MOSTLY ORKNEY BIRDS by Keith Hague

Archives

Archives - January/February 2008 sightings

1st Jan.
Although my time in the field was limited, the year got off to a good start for me with three 'star' birds staying over into 2008.
The Grey Phalarope, now in its second week is starting to attract the attention of both visitors to, and residents of, Deerness. Athough its appearances were intermittent at first, it now seems more reliable, having been present for the last four days.
The Green-winged Teal is still present in Tankerness, and although harder to 'pin down', is well worth looking for, especially since a drake Surf Scoter is still associating with Velvet Scoters nearby.
A Black-tailed Godwit was found in Toab.

2nd Jan.
The Grey Phalarope was seen again feeding both on the beach and on the sea.
A Carrion Crow was seen with Hooded Crows in Holm.

3rd Jan.
A large flock of 150 Jackdaws appeared on a field outside the house in Holm this morning. They were thought to be newly arrived, as only relatively small flocks have been seen in the area recently. A number of them showed prominent pale 'collars', suggesting they may have been of the Scandinavian race monedula.

4th Jan.
The Grey Phalarope remained in Deerness, despite the appalling weather. An ad. Herring Gull of the Scandinavian race argentatus, and a Pied Wagtail were seen in Kirkwall.

5th Jan.
Three Woodcocks were flushed from a field into an adjoining plantation in Holm at dawn. Three Gadwalls and 58 Red-breasted Mergansers were also seen in the area.

6th Jan.
Five Black-tailed Godwits, 134 Bar-tailed Godwits, 21 Shelducks and a solitary Redwing (scarce lately) were seen in Tankerness.

7th Jan.
Off Holm a variety of species were found including, two Red-necked Grebes, seven Black-throated Divers, four Puffins, three Razorbills and a Little Auk. The Grey Phalarope was still in Deerness.

8th Jan.
Both the Grey Phalarope (Deerness) and the Green-winged Teal (Tankerness), were seen again.

9th Jan.
The Grey Phalarope was there again - never get tired of watching one of these little beauties! Wader counting in Tankerness revealed 170 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Black-tailed Godwit and 135 Knots.

10th Jan.
13 Velvet Scoters and a Red-throated Diver were seen off Tankerness.

11th Jan.
An impressive 379 Purple Sandpipers were seen in Deerness, along with 81 Turnstones, 14 Sanderlings, 131 Great black-backed Gulls and the Grey Phalarope. Two Goldfinches were also seen in the area.

12th Jan.
The Green-winged Teal, the Surf Scoter and the Common Scoter were seen again off Tankerness.
In Deerness Purple Sandpipers had reduced in number to 275 (numbers can fluctuate widely here probably a result of various factors such as weather, state of tide and disturbance). The Grey Phalarope was still present. Nine Barnacle Geese were seen nearby.


13th Jan.
A female Common Scoter was seen off Holm.
The Grey Phalarope continued to entertain visitors in Deerness.

14th Jan.
A flock of 216 Pink-footed Goose was found in Holm, whilst wader numbers in Tankerness included flocks of 206 Bar-tailed Godwit and six Black-tailed Godwit.


15th Jan.
A flock of 436 Pink-footed Goose was seen in Tankerness. 120 Dunlins
were also seen in the area.

16th Jan.
Most Whooper Swans seem to have left the area, but parties of three were seen in both Toab and Deerness.

17th Jan.
A second-winter Mediterranean Gull was found in Kirkwall (perhaps the bird from last autumn, and last winter, returning - but who knows?)

18th Jan.
The Green-winged Teal was still present in Tankerness, with a drake Pintail also in the area.

19th Jan.
The Mediterranean Gull was seen again in Kirkwall, but human disturbance caused it to fly off low to the north.

20th Jan.
Six Black-tailed Godwits were seen again in Tankerness.
The Mediterranean Gull was also seen again in Kirkwall.

21st Jan.
Two Chiffchaffs were seen today, in
Toab and Tankerness, with a Goldfinch at the former location.
The Mediterranean Gull was seen again in Kirkwall.
A well-marked Scandinavian ('Nordic') Jackdaw was found in Holm.

