Stonechats are go !!

After a couple of weeks of weeks of my local male stonechat calling im pleased to say that he has found a mate and today they were enthusiasticly defending a territory. The pair of them were out calling and causing a ruckass as I passed with the dog so im guessing they have yet to lay but I think its odds on that I have breeding stonechats on my patch !!

The film below dont work and i cant get it off ...ooops

John Crosleys Gargany at the Loons !!

Cheers John i wouldnt have waited about for long and missed this if it wasnt for gabbing to you...nice one !!

Shoveler

Water rail tosday at The Loons

Yesterday Stano was telling me of listening to snipe drumming and this morning I heard my first of the season as well. I was just uncliping the dog from the bike at the end of the Howe road before heading up the hill as above me a snipe was doing its thing. The surprises didnt stop there because from the Eskadale track a distant harrier put on a display of skydancing. With out bins it was about as far away as I could manage to see. It was surprise as the conditions were quite damp and lightly misty but all in all a delight to see. Tramping back the mile to the bike we were asailed once again by the amours snipe This time he was accompanied by a female (I am assuming)who followed him around maintaining station below him chiping away....a nice walk !!

Nothern lights

There is an earth bound CME due to arrive the 13th. Look out for lights on sat night !!

Ring of Brodgar

Purple sandpiper

Cotasgarth april 2nd

After reading Tim Deans sunday class report saying that Cotasgarth was hooching with harriers on sunday I thought it was an idea to pop over for a look this lunch time. Even though it was clouded over and cold it was a warming walk up the track from the farm. Geese were the main birds seen on the way to the dale. The heather hill sides are fairly covered in pairs now as the residents begin to take territory . The track through the dale produced a few of the first returned meadow pipits. I have been noticing more of these have been reapering in the county over the last few days, we had seven or more on the Eastside beach yesterday and one was displaying somewhere over the back field last night. The hide was cold and draughty with yet another dodgy door handle! However with the windows open and the collar up I settled down to scan the ridge and hillside before me. My usual routine is a spy over the stands of willow scrub for small birds perching, a look over all the posts on the hill side for perching raptors that might be resting, preening and chucking up pellets then up to thr ridge line for birds coming in. At this point the first raptors came into sight with a buzzard moving along the skyline. This was closely followed by another and the pair moved towards the pylons and disappeared over the hill. A large ringtail came over the top and quartered the hill to the left to disappear from view. Shortly another smaller one (young male) came in from the Harray mens graves area and passed over the hillside rising over the ridge at the land slip. The pair of buzzards were soon back about hands with the pylon and this time the drew the attention of another ringtail. This one set about haranguing the buzzards and quite a scrap for a while. As they split and moved away it fell quiet for a bit until a harrier quartered the right hand hill side again. Around the pylon a female kestrel hovered dipped hovered and dipped. There are a pair over this ground and have been a fixture for years there.Buzzards reappeared over the ridge line and patroled with hovers and flapping wing beats reminiscent of sparowhawks giving it a bit of flap flap flap gilde flap flap flap glide. I was well chilled by now and not in a mellowed out sort of way man, I was just plain cold !! Giving it up and walking out the best bit of the day was about to happen, at the gate to the dale there is a wet patch with a big dung pile and just as I arrived there there was a single call from a snipe and with my next foot fall three tiny snipe took off from almost beneath me, they shot away low and silent to land almost together a short distance away in the long rank grass. My heart was in my mouth with the thrill and surprise!. Im sure these were jack snipe, I have seen a few singles over the years but this was the first time I have seen any together and three feeding together has just made my day. Worth a wee bit of cold !!

