Patch Highlights October

October was hard work on the patch with not that many easterlies, but there were a few highlights.

Bramblings

Barnacle Geese

Mistle Thrush

Redwings

Ring Ouzels

Siskin

Slav Grebe

Spotted Flycatcher

Song Thrushes

Winter's here

Definitely a wintry feel in the air now, most things have cleared out of the patch, the only migrants today were 2 Redwing, a Blackcap and a Robin. More in the vein of winter was a Little Auk in West Voe along with 80 Long-tailed Ducks and 10 Red-breasted Mergansers. 4 Tufted Duck, 45 Wigeon and a Goldeneye were on the Loch.

Blackbird - in the garden most mornings

Long-tailed Duck

Redwing

Merlin

Amazingly there are still 1 or 2 new birds coming into the patch, Dunnock and Wood Pigeon were both new arrivals, still 25+ Rewing and a Song Thrush in the neep field, 2 Goldeneye and 4 Whooper Swans on the Loch, Jack Snipe flushed from the docks, Robin in the garden and a showy Merlin along the road.

A fine view from the end of the road

Merlin

Redwing

Scary Veg Day

The day started with 3 Goldfinch in the garden, obviously new birds, so I thrashed the patch once again and there were indeed birds on the move - 10 Whooper Swans (7 flying south and 3 on the Loch), a female Chaffinch on West Voe beach of all places, 1 Merlin, 4 Robins, 1 Blackcap (on Moast Beach), 40 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush and the Slav Grebe was still in West Voe along with 2 Great Northern Divers and 45 Long-tailed Ducks.

Goldfinches

Redwing

Slavonian Grebe

Whooper Swans

Still a tad breezy

The wind has dropped a little bit, it's only gusting 45mph now! Checked everywhere around the patch today - all the gardens, fields, every stone wall, all the cliffs, all the beaches, every nettle and thistle patch, the docks and everywhere around Old Scatness. Good totals for the day - 1 Bean Goose, 1 Brent Goose, 55 Barnacle Geese, 5 Whooper Swan, 1 Pintail, 70 Wigeon, 2 Short-eared Owl, 1 Wood Pigeon, 3 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 21 Song Thrush, 110 Redwing, 80 Fieldfare, 1 Reed Bunting (on the cliffs this time), 4 Siskin, 1 Common Redpoll, 2 Brambling, 1 Swallow, 3 Goldcrest, 13 Robin, 3 Woodcock, 2 Wheatear and the Pied Wheatear (now showing stupidly well in Stinky Geo).

Bean Goose

Brent Goose

Bramblings

Common Redpoll

Goldcrest

Pied Wheatear

Redwing

Song Thrush

Wheatear

Patch stuff

A bit of stuff from the patch from the last couple of days
Today - 2 Goldcrest, 2 Swallows, 2 Wheatear, 2 Blackcaps, and a Song Thrush
Yesterday - 7 Goldcrests, 1 Mistle Thrush, 3 Blackcaps, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Redwing, 2 Linnet, 1 Wood Pigeon and a fly-through Richard's Pipit.

Redwing

Wheatear

Wood Pigeon

Sun

A few shots from the patch in today's sunshine.

At last - Black-headed Gull makes it on to the year-list

Fair Isle from the patch

Redwing selection