22nd Jan.
Four Grey Plovers were seen in Deerness, along with a groups of five Pintail, seven Snow Buntings and a flock of 251 Dunlin. Six Common Scoters were also seen offshore.
The Mediterranean Gull was seen again in Kirkwall, but was decidely wary.

23rd Jan.
A trip out to Deerness produced some rather different counts to yesterday, namely two Grey Plovers, six Shovelers and flocks of 59 Snow Buntings and 13 Common Scoter.
A single Common Scoter was still present off Holm.

24th Jan.
Little time for birding today, but four Whooper Swans were seen in Holm.
There are apparently no larger flocks around the East Mainland right now.

25th Jan.
Four Whooper Swans seen at another site in Holm must have been the same birds as yesterday.

26th Jan.
419 Purple Sandpipers were counted in Deerness, my highest count there since Dec. 2005, and in stark contrast to below-average numbers last winter. Two Iceland Gulls were also present (an adult and a third-winter).


u>27th Jan.
706 Pink-footed Geese were counted in Deerness, where a Barnacle Goose and four Whooper Swans were seen.
A different group of four Whooper Swans was seen in Toab.

28th Jan.
Much to Paul's relief, the Mediterranean Gull turned up again in Kirkwall, where he found a Pied Wagtail.
(Two new year ticks - only 107 or so to go, Paul).
160 Twite were seen in Holm.

29th Jan.
A flock of 238 Pochard and two drake Scaup were seen in Tankerness.

30th Jan.
A hybrid goose, probably White-fronted x Barnacle was seen with Greylags in Holm. At a distance the bird could have been mistaken for a dark-phase Snow Goose (the so-called 'Blue Goose'). The scarcity of Whooper Swans continues, but four still remained in Holm.


31st Jan.
357 Redshanks were seen in Deerness, along with 88 Oystercatchers (the first signs of birds returning).
An even larger flock of 138 Oystercatchers was seen in Tankerness, with three Black-tailed Godwits and 170 Dunlins.
The hybrid goose was still present in Holm.

1st Feb.
Three Gadwalls, four Whooper Swans, a female Common Scoter and the hybrid were seen in Holm.

u>27th Jan.
706 Pink-footed Geese were counted in Deerness, where a Barnacle Goose and four Whooper Swans were seen.
A different group of four Whooper Swans was seen in Toab.

28th Jan.
Much to Paul's relief, the Mediterranean Gull turned up again in Kirkwall, where he found a Pied Wagtail.
(Two new year ticks - only 107 or so to go, Paul).
160 Twite were seen in Holm.

29th Jan.
A flock of 238 Pochard and two drake Scaup were seen in Tankerness.

30th Jan.
A hybrid goose, probably White-fronted x Barnacle was seen with Greylags in Holm. At a distance the bird could have been mistaken for a dark-phase Snow Goose (the so-called 'Blue Goose'). The scarcity of Whooper Swans continues, but four still remained in Holm.


31st Jan.
357 Redshanks were seen in Deerness, along with 88 Oystercatchers (the first signs of birds returning).
An even larger flock of 138 Oystercatchers was seen in Tankerness, with three Black-tailed Godwits and 170 Dunlins.
The hybrid goose was still present in Holm.

1st Feb.
Three Gadwalls, four Whooper Swans, a female Common Scoter and the hybrid were seen in Holm.

3rd Feb.
Two Redwings were seen in Holm (very few seem to be around just now).
A female Scaup had joined the two males in Tankerness.

4th Feb.
A male Pintail was seen in Tankerness with a flock of 22 Snow Bunting nearby.

5th Feb.
A calm, sunny day - what could be better than a spell of inshore sea-watching?
Off Holm, the usual species were seen, including:-
seven Black-throated Divers, a Red-necked Grebe, 19 Slavonian Grebes, eight Puffins and six Razorbills.
A similar exercise off Tankerness revealed 14 Velvet Scoters and two Common Scoters.

6th Feb.
In Tankerness, 46 Shelducks and 52 Bar-tailed Godwits were seen. The Snow Bunting flock had increased to 36.

