What fantastic weather it is, saying that though any spell of dry sun is going to get a good reception at the moment. I have had an enjoyable morning watching bike racing on the telly broken by a quick foray out to pluck daffodils for mothers day. Whilst doing this I heard the first skylarks singing from the garden. This is a good marker for the end of winter. The last few days have had the Meadow pipits return to territories and start to display. Curlews are also getting on song with bubbling being heard from all quarters a couple of hours ago. Its so nice to see Curlews rising above the house and parachuting back to the ground as they fill their wings with wind and perform this graceful decent above their intended territories. Oystercatchers continue to call from below the house and spring is coming on song full bore.
Yesterday I had a spin out west in the search for the first of the Wheatears to return. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, I did manage several Piedwags but that was about it. The cliffs out west offered up Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes with birds up on the cliffs and sitting on the sea. This was all very nice to see but wasn’t what I was looking for but never mind. The hide at the loons was also quiet but I had a nice Pintailed duck settle in front of me. I managed to take a few snaps as it moved across the pool like an unstoppable motor boat. Once again I took my eye off the bird and fiddled with the camera only to look up and find the bird gone,…aint that the way of it. Hundreds upon hundreds of golden plovers were in the air in the direction of the windmills and I read a report of lots of them on the ground around Evie village from Tim Woot on orkbird this avo with many of them in their splendid summer plumage.
It’s the back of four now so I think I might have a trip out in a while to look for raptors across the Harray hills and Cottasgarth as a nice way to end the day!

A U3A sort of day

I had an interesting afternoon. It involved giving a hand out with some didgiscoping practice to the local U3A photography group. It was blowing a bit of a breeze up the loch once we were assembled in the hide at Barnhouse Stenness. It wasn’t the best of conditions but every one got to try the scopes out and grab a few snaps. The birds all stayed well off across the loch though in the unfavourable eart of wind. A few of the lochs swan flock did come over for a look and we managed a few shots of the bob, bob, bobbing swans.

The loch its self held
6 Longtailed duck
3 pairs of Goldeneye
2 pairs Red breasted mergansers
3-5doz Tuffted
3 Slavonian grebes
200 Widgeon
substantial roosting flocks of Oystercatchers, Curlew and Lapwing across the south end where there was also two big gull roosts.
There were about 300 Greylag and a smattering of Pink feet at Masehow.
Lesser blacked gulls made several appearances heading down the loch along with some very sharp looking Black headedgulls.

Coming away a brown looking Piedwagtail took my eye bouncing down the Stenness shore. I t was just one glimpse and gone though…I have no idea what it was…and they are the best ones!!!

Twenty thousand hits

To celebrate twenty thousand hits on the blog here is something a little different. I spied this lad down the fields with this Harris hawk this afternoon He kindly came over and took some time out of his rabbit hunting walk for a chat. What a cracker!! Shame it wont be going on the garden list!!

The soggy shore

Spurred on by a report of the first Wheatear of the spring on the west side coast I headed to Stromness to have a look about. First off I had a look for the Purple sandpipers but they were not to be found. I managed some shots of a pair of Dunters and moved along the shore only to find a cooperative Redshank and Oystercatcher. There were a couple of seals about hauled up and others sleeping in the water. The closest one to the shore had a good amount of blood coming from wounds around its throat although it didn’t seem to bothered. It was a misty looking Hoy and Graemsay across the water and the water its self took on the grey of the skys and held a strong greasy motion in the tide. With only a few Dunters a couple of Mergansers and a few assorted gull I thought a move along the shore might be more beneficial. The last thing to hold my interest was a Scarfie on a rock . It was a distant view but looking through the bins I could see the rock was getting well washed over by the waves and it was ignoring the water about its feet.. It was out as far as the scope and camera could reach but I shot off ten or fifteen pictures trying to get a sharp one of the action. I didn’t really get one but its good to practice…I tell my self. Jumping the bike its over to Warbeth and a wander along the shore.
Warbeth on the falling tide was particularly empty of birds, things looked even less promising with the arrival of more wind carried drizzle. I bet the lip and hopped that the weather might bring down any moving birds. It was a bit of a plod but the end of the sands held only a flock of Oystercatchers and one or two Redshanks. The rocky shore fared a lot better though with four or five Pied wagtails moving along before me. At one point I came nose to nose with a Meadow pipit on a stab, the closest view of one this year!. The drizzle was becoming more and more persistent, this was leading to the inevitable turn and walk back. Crossing a fence and cresting a rise curtains of grey wetness rolled down the shore before me. I stood looking along the shore and thought jees!!. Surveying the scene before me my reluctance to turn and walk face first into the rain paid a dividend as a Curlew rose up and preformed a stunning display, It flew in tight horizontal circles between ten and twenty feet high. There were several sharp changes of direction and jinking flight. Even though it was down wind im pretty sure the bird at no time called. It ended this flight which had gone on for ages by just as dramaticaly and abruptly as it had started by dropping out the sky and back down on the shore. I don’t know what was going on but it was pretty cool at the time!
Another ten minutes watching the shore and that was enough though, it was buff up and hat down for the plod back to the bike. The head down attitude as I shouldered in to the weather did produce a field mouse running on the shore as I passed it. Lesser celandines were putting out the first flowers and there was piles of dog shit!! The last section leading to the sandy shore produced three Rock pipits moving along rolled up mats of seaweed ahead of me. Its just everyday stuff in the rain to day but it is nice to get out in the slightly raised seasonal temperatures. It’s the boat race this weekend another good marker for the year……OXFORD!!!

