RSPB Bird Reports

ORKNEY BIRD RECORDS
October 2006

Single Black-throated Divers were seen off St. Margaret’s Hope on 5th and No.1 Barrier on 25th. Slavonian Grebes were conspicuous with up to seven in Echnaloch Bay, nine in Rango Bay (Loch of Harray) and up to 10 in Waulkmill Bay. A Little Grebe had returned to the traditional wintering site at the Brig o’ Waithe by 6th but much rarer was the Great Crested Grebe in Echnaloch Bay on 13th.

Sooty Shearwaters continued to be recorded off North Ronaldsay with a maximum of 17 on 3rd but with four as late as 27th. A single Storm Petrel was there on 19th with Leach’s Petrels on 20th and 28th. A huge concentration of Shags in Hoy Sound numbered 1000 on 25th.

The main concentration of Whooper Swans was on Shapinsay where 75 were on the Vasa Loch on 23rd and 84 on Mill Dam on 28th. Elsewhere, up to 17 occurred on North Ronaldsay (max. on 9th) and up to seven at four other localities. The largest Pink-footed Goose flock was of 70 over Stenness on 2nd while 29 Greenland White-fronted Geese had returned to The Loons, Birsay by 25th, the other having been seen on North Ronaldsay on 20th. 31 Barnacle Geese were in Deerness on 22nd with 19 on North Ronaldsay two days later while four Dark-bellied Brent Geese were at Evie Sands on 10th with singles on North Ronaldsay on 6th and 17th and in Tankerness on 28th.

Two Shelducks had returned from their moulting grounds to Widewall Bay on 25th. 980 Teal were counted on Shapinsay on 8th, the next largest flock being of 250 at Mill Dam of Rango on 14th. The main Gadwall concentrations were on the Stenness Loch (21 on 6th) and North Ronaldsay (20 on 5th) with the chief Shoveler counts being 69 on Shapinsay on 8th, 24 on North Ronaldsay on 21st and 21 on the Stenness Loch on 6th. 311 Tufted Ducks were on the Swannay Loch on 15th, a high count for this site. 15 Scaup had returned to the Harray Loch at Rango by 6th, North Ronaldsay having recorded a single two days earlier. The only Velvet Scoters reported were up to four in Echnaloch Bay; a single Common Scoter was off No 4 Barrier on 28th/29th.

An immature White-tailed Eagle, very unusual in autumn, passed over Rackwick, Hoy on 4th. Migrant Sparrowhawks and Merlins were in evidence, North Ronaldsay recording a peak of three of the latter on 10th.

Away from breeding sites on North Ronaldsay and Shapinsay, the only Water Rail reported was a migrant on Papay on 11th. A Quail flushed at South Wald, Firth was a most unusual record for the time of year.

The largest Golden Plover flock was 1371 on North Ronaldsay on 4th but 1200 were on Shapinsay on 8th and 800 at Loch of Banks on 28th. An unusual concentration of 400 Knot was at The Ouse, Westray on 6th while the peak Sanderling count was of 150 on North Ronaldsay on 8th. Three Little Stints lingered on North Ronaldsay on 2nd, one remaining until 3rd, while one was also on Shapinsay’s Mill Dam on 15th. North Ronaldsay’s second White-rumped Sandpiper of the autumn was there from 14th to 22nd. Ruff remained scarce with only one-two on North Ronaldsay from 1st-3rd and one on 18th with four at Loch of Lythe, South Ronaldsay on 4th. The highest Snipe count was 300 on North Ronaldsay on 9th. That island recorded a peak of five Jack Snipe on 12th while one-three were also seen in eight other localities between 11th-28th. North Ronaldsay also provided the peak count of Woodcocks with five on 21st; others were on Papay on 12th, in Stenness on 28th and at Herston on 29th. 100 Bar-tailed Godwits were counted at St.Peter’s Pool on 5th and a Black-tailed Godwit was at nearby Mill Sand on the same date. Late Whimbrels were recorded on North Ronaldsay on 2nd and 7th and at Mill Sand on 5th.

Great Skuas continued to be reported early in the month, the last being one on North Ronaldsay on 25th. A small influx of Little Gulls brought one to Deerness on 22nd, one to South Ronaldsay next day and two to Burray on 25th. The only Glaucous Gulls were singles on North Ronaldsay on 23rd and 31st. A late Common Tern was on North Ronaldsay on 1st, two Sandwich Terns lingering there until 13th. The great storm on 26th set Little Auks on the move with 72 past North Ronaldsay in an hour next day; stranded birds had already been reported from Dingieshowe and Stromness on 23rd and were subsequently found at Burwick on 26th and Herston on 27th/28th.

Wood Pigeons always seem like unlikely migrants but a peak of five was recorded on North Ronaldsay on 12th when one was also on Papay; a Turtle Dove was on North Ronaldsay on 20th. Only two Long-eared Owls were noted, one at Herston from 15th and one on North Ronaldsay on 23rd. A really intriguing report was of a nightjar near the Barony, Birsay on 24th but the bird could not be located to establish which species it might have been. The only Swifts were on North Ronaldsay with one on 14th and two next day.