Orkneys stonechats have received a hammering over the last few hard winters. From once being a common moorland bird their numbers have crashed to become something of a rairity. Last winter was favourable tho and there was breeding in a few isolated sites. This winter has been mild for us as well and hopefully stonechats are starting to re-establish. This male was in a dale of the Harray hills and I found him whilst walking the pup.. I have now seen him a couple of times on visits but have yet to see a female to make a pair. With luck a lassie will happen along as he has taken up some prime real estate. Wrens have made a good recovery from the decimation of the past winters and the hill was ringing with their song along with several skylarks in the distance. I was only there for 40mins but I also managed to see a pair of buzzards ( another of our successful arrivals with numbers going up over the last couple of years) Both of them came down twice in the small trees besides Comleybank before lifting off to soar the ridge. Whilst up there the were harassed by a female kestrel. The first returning meadow pipits were about the heather although I have yet to hear one sing but its early days. Other raptors were a ringtail that came from the Lyde side and a shorteared owl that quartered the low heather and grazing’s below. Apart from these the only other birds were a raven and a couple of hoodies but as I said its early days

Its the start of the year, dafs and other bulbs are showing the first signs of shooting above the surface and the ravens are roosting in the derilict up the road. Life is starting once again, Question is will my birding revive its self after five months off....we will see....

Swallow this !!

Here is a photo i am really chuffed with. This is the sort of shot i dream of getting and this is how i got it. First thing in the morning as i was putting the puppy out to do its biz when swallows took off from the gutter over head. These were the freshly fledged chicks from the brood in next doors garage. I though that was close and nice as they flittered away but then though no more about it. Later in the day i walked out of the open back door intending to be cleaning up the pups biz when i heard a noise and looked back. Two swallow fledglings were sitting there calling and as i watched the parent bird came in and fed one of the calling chicks. My vantage point was a runway between the shed and house that leads to the dogs pound. I stood quietly and another food pass took place. Exciting to watch as it was i thought PHOTO OPP!!. I quickly returned indoors through the front door to get my camera. Slipping back in to the gap between the shed and house where i was reasonably hidden and i started to try for feeding shots. I couldnt have been in a better position, 6m away resting on the sloping roof. As the parent birds returned and the chicks would start their demanding calls for food. This gave the perfect opportunity to depress the shutter button to prefocus before the main event. All i had to do was settle in and concentrate on the job in hand. Unfortunately the midges had the same sort of idea and began to feed off me at there leisure. It all gets very zen as you search for an external stillness whilst they crawl over your skin, knowing that to wave your arms or rub your face would collapse the situation with the young birds taking off. Over about 40 mins i managed to take 25 or so shots, now this is where the truth of the situation comes out for even though i had taken advantage of being in the right place at the right time this shot is realy down to lady luck. After retreating from the midge attack and processing the photos on the computer 25 shots yielded up five food passes none clear several to late or early misses and this photo i cropped out was one of the first i took. Luck really does play a part for me.......and greatfull I am for it!

Stronsay trip

Good day out on Stronsay with the RSPB local group migrant outing. Although the westerly wind flow had us looking for american arivals rather than european song birds both were a little sparce. Allan and Jerrys numbers read like this.

Waders; Greenshank (2), Black-tailed Godwit (45), Knot, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Sanderling (72 - including a colour-ringed bird & 26), Bar-tailed Godwit (14), Snipe, Turnstone, Curlew, and Golden Plover (300+).

Wildfowl; Mute Swan (3prs with broods of 4 cygnets), Pink-footed Geese (23), Red-breasted Merganser (25), Little Grebe (1), Coot (40ish), Pintail (16), Shoveler (17), Wigeon (800+), Teal (50+), Gadwall (2), Tufted Duck (26), and the ever present Greylags... (no collars though)

Passerines; Wheatears numbered (20+), Meadow Pipits dotted around in loose flocks and a few White Wagtails with fewer Pied. Linnet & Twite probably in equal number.

Grey Heron (at least 20 seen), Sandwich Tern (15+), Arctic Skua (2), Peregrine (Ad, male chasing the Black-tailed Godwits) and a cock Hen Harrier on the way to the boat.

Sanderling at Skaill

There have been a lot of Sanderling aroound their usual haunts over the last couple of weeks. These birds are on the beach at Skaill. They were fairly unconcerned with my presence and moved from side to side of me on the last of the disapering sand. Last flock i saw they were in all states of moult but these are nearly all the way to their winter colours, exellent wee birds.

Starlings rock

I was off to the Broch of Birsay this morning but totaly messed up with the tide and couldent get on!! The trip back produced no birds that i wouldnt have expected so i was feeling a bit bummed with the thought of cutting grass all afternoon. On pulling in and letting the puppy out the air filled with birds! Over the houses were several hundred starlings all in the air engaged in fly catching, what a wonderfull sight!! This something that happens only rarely but they have been going at it for almost an hour. I supose it just gos to show you dont need to travel miles to see things some times its all on your doorstep and from the most unasuming of sources as well!!....Starlings rock!!