Dunter

Supermoon...sort of...

I missed the moonrise so didnt get the chance to see it at its apparent biggest. The highest tides are not untill monday though!!

Wrens return

It seems that the birds are coming back on line over this last couple of weeks. The first signs were the piping calls of the Oyster catchers ringing up from the dark fields below the house. It made a pleasant addition to the greylags and whistling Widgeon. I know the novelty will rub off soon enough but for now it’s a nice addition to the sounds of the night. Lapwings have started displaying and were looking nicely conspicuous in this afternoon’s sunshine. The nice sunshine also brought out Curlews to bubble and Skylarks to sing on territory today. In the shrubs of Stenness I heard Wrens, Blackbirds and Dunnocks all in good song and saw a pair of Harriers pass over the hill top in close order. Around the house here The Song thrush has been in full song and encouragingly the male chaffinch that is constantly accompanied by a female is singing. Wrens made a welcome reappearance the other day with one flitting around the obvious high perches and was soon pursued by another. I’m just guessing they are females as I haven’t heard any song but its early days. The Robin is singing from time to time but the Dunnock doesnt seem to be making a lot of effort. All in all its looking al lot more like spring. We have the biggest moon for ages in a couple of nights and then the equinox is upon us….before you know it it will be the grand national, the boat race and it will be summer……..another nip and a dod of wood on the fire, rain on windows….yawn…dream of summer days....zzz

The northern lights just wont quit

Every time i have looked at the NOAA site over the last ten days there seems to have been orange or red on the polar map. When the skys have been clear enough there has often been a glow on the northern horizon. Last night's display was a good one and the lights were fairly dancing in the sky.

Needing to see further than my nose!!

It’s strange that you so often don’t see what’s right in front of you. This has been brought home to me in the last couple of days. Last Sunday after the bird race check in at the Lynfield hotel (the bird race is another one to write up at some point) whilst we were speaking about what and where someone mentioned that Carrion crows seemed to be establishing them self’s on my road the Stonyhill Rd.. I have seen dark billed crows about the house here and just dismissed them as first year rooks as we have a large flock of rooks and Jackdaws about that likely come over from Binscarth woods. Yesterday though there was one on the roof that caught my eye. I got the bins on it and was thinking that the bill didn’t look straight and pointy and had a nice curve when it took off and headed down the field in the company of a Hooded crow. They both landed on fence posts about a hundred yards away and look like a pair. So after managing to see what was in front of my nose all the time I am now seeing at least one Carrion crow around the house. In fact I think the bird is taking the piss a bit as its been on and off the Hydro pole next door all morning.. I don’t really know how many Carrion crows are this far north and out of their range but I can think of a couple of Hoodie/Carrion pairs that have been out west over the past few years. Looks like there might be more inter breeding going on here as well….We will see……now I am paying a bit more attention that is !!

The good thing about this is its another bird on the garden list, and whilst on the subject of the list it’s a super flat calm day and looking down to the loch I can see in the bins Cormorants clearly drying them selfs on a small island. Spurred on by this a scope across the still water soon reveals not only the Cormorants with wings outstretched but a flock of Tuffted ducks clearly visible, several pairs of Golden eye and a Slavonian grebe. Im fairly chuffed with the morning so far…..I might even go and write up a bit of a report on last Sundays bird race as it was my first ever attempt at bird racing!!

