MOSTLY ORKNEY BIRDS by Keith Hague

Archives

Archives - March/April 2007 sightings

1st Mar.
Five Common Redpolls (flammea) were seen in Holm. The Avocet continued to attract interest, with a Black-tailed Godwit nearby. The two Tundra Bean Geese were still in the Toab area. Two first-winter Iceland Gulls were still to be seen in Kirkwall.

2nd Mar.
The Avocet and the Smew were both seen in Tankerness.

3rd Mar.
The Avocet was still present.
Conditions were ideal for an offshore count. The Holm shore rarely disappoints, and I was rewarded with sightings of three Red-necked Grebes, nine Slavonian Grebes, eight Black-throated Divers, four Velvet Scoters, a Puffin and a Razorbill.



4th Mar.
The Avocet continues to oblige in Tankerness, and the Smew was showing quite well, with a Scaup for company.

5th Mar.
Two first-winter Iceland Gulls were found in Kirkwall. The
Avocet is still attracting visitors (I thought everybody had seen it by now!)

A flock of 220 Knots was seen in Deerness.

6th Mar.
The Avocet and the Smew continue to linger in Tankerness (this Avocet being the longest stayer in Orkney, by far). A Pied Wagtail on a beach in Holm was probably an early returning bird, rather than a wintering individual.

7th Mar.
The Avocet is becoming part of the scenery in Tankerness (now on its twelfth day). Skylarks are now becoming more obvious with territorial pairs in Holm and Tankerness.

8th Mar.
Further Pied Wagtails were seen in Tankerness and Holm. The Avocet can still be relied on.
The Mediterranean Gull and two Iceland Gulls (all first-winters) were seen in Kirkwall.
9th Mar.
The Avocet and the Smew were once again present in Tankerness, where there was also a flock of 44 Goldeneye.

10th Mar.
Little chance of any sustained birding today, but managed to see the Avocet one more time. A Song Thrush was back on territory and in full song in Holm. An immature female Peregrine Falcon was seen near Kirkwall.

11th Mar.
The Avocet was still present in Tankerness. A Song Thrush was in full song in Deerness, where a Short-eared Owl was also seen.

12th Mar.
An Iceland Gull still remained in Kirkwall; the Avocet likewise in Tankerness. Pied Wagtails continued to build with a flock of 12 seen in Holm.

13th Mar.
High tide, and I found the Avocet swimming well offshore, no doubt waiting for the tide to ebb so that it could re-commence feeding.
The Mediterranean Gull re-appeared in Kirkwall, stayed briefly, and then vanished (as it usually does!).

14th Mar.
A fist-winter Glaucous Gull was again seen in Holm.

15th Mar.
An Iceland Gull was showing well in Kirkwall.
A pair of Pintail was seen in Tankerness.

16th Mar.
The Iceland Gull was still in Kirkwall.

17th Mar.
A total of 51 Whooper Swans in the East Mainland suggested a recent arrival of some passage birds, as wintering numbers in the area have been significantly smaller than this.
A flock of 200 Knots was seen in Tankerness. A flock of 753 Pink-footed Geese was found in
Deerness.

18th Mar.
The first-winter Glaucous Gull was still in Holm. A flock of 78 Bar-tailed Godwits was seen in Tankerness.

19th Mar.
Two Robins were together in Holm, where they have over-wintered.

20th Mar.
An adult male Ruddy Duck was found in Tankerness accompanied by the Smew and 44 Goldeneyes.
A flock of 120 Knots was in Deerness.

21st Mar.
The Smew was still in Tankerness.


22nd Mar.
Although not totally un-expected, a drake Garganey in Tankerness came as a big surprise. Flushed accidentally, a thorough subsequent search of the area failed to re-locate it. Hopefully there will be more.
The Smew was still in the area.

23rd Mar.
103 Purple Sandpipers in Deerness was a disappointingly low count at this site (the normal count at this time of year would be double this figure).

25th Mar.
The Smew was again in evidence.
Pied Wagtail numbers continued to pick up, with a flock of 18 in Holm.

27th Mar.
16 Velvet Scoters were seen off Tankerness.

28th Mar.
A spell of settled weather resulted in a good offshore count of three Red-necked Grebes, three Slavonian Grebes, five Velvet Scoters and five Black-throated Divers off Holm.

29th Mar.
News of a Great White Egret in Birsay had me heading west to see it, thereby neglecting my local 'patch'. A female Ruff was also there.

On the way back home I managed to find two different first-winter Iceland Gulls - one in Kirkwall; the other in Holm.

30th Mar.
A Glaucous Gull and two
Chiffchaffs were seen in Holm.

31st Mar.
Just about perfect weather conditions presented the opportunity to conduct a count of Great Northern Divers at a regularly monitored site off Tankerness - 218 were counted, including two compact 'rafts' of 61 and 65 birds.

1st Apr.
A Goldcrest was in Toab. 76 Bar-tailed Godwits and 151 Knots were in Deerness.

