Archives
Archives - October 2006 sightings
31/10/06
1st Oct.
Single juv. Little Stints were at two sites in Tankerness. An early returning ad. Shelduck was also in the same area.
A flock of 264 Teal were seen in Toab.
2nd Oct.
10 Whooper Swans were new arrivals in Holm, where an ad. Mediterranean Gull was seen (one, possibly two, ads., and a first-winter were in the East Mainland in the latter half of Sept.)
One of the Little Stints remained in Tankerness, along with the Shelduck.
3rd Oct.
Common Scoter and Grey Plover (pictured below)
4th Oct.
Migrants at one site in Tankerness included 41 Redwings, Mistle Thrush, two Goldcrests, and two Robins.
105 Bar-tailed Godwits were in Deerness.
5th Oct.
20 Slavonian Grebes and 15 Velvet Scoters were off the Tankerness shore.
6th Oct.
A juv. male Ruff was in Deerness.
The ad. Mediterranean Gull was again located in Holm.
7th Oct.
A flock of 62 Knots was in Deerness. The Mediterranean Gull was again present in Holm (pictured below), but can be surprisingly difficult to locate at times.
8th Oct.
Eight Swallows were feeding around my house in Holm. Most have now left the area. 138 Turnstones were seen at a regularly monitored site in Deerness, along with 19 Sanderlings. A flock of 133 Pink-footed Geese was in Tankerness.
9th Oct.
A juv. Rosy Starling was a nice find in Holm. Near neighbours Dave & Sheila Sneesby had first seen the bird in their garden about a fortnight earlier and had asked me to come over and identify it. (pictured below).
Two ad. Little Gulls were found later, one in Holm; the other in Deerness.
10th Oct.
3 Black-tailed Godwits,12 Knots and a Sandwich Tern were in Tankerness. The Swallow flock around the house had increased to 10.
11th Oct.
A one hour sea-watch off the Deerness shore produced the following:-
524 Gannets (pictured below), 12 Sooty Shearwaters, Great Skua,
Lesser Black-backed Gull and Arctic Tern.
12th Oct.
The Rosy Starling was still present.
12th - 13th Oct.
Numbers of small migrants are beginning to pick up with records of small numbers of Blackcap, Brambling, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest and Robin from various sites.
13th Oct.
A Jack Snipe and two lingering Sandwich Terns were in Tankerness.
14th Oct.
A Sparrowhawk was 'patrolling' the bushes around the house, no doubt attracted by passerine migrants passing through.
15th Oct.
An ad. male Surf Scoter was off Tankerness, along with a Common Scoter and 31 Velvet Scoters.
16th Oct.
A Goldfinch was with commoner migrants in Tankerness.
17th Oct.
Calm weather provided ideal conditions for finding 14 Black-throated Divers, a Puffin and six Slavonian Grebes off the Holm shore.
18th Oct.
Single ad. Mediterranean Gulls were found at two sites in Holm. Four Red-throated Divers were off the Holm shore (one pictured below).
19th Oct.
A first-winter Glaucous Gull in Deerness gave the first indication that winter is just around the corner.
20th Oct.
Thick fog put paid to any serious birding (or photography for that matter).
21st Oct.
A flock of 150 Redwings was seen in Holm. Rain all day meant that precious little else was seen!
22nd Oct.
Thrushes increased with 400 Redwings and ten Fieldfares at a site in Holm. A rather late Wheatear was in the same area, with an ad. Little Gull nearby.
23rd Oct.
A flock of 43 Mute Swans in Holm was a rather large one for that area. A Brambling in the same area was appreciated, as they have been rather scarce so far. Three Ruffs (including a male with a broken leg) were in Toab.
24th Oct.
Little of note seen. The weather is not helping!
25th Oct.
The Ruffs were still around, and the Little Gull re-appeared at a different site in Holm. A late juv. Common Tern was also in Holm. The Mute Swan flock had increased to 46, accompanied by four Whooper Swans.
26th Oct.
A day of quite atrocious weather. Do I need to say more!
27th Oct.
No big flocks of Whooper Swans yet, but flocks of 5 and 10 were in Toab and Deerness, respectively.
28th Oct.
13 Blackcaps at one site in Holm was noteworthy.
29th Oct.
A flock of exactly 100 Jackdaws, with Rooks in Holm, was a record count for me in the area.
30th Oct.
Nothing new seen.
31st Oct.
The disappointment of yesterday was compensated for by finding an ad. white-phase Snow Goose, with Greylags, in Deerness.
The overall size of the bird, and in particular the large head and long, deep-based bill suggested that it belonged to the larger race (atlanticus), rather than the smaller race (caerulescens).
I would welcome comments from anyone who has extensive experience of both races!
A flock of 169 Bar-tailed Godwits and a juv. Ruff were found nearby.