RSPB Bird Reports

ORKNEY BIRD RECORDS
SEPTEMBER 2005

A Black-throated Diver was in Echnaloch Bay on 11th. A Slavonian Grebe appeared on the Swannay Loch on 13th and no fewer than eight were in the Harray Loch’s Rango Bay from 25th. However, the month was more notable for the marked influx of the normally scarce Red-necked Grebe; from 11th , up to three were in Echnaloch Bay, one off No.2 Barrier, two in Waulkmill Bay, four in Rango Bay and one off North Ronaldsay.

Sooty Shearwaters continued to move off North Ronaldsay with a peak of 53 on 16th. Up to 15 Manx Shearwaters per day were also seen there the only other being off Burwick on 20th. Seven Storm Petrels were at North Ronaldsay on 1st with two on 30th while the same island recorded one-two Leach’s Petrels on 12th, 26th and 28th. 18 Herons flew over Binscarth on 4th with another large gathering of 13 at dales Moss, South Ronaldsay on 4th.

The first Whooper Swans arrived from Iceland on 27th when five were on both Shapinsay and North Ronaldsay. A scatter of Pink-footed Geese were seen from 5th but a major arrival occurred on 21st when birds were reported from throughout the islands. Peak counts were of 1029 over North Ronaldsay and 1000 over Costa; a further 683 passed over North Ronaldsay on 23rd and a single flock of 490 arrived from the west over Sandwick next day; an interesting observation was of 150 passing high over Rendall at 0700 hours on 29th, presumably having flown all night. A good Greylag Goose arrival was seen on North Ronaldsay on 26th/27th with 275 and 245 respectively; a count of 446 on Shapinsay on 5th will have been local birds and a hybrid Greylag x Canada Goose was seen there that day. The only Barnacle Geese were 14 on North Ronaldsay on 30th, that island having recorded the only three Brent Geese on 21st.

Wigeon numbers built up all month and 560 were on Shapinsay’s Mill Dam on 11th when 300 Teal were also counted there. The only Pintail were on North Ronaldsay with one on 5th and up to eight from 24th – 27th. Shapinsay and North Ronaldsay also recorded the largest Shoveler totals with 24 and 21 respectively; 60 Tufted Duck at the Mill Dam was a particularly large count for there. Two Scaup on North Ronaldsay 14th – 19th were the only ones while early Long-tailed Ducks were seen in Widewall Bay on 8th and North Ronaldsay on 14th. Two Velvet Scoters in Echnaloch Bay on 11th had increased to three by 16th. Three Common Scoters were off North Ronaldsay on 22nd with one in Widewall Bay on 27th. A flock of 16 moulting drake Red-breasted Mergansers was an unusual sight in Stromness Harbour on 20th. Three drake Ruddy Ducks were on the Quoyloo Brewery Pool on 8th one remaining until the end of the month.

A Buzzard was seen in Rendall on four dates while two were together at Eastside, South Ronaldsay on 24th. Merlins continued to be conspicuous, North Ronaldsay, for example, recording birds most days with three present on 27th/28th; one-two migrant Sparrowhawks were also there on 2nd and from 25th-29th.

Over 1200 Golden Plovers gathered on North Ronaldsay with two flocks of 1000 each in South Ronaldsay, one of 700 in Deerness and one of 650 in Sandwick. An American Golden Plover joined its commoner cousins on North Ronaldsay on 20th. The largest counts of Knot (101) and Sanderling (165) also came from North Ronaldsay, although nine Knot were inland at Brodgar on 6th and 13 Sanderling in Birsay Bay on 20th. Little Stints were seen only on North Ronaldsay where there were up to four on five dates while up to six Curlew Sandpipers were also seen there, peaking on 12th/13th. North Ronaldsay was also the only locality to report Purple Sandpipers numbers rising there to 18 by 28th.

American waders hit the headlines mid-month; North Ronaldsay reported two Buff-breasted Sandpipers on 9th, another on 15th/16th and one on 22nd/23rd while one was at Herston on 5th. A White-rumped Sandpiper was on North Ronaldsay 12th-16th with two there on 18th and, amazingly, three on 19th-20th one remaining until 23rd. The only Pectoral Sandpiper of the month was at Brodgar on 11th.

Ruff were few, with no more than three from four localities but Snipe were numerous with a peak of 228 on North Ronaldsay on 27th and up to 90 at Herston from 18th. One – two Jack Snipe arrived on North Ronaldsay from 27th while a most unusual report was of a very early Woodcock on the Westray Airfield on 12th. There was a good passage of Black-tailed Godwits with up to 26 on North Ronaldsay, 15 at the Brig o’Waithe , 13 at Brodgar12 at The Loons and ten in Toab; of four in Toab on 22nd one was colour-ringed and was found to have been marked in Iceland in July. The largest concentration of Bar-tailed Godwits was 90 at St.Peter’s Pool on 22nd. Whimbrel continued to pass through in small numbers, mainly over North Ronaldsay, until 26th. Greenshanks were remarkably few, one – two in the Stenness-Brig o’ Waithe area 6th-24th being the only ones recorded. A single Green Sandpiper was on North Ronalday on 4th and a Common Sandpiper was at Herston next day. Grey Phalaropes are always good finds and one was on the sea off Warebeth, Stromness on 8th with singles off North Ronaldsay on 25th, 27th and 30th.

