RSPB Bird Reports

ORKNEY BIRD RECORDS
AUGUST 2005

Single Great Northern Divers were off North Ronaldsay on 12th and 29th with two off Graemeshall, Holm on 29th. The extremely rare White-billed Diver also remained off Graemeshall being last reported on 10th while a Black-throated Diver was in the same area on 6th. A Slavonian Grebe appeared on the Wasdale Loch in Firth on 10th while single Red-necked Grebes off No.1 Barrier on 20th and in Echnaloch Bay on 30th were part of a national influx of this species.

Stormy conditions during the last week of the month resulted in some spectacular seabird movements as birds forced into the North Sea by the weather made their way back out into the Atlantic. On 25th/26th and again on 29th, Whitaloo Point in Birsay witnessed large movements of Fulmars (up to 3500 /hour), Gannets (up to 1210/hour), Sooty Shearwaters (up to 288/hour) and Manx Shearwaters (up to 432/hour), North Ronaldsay experiencing similar movements. Storm Petrels were also storm-driven, 12 appearing off No.2 Barrier on 29th and four off Whitaloo on 29th when single Leach’s Petrels were also seen at both localities as well as on North Ronaldsay where one-two had also been seen on 24th/25th.

Herons were conspicuous during the month with 12 at the Brig o’ Waithe on 8th and up to 17 at the Finstown Ouse and 19 at Rickla, Harray (perhaps the same birds?) during the second half of the month.

Three Pink-footed Geese on North Ronaldsay on 30th were very early arrivals but a single Barnacle Goose and a Canada Goose on Eday’s Mill Loch were probably not truly wild. Duck numbers began to build up with maxima of 86 Teal and 53 Wigeon on North Ronaldsay on 24th and 30th respectively and 75 Pochard on the Skaill Loch on 10th; four Pintail at Mar Wick on 18th were unusual. The largest moulting flock of Eiders comprised 375 off Quanterness on 10th.

There were few raptors of note although a female Marsh Harrier passed through Stenness on 16th, a dispersing Sparrowhawk was on North Ronaldsay on 21st and young Merlins seemed to be everywhere including North Ronaldsay after 6th. A young Buzzard in the Firth hills gave every impression of having been reared locally, a first for the Orkney Mainland. A Crane flying past Binscarth on 6th was a most unusual record for the time of year.

August is traditionally a month when wader passage is conspicuous and this year was no exception. North Ronaldsay recorded peaks of 181 Ringed Plovers, 1295 Golden Plovers, 92 Knot, 150 Sanderling , 22 Purple Sandpipers, 107 Dunlin, 59 Snipe, 25 Black-tailed Godwits and 152 Turnstones with single Grey Plover on 30th/31st, Little Stint on 10th, Curlew Sandpiper on 2nd, Buff-breasted Sandpiper ( a very rare vagrant from North America) on 25th/26th , 11 Whimbrel on 31st and Spotted Redshank on 5th. Elsewhere, significant counts involved 35 Sanderling on Birsay beach on 25th; two Purple Sandpipers coming in off the sea at Whitaloo Point on 26th; 75 Dunlin at Braebuster, Deerness on 3rd ;. 45 Snipe in Tankerness on 20th; one-three Black-tailed Godwits at three Mainland sites between 24th-26th; 84 Bar-tailed Godwits on Westray on 11th; 600 Curlews at the Knowes of Trotty; up to six Ruff at Brodgar and one-two at four other localities and single Greenshanks at four sites. In addition, single Pectoral Sandpipers appeared in Deerness on 5th and in Tankerness on 20th-23rd.

Considerable numbers of Bonxies were caught up in the seabird movements late in the month but the only more unusual skua was a Pomarine Skua off Eday on 17th. Single juvenile Sabine’s Gulls were seen off Whitaloo Point on 25th and off North Ronaldsay on 29th while the Laughing Gull remained in Burray until at least 12th. A bright spot in an otherwise very poor seabird breeding season was the rearing of two chicks by Orkney’s only pair of Little Terns while out on Copinsay, a completely albino Puffin was seen in early August.

A post-breeding gathering of Rock Doves numbered 120 near Birsay village on 21st while a single migrant Collared Dove was on North Ronaldsay on 13th. A juvenile Cuckoo on the outskirts of Stromness was indicative of local breeding. Short-eared Owls have had a good season but became typically less conspicuous during the month. The presence of a Long-eared Owl in the Hoy Lodge plantation was detected by a single, freshly moulted feather. Only three Swifts were seen during the month, one in Deerness on 6th and two on North Ronaldsay on 23rd

Meadow Pipit passage became noticeable during the early part of the month with up to 75 at Crafty, Firth. Pied Wagtails, similarly, were conspicuous and an almost totally albino bird was seen amongst others near Twatt on 23rd. An influx of 15 White Wagtails occurred on North Ronaldsay on 25th while two Grey Wagtails were seen in Stenness on 20th, not far from the attempted breeding site.

A distinct influx of Wheatears took place on 29th with 70 on North Ronaldsay and 10-12 in Deerness and South Ronaldsay. The only Whinchat was one on North Ronaldsay on 25th-27th, a Song Thrush being an unseasonal visitor to the same island on 12th. Most of our Sedge Warblers have left by mid-August so that seven still at Wideford Burn, St.Ola were late. Up to four Chiffchaffs occurred on North Ronaldsay with a peak on 2nd while a Wood Warbler was present there on 29th/30th. 200 Linnets were attracted to the Brodgar bird crops by 31st while a single Crossbill was seen at Windwick, South Ronaldsay on 23rd.

Eric Meek

 

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