With northerly winds with sweeping snow and sleet showers it’s only fitting I’d bump into a Snow Bunting #WestrayBirding today. It would have been bird of the day three Rooks not flown over - that’ll be my annual Rook then. Birding spring still feels some way off here. #UKbirding#LowCarbonBirding
More than a little surprised to find a Whimbrel by the house this morning. Thats around two weeks early for a migrant here. However, we have had two birds winter in different parts of Orkney this year (one its 21st winter the other its 2nd), so it could be one of those. #WestrayBirding#UKbirding
Also, stepping out the house first thing I did a double take when I heard what sounded like a Little Owl - in Orkney! I knew it couldn't be a LO so I just waited. Luckily the call persisted and I traced it to a Common Gull with an odd call. #WestrayBirding#UKbirding
The days 'Wh' theme continued. A sub-adult White-tailed Eagle over the Bay of Pierowall this afternoon. Early than normal for my annual WTE year-tick - usually see one in May - but I'll never not enjoy these big buggers, even if distant as this one was. #WestrayBirding#UKbirding#LowCarbonBirding
#WestrayBirding the northern and western headlands of the isle today in the hope of a Wheatear (North Ron Obs got one) but had to settle for a couple of typically flighty spring Lapland Buntings and a small flock of Pinkfeet (equally flighty). Weekend weather looks OK 🤞🏼
#UKbirding#LowCarbonBirding
Bits and bobs around the isles. On Westray I've had Black Redstart, a few Brambling and Siskin, a Dunnock on the sea cliffs, a handful of Goldcrests and a female Snow Bunting which has been around for a few days now. Must be a Wheatear here this weekend🤞🏽 #WestrayBirding#UKbirding#LowCarbonBirding
Plenty of hours #WestrayBirding in a barmy 11C sunny day 😂 Sarnie Tern and Hawfinch NFY but star finds were non-avian - a fender buoy rope covered its entire length with Goose Barnacles and a Spotted Ray egg case.
#UKbirding#UKwildlife
Next to nowt getting thru up here with these endless strong northerlies. The odd Wheatear and Rouzal being seen elsewhere. I managed a Sarnie Tern today. Wind is swinging south thru east at the weekend, so heres hoping! 🤞🏼 The frustrations of #WestrayBirding!
Wind was in the east but still bitterly cold and #WestrayBirding was really hard work. A couple of Mistle Thrushes will probably be my only ones of the year. Lots of Golden Plover in. A few Skylarks. And cracking views of two female Merlin’s as they sliced past.
The rain eventually relented but the wind didn’t. So up a very windy Noup Head very few birds indeed. A Song Thrush in a burn. Two Carrion Crows on the sheltered northern side of the head. But the biggest surprise was a Water Rail flushed from a damp hollow near the lighthouse. #WestrayBirding
At last! These howling southerlies have delivered a sprinkling of migrants across the isles and I managed a couple of Swallows, five Sand Martins and a Blackcap. A male Bullfinch also photographed by a local. Also the first big arrival of Meadow Pipits.
#WestrayBirding#UKbirding
The wind didn’t relent much but stayed southerly and continued to bring in more mipits. Not the large flocks of yday but groups of 2-8 birds everywhere I went. A couple each of Wheatears, Swallows and Goldfinches (latter passage birds here) and a Blackcap. There’s always tomorrow 🤞🏼
#WestrayBirding
The forecast dry, less windy day turned out to be a wet, less windy day 😒 but undeterred I ventured up to Noup Head and teased out a few Wheatears and Redwings and a continued arrival of Mipits. Whooper Swan and Mistle Thrushes from last week. #WestrayBirding
Spent today surveying beaches for beach litter and signs of early breeders that may be affected by this weekends beach cleaning. One beach rammed with waders but it’ll take forever to clean as it’s massive and we can work one end at a time leaving the other for refuelling shorebirds. #WestrayBirding
I’m lucky to see Red-breasted Mergansers every day, often from the house on the loch below us. But I honestly can’t recall the last time I saw one out of water like this one and allowing for a really prolonged view to drink in all the feather detail. Stunning. #WestrayBirding
And when rain stops play I usually retreat to the house and spend some time scanning the loch below the house. But when the rain is in the east, as it is today, I can’t see out the window! So I’ll watch my garden Rock Doves instead. I love a Rockie. #WestrayBirding
I’ve gone old(ish) school for my bedroom scope with this Leica APO Televid 77 w/ 32xWA. Still one of the best scopes ever. This was the first project I was involved in with Leica and this one belonged to my late best mate. It looks out towards the sea for some much needed #WestrayBirding house ticks
Cracking afternoon’s #WestrayBirding. Walked on to this male Northern Bullfinch. Only previous bullers on the isle were the five 1CY females I found last autumn during the influx. Then spent an hour chasing a Tree Pipit as it led me a dance. Willow Warbler NFY.
