Garden Year-list 2009 Rewiew. (Part 1).

January - The year started with the usual stuff seen from the living room window on New Year's day - Great Northern Divers, Eider, Long-tailed Duck etc, with a few fly-bys past the house - Whooper Swan, Fieldfare and Wigeon. New birds were added almost everyday, until I left the islands on the 16th - Merlin on the 2nd, Gannet and Peregrine on the 4th, Red-throated Diver on the 5th, Both Iceland and 'Kumlien's' Gull on the 12th and Common Scoter on the 31st. the total at the end of the month was 41.

Whooper Swan.

'Kumlien's' Gull.

Iceland Gull.

Common Scoters.

February - Highlights for the month were - Glaucous Gull plus Pink-footed and Barnacle Geese on the 8th, Bar-tailed Godwit on the 9th, Tufted Duck on the 14th and Goldeneye on the 24th. The total at the end of the month was now 53.

Pink-footed Goose.

Barnacle Geese.

Glaucous Gull.

March - Ringed Plover on the 9th was a bit overdue, as was Twite on the 11th. Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit on the 19th were the first migrants, as were Greenfinch on the 27th and Lesser Black-backed Gull on the 30th. A slow month ringing the total up to just 60.

Greenfinch.

April - More migrants arriving all the time with Mistle Thrush, Chaffinch and Collared Dove on the 3rd, Chiffchaff and Great Skua on the 5th, Goldcrest and Sandwich Tern on the 6th, Stonechat on the 7th, Swallow on the 9th, Dunnock on the 11th, a Wood Pigeon on the 13th, a pair of Brent Geese on the 14th, Whimbrel on the 16th, the first Wheatear of the year, along with a Brambling on the 18th, and Siskin on the 19th. Proper migrants were turning up by the last week, with Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, House Martin and Common Tern all recorded by the month's end. The total was now 87.

Wood Pigeon.

Siskins.

Collared Dove.

May - Migrants continued to arrive with Arctic Skua and Arctic Tern seen at the start of the month, a pair of Black Ducks on the 11th were the first BB rarities of the year, Goosander on the 14th, Icterine Warbler and Reed Warbler on the 20th, Laughing Gull on the 24th, and White-tailed Eagle and Canada Goose on the 31st. Most common migrants were seen throughout the month. The total now stood at 107.

Black Ducks.

Canada Geese.

Laughing Gull.

Redstart.

Reed Warbler.

Spotted Flycatcher.

Swifts.

White-tailed Eagle.

June - Only 4 new species were added in June - Cuckoo, Puffin, Kestrel and Crossbill, the Crossbills were the start of an invasion that would last most of the summer. Total now on 111.

Crossbills.