Stormy weather

It is blowing a bit out west this afternoon. Looks to be worse the morns afternoon though.

Pinkfeet below the house

Its a sign of the times that the pinkies have started pouring in to the county. There are a few kicking about over winter but we never see them here, Its only when they arive in numbers that we see them around us. This is a sure sign of spring starting to loom in the distance and winters grip loosning.

The Scottish Hen Harrier situation worsens

I have just been reading that the number of breeding pairs of Hen Harriers has been lowered yet aging after the announcement of new survey figures. It’s a depressing and infuriating situation as we all know the reason why this is happening and the government lacks any will to do the right thing and rectify the situation through positive action.

Have a look through the blog (raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com} its interesting reading. There is a ling in the side bar in Scottish killing fields/only 489 pairs of Harriers left.

Northern lights

There was a display of the northern lights last night. It was much more of an ark across the northern sky which is far more usual than a full on show of search lights and curtains. It did kick off onto a larger display at times but all in all it was quite modest. The display was called around the back of eight last night on the local Orkney forum . When I saw it was starting I had a look at the NOAA site in the blog side bar and it was glowing dark red which is always a good sign. That was fifteen or sixteen hours ago and the alert is still going on so this is a long one. It was still showing in the north as I went to bed late last night. At the moment it is concentrated over the north coast of Canada. I don’t know if the storm will last till darkness tonight but fingers crossed it will.

Im just off to watch Bill Baileys bird watching bonanza on Sky 3 20.00 This is the first one of six and I have not seen any previously so I think im in for a treat!!


Well after watching that what can i say......not a lot realy...mmmm

I was out at the Ring of Brodgar yesterday afternoon. There were plenty of Twite still in the bird crop and i had a nice view of a Merlin. This was the first one i have seen foe ages and a so much more thrilling sight for it!! It swept low behind the back of the ring and headed away at waist hight towards the nettle beds at the loch side. I didnt get a snap of it as i was to engaged just watching!! but I did take this one of the ring which i was pleased with. Its so often a job to give a sense of a circle but from the top of the wee mound on the south side seems to work pretty well.

Great to hear a song thrush singing away in the gardens last night. The chafinches are still about the houses as well. It will be interesting to see if they fancy staying and nesting but i suspect the cover roundabouts will not be enough for them and they will slink away.

Seals gain more protection in law

Scottish government news statement.


New seal legislation and licensing

31/01/2011

Legislation comes into force today that makes it an offence to kill any seal at any time, unless holding a specific licence or for animal welfare reasons to end suffering.

In addition to outlawing unregulated seal shooting, the seal provisions under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 will also introduce a new licensing system and introduce a number of seal conservation areas around Scotland.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead said:

"These seal management measures deliver a significant improvement to how we manage the impact of seal predation on fisheries and fish farms around our coast. The new measures have been introduced after extensive consultation and Marine Scotland will now take forward implementation and monitoring.

"The first annual licences have been issued today to those who need to manage seal numbers to prevent serious damage to their fishery or to protect the health and welfare of farmed fish.

"Alongside licensing, we are introducing a number of conservation areas designed to protect vulnerable local populations of common seals. The areas cover Moray Firth, Shetland, Orkney, Firth of Tay and the Western Isles.

"This new system is a good example of how the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 is meeting our responsibilities to communities, conservation and the national economy in managing our unique marine environment. It will allow industry to maximise the benefits from sustainable fishing and aquaculture while minimising any loss to seal predation and providing important seal populations the necessary protection to breed and survive in our waters."

The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 seeks to balance seal conservation with sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.

The implementation of the Act will have three main consequences:

* Makes it an offence to kill or injure a seal except under licence or for welfare reasons and outlaws all unregulated seal shooting
* Triggers the introduction of a number of seal conservation areas around Scotland, designed to protect vulnerable declining common seal populations
* Introduces a new seal licensing system across Scotland and issues associated licences



I can see this deviding oppinion!!!...good thing though.

Parrots of old London town.

