Bird Race warm up...

Bit of a buzz around today in not especially good weather led to me not seeing the Blue-winged Teal, adding Short-eared Owl for the year to the Old Nisthouse patch and losing the dog (temporarily) at Marwick. Gales forecast for the morn so not the best of conditions for the 100 species mark....

Spring (not)

Blue-winged Teal is still on The Shunan and managed to relocate the Green-winged Teal on Loch of Skaill, somehow avoiding the Ring-necked Duck...

Buzzard was added for the Old Nisthouse patch and Long-tailed Duck for Palace.

 Where's the Blue-winged Teal?

 Rainbow over Harray

Oystercatchers and Lapwings by Old Nisthouse

Spring (maybe)

Yesterday was the first calm day this year that I've been able to go birding so down to Loch of Harray as Long-tailed Duck was still required for the year list. It took a bit of doing but one eventually gave itself up. Also for the year a very distant Red-throated Diver, and always nice to see drake Scaup and no fewer than 4 Slav Grebes.

Slavonian Grebe

On to Howaback where there were plenty of Fieldfares and Redwings, a very large flock of Twite and good numbers of waders and duck. The hound disappeared after a rabbit so I spent longer there than anticipated but in the sunshine and gentle weather there was not much to complain about.

 Twite with Curlews

 Whooper family

Two carbo Cormorants

On Friday I'd gone into Kirkwall, couple of things from the PDC.

 Gull at the back looks dark to my eye...

Hopefully the charge for plastic bags will reduce this sight in the future.

Very windy today, Peregrine passed the bedroom window as I sipped my early morning cuppa, then a Sparrowhawk low between the cars from the kitchen. Could barely make headway at The Links and retreated to hiding behind the dyke and watching around the burn. Best was on the way back, these gulls feeding around the plough.

Common Gulls follow the plough

Jobs to do yesterday p.m.

Something missing?

That's better

 Rather a lot of hours later....

WeBS and Howaback

Howaback produced Fulmar and Red-breasted Merganser for the Patchwork list today.

 This is the burn at Howaback

Great birding at Loch of Sabiston for the WeBS count with loads of birds, nothing special just piles to sort through.

Mollie and I took Cora to Evie late afternoon, nice skies and reflections.

Another quacker (or two) from across the pond

Nice surprise this afternoon. Having delivered youngest daughter to a friend's I went on to Loch of Skaill, always a place for lots of birds. Working through the tufties for about the third time the bill markings of one jumped out at me, nice, Ring-necked Duck. It was quite close and I got good views for about a minute. Looked away to text it out, looked back, disappeared..... Searching through again I picked out the Green-winged Teal that was found there last week, more brightly marked than the Bosquoy bird to my eye, a different one.

Ring-necked Duck, the one on the water

Not found R-nD before, so rather chuffed. Subsequently managed to relocate it at the other end of the loch.

Earlier on the seawatch at Point of Buckquoy produced a Blue Fulmar, a Puffin and right at the death a very smart 2cy Glaucous Gull, think that's the ninth one for the Palace patch this year. Also there Tystie for the year.

This has been present in Palace village all winter so far, not a species that is especially common there

No sign of the rarer teals on the home patch. On Bosquoy a large female Peregrine was terrifying everything towards dusk. With persistence she forced a Curlew down on to the water repeatedly but just couldn't pick it off. In the end I wasn't convinced it was serious about hunting and was perhaps just being playful, not that the Curlew was enjoying the game. Also there a couple of Goosander.

On Thursday finally added Black-headed Gull to the year list for the home patch, hunting over the new partially harvested neep field.

Patchwork running totals for 2015
Old Nisthouse - 61 species (85 points)   FootIt - 53 (66)    Comparitive PWC 2014 - 117 (169 points)

Palace, Birsay - 46 species (58 points) - Comparitive PWC 2013 - 93 (121 points)

Flu

Horrible flu and ghastly weather on Saturday so very little birding done. Weather was better today and the flu had abated somewhat, but Louise had the flu so I had ponies to care for, hay to fetch, girls to sort out etc.