Blacktailed godwit

Out west

Out for a quick spin this afternoon first off to the Shunan where a couple of Bartailed godwits stalked about the muddy edges of the island. The whole shore line was fringed with cast feathers that looks like snow in the distance. A Greenshank flew up and over towards Finstown calling. It took a swing to the right and came down about hands with the burn at Bosquoy. The last bird I see as I an about to pull away are three waders, they dive down to the loch but turn and carry on. By now there are four, following with the bins I see they are Dunlin and hear there high piched calls as they to head to Bosquoy. I now head over to Bosquoy my self, thats left on the road and first right. The first thing I see turning in off the main road is a dead bird, A look and I see it is a short eared owl, this is yet another road casualty. They may be here in good numbers this year but the other side of the coin has been some severe attrition on the roads.

Bosquoy its self held nothing unusual, the big greeb flock was there and good flocks of Curlew and Lapwing came in whilst I scoped about. Moving on from there I hit the Loch of banks hide I hadn’t been here for ages and there was a certain air of dereliction starting to settle about the place, There was bugger all to see either as the meadowsweet had grown so much you cant see any water. A spin on from there saw me looking over the loons from the view point, this to was to prove fruitless with no birds at all on any of the muddy pools and the loch side to lost in the haze and glare of the sun. With little to be gained from waiting about I head down the west coast to enjoy the ride to Skaill. Stopping at the north end of the bay the tide is just high enough to stop dog walkers from approaching the last third of the bay. This portion of the shore is absolutely teeming with birds it seems every where you look there are more. The waters edge is dominated by Dunlin ,Sanderling and Ringed plover rushing back and forth, the rocky shore has Turnstones in all states of moult, Redshanks well close in interspersed with Knot. The Knot range from red to grey. Along with hundreds of starlings on the strand line are several family’s of pied wags and a few Wheatears, one a strikingly even colour of brown. Amongst a group of gulls and Oystercatchers a rather striking Blacktailed godwit is probing away. Seeing this it leads me to see another and another till there are ten in all, They are an exellent sight in their breeding plumage. Carefully looking through every thing I dont see anything out of the usual not that you can take such a massive gathering as usual tho. I was counting Sanderling and got in to nearly a hundred before a couple of Bonxies put the whole beach in to the air. When I lost count I was less than half way through!! All in all it made for an entertaining hours watching and a nice relaxed ride home!

Tickin

The last few days have seen a continental wind-flow bringing good falls of migrating birds to the east side. I haven’t really been out on the hunt but I did manage a couple of lifers with a Wood warbler in full and glorious colour on saturday and a redbacked shrike on sunday.Fairly chuffed i was!!

Common Crane

A good day today as I have just ticked Common crane. This bird was posted on the Orkney bird group on facebook last night . At the time it was just for an ID as the bird was on a farm and far from the road and turning there is an issue. This morning it was visible from the road at the North west end of Swanny loch tho. We located it by the booming calls coming through the mist and managed to get some distant views. I do wonder if this was or should I say is the Tufta bird of a couple of weeks ago. Looking back the cranes that were about Stromness a while ago seemed to stay about for ages, cropping up over and over in different places. Could be this is the same sort of loitering. Im just glad to have had a chance to have one in the scope whilst it did its stuff for an hour on and off…..A very nice big bird!!

Rockin Roller...oh god the puns....

Roller shots

Get kitted up, bins, scope, handbags.....

Roller

Theres a Roller up the Heddle Rd Finstown right now, Heres hoping its there the morn.

Time for transit

Its finaly time for the Transit of Venus. Whats visable of it will be happening as the sun rises the morn. Fingers crossed for a clear sky!!

Morris’s Dotterels

Just been to see Morris’s Dotterels in a rolled field just beyond the east mainland kirk, that’s beyond Graemshall on the St Andrews road. Flighty with a long view I was glad of the scope!! Three were in sight but moved about within the adjoining field as well. They were there yesterday so they might remain for a day or so with a bit of luck.