2nd Apr.
A Chiffchaff was in full song in Holm. Two Chaffinches likewise in Tankerness. Spring has finally arrived, but for how long?.
A first-summer Glaucous Gull was lingering in Deerness, and a first-summer Mediterranean Gull was discovered in Holm.


3rd Apr.
Two new migrants were seen in Deerness - a rather early Swallow, and conversely a somewhat delayed Sandwich Tern. What was presumably the same Glaucous Gull was seen again.

4th Apr.
A first-summer Iceland Gull was seen in Kirkwall. A male Ruddy Duck was seen again in Tankerness.

5th Apr.
A flock of 18 Whooper Swans was seen in Toab. A Carrion Crow was in Holm.

6th Apr.
Four Whooper Swans were seen in Holm, with a pre-roost gathering of 63 Pied Wagtails at the same site.

7th Apr.
Miserable day weather-wise, but a Dunnock was seen in Holm.

8th Apr.
The Dunnock was still showing in Holm.

9th Apr.
A first-summer Iceland Gull was still was still to be seen in Kirkwall. A flock of 120 Knots was seen in Tankerness.

10th Apr.
A Stock Dove was a new find in Holm. A Carrion Crow was seen with Hooded Crows in Deerness. A first-summer Iceland Gull was feeding with other gull species on the Holm/Toab boundary - as usual difficult to figure out if it was a new one or not.
An adult white-phase Snow Goose was found feeding with Greylag Geese in Toab.


11th Apr.
A first-summer Iceland Gull was seen in Holm.


12th Apr.
What was presumably the same Iceland Gull was again seen in Holm.
187 Knots were counted in Deerness.

14th Apr.
A female Velvet Scoter was seen off Holm, with a party of six Common Scoters nearby.
289 Oystercatchers and 136 Redshanks were at the regularly monitored site in Deerness, where there was also a Slavonian Grebe.

15th Apr.
The six Common Scoters were still present off Holm, along with five Black-throated Divers and a Slavonian Grebe. A first-summer Glaucous Gull was seen in Deerness with four Red-throated Divers close by.
A flock of 233 Knots - many still in winter plumage, in Tankerness, were probably wintering birds (a similar-sized flock having been seen in nearby Deerness on 5th March).

16th Apr.
'White-winged' gulls continued to be well represented with a first-summer Iceland Gull in Tankerness.
Oystercatcher and Redshank numbers were well up on recent counts in Deerness with figures of 364 and 161, respectively.

17th Apr.
A first-summer Glaucous Gull was seen in Holm, with three pairs of Gadwall in the same area. Four Sandwich Terns were seen in Deerness.

18th Apr.
Flocks of Golden Plovers have been noticeable in the last few days; the largest so far being 2,500 in Deerness, most of which appeared to be 'Northerns'.

19th Apr.
116 Purple Sandpipers were seen in Deerness. 13 Gadwall in Holm (six pairs, and an odd male) confirmed the fact that this species is increasing year on year.

20th Apr.
Three Glaucous Gulls were seen, all first-summers (one in Holm, two in Deerness - the latter sightings could possibly relate to the same bird).

21st Apr.
A Willow Warbler and a Redwing were seen in Holm. A Glaucous Gull and an Iceland Gull (both first-summers) were sharing a beach in Deerness.

22nd Apr.
Three Black-tailed Godwits were seen in Tankerness, where there was also two Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler. Scoter numbers are starting to build off Tankerness with sightings of 64 Velvet, four Common and a drake Surf. A first-summer Iceland Gull remains in Kirkwall.

23rd Apr.
In Holm, new migrants found included two Whimbrels, a Sedge Warbler (singing) and a House Martin. Seven Black-tailed Godwits were also seen in Holm. A Puffin still in winter plumage (?imm.) was seen offshore.
A flock of 23 Sandwich Terns was seen in Deerness.

24th Apr.
Two Siskins were seen in Holm. (Later that day I had to go south for three days, and learned on my return that a Marsh Harrier had been seen in the area after I had left).

27th Apr.
A Carrion Crow was seen with Hooded Crows in Tankerness.

28th Apr.
A Sedge Warbler was singing in Holm (almost certainly the bird heard on the 23rd). Later, also in Holm, I found a drake Garganey - along with

two Sand Martins and a first-summer Glaucous Gull.
In Tankerness a Common Tern and two Sandwich Terns were found on fresh water, presumably sheltering from a decidedly cold breeze.
A spring Spotted Redshank is always a good find locally, and one found in Toab was no exception.





29th Apr.
A Carrion Crow was seen with Hooded Crows in Holm.
52 Ringed Plovers and five Swallows were seen in Tankerness (the latter has still not arrived in any numbers yet).
The Spotted Redshank was still in Toab, along with two Arctic Terns.
I finally connected with the Marsh Harrier in Holm.

30th Apr.
The Marsh Harrier was again showing well in Holm. A male Redstart nearby added a splash of colour (too bad it did not provide a photo opportunity).
The Spotted Redshank was still present.
An Arctic Tern was seen in Tankerness, with a Little Stint in the same area.