#birdingScotland#UKbirding
It’s not all #WestrayBirding here. A message from birding buddy, David, on neighbouring Papay alerted me to Orca coming our way. Tea went out the window and I was out the door and spent nearly an hour or so watching nine animals round the north of the island and off. Thanks David!
#ukwildlife
Thursday’s Tree Pipit gave me the run around for over an hour, not showing for long periods and never completely out in the open. That it kept flying between two sites 250m apart was also tiresome but at least it called each time.
#WestrayBirding
A remarkably sunny and warm day which I spent unsuccessfully trying to lure Emperor moths but ended by finding this Long-eared Owl. I first saw this bird last month and have been searching for its roost site for weeks. And today, voila! #WestrayBirding
Three weeks later than last year, I got the moth trap out! Temperature was still low at 8C, the sky started off clear and the wind got up during the night ahead of cloud and rain arriving around 5am. Still, 17 Hebrew Characters was a good catch here plus a single Agonopterix heracliana.
#TeamMoth
Not so much #WestrayBirding today as I’m involved with the volunteer team from #inthesameboat who are here for a few days of beach cleaning and educating the isles kids about marine litter. A mighty effort this afternoon with 850-1000kg of litter lifted from our worse beach.
On #WorldCurlewDay The Curlew that is on territory by the house. The pair raised one chick to fledging last year.🤞🏼this year. The two Whimbrel were part of a flock seen at Noup Head this morning. Returned as a breeding species in Orkney last year 👏🏼. 🤞🏼this year. #WestrayBirding
This morning we said farewell and thanks to #InTheSameBoat crew after four fabulous days of #beachclean -ing and school visits. An estimated 7t of waste removed, beaches deep-cleaned, surveyed, etc. Inspirational stuff. Liz and I thanked them in true Westray style - food and Puffins! #marinelitter
Just a little * off with these northwesterlies. Not just damn cold but useless. Sand Martins at least are getting through but otherwise my day’s tally were single Wheatear and Chiffchaff, two Brambling and a Grey Wagtail. Wind turning south at weekend can’t come soon enough. #WestrayBirding
Easily the star bird of today (🤔 actually no other contenders 😂) was this adult male Merlin watching over the golf course. Merlin don’t breed on the isle and I don’t see many adult males but this my second sighting this week about two miles apart so I reckon same bird #WestrayBirding
Migrants remain really thin on the ground but signs of some wader movement with lots of Whimbrel over, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank and Ruff. This male Snow Bunting takes some beating tho. Feeding on the same farm yard I had two birds this same week last year. #WestrayBirding
A few new arrivals overnight with Sedge Warbler (NFY), a small fall of Goldcrests and six Carrion Crows (NFY and part of an influx as North Ronaldsay and Sanday both had CCs this morning too). #WestrayBirding
We’ve god 40+ Great Northern Divers offshore #Westray at the minute. Most are immature birds or adult still in early moult in to summer plumage, but a few are looking stunning.
Crap photo as it’s a grab from a phonescope video (Bsky promise video upload soon!)
#WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
After North Ronaldsay BO had a stack of common migrants yday afternoon I was rather expecting a few migrants first thing this morning’s #WestrayBirding. Imagine my disappointment when the highlight was this lone Fieldfare 😕 followed by a single Redwing and a single Song Thrush 🤷🏻♂️
After a few hours working on the county bird report, it was back out into a brightening day with dropping wind to check bays on the dropping tide. When boom! This White-tailed Eagle flew by. Eagle chasing produced a second immature bird. #WestrayBirding turned out nice again 😀
We’ve got migrants at last! A decent fall across the isles and I woke to this smart Pied Fly, Garden Warbler, Redstart, a handful of Blackcaps, Goldcrests and a pile of Wheatears. And ended the day watching a couple of Minke Whales off Noup Head! Fab day #WestrayBirding#ukwildlife
I arrived home at lunchtime to see this Sparrowhawk pluck a Starling out of the air, landing in the field below the house. It was disturbed and the Starling got away! Sparrowhawks are scarce here. I maybe get half a dozen sightings a year. #WestrayBirding
#WestrayBirding today started slow with few migrants in the morning but maybe a late arrival as the evening was buzzing: 2 Spotted Flys, 2 Pied Flys, 2 Tree Pipits, Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Blackcaps, White Wag, 8 Brambling and 2 Goldfinch.