A Richard’s Pipit was at Windwick, on 12th while a much rarer Olive-backed Pipit arrived on North Ronaldsay on 14th to be joined by another next day. Grey Wagtails were reported from Kirkwall (up to four) and Evie (up to three) while one-two lingering White Wagtails remained on North Ronaldsay until 11th.

North Ronaldsay recorded up to eight Dunnocks with a peak on 16th while Robins peaked there at 19 on 12th with 10 at Herston the following day. The only Bluethroats were on North Ronaldsay with one on 1st, two on 2nd and one on 12th but Herston stole the show with the rarity of the month when a Thrush Nightingale was trapped and ringed there on 13th. Single Black Redstarts were seen on North Ronaldsay on four dates 9th-28th with another on Shapinsay on 28th; the only Common Redstarts were on North Ronaldsay on 5th, 12th and 28th. Single Whinchats were also on North Ronaldsay on 2nd and 22nd and although Stonechats are a common enough sight on the Mainland and on Hoy, they are scarce migrants on North Ronaldsay, singles occurring there on 12th and 22nd. 15 Wheatears were still on North Ronaldsay on 3rd but thinned out rapidly thereafter the last being seen there on 24th but with even later birds in Stromness on 25th and in Birsay on 29th.

A Ring Ousel was on Shapinsay on 9th before a conspicuous arrival occurred on 11th/12th when up to 10 were on North Ronaldsay, four at Herston and three on Papay with five singles elsewhere; the last seen was one at Sands of Wright on 23rd. The arrival of thrushes on 11th/12th brought 1460 Redwings to North Ronaldsay and 800 to Papay with up to 1500 per hour passing down the Swannay Loch. Song Thrushes were also numerous in that arrival with up to 194 on North Ronaldsay and 80 on Papay; the only significant Blackbird count was of 71 on North Ronaldsay on 12th. Few Fieldfares came in during this mid-month arrival although 35 were at Rackwick on 12th; many more arrived late in the month with up to 167 on North Ronaldsay and 100 in Stenness on 28th. Single Mistle Thrushes were in Costa on 14th and on North Ronaldsay on 21st.

A Grasshopper Warbler was on North Ronaldsay on 15th with single Lesser Whitethroats there on four dates and on Papay on 12th. The only Common Whitethroat was on North Ronaldsay on 2nd. Only four Garden Warblers were reported, at Herston on 6th and 20th, on Papay on 11th and on North Ronaldsay on 13th. Blackcaps, as usual, were much more numerous with peaks on North Ronaldsay of 32 on 12th and 16 on 22nd; 20 were also at Windwick on 28th/29th with several other localities reporting up to eight. Up to four Yellow-browed Warblers were on North Ronaldsay early in the month with others on 10th, 17th and 20th; elsewhere, there were one-two at Windwick on 1st/2nd with another on 12th/13th, one at Herston on 12th, one in the Hope on 14th and one on Shapinsay on 17th. Chiffchaffs were conspicuous by their absence with no more than five reported from North Ronaldsay and one-two at three other sites. Late Willow Warblers were reported from Papay on 12th and North Ronaldsay on 20th. The two main migrant arrivals brought in small numbers of Goldcrests with peaks on North Ronaldsay of 11 on 12th and 30 on 20th; 10 were \also reported from Herston on 13th and Viewforth, Swannay next day.

Two Red-breasted Flycatchers were on North Ronaldsay on 2nd and another on 11th while a late Pied Flycatcher was there on 13th and a Spotted Flycatcher on 15th. Great Grey Shrikes appeared on North Ronaldsay on 15th and at Windwick on 28th while Herston recorded its second Treecreeper of the year on 13th.

The Hamars Hill, Evie Raven flock numbered 136 on 9th while 50 were also reported from Fitty Hill, Westray. Two Carrion Crows were in Deerness on 4th. Migrant Jackdaws were reported from Herston and North Ronaldsay (two-four) after 20th but the flock of 52 at Newark Bay, South Ronaldsay were likely to comprise resident birds.

Migrant finch numbers were relatively low, Chaffinches peaking at 16 and Bramblings at 10 on North Ronaldsay on 11th/12th; other Bramblings were one on Papay on 12th, two in Stromness on 14th and up to six at Herston. Siskins numbered no more than eight on North Ronaldsay (peak on 22nd) and the only other report was of one at Dale on 29th. Up to eight Common Redpolls were on North Ronaldsay while a Bullfinch was calling at Oglaby, Stromness on 29th. The two largest Twite flocks were 200 in Toab on 24th and 180 at Dale, Costa on 29th.

A truly rare sight was of two Tree Sparrows dropping in to Burwick from a great height on 20th. North Ronaldsay had the only Lapland Buntings with two on 2nd and up to three from 12th-25th. The only Snow Buntings were on North Ronaldsay (peaks of 118 on 4th and 63 on 24th) and Westray (50 on 13th). A Yellowhammer was on North Ronaldsay on 12th when two Little Buntings also occurred there, another being trapped at Windwick on 17th.

A disturbing number of birds were killed at the North Ronaldsay lighthouse during the month. Migrants are attracted into the beam during bad weather and are killed by striking the light or the tower. The period between 18th-21st was the worst when 497 corpses were found. Redwings were the main casualties but 15 other species also succumbed including some scarcer species such as Leach’s Petrel (two), Jack Snipe (five) and Reed Warbler.

Eric Meek

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