In the weeks before Christmas I reported on the parakeets living feral in London. Reading back I thought I would fill things In a little. The most common of the wild living parakeets are the Ring Necked parakeets. These are estimated to have a population of 50,000 ore more in the south east of England. This species is by far the most prolific of the UKs feral parrots and present the all the problems of an invasive species. Quite simply put the Ringnecks are a hole nesting species so all of the indigenous bird are having to compete with the parrots. Now given that a Nutchach and sparrows are dwarfed by the parakeet as are most other species then the outcome is all easy to see. The bigger birds are gaining a foothold in the urban situation and their populations are booming. As daylight falls and roosts begin you can close your eyes and parts of London are starting to sound like the city’s of the Indian sub continent.
The parakeets we are looking at here though are a somewhat different kettle of fish. These are the Monk parakeet, a South American species and although they are classed as pests it is an agricultural pest rather than a threat to the indigenous avian fauna. For this reason I don’t see this species as such a negative addition to the countryside. Recent figures suggest that there may be only fifteen hundred birds spread across the South East of England. Monk parakeets are a communal nesting species and it was this behaviour that I found such a delight when I first found them. Both species are visable about Millwall park and both species are quite obvious by the discordant parrot type noises they make and it was their calls that first drew me through the trees to the nest site. I had seen this structure in the distance and if it had registered at all I would have assumed it was a large squirrel dray. Seeing birds coming in to the tree it soon became obvious that this was a woven nesting structure and the birds were entering it. Considering that it was in the depths of December and the freeze was no upon us I was quite surprised that there was activity going on, but going on it was !!. Thirty foot or so up a tall tree three birds were wrestling sticks in to a huge woven mass of twigs. The whole structure would be six feet tall and two or three foot wide in places. It had four entrances visible from the ground. I don’t know if the passages open up at all for as seems more likely they lead to individual nesting spaces. Settling down a short distance away it was fascinating to watch the coming and going. My presence and that of dog walkers and noisy gangs of kids were going to make no impact on their daily life. They blithely ignored all distractions and carried on, some birds entered holes on arriving and others arrived carrying twigs which they forced and cagouled in to place in an ever extending colony. Watching the comings and goings and the birds interactions was fascinating and unique stuff. I don’t think any bird in Europe nests like this and if they do I would be willing to bet its not on this scale. If you would like a look at this small piece of South American lifestyle whilst in London then take the DLR to Island Gardens station, turn left on leaving and the trees are on the far side of the football pitches in front of you.

Here is all be it a bit late the December bird report for the county from the RSPB.

ORKNEY BIRD RECORDS

DECEMBER 2010


24 Great Northern Divers were off Rerwick Head on 12th where a leucistic bird was noted during the month. A Black-throated Diver and a Red-necked Grebe were at Sandoyne on 12th while 26 Slavonian Grebes were counted there on 22nd. The hard weather that was to be so much a feature of the month forced three Little Grebes on to the sea at Finstown during the month, one also being seen in Stromness Harbour.

There were two notable gatherings of Cormorants with 200 at Pierowall on 12th and 60 in Birsay Bay on 21st. A very large Shag count involved 1120 off Marwick Head on 23rd.

Vasa Loch on Shapinsay was the venue for by far the largest Whooper Swan flock, a flock that peaked at 130 on 19th. An immature Bewick’s Swan, a very rare visitor to Orkney, was with these Whoopers between 11th-18th. The second Greylag Goose census of the winter was carried out between 11th-13th and produced a new record count of 80,744, just 200 more than in December 2009. What was especially interesting, however, was the fact that there had been a major redistribution of geese since the November count with the West Mainland losing 12,000 birds to areas to the east and south, presumably because of the harsher weather conditions pertaining in the west. Pink-footed Geese numbered 1409, 1278 of them in the East Mainland. Amongst other geese, there were up to 63 Greenland White-fronted Geese at The Loons, two Snow Geese at the Head of Holland on 6th/7th while 2219 Barnacle Geese were counted on South Walls with up to 118 in South Ronaldsay.

Shelduck numbers peaked at 27 in Widewall Bay on 21st. A small flock of Wigeon on Stromness Reservoir on 14th included a very odd-looking leucistic bird. Up to 17 Shoveler were on the Finstown Ouse during the month, probably forced off the frozen nearby Wasdale Loch. Up to 18 Pintail were on North Ronaldsay on 12th with 11 on the Loch of Brockan on 29th. 235 Tufted Ducks were on the Peedie Sea on 16th while, most unusually, 24 were in Widewall Bay on 27th, more fugitives from the ice. Up to three Scaup were on the Ayre Loch, St.Mary’s during the month while a Lesser Scaup, a North American vagrant and only the third to have been seen in Orkney, was present there until at least 19th. One-three Common Scoters were seen in Widewall Bay, off Rerwick and off North Ronaldsay during the month while another was on ice-free water on the Stenness Loch at Brodgar on 27th. A Velvet Scoter was off the Brough of Gurness on 2nd and 13 off Rerwick Head on 12th when the regular drake Surf Scoter was also present. A flock of 700 Eiders was counted in the Bay of Carness on 27th. One-two drake Goosanders were on the Ayre and Graemeshall Lochs in Holm from 10th while a Smew found on a tiny patch of free water on the Stenness Loch at Voy on 2nd moved to Brodgar for the rest of the month.

