovers with two, ten day or fortnight old chicks.

Ruffs

A single on 6th and two today with five Blackwits on Tuesday and three today. Large numbers of lapwing around at the moment too.

Horntail on Hoy

The day we went to Hoy and went up Ward Hill in 2013, just refound the photos. The most extraordinary thing were these two Horntails on the very summit.

Urocerus gigas on the summit of Ward Hill, there were two

On the way up Mountain hares and great views, on the way down the midges killed us!

2bxbills again

Went back to have another look yesterday and hopefully hear the calls but the birds didn't show, last seen 9am but heard at lunchtime. Hopefully someone took some video and got the calls....

2-bXbills

First seawatch of the autumn today as the wind was at least in the right quarter for once. Then over to The Brough and watched some more surrounded by breeding Puffins which was nice.

Nipped in to Stromness for nine, went to the wrong, but likely place for the 2bxbills and saw them feeding high in the sycamore as soon as I got out of the car. However, after a brief view and then sending out texts to alert the local grapevine no further sign despite an hour tramping around Stromness. Some excellent pix by TW and MR on Orkbird.

More waders

230 Curlew at Loch of Bosquoy and this evening 20 Dunlin, a Knot, three Sanderling and a Whimbrel on the Links Beach at Palace.

Two broods of tufted on Bosquoy today and a brood on Parra Shun, seen fromj the garden, five recently hatched.

Also this evening 1000 or so Swallows in the roost at The Loons.

Wader movements

Waders are starting to move through now with Lapwing building up, more than 250 today, similar numbers of Oystercatchers too. Best though were the 16 Blackwits that dropped in yesterday evening. Five of these remainded this morning and mid morning they were joined by six Whimbrel which flew in high from the north. Annoyingly I missed a small Calidris which defied detection until I looked back from the house yesterday evening by which time both fog and dark were rolling in. Curlew and Oystercatcher still have young and are calling and agitated everytime I take the dog down the track.

Thursday there was a Willow Warbler in the garden, the first warbler in the garden this year. None were located yesterday but one more juv was on the bird feeders this morning, contemplating a change of diet perhaps.

Oh, shit!

Yesterday Gary Woodburn got a phone call and whizzed off and connected with Fea's (http://beadnell-birding.blogspot.co.uk/), same job here except I didn't bother to go and look. Ok I'm slightly further away from the sea, would have taken me at least 20 minutes and probably 30 by the time I'd tramped out to the best spot on The Brough, it was spit clear here and windy, calm and foggy in Northumberland, but maybe I should have given it a go....

Have just got back from hols, will post the Arran story shortly.

Decorating...

Too much house stuff and looking after ponies, let alone work, has meant little time for posting, although I have been going birding, though mostly around home. Work pretty much ceased a week ago, but the decorating then required attention, oh and I watched some telly, well I couldn't actually get to Glastonbury and beeb coverage was pretty good. Have managed to listen to a lot of radio, some excellent beeb drama and the mastertapes series has kept me entertained whilst weilding the paint brush. Haven't bothered to go and look at the Rosey, well there's another problem as the car is currently undergoing some major health care.

Breeding birds are interesting, waders seem to have done pretty well, Black-headed Gulls also, but Common Gulls didn't look to be so good although two juvs appeared on The Shunan today. Quackers have been a bit disappointing, Shelducks have 4 well grown chicks now and the mallard are ok but at least around home Shoveler, Teal and Wigeon don't seem to have done much. In the last few days the first Tufted broods have begun to emerge.

A trip to Evie on Thursday produced a stonking sum plum Gt Northern close insure and the Artctic terns seem to be doing ok on Eyenhallow, with several hundred buzzing around and obvious signs of nesting. Eider don't seem to have done too well though with just 6 broods and plenty of ducklingless females flocked up and loafing.

Will get the pix together sooner or later.....

Breeding waders, gully visitors

The Shunan is a noisy and aggressive place these days with many waders sitting on posts and then attacking anything that approaches their realm. it seems to have been a pretty good season with Redshank doing especially well but Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Curlew following not far behind. We have to drive up the track with caution in recent days as the car is often escorted by a running Curlew chick leading us over the (now not so many, thanks Carl) potholes.

Silage cut, looking up to home

The other main interest, it being silage cutting time, are the gulls. The Scandinavian race of Lesser Black-backed Gull, intermedius, is rare here with just three records of four birds since 2006. I'm used to seeing these in September and October in Yorkshire so I'm cautious of June individuals here but some of these look like contenders...

 Right hand lying down bird

 Standing, left centre

Lying birds, left centre

...and a pale graellsii taken at the same time, in the same place, at the same angle. 

Pale graellsii

Other things of late include regular Arctic and great Skua visits, a peregrine hanging about on Sunday, and a nasty dip yesterday when a smart male crossbill fed on the rose that climbs on the front of the house.

North Ron weekend

Excellent weekend on NRon. Nothing startling, but still great birding. Actually dipped on the best bird due to an uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm for night operations (nightish at this time of year). Invited to head out to listen for a rumoured crake I elected to go to bed instead, being somewhat knackered. Of course it turned out to be good and a calling Spot Crake was logged.

Nice things were a Blue-headed Wagtail, two Curlew Sands, a Swift. However, the total over the two days of 380 Sanderling, nearly all in summer plumage, was exceptional for me.

Cracking place North Ron, excellent observatory, brilliant island, and often cracking birds, although they tend to take a bit of looking for.