 Blue

 Chatter

The Blue-winged Teal showed well on The Shunan and I managed to add Slavonian Grebe and Scaup from Loch of Harray, despite it being pretty choppy. Amazingly enough I'm only five species short on last year's patch total for January around home, so not bad. Quality species as well with the teals, Iceland Gulls and the uncounted Gyr. Ruff, Jack Snipe, Goosander, Merlin and Kestrel are all worth a mention, a January Pied Wag was quite a turn up. Missing were Buzzard, Black-headed Gull, Skylark and Woodcock.

I failed to get to the coast in quite promising weather for seawatching so no extra points there.

A bit of a recalculation with the numbers from the downloaded BirdTrack lists give:

Patchwork running totals for 2015
Old Nisthouse - 60 species (84 points)   FootIt - 53 (66)    Comparitive PWC 2014 - 117 (169 points)

Palace, Birsay - 44 species (56 points) - Comparitive PWC 2013 - 93 (121 points)

 Token bird...

I'd rather have a white one please...

I rarely go out without the scope but yesterday afternoon I was feeling lazy, and it was windy so keeping it still here would be a challenge, so off I set... First up, behaviour of other species indicated there was a raptor about. After a lot of scanning about I was rewarded with a pretty brief view of a dyke hopping large falcon, well very large. Big Peregrine was my thought but... Next it was in the air scrapping with a Peregrine, what I guessed in comparing them was a small male. This time I got a bit of a longer view and the thought of Gyr did go through my head but... In the end I just passed it off but one or two things did bother me about the id. So when I bumped in to my neighbour by his Loch of Bosquoy house late this afternoon and he said he'd had prolonged and close views of a dark phase Gyr hunting yesterday afternoon I was a tad jealous. Trouble with dark phase birds is that I think they are almost impossible to get accepted as the falconers hybrid issue comes in to play. No doubt this was the real deal. Whatever, great bird, even my brief views were of quite a beast. Story wasn't over though as after getting home just in front of the rain this afternoon, sat drinking tea and Louise saw a very large falcon with contrast between the underwing coverts (dark) and the primaries (pale) scoot over our big sycamore and into the distance.

When I finally got to The Shunan yesterday afternoon with no scope and wanting to check if the Blue-winged Teal was still there I just blasted off a pile of photos.

 There's the B-wTeal on the right of the picture

However, this is a tad more problematic, adult Iceland maybe, opinions welcome.

I'll take the scope in future.

Seawatch yesterday produced Fulmars going 3,000 an hour and two Blues with them, and not much else but Guillemot was a Patchwork tick.  The gull scrum produced nothing of note, but always an interesting moment. 

 A very blustery walk around the Links revealed  two Reed Buntings, tricky to get there.

 A few minutes later it looked like this

Late afternoon, end of the telescopeless walk around

Today both the Blue-winged Teal and the Green-winged were in view, there was a Pied Wagtail and a drake Goosander at Bosquoy, early Oystercatcher and drake Shelduck on The Shunan and Louise finished the day off with a brief view of the Gyr (thing) from the kitchen window.

Oh, nice boat at Bosquoy...

Patchwork running totals for 2015
Old Nisthouse - 56 species   FootIt - 51 (66)    Comparitive PWC 2014 - 117 (169 Pts)

Palace, Birsay - 38 species - Comparitive PWC 2013 - 93 (121 Pts)

Iceland

The excitement of the weekend 's birding did not end on Saturday as a 2cy Iceland Gull flew past the kitchen window at about midday on Sunday and the Blue-winged Teal drake was still present. Careful observation of the duck associating with the drake by AL and myself showed it to be just Anas  crecca and nothing more exciting.

A trip to the Links with the hound was not very exciting just adding Song Thrush, although Carrion Crow and three hybrids were present.