Oooo err

I am about to be in so much shit!! We are about to go shopping , the cubbords are bare and the last two weeks housekeeping have all been spent on petrol and mars bars while i have twiching and searching the county. Money well spent i think!!

Little Egret

There is a nice Little Egret feeding behind Banks cottage at the Loch of Banks right now!! It is giving nice views from the road!

Red Grouse

I met the Shetland wildlife group on a cold and desolate Hillside Rd out west late this afternoon. There was nothing to see apart from some distant gulls and dark showers on the horizon. Five seconds after they departed this Red Grouse popped up close by and started calling. Taking the piss isn’t it !!

A stunning day of migrants!!

Stunning day of migrants!!

We have had a stunning day and I haven’t traveled any further than half a mile about the sooth parish!! I had planned to get out early this morning and head towards the south end then work my way back. Delayed by showers but enthused by Barrie Hammils finds across Burray first thing this morning off I set! It was just past nine when I pulled in at Burwick and Swallows were in and out of the buildings whilst others were sitting about on fences and wires. I took a look about the back there but didn’t see anything then moved on to the rugosa bushes at the end of the Kirk yard. These soon showed a pair of chiffchaff and other movement within.. Further along and looking around the back a sedgie shoots out and over the road to starts singing on landing, Under the bushes and out a bit a single female blackcap becomes a pair of females and off on the grass two brambling are going back and forth to the bushes, in between all these arrivals the local linnets scurry about with beaks full of dry grass to build their nests.
Thinking this was something best shared I shot off up the road to Stan and Margaret’s house, They had been enjoying a fall that started at dusk last night with the arrival of a garden full of blackbirds followed by brambling and chiffchaffs. Some were still there and whilst Stan dragged himself from his office we managed chiffchaff a pair of redstart, robin, goldfinch and saw a breeding pair of Widgeon. So once ready to get going we decide to wander a bit and see what’s about after all we are right down at the south end and you couldn’t ask for better place for migrants dropping in. At the end of the road is a deserted house with an over grown garden.. It proves to be a disappointment full of starlings and sparrows and a fleeting glance of a small grey thing! Never mind onwards. Beyond this and over a couple of fields there is a promising stand of willow and scrub so we head there to give it ago. The threatening and rainy skies of earlier have broken up and the north wind has dropped to produce a bright spring day, even with the north wind its lovely to be out! Approaching down a track we crisscross a bit along a very rankly grown quarried bank and reach the trees end on looking down the length of them which is about eighty yards. Straight away its clear there is quite a bit of activity with birds at the far end actively fly catching from the fence and bushes!! Yefuckin ha !!!this is what we have come to see. The three of us move up the field of rank grass and settle down about twenty yards up where we gain a nice view along the trees and fence line. Settling in to the deep grassy tussocks activity is almost uninterrupted. Before us every thing sits in the lea of the wind its still and awash with warm sunshine, in front of the trees the ground is wet with marsh marigolds flowering and it is alive with flies and insects. This is an all you can eat bonanza and the hungry migrants were taking full advantage. Scanning along the fence with bins had four redstarts and three spot flys all diving in and out back to their perches. I have only ever had glimpses of redstarts and here they were en mass, superb!! There were plenty of other common migrants about with lesser white throats having a bit of a sing as we arrived. There were a good few of these about and they popped up over and over for the three hours we sat there. Three at the same time was the best count with them. The bottom end of the trees has a stand of fir and the chiffchaff seemed to be loving this, although it was far away you could see them constantly moving about flicking their tails and wings. I was going to return to the house for the scope but Margaret insisted on doing it, the girls a star as she returned with sarnies and kitkats.!!! It was a return not a moment to soon as well because a Pied flycatcher had started to hunt from a perch thirty yards away. This was a male, striking in its black and white plumage. At times it and the redstarts would be passing a few feet over our heads as they circled round to return to a perch. It was breath taking stuff.
All of this activity can help but produce some interest from hungry raptors and sure enough we had a sparrow hawk come tearing in at ground level and disappeared in to the trees. She soon popped back out and circled a couple of times before disappearing to the north. A little while later the birds scattered to cover again, this time a buzzard and a peregrine had a big falling out about two hundred feet above us. Both of them lost any chance of any thing and separated moving away. The redstarts almost immediately repapered . The males were calling quite a bit with a single repeated call that sounded like a male chaffinch or greenfinch. A reed bunting showed for a while and the calls of a pair of terns had us spinning round to see the first arctic terns any of us had seen this year pass over head, A robin appeared as well!, It seem you cant go anywhere for the last few weeks with out finding a robin !! You would think I couldn’t get better but it kept creeping up the scale. At one point we realised that there were two male pied flys in sight at the same time and I got a pic with pied and spotted and a chiffchaff all in the same frame. Photography was to prove challenging for me tho (I don’t know about Stans yet) the warmth produced a mad heat haze and the sunlight made exposures on the white feathers a nightmare but I digiscoped away like a mad thing getting a succession of soft images. Even this failed to dampen my spirits, I was in seventh heaven, hid was bliss.!! Im sitting here typing with one side of my face burnt red and I have a matching nose and I couldn’t care less!!!
I have never seen a fall of migrants so concentrated like this. It was the sort of thing you dream of on those cold winters night in front of the fire.
I really have no idea how many birds were in the trees but it was hooching!! This a list of the most seen at one time. 2 pied fly, 5 spot fly, 3 blackcap 3 lesser whitethroat, 1 reedbunting , 2 willow warbler, 4 chiffchaff , and best of all 7 redstart 5male ,2 female.