Arctic Skuas were seen on NorthRonaldsay up to 20th while especially late birds were on Shapinsay on 29th and 30th. Bonxies remained more numerous than usual probably as a result of this year’s delayed breeding season; up to 26/day were recorded from North Ronaldsay all month. The only gulls of note were single Little Gulls on North Ronaldsay on 14th and 23rd and a late Lesser Black-backed Gull in Sandwick on 30th. Sandwich Terns and Arctic Terns continued to be recorded until the end of the month but the only Common Tern record was of one on North Ronaldsay on 12th. The poor seabird breeding season was reflected in the numbers of dead Guillemots (46) and Razorbills (11) coming ashore on Scapa Beach towards the end of the month; most were juveniles that had presumably fledged from their natal cliffs in poor condition.

35 Collared Doves were at Crantit on 29th while a migrant was on North Ronaldsay on 6th and a Turtle Dove remained there until 12th. A newly-fledged House Martin was at Dounby on 21st while the only Sand Martins were singles in Holm on 6th and on North Ronaldsay on 10th. A Short-toed Lark was a good find on North Ronaldsay on 25th. A strong Meadow Pipit passage continued throughout the islands for most of the month but it was North Ronaldsay that had the monopoly on scarcer pipit species. A Tree Pipit was there on 5th and two Richards Pipits on 30th but it was the finding of a Pechora Pipit on 25th, only the second ever seen in the islands, that really grabbed people’s attention; unfortunately it could not be re-found in the dire weather of the following day. The only Yellow Wagtail was one on North Ronaldsay on 20th, a Grey Wagtail being seen there on 24th/25th. The same island recorded up to eight White Wagtails per day, the only others being two in Holm on 16th.

Migrant Robins began to be seen in Herston from 14th but none were on North Ronaldsay until 24th; that island recorded a single Bluethroat the following day and up to three Redstarts at the same time. Whinchats were few and far between with one on North Ronaldsay 10th-12th then up to four after 25th. Wheatears arrive from the north-west as well as from the east so the westerly winds that dominated the month brought birds throughout the period; North Ronaldsay recorded 53 on 7th but a peak of 63 on 25th when a brief spell of south-easterly brought birds from another source. Single Fieldfares were seen on North Ronaldsay on six dates but the only Ring Ouzel was one on 25th/26th. Up to three Song Thrushes and Redwings were also seen there from 25th, the only other Redwing being one in Sandwick on 30th.

Sedge Warblers remained on North Ronaldsay, in Rendall and at Herston until 6th but singles were seen in the Graemeshall reed-bed as late as 15th/16th. Single Barred Warblers were seen on North Ronaldsay on ten dates with two on 15th but elsewhere there was only one in St.Margaret’s Hope on 10th and one in Rendall on 12th. Lesser Whitethroats were confined to North Ronaldsay (one-two on eight dates) as were Blackcaps which peaked at eight on 25th. Garden Warblers were seen there on eight dates with others in Herston on 5th and Rendall on 16th. An Arctic Warbler, trapped and ringed at Herston on 4th, was one of the month’s best finds. An influx of Yellow-browed Warblers occurred on 25th when nine arrived on North Ronaldsay and two in Deerness with others in Deerness, Holm and South Ronaldsay (two) over the next couple of days. Chiffchaffs were scarce with up to three on North Ronaldsay, three at The Noup, Westray on 4th and one Crantit on 17th being the only reports. Willow Warblers were similarly scarce with a peak of seven on North Ronaldsay on 10th. one-two there 24th-29th and only singles from three other localities. A few Goldcrests passed through North Ronaldsay but the peak was only three on 30th; Herston had only three singles late in the month. The only Spotted Flycatcher was one in Stromness on 27th while North Ronaldsay provided all the Pied Flycatcher records with one-three on eight dates.

A spectacular find in Kirkwall on 9th was a Rose-coloured Starling; it remained in the Orkney College-KGS area until at least 20th but was extremely elusive. The breath of south-east wind on 25th brought a trickle of migrant finches to North Ronaldsay with up to three Chaffinches, four Bramblings, two Siskins (with another in Rendall) and up to four Common Redpolls. A Common Rosefinch had been there on 10th while two Crossbills were at Windwick, South Ronaldsay on 27th. Post-breeding flocks of local Linnets numbered 262 on North Ronaldsay, 190 in Costa and 55 at Crantit.

The largest Reed Bunting gathering was 55 at Dale on 21st. Lapland Buntings were recorded on North Ronaldsay from 6th with a maximum of six on 25th; another was at Costa on 13th/14th. Snow Buntings began to arrive on North Ronaldsay from 9th, building to a peak of 34 on 28th. Finally, North Ronaldsay recorded several Little Buntings; two were there on 12th, one on 25th and two on 27th.

Eric Meek

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