50 Pheasants were concentrated by the weather at Dale, Costa on 3rd while big releases of Red-legged Partridges for shooting on Shapinsay resulted in a gathering of 40 at Vasa Loch on 17th. One-two Water Rails were forced into the open at Dale, at Herston, in Evie and in Rendall during the month. Coot are not often seen on the sea but up to 19 were in the Bay of Firth and the Finstown Ouse . Moorhens are even rarer in maritime situations so that seven on the sea off Greameshall, on 21st were of particular note as was one feeding on the strandline at Newark Bay, Deerness on 26th.

One-two Grey Plovers were seen on North Ronaldsay and in Birsay Bay but most Golden Plovers fled the islands and presumably headed for Ireland looking for milder conditions. Peak wader counts on North Ronaldsay involved 126 Sanderlings there on 12th and 94 Purple Sandpipers on 23rd. Two Ruffs were unusual winter visitors to the Loch of Bosquoy on 26th. Woodcocks were conspicuous as the weather made them more visible; up to 18 were reported from Hestily, South Ronaldsay, up to eight in Rendall, up to six in Deerness and up to four in fifteen other localities. That most secretive of waders, the Jack Snipe, was also much more noticeable with as many as four feeding in the open around the Peedie Sea early in the month and one-two seen at nine other sites. The overwintering Whimbrel in Burray was seen on several occasions while the largest Bar-tailed Godwit gathering was of 220 in fields at Rapness, Westray on 11th.

An immature Iceland Gull was found at the Peedie Sea on 4th and seen frequently thereafter while an adult in Stromness Harbour on 16th was joined by an immature on 19th. 500 Guillemots had returned to the seas around Marwick Head on 13th but soon moved away again. A single Little Auk was in the Bay of Sandoyne on 12th.

The largest gathering of Rock Doves was of 400 at Rossmyre, Firth on 12th while, during the brief respite in the weather, a pair of Collared Doves was watched nest-building in Kirkwall on 11th!


Orkney Short-eared Owls are known to become much more nocturnal (and therefore less often seen) in winter. However, the difficulties of finding food in frozen, snow-covered habitat forced many to hunt by day as well and there were numerous reports throughout the month.

Few Waxwings remained from the big irruption earlier in the autumn but up to four were seen in Kirkwall and single at four other sites. 100 Skylarks were counted at the Head of Holland on 2nd and 21st with 48 on Egilsay on 13th while an apparent influx on 17th brought 42 to North Ronaldsay and ten to Birsay. A Shorelark, a very scarce visitor these days, was found on Stronsay on 20th. The only Grey Wagtail reported was one in Kirkwall on about 20th while single Pied Wagtails were seen in Kirkwall, St.Ola, Finstown and Stromness.

One never quite knows when Black Redstarts are going to appear and, true to form, one was found on North Ronaldsay on 13th. Having been relatively scarce all autumn, a very late arrival of Fieldfares, a feature of recent years, was witnessed on North Ronaldsay when 56 were counted on 29th with 81 the following day.

A Blackcap was on North Ronaldsay on 4th while one that remained in Rendall was assumed to have succumbed to the blizzard of 16th. Often victims of severe weather, Goldcrests seemed to be hanging on in there with up to seven in Binscarth and five in Finstown.

The Firth School bird crop proved attractive to Bramblings with up to 15 there; ten were also seen at Quoydandy, St.Ola with one-two in several other sites. The largest Greenfinch flock was one of 200, also at Quoydandy, on 12th. The arrival of Goldfinches continued with no fewer than 23 on Burray (peaking on 4th) and singles in Finstown, Harray and Rendall.

