Wood Sand

The first Arctic Terns of the year appeared on the patch today with 12 in West Voe and 18 off Moast Beach. Elsewhere there was a Kestrel over the house, 3 Reed Buntings by the Loch, 5 Swallow and 4 willow Warbler by Moast Beach and 5 Whimbrel and 4 Black-tailed Godwit headed North in the evening, and a Wood Sandpiper was on the marsh at the back of the Loch.

Arctic Terns

Reed Bunting

Wood Sandpiper

Weather

Shocking weather today with winds gusting up to 70mph and lots of rain, even with my sense of adventure, my decision to check all the cliffs was probably a bit risky.
Plenty of birds in, day totals - 120 Redwing, 40 Fieldfare, 5 Song Thrush, 4 Blackcaps, 3 Goldcrest, 1 Chiffchaff, 7 Robin, 1 Common Redpoll, 3 Wheatear, 2 Reed Bunting (only record this year), 55 Barnacle Geese, 3 Pintail, 5 Whooper Swan and a Short-eared Owl.

Blackcap

Barnacle Geese

Fieldfare

Pintails

Reed Buntings

Wheatear

October

That's it ! work, work, work and no time for birding. As is shown by the accompanying photos, I managed to do the patch on very few occasions.

Common Stonechat

Blackcap

Brambling

Barnacle Geese

Reed Bunting

Wheatear

Whinchat

Icky

Still a lot of yesterdays birds around the patch - Wood Sand and Red-backed Shrike still present, new birds were Icterine Warbler by the turning circle and 2 Reed Buntings at the back of the Loch. Other birds present today were a Garden Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Linnets, female Redstart, 6 Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat, a House Martin, Chiffchaff and 6 Shelduck.

Linnet

Red-backed Shrike

Reed Bunting

Wood Sandpiper

May Update

A bit of an update for May, Common Tern and Arctic Skua added to the year-list on the 5th and Whooper Swan and Swallow on the 7th. A bit of a fall took place on the 8th, with House Martin, male Pied Flycatcher, 2 Whitethroats, male Ring Ouzel, Dunnock, Redstart, Song Thrush, Lapland Bunting, 2 Tree Pipit and Wryneck on the patch, plus a long overdue garden tick - Reed Bunting ! Between the 17th and the months end a few more minor falls took place, Kestrel and Redpoll on the 17th, Crossbill and Common Rosefinch on the 20th,  2 Red-backed Shrikes, Icterine Warbler and Avocet on the 23rd and a Little Egret on the 30th.

Avocet

Common Rosefinch

Common Redpoll

Icterine Warbler

Little Egret

Lesser Whitethroat

Reed Bunting

Red-backed Shrikes

Some Stuff...

....from last week ('cause I couldn't be arsed to update at the time).

Eider.

Linnet - duly year-ticked at the old pile of rocks

Mute Swans - a flock of 8 were present for one day.

Reed Bunting - 3 males have been around the patch

Red-throated Diver - several in West Voe

Whimbrel.

Willow Warbler in the garden.

Water Pig

A few more year-ticks - Mute Swan, male Reed Bunting and 2 House Martins, elsewhere around the patch - 12 Swallows, 4 Sand Martin, Willow Warbler plus, a male Common Scoter in West Voe.

Mute Swan.

 Reed Bunting

 House Martin.



Common Scoter.

Rise and Fall.

A bit of a fall overnight (first noticed outside the pub last night with the constant screams of Redwings), on the patch all day, checking every cliff, geo, thistle patch, docks, iris beds, gardens, walls, iron age ruins and any other bit of cover ! After all that the results were - 4 Siskin, 2 Blackcap, 13 Robins, 47 Pink-footed Geese, 22 Goldcrests, 61 Song Thrushes, 160 Redwings, 1 Ring Ouzel, 3 Chaffinch, 13 Lapland Buntings, 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Jack Snipe, 1 Golden Plover, 5 Wheatear, 1 Kestrel, 1 Swallow, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Yellow-browed Warbler, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Whinchat, 1 Brambling, a Water Rail (which spent all day under the roses in the garden) and a patch tick in the form of a late Wryneck, around the cliffs on the headland. A marvelous day and all from a patch that covers just over 2 square kilometres !

Water Rail.

Blackcap.

Brambling.

Goldcrest.

Lesser Whitethroat.

Pink-footed Geese.

Reed Bunting.

Robin.

Song Thrush.

Tree Pipit.

Whinchat.

Common Gull.