26th and 27th July


A pleasant couple of days with plenty of sunshine and light(ish) winds (with the exception of a very wet afternoon on the 26th!) but there was little to shout about in terms of new arrivals; the 2 Red-necked Phalaropes on Gretchen and the Black-throated Diver in Nouster were still in place on the 26th while another dispersing juvenile Stonechat which popped up at the Obs was a bit of a surprise.  

Other birds of note included 4 Manx Shearwaters offshore in the morning, 6 Whimbrel up the west coast, at least 8 Arctic Skuas still terrorising the Black Guillemots bringing food into their colonies and a sprinkle of out-of-context, dispersing Sedge Warblers lurking in random patches of long grass giving us a hint of the autumn birding yet to come.

Arctic Skuas are still hassling the Tysties


A stunning summers day on the 27th was still ornithologically quiet with a Kestrel and a Common Redpoll the only new arrivals while other birds of note comprised the 2 Red-necked Phalaropes still (although one of them is becoming rather elusive, spending long periods of time elsewhere), 2 Herons, a Swift and counts of 275 Oystercatchers, 86 Dunlin and 9 Black-tailed Godwits.
Our one Skua chick is near fledging but is pretty skinny, so it hasn't been an easy time for them

The last of the few Arctic Terns are now flying

There are many Fulmar chicks though,   photos Simon Davies

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