The only Siskin was one that remained in Herston until 8th. Until fairly recently, Linnets were very much summer visitors to Orkney but more are overwintering these days as evidenced by flocks of 150 at Hestily, up to 107 on North Ronaldsay, 90 at Firth School and 60 at Dale. Although not quite so numerous as last winter, there were some good flocks of Twite with up to 650 at Brinkie’s Brae, Stromness, 500 at Dale, 400 at Swannay and 350 on North Ronaldsay. The irruption of Mealy Redpolls continued with a maximum of 21 on North Ronaldsay on 3rd followed by a second peak of 13 on 21st. This was mirrored at the Firth School bird crop where there were 15 on 5th and 20 on 23rd; elsewhere up to eight were noted at about a dozen localities. A single Lesser Redpoll was identified in Burray on 12th. The small irruption of Northern Bullfinches also continued with up to three remaining in Finstown early in the month, one in Rendall until 17th, one in Stenness on 4th and another in Herston on the same date.

Nearly all the Lapland Buntings from earlier in the autumn had moved on but birds occurred on North Ronaldsay on five dates to 24th with a maximum of six on 17th; six were also at the Black Craig, Stromness on 12th. The biggest Snow Bunting gatherings were of 100 near St. Mary’s on 2nd, 86 on North Ronaldsay on 17th, 70 on Shapinsay on 18th and 60 in Orphir on 12th while up to 40 were seen at seven other sites. The biggest concentration of Reed Buntings was of 100 at Dale on 23rd.

Eric Meek

Scotlands killing fields

It seems that the situation concerning the killing of birds of prey in Scotland is a lot worse than thought and gives serious cause for concern. Theres an artical explaining things as they stand now based on the report that has just been compiled. Attempts to suppress it by vested interests have caused it to be leaked to the press. You can read about it by clicking on the link on the top right hand side of the page in the side bar!

A small part of the mixed finch flock at the ring of Brodgar this afternoon this bush featured mostly Twite and a few Linnet.

Mourning dove

A friend of mine Dave Danehower over in the states posted this photo on facebook today. I looked at it and found it aesthetically pleasing but was puzzled to what it actually was, I assumed it was a fossil of some sort and asked him. To my surprise it turns out this is the impression of a Mourning dove that has been imprinted in the snow after some sort of crash landing, possibly after a raptor attack or some such incident. I think it captures a moment in time. A moment of drama and beauty…..It left quite an impression on me…groan ..I will get my coat…

Snow sprawk

Here is a snap taken through dirty double glazing at 40 yards. This sparrow hawk is hanging out looking for an easy meal to pounce on. Bad luck though as all the birds here about the houses here have lots of feeding stations to keep them going. This bird is going to have to earn its next meal!!!

AURORA ALERT

Go outside and look to the north. The lights are happening right now....except for viewers in england

facebook news

I have been a bit stunned by the feed back figures for the facebook page. There is a new facility that shows the total visits to any post made where ever it has been post or copied somewhere and clicked on. Since the end of June until the start of January the sum total for all visits to every post combined runs to thirty three thousand views!!!

If you would like to join in on the facebook page click on the link in the side bar and check us out....every one is welcome....doubly so if you come on join in and post your observations, thoughts photos and items of interest!!

Daf.

Solar eclipse

It was a fantastic site to see the eclipsed sunrise from Widford this morning. Unfortunatly i was without a sutable filter for the camera and we lacked a layer of fog or mist to soften the glare, i totaly strugled to capture an image. Luck was in though and a passing observer loaned me a welding filter with which i snaped a couple of shots. It was all little disapointing on the photography front but they do give slight taste of the event.

Solar eclipse sunrise

The quantrids meteor shower is upon us and should produce plenty of shooting stars. They will be emanating from northish in the sky so look to 10 o’clock from the first star in the handle of the plough, that’s if Monday night is reasonably clear. Under good conditions falls of a hundred an hour have been counted so fingers crossed and we all get to see loads!!. The show is only just beginning as darkness fades for dawn on Tuesday bring the long awaited partial solar eclipsed sun rise. At least two thirds of the sun should be in shadow as the sun crests the horizon about 8.45….with luck it will be one of those once in a lifetime happenings that everybody will get to see.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL !!!

In the last hours of daylight on the last day of the year a look to the feeders brought a male chaffinch to light feeding below the rogosa. He may have been a dull looking winter male but he was a beautiful addition to the garden list. Its just the way of it to be getting another bird on the list in the dying moments of the year. It just goes to show that anything can turn up when your not expecting it …and you have a modicum of luck…. Great birding to everyone and a happy new year to you all!!