That was one of my best birding sessions….ever!!! it just went on and on and on!!!! The south parrish rocks!!!

Wheatear

Wheatear

Linnet

Huge wimbrel fall in Stenness

I have just been out to see the Whimbrel flock that Erik Meek reported on orkbird.. They are in a field near Millquoy, Stenness. This is just up the back road to Stenness going from the mill of Ireland off the Orphir road The birds are in the fields to the right on the brow of the hill. There have been fifty or more and I counted twentyeight. Not only are they rare, unusual and fantastic sight but they also sound amazing as they are calling back and forth…don’t miss out as they will be gone all to soon.

Golden plover

We are getting passing migrants and from tine to time you can see visable migration but its been quite quiet on the rarity sightings. There has been a marked passage of Sea eagles over the last few days with birds heading in both directions a couple of times!!

A good day today, it started out with a game of spot the grouse

Bright and quiet day

I had a bit of a sparse day looking for migrants, Deerness produced a couple of Wheatear, Grindigar had a couple of obliging chiffchaffs that fed in view all the time I was there. A couple of Goldcrests also provided great entertainment coming over to the willows beside the seat to feed. Of course the camera wouldn’t focus on the goldies within the willow and I ended with a poor sort of record shot. My first swallow of the season shot over and there was stunning action from a sparrowhawk that made an attack through the branches of one of the largest trees.
From there I had a quick run to Graemshall to have a shot at the Garganey but no luck, I did have a gab with Keith Hague tho so it wasn’t a total washout! Ariving home after that the Orkney bird group on facebook had a report of a sea eagle over the harray hills an hour before so it was a rapid coffee then back up and out, not that it did me any good as it was nowhere to be found. I tracked down the hills through Evie and crossed back on the Hillside road and ended up at Durkdale. Here I went up to the scrub at the steadings. Willow warblers were in good voice but little else was to be seen or heard. Walking away after giving it up a repeated triple call of a single note brought my purposeful stride to a dead stop. The note had sounded like a black bird and I though could this be the ringed ouzels that I had spent a couple of hours looking for the other day. Virtually bounding over the electric fence then using the derelict buildings for cover I cautiously looked out for the source of the singing. In the darkness on the lower bough of a large bush a dark bird was singing these notes over and over. Binoculars on it and I can see a large very dark head with a bright white stripe above the eye, What the hell is that? The days main moment of excitement is soon deflated with the scope for as the bird leaps out it is obvious that it is a Redwing, still it is looking radiant in its fresh summer plumage but hardly the migrant I was hoping for. A good view later I headed over to the loons hide for a look before home, here three noisy Little grebe scooted about, a pair of Shoveler were in front of the hide and a couple pair of Widgeon pairing up was about all there was to be seen. All in all a very quiet day but never mind Its Rousay the morn, I have never been there and cant wait!!

Mystery moment