I’ve always thought I wasn’t overly fond of gulls but I find I actually to quite like them. And Lesser Black-backed Gull is a very handsome gull. They’re a rare breeder on the isle with only a handful of pairs. An uncommon localised breeder throughout Orkney. #WestrayBirding
Wow! What a great day #WestrayBirding. My best spring day here in my fourth spring on the isle. 3 Wood Warblers, 5 Redstarts, 10 Pied Flys, Spotted Fly, Garden Warbler, Northern Bullfinch, Hawfinch, countless Wheatears, 2 Robins, 10 Blackcaps, 10 Willow warblers, 14 Rooks, 2 Robins, Goldcrest, etc!
No records of Wood Warbler for the isle until I found one in autumn 2022, followed by one in autumn 2023. And today, three! Part off a county-wide fall of migrants. Nowt rare for me, but we have several more days of easterlies/southerlies so theres still time! #WestrayBirding
And we have migrant leps too! Red Admirals and Silver Ys started arriving overnight and I trapped a Silver Y and a Diamond-backed Moth last night too. And today when birding Pierowall village, I found this Rush Veneer flying along a stone wall! #TeamMoth#MothMatter
Since moving here, spring never quite feels sprung until I see a Ring Ouzel, my favourite UK breeding thrush. And Ringo Bingo came to town when I found a male yday and a female today. And it's been my best spring by some margin for Pied Flys cos I've not lost count! #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
Westray is THE place in the Orkney Isles to see Puffins. We've got thousands down the east side of the isle. A few breed at the main sea cliffs at Noup Head but seeing them aint too easy. Not so this morning when I found this one collecting grass at the lighthouse #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
The sea cliffs aren't just the preserve of seabirds. Noup Head is also home to a dozen or so pairs of Jackdaw - the only place on the isle where they breed - and where they compete for nest locations with Rock Doves. This one is guarding its nest cave. #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
The Common Starling sure is common on Westray! They nest absolutely everywhere. In buildings old and new. In the miles upon miles of stone dykes (walls) criss-crossing the isle. And all around the coast including in amongst the seabirds at Noup Head cliffs. #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
And Wrens, they're everywhere too. Every croft has a pair. Every stone dyke (wall) has a pair every 500m or so. Every ditch has them. They nest in grass overhangs in more sheltered corners of beach. And of course among the seabirds high up the sea cliffs. #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
Noup Head is a large, west-facing headland covered with rough moorland grassland and dotted with seasonal burns, mires and bogs. This is where Common Gulls breed, in small discrete colonies dotted around the head and down the hills that run south from here. #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
I spent some time today watching House Martins collecting mud to build their nest with on a nearby house (a new site). We have c.6 pairs breed on the isle inc cliff nesters. Maybe more this year. The afternoon was spent watching four Minke Whales 🐋 off Noup Head 🥳 #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
I fudgin love Bluethroats, so forgive me a mini BOOM! 🙅🏻♂️ for me finding a spanking male at the Loch of Swartmill this evening. Having found four autumn ones I’ve been longing for a spring bird. And they’re never where you expect them. Another farm yard find! #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
We've had haar rolling in and out with the hour and visibility ranging from a few hundred meters to 1/2 mile. A peek in the village this evening found the long-staying male Northern Bullfinch still present (from 7 Apr), as is the Wood Warbler from 6 May. #WestrayBirding#lowcarbonbirding
Let's not talk about the six hrs spent dipping the first confirmed Magpie on Westray since 1900 and focus on these two giants instead. Part of a six-raptor species day, the adult is defo different to the adult seen on 29 Apr and I'm sure the young bird is too. #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
Boom! Magpie in the bag! A message from our postie this evening to say she’d seen one by her house (a few miles south of us and yday’s bird) with a barely unidentifiable phone pic. But two hours of staking out her garden it flew into to roost at 2157h! #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