Winter moth

This little critter is the Winter moth. I have seen a few about since the latest snow went away. Kate was telling me that she had seen one on the TV the other night with the presenter explaining how it had anti freeze in its blood to allow it to function in the extreme colds of winter. They have been coming to the bathroom window where they are happy to sit for hours. The female has markedly smaller wings and does not venture far from vegetation. I see also that they don’t feed in winter but that’s about as much info as my two wee Collins guides have on the species. Hardy little creatures in a hostile environment anyway.!!

Up coming event

Sun 16 January

Birds of Scapa Flow – boat tour on the mv Graemsay

3 hr tour on the mv Graemsay to see wintering seabirds and wildfowl. Commentary en route from Tim Dean.

Cost: ￡10 Time: 11am – 2pm

Booking essential: Anne 01856 873535 ext. 2882 email:anne.bignall@orkney.gov.uk

The moon on christmas morning

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL WHERE EVER YOU MAY BE. MAY YOUR LIFE BE PEACFULL AND YOUR GOD GO WITH YOU.

Solstice eclipse

The solstice eclipse came and went with a little disappointment as the moon fell in to mist as the eclipse became full. I cant complain though for what i saw was stunning. The whole of the west mainland basin was cast under a layer of misty fog. There were no house lights or signs of habitation to be seen and the sense of isolation was almost spiritual. I cant help but wonder what my ancestors camped out at Brodgar (or wherever) would have made of a total lunar eclipse on the morning of the solstice. I am a happy man this morning....the hours of light can grow now, the year is reborn!








This is one of the only shots i managed to catch the colour of the eclipsed moon

Brodgar at midnight awaiting the solstice lunar eclipse

Orion over a stone

Wet bread and fresh water

The crap weather is back in force today and looks to be going on for at least a few days. I will have to have a look through the cupboards for dried food and the like. I might get to put out some wet loaf and dried fruit the morn but my peanut supply is out at the moment. More important in the coming days will be fresh water and this will have to be replenished as it freezes during the day.....nice out if you are a snowman!!

London snow

London and the South East have been under a blanket of snow for the last three days, the car has had to get all the repairs made in kirkwall re done before we could drive another yard.....well pissed off!!!! Good birds abpout the flats today with eight Long tailed tits moving through the trees, numourous Bluetits and Wrens were about the Mudchute with a nice view of a song thrush in the snow. A lot of birds were taking advantage of the ground stirred up by the animals in their pens. This was one of the few areas of snow clear ground. I managed photos of some parrots roosting in Millwall park so i might be able to get an id on them this time. These ones seem diffrent from the plain green ones i have seen at the start of the week having blue/green wings and a pale breast...All is quiet out there now with a four inch covering of snow with a fresh blanket of fluffy stuff on top. I am just back in after walking a six month old Husky all over the island. We had a nice encounter with a fox and after a bit of a stare offgiving good views it mooched off into the snow. The city is full of life if you just look aboot.

Well made it to London just ahead of the snow. In a night time run from John O Groats it was a slick and glossy run to Edinbrugh, then fron Edinbrugh to london it was ocasional flurries and sleet. The south end of the M1 is an endless mass of road works dominated by 50mph speed cameras and we dont recomend at all. The A1 or M11ymust be better bets. The first birds seen from the balcony were a pair of green parakets and some blue tits. Theres the chatter of magpies and some nice song that i dont have a clue what it is. Off to explore a bit on Saturday.Londonshire