Whilst running out of the house in Crocs and T-shirt to try to get better views of the Iceland Gull, which had vaporised, I disturbed a pipit in the field by the house which might have been a Rockit, unfortunately it didn't call and fled into the distance promptly, a species that I would like to add to the patch list and must be possible.

Another interesting moment from the Saturday at Bosquoy was the very small wader that flew with the small group of Golden Plover, really had me wondering but it was way away for an ID.... so it goes.

Patchwork running totals for 2015
Old Nisthouse - 50 species   FootIt - 44 (66)    Comparitive PWC 2014 - 117 (169 Pts)

Palace, Birsay - 36 species - Comparitive PWC 2013 - 93 (121 Pts)

Tealed-up

Despite not getting out as much as last year in January I'm certainly seeing some birds. This morn must rate as one of the best winter morning outings on the patch (perhaps on any of my patches past and present).

WeBS counting so despite the very, very cold, damp morning with the occasional wintery shower I was out there with the hound. Careful scanning of The teal flock on The Shunan produced a Blue-winged Teal drake (with possible suspicions of a duck too). Despite skulking at the back the bird gave reasonable views and then came a wee bit closer for a while. A twitch was initiated and all of six birders appeared to hunt for it, most of whom were successful. Before the twitch got going though, having had good views I was off down to Bosquoy to count there too. A good omen was the Jack Snipe we flushed as the hound and I skulked along the holiday home fence to get some shelter. In amongst the 200 or so teal I caught a glimpse of a drake that looked interesting and so it quickly proved with Green-winged confirmed.

Not the greatest pix in the world but given the cold, the hail and more cold not too bad. Interestingly the Blue-winged Teal was first seen last year on 18th January on Bosquoy so it is very likely this is the same bird. This time it was associating with a duck quite a bit and although in life the range was too great one of the photos seems to indicate the possibility of a duck B-wT. I will investigate further tomorrow.

The Green-winged is a much hoped for find, something I'm very surprised I'd not found before, total delight was the reaction on the Bosquoy shore.

Even managed a new boat picture for my series. The lucky Hammers t-shirt will never be off my back now.

Glaucous seawatch

A bit late down to the sea but between 10:20 and 12:30 seven Glaucous passed Point of Buckquoy. At least it was watchable today and Fulmars and Kits were passing with Fulmar at 3,000 an hour at a maximum and some hundred or so Kits passing (with just one juv). Also of note were 32 likely but not certain Barnacle Geese distantly east, a male Merlin, a Goldeneye drake. There was a good movement of Great Black-backed Gulls with nearly 100 in the first hour and a steady stream of Common Gulls.

Glaucous passing

After 12 I walked down to the whale bones with Louise and the hound. The waves were spectacular. The last Glaucous juv went by as we were by the bones.

Glaucous past the bones

A tad breezy

Managed to get out briefly to Palace but it was hard enough to stay standing up let alone do much birding, hound wasn't that bothered though.

 Looking to Marwick

 Seawatch views

Skaill Bay

The Whoopers are still on The Shunan and a Moorhen walked across the track as I drove up.

Old Nisthouse - 45, Foot It - 40

Palace, Birsay - 34

Palace kick off!

No not footie it's the Patchwork Challenge. Site 2 and a good start with a Glaucous Gull, some Snow Buntings and sometimes awkward to find there Robin.

Rubbish pix

Back at the ranch, playing with the GoPro I found one of our Robins is ringed. Now hopefully within the 6,000 or so photos there are enough to get the whole ring sequence...

075 so far...

Not much birding today. Some bathroom decorating time as the weather was pretty rubbish a.m. Things improved in the afternoon and spent a casual two hours wandering around the nearby fields and looking in the garden. Kestrel was a good bird, sometimes hard to get here and the Rooks and Jackdaws came in to the roost but then left, not sure if they have returned.

 Afternoon light

 Sunset

Patchwork Challenge species:

Old Nisthouse - 44, Foot It - 40

Palace, Birsay - 34

 Moon spoiling the aurora fun tonight...