But how many are there? One today on neighbouring Papay as well. That might be yday’s Westray bird as I can’t see today’s Westray bird being the same as yday’s as it would have had to head back south several miles into 30-40mph winds to get to today’s site. But are there three? #WestrayBirding
So, Magpie today near the house (and on the house list 😉). Looking at the spread of sightings it looks like two birds. But cf flight images here with Sunday’s Papay sighting we can tie these together as the same bird as they have the same split primaries #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
So, we’ve got the same bird on the two islands two days apart. On 12th tho, did this bird fly from Papay to roost on Westray (the bottom sighting on map) only to return to Papay the following morning, then to come back to Westray today? Or could two birds be here? #WestrayBirding
Another day and another Magpie sighting. This time right down at the south of the isle. No open wing images so can’t compare to yday’s and Sunday’s sightings. I’m still finding it hard to believe this is just the one very mobile bird. #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
A surprise find was this bruiser of a worn 2CY Glaucous Gull. Flew in off Papa Sound, straight past a load of loafing gulls and made a bee-line inland. I followed and found it with other gulls following a tractor and plough. #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
We've had strong southerlies for days and whilst I've seen little evidence of birds arriving, this morning there were loads of migrant #butterflies and #moths around the southern end of the isle - Painted lady, Silver Y and Red Admiral. A shame its too windy to set the moth trap 😩 #MothsMatter
Another two Magpies sightings in the North Isles today. Around 1040 on Eday and I saw one here on Westray at 1210. Both added to the map and new arrow connecting the 12-13 May Papay sighting with the 14 May Westray sighting as images show this is the same bird #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
We’ve had a fall of 20+ Red-backed Shrikes across the isles today. 14 on North Ronaldsay alone (!) plus this one I found on the loch below the house here on #Westray. And 🏡 ✔️ #130 in the three years I’ve been here. #WestrayBirding
The numbers of shrikes may have fallen on other isles but today another three, two males and a female, at two sites. Plus a nightingale sp which refused to give itself up 😕 Also several Short-eared Owls lingering raising the hope they might nest here this year 🤞🏼 #WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
Managed only my third night of the year moth trapping (the wind here really limits trapping nights) with just 13/8 (better than the expected 10/1 😂). Silver Y and Diamond-back Moth no surprise given the days of southerly winds. Poplar Hawk is only my second here. #MothsMatter#TeamMoth
It’s been a mixed few days with surprising few migrants here considering how well other isles have fared. Icterine Warbler, Turtle Dove (a #WestrayBirding ✔️) and another shrike but really very little else despite flogging the length and breadth of the isle daily.
That was until this evening. After a day in town and feeling I’d missed a good day, I was off the ferry and out! I was birding a foggy village when a friend messaged with a picture captioned ‘buzzard?’. Honey-buzzard!! Looking up, there it was, being hammered by gulls and a Raven. #WestrayBirding
For about 45 minutes gulls and crows chased it from tree to bush to tree in the thickening haar. Clearly all the Honey-buzzard wanted was to rest up somewhere. But when it did land it was harassed again until it flew. #WestrayBirding
Eventually, in thick fog, the HB found a tree and the skies over the village were quiet once more. An absolutely breathtaking and somewhat surreal encounter. Only the second record for Westray, the first being 25 May 1988. Just a day apart. Great timing! #WestrayBirding
It was a bit of a slog today but managed to pull out a couple of new Red-backed Shrikes and several Spotted Flys. But bird of the day was my first Common Swift of the year, happily feeding over the beach and adjacent fields at Bay of Tuquoy. Love swifts! #WestrayBirding.
Returned home for my lunchtime interlude and found a friend staring into our garden. Oh, yeah, that’ll be a male Red-backed Shrike chomping on a bee in our hebe. As you were. 😁 #WestrayBirding
A quick revisit of day's Common Swift (NFY) - just look at the shapes captured by the camera as these aerodynamic masters of the sky throw themselves about overhead to catch insects that they can see but you can't.