Hen harrier roost

On a notion tonight I shot off to the biggest west mainland Hen harrier roost to see if there was anything doing. On arriving I was surprised to find I wasn’t the only one with the same thought. Pulled in to a passing place was a car and a land rover both with scopes sticking out of the windows. It was an RSPB crew who were out for their monthly Harrier count. Now this was a piece of luck. The views here are distant and there is a large slice of hill to cover so four pairs of eyes are a definite boon. With the failing light the first birds had already been seen coming in over the heather. They were still flighty and not yet ready for settling. As they landed here and there we would try to keep an eye on their position so as not to confuse them with more arrivals. Slowly more and more were spotted. In the main we were seeing males coming in , the ones that landed mostly took positions on stabs or prominent heathery tussocks so they could view the hillside and new arrivals. Ringtails soon started to be spotted, many settled straight in to the heather whilst others quartered the hillside of the traditional roost. There was some interesting interactions between the males and females, between the males as well. Every so often a male would put up another male and a short squabble would ensue. Things were settling well when a Short eared owl entered the game. Now Short eared owls and Hen harriers are not the best of friends on a good day and the fear was that this owl would put all the birds up and the count would get scrambled. The SEO was chased by several males and a ring tail before finally heading off out of the area. It provided some entertaining flight and fortunately didn’t cause too much confusion to the count. This was the first Short eared owl I had seen for a while. They are a bird that gets rarer as the winter progresses. There has been some debate as to whether they all migrate south or a small population remains here and drops their diurnal feeding pattern in favour of a nocturnal life style, but that’s a debate for another day!!. The light was failing fast now and the last of the ringtails seemed to have arrived. With the youngsters and females settled over the hillside The males that had been sitting on the high spots seemed satisfied it was time to roost and one by one they moved off to claim their spots for the night with a slow circle over a favoured patch of heather before a quick plunge take them instantly out of sight. All in all it was a cracking spot of raptor viewing.

The totals for the roost were 8 males possibly 9 and 7 ringtails possibly 9.

Lochside morning.

It was such a flat calm morning that I thought I would head out and see what was to be seen. Lochside was to be the first port of call. It was lovely as well with the early winter colours of the heather and reeds reflecting in the water between the islands. I like this time of year, the first of the winds has been and the coldness of the winter depths is yet to fall. Whilst setting up my scope a lone Wren started its chiding cal from a bust thirty paces from me. This is a bird that is a handful to catch in the digiscope as they are so flighty. Sure enough I managed to get the bird in view in the scope and offer up the camera but two quick snaps and it was gone, disappeared in to the heather where it moved about and gave out some song. No prizes for guessing the sex of that one then!
There were a few birds on the water but my attention was drawn to the fields on the far side below Biggins, spread along the loch shore was a good flock of Lapwing numbering 125+ interspersed within that flock were a hundred or so Golden plover and 30 odd Curlew. Either side and above them the ubiquitous greylags grazes away. I didn’t bother to count them as I seem to be quite blasé about the tens of thousands of grey geese that are spread across the county. 25 or more Teal were emerging from the loch in a seemingly determined feeding column. As they come ashore a flurry of action draws me away as a Hoddie and a Herring gull squabble over some food on another island. It soon falls quiet though but a scan along the shore reveals five Snipe maintaining their usual immobile stance. As the winter progresses Snipe are becoming more and more visible at he waters edge, not only on the loch sides but along the sea shore as well.
The water its self held no real surprises. The predominant duck was the Tuffted with a hundred or more in view. Amongst these groups of tufted further out were five Scaup and in amongst the islands but spread out were three male Goldeneye. A small contingent of Cormarants dried their wings and preened on one of the skerries with a couple of birds paddling about and actively feeding. With the place kindo scoped out I packed up to head over the other side of the loch for a view but shortly after arriving on came the rain. I remained at the junction of Harray and Stenness for a while and stoically ignored the increasing rain until I thought my jeans were suitably wet and my legs cold enough then jumped back on the bike and shot off the four miles home….another short day….och well!

Thou shalt allways bird!

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Shooting star alert.

The annual display of Leonids shooting stars is almost upon us. They will be here on the nights of the 17th and 18th That’s the morns night and the next. Look to the constellation of Leo which is to the left and a little lower than Orion. This is in the eastern sky. Happy viewing!

Celestial events to see the year out!

There are some interesting celestial events coming up over the next month or so and I think they are well worth making a note of so as not to miss them.

Firstly there is the Geminids meteor shower. This will run from December the 9th until the 14th and it will reach the peak on the night of the 13th.

After this there is the Ursids meteor shower. This will go on from December the 17th to the 24th with the peak occurring on the night of the 23rd.

During this shower things will get really interesting with a lunar eclipse happening on the solstice around 5am just before sunrise. That will be on the morning of the 21st of December. I just cant help but think what the builders of Brodgar and the Stenness stones would have made of the event!!

On January the 1st to the 4th it will be the Quadrantids meteor shower with the peak occurring on the night of the 3rd.

With this shower over the morning of the 4th of January will provide the greatest spectacle of all!!, as the sun rises it will be in partial eclipse with a quarter of the surface occluded by the shadow of the moon.

Weather permitting it looks like the end of the year could provide Orkney with some of the greatest celestial spectacles it is possible to see….weather permitting of course!!...Happy viewing.