Rain

A bit of rain in the morning and the patch was covered with migrants by late afternoon - 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 12 Chiffchaffs, 1 Willow Warbler, 8 Swallow, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Brent Goose, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Garden Warbler, 4 House Martin, 3 Reed Bunting, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 2 White Wagtail, 1 Short-eared Owl and, bird of the day, a female Bluethroat - not showing very well at all as it was on the cliffs.

Lesser Whitethroat

Short-eared Owl

Wood Sandpiper

Waxwings and.... one of them things

Out on the patch again and the Pied Wheatear is still present along with 2 Northern Wheatears, Barnacle Goose, Pink-footed Goose and 17 Tufted Ducks on the Loch, 3 Song Thrush, 120 Twite and 3 Siskins out on the headland, 3 Robins and a Blackcap were in the gardens, 80 Fieldfare and 60 Redwings were scattered throughout the patch, 2 Waxwing and a Blackcap were in my garden, another Waxwing and a Water Rail was by the bus stop. And the other thing.... a mad looking Lesser Whitethroat on bunker hill, so brown looking that I initially thought it was an Acro! It also had a lot of white in the tail, noticeably short wings and no contrast between the mask and the crown.

Waxwings

Pied Wheatear

Northern Wheatear

Lesser Whitethroat

Incoming

Quite a few migrants around the patch today, nothing exceptional, but it's a start.
1 Short-eared Owl, 4 Blackcaps, 9 Goldcrests, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Wheatear, 1 Brambling, 5 Song Thrush, 11 Redwing, 2 Fieldfare, 2 Robins, 1 Chiffchaff, 23 Barnacle Geese and a Shoveler.

Blackcap

Goldcrests

Lesser Whitethroat

Short-eared Owl

Silliness

A silly amount of Yellow-browed Warblers on the patch today with 5, all in an area less than 1 square km. 2 year-ticks today as well - 2 Collared Doves heading south over Colonial Place and a juv Hobby over Old Scatness. Elsewhere on the patch there were 2 Lesser Whitethroats, a Goldcrest, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 7 Wheatear, 1 Lapland Bunting, 2 Swallow, 1 Willow Warbler and a Grey Wagtail.

Yellow-browed Warblers

Goldcrest

Lesser Whitethroat

Promising

Promising signs of movement on the patch - 2 Garden Warblers, 6 Swallow, 2 Wheatear, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Jack Snipe and the first 'Siberian' Chiffchaff of the autumn.

Jack Snipe

Lesser Whitethroat

Swallows

Pegger

Not a great deal on the patch - 3 Blackbirds and a Lesser Whitethroat in the garden, juv Peregrine hunting around the Loch and 70 Pink-footed Geese over.

Peregrine

Pink-footed Geese

Blackbird

Lesser Whitethroat

New Birds

A few new birds on the patch today - 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat and a Reed Warbler. 2 Pied Flycatchers and a Restart remained in the garden and 6 Willow Warblers were also around the patch. A bit of a surprise was a Polecat at the bottom end of Spring Field.

Lesser Whitethroat

Whinchat

Willow Warbler

Polecat

Home and Work

A few bits and bobs from at home and at work.
From home -

Blackcap

Lesser Whitethroat

Chiffchaff

and from work -

Great Northern Diver (with pale bill !)

Eider

Herring Gulls

Bonxie

Shag

Crex

Not a bad day on the patch today - 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Yellow-browed Warblers, 4 Wheatear, a Kestrel, 2 Slav Grebes (in West Voe), 15 Swallows, 26 Snow Buntings, a Merlin, a Song Thrush and a Redwing. But bird of the day must go to a Corncrake, flushed from a nearby garden this morning.

Corncrake

Kestrel

Lesser Whitethroat

Yellow-browed Warblers

This evening's sunset