#WestrayBirding#birds#ukwildlife#wildlife#nature
Back to today, and seven Red-backed Shrikes (six of them new) seen around the isle including these three (of five) that I myself saw. Other migrants new in for me today included three Icterine Warblers, four Spotted Flys, a Pied Fly, a Garden Warbler and a few Willows and Chiffs. #WestrayBirding
I have to admit that it was for springs like this that I moved to the #OrkneyIsles. Our isle Red-backed Shrike tally hit 17 today (14 of which I've seen) and this Icterine Warbler found by an islander singing in the middle of village is #4 of my spring. #LovinIt#WestrayBirding#LowCarbonBirding
Got the moth traps out last night for only the fifth night this year. Three species only with four Poplar Hawkmoths (only caught two singles in three years before), a Pebble Prominent and a Flame Shoulder. #MothsMatter#TeamMoth
So, I finally got round to doing my #WestrayBirding#PWC2024 @PatchBirding scores. My core 3km patch is 134 species - well up on last year (which only started in March), and only eight species off last year's total. Nothing stellar but a great spring for some scarcer migrants.
I never thought I’d live somewhere this magical. Looking out of the window over the Loch of Burness watching Curlews chasing off Bonxies, flocks of noisy Kittiwakes and the odd Arctic Skua bathing in the loch. #WestrayBirding.
Each evening around 10pm I retreat to clean the kitchen and listen to music (tonite Dire Straights’ eponymous first album) and I wash up looking out to the Loch of Burness with Arctic Skuas and Bonxies causing havoc and a female Hen Harrier literally in the garden. I ❤️ #WestrayBirding
Quite a day not #WestrayBirding! This morning I find this wee moth, Cydia ulicetana, rarely recorded in Orkney and a first for Westray at our local beach. This afternoon I find a breeding site for Blue-tailed Damselfly - only two previous records (2012 and 2021) before this year. #TeamMoth#odonata
Westray encompassed. Green. Curlew (if only you could hear it too as it is one of the sounds of the isle). Stone dyke. Barbed wire. Plastic. Sadly this black (sometimes other colours) plastic wrapping from silage bails is everywhere. #WestrayBirding#shorebirds#waders
The first decent nights trapping for me here in #Westray (and only my sixth trapping night of the year) with 42 of 14 species including two new micros for Westray - Aethes cnicana and Blastobasis lacticollala - as well as several NFY. #OrkneyIsles#Orkney#MothsMatter#TeamMoth
Got a spare £1.4m? Come and buy the centrepiece of my #WestrayBirding local patch! Noup Farm (inc Noup Head - lighthouse not included - Loch of the Stack and your own white sand beach and bay), here in Westray. Great bird list and potential. Comes complete with resident birder.
I’ve got my first look at this fabulous new book. It covers around only 60 species for me here in #Westray but it’s great put it’s great have the wider context. And it’s nice to see a dot you’ve put on an atlas! That northern-most Orkney dot for Red-line Quaker is me! #MothsMatter#moths#TeamMoth
Been down with the Covid for 10 days and today is first day I’ve felt remotely human again! Sat out enjoying a cool (12°) summers day watching the loch. Plenty going on birdwise but star spot was a Rush Veneer moth which settled on the bench briefly! #WestrayBirding#MothsMatter#TeamMoth
Last night tried out my new Jackery Explorer 500 Portable Power Station which I’ll use to run moth traps remotely around the isle this summer. Got c.5hrs running my 160w MV (blended) bulb. Low catch (cool clear night) but a couple of commoner #moths NFY. #MothsMatter#TeamMith
Following last years influx of Willow Ermine (Yponomeuta rorrella) we recorded large numbers of adult #moths at two sites here in Westray. Today I found 16 webs at one site, mostly empty but several with clusters of full-grown caterpillars. #MothsMatter#TeamMoth
The Willow Ermine moth webs and caterpillars were all on what we presume to be Hooker's Willow (Salix hookeriana) known locally as Balfour Willow, all on the south facing side and in the lower half of the bushes. #MothsMatter#TeamMoth
Sorry to read this Steve, I’ve been giving social media a light touch recently. I hope you are feeling better and recover ok. I agree with your and @amythebirder.bsky.social sentiments. Yesterday I was in a hide where someone was clearly suffering from something and was very happy to share it.
Hi Mike, still struggling big time. both physically and mentally. It’s really knocked the stuffing out of me this time - far worse than my first bout last summer and I thought that was bad!
BTW many who’ve had a recent bout of Covid have been left with a recurring and persistent cough. Testing -ve but still spluttering endlessly. My wife has had her cough for over a month on and off.
Really sorry to hear that 😢 Public Health (or lack of) has a lot to answer for... so much they could be doing to reduce & prevent airborne spread of pathogens/infections. Would help for flu, whooping cough, measles etc too.