7th Feb.
84 Bar-tailed Godwits, three Black-tailed Godwits, 320 Knots, 130 Dunlins and six Pintails were seen in Tankerness.

8th Feb.
A group of four Black-tailed Godwits was seen in Tankerness, along with 46 Shelducks.
A first-winter Iceland Gull was found in Holm.








9th Feb.
296 Purple Sandpipers were counted in Deerness (a big drop from the previous count, but numbers can vary widely probably depending on such factors as disturbance, wind strength and direction and state of tide). Ten Sanderlings and 31 Rock Pipits were also present.
A Carrion Crow was seen with Hooded Crows in Holm.

10th Feb.
A flock of 12 Meadow Pipits was seen in Deerness; also seen there were four Grey Plovers, 17 Slavonian Grebes, two Red-throated Divers, 11 Common Scoters, four Velvet Scoters, three Gadwalls, seven Pintails, a Shoveler and 129 Snow Buntings.
Highlights in Tankerness included the Green-winged Teal, three Black-tailed Godwits and 186 Pochards.

11th Feb.
Wader counts today included 164 Oystercatchers in Deerness, and 129 Bar-tailed Godwits in Tankerness.

12th Feb.
The Green-winged Teal obliged once again. Two Pied Wagtails were seen, one in Kirkwall; the other in Holm.

13th Feb.
Near ideal weather conditions permitted another in-shore count off Holm. The highlight was undoubtedly finding four Red-necked Grebes together (three of them in various stages of moult to summer plumage).
Also seen were 10 Slavonian Grebes, a Black-throated Diver (moulting into summer plumage), nine Razorbills and three Puffins.

14th Feb.
The Chiffchaff was seen again in Toab, having survived the recent cold snap. Six Woodcocks were also there, and a Goldcrest in full song was music to the ear.
A flock of 294 Knot in a field in Tankerness were probably from the regularly monitored coastal site nearby.

15th Feb.
A Pied Wagtail in Holm was possibly a returning bird, like an ad. Lesser Black-backed Gull in the same area. Other finds in Holm included a first-winter Iceland Gull and an impressive flock of 256 Jackdaws with a much larger flock of Rooks. A small number of the Jackdaws showed characters of the Scandinavian race ("Nordic" Jackdaw).

16th Feb.
68 Shelducks were seen in Tankerness, as numbers there continued to build.
A total of 917 Pink-footed Geese was counted in Deerness along with a Goldfinch.

17th Feb.
In Tankerness, Shelduck numbers had built up to 82. Also present were 168 Oystercatchers, 74 Bar-tailed Godwits and a Black-tailed Godwit.

18th Feb.
An aggregate count of two different flocks of Jackdaws in Holm totalled 268.
258 Bar-tailed Godwits and 163 Redshanks were seen in Tankerness. A Short-eared Owl was seen near Kirkwall.

20th Feb.
The Mediterranean Gull and a Lesser Black-backed Gull (still very scarce) were seen in Kirkwall.
A flock of 13 Whooper Swans was found in Holm.

21st Feb.
A Puffin was seen off the Holm shore.

22nd Feb.
252 Purple Sandpipers and 140 Turnstones were seen in Deerness. A first-winter Iceland Gull was seen in Holm.

23rd Feb.
Nine Barnacle Geese were seen in Deerness. A Black-tailed Godwit was sighted in Tankerness, with the Green-winged Teal and 14 Snow Buntings nearby.

24th Feb.
What was presumably the same first-winter Iceland Gull was seen again in Holm.

25th Feb.
A first-winter Pale-bellied Brent Goose was found with Greylags in Deerness.
A flock of 342 Knots was counted in Tankerness, along with three Black-tailed Godwits. Two Siskins were seen in Holm.

26th Feb.
A party of six Lesser Black-backed Gulls (the first multiple record of the year) was seen in Holm.
A flock of 496 Pink-footed Geese was seen in Tankerness.

27th Feb.
The Mediterranean Gull and a Pied Wagtail were seen in Kirkwall. A flock of 130 Snow Buntings was seen in Holm.