Today was the nicest day of the week, winds were down and evening swinging round to the east, and the sun was out.
It was the last full day for the young birders and so, as it is customary, the bird race was today. Three teams set out to see as many species as possible and try to beat the other teams scores. It turned out to be a good day to do it and lots of new birds were found. Migrants such as
Pomarine Skua,
Common Gull,
Sand Martin and
Reed Bunting were seen, birds that haven't been seen much or at all this autumn. At the end of the day the scores were added up and like the quiz it was close! The three teams scored 58, 60 and 60, despite all teams seeing birds that the other teams did not, and so it was a tie!
Hightlights from the day came from all over. The seawatching in the morning was farily producive with
Skuas passing at sea and seen flying over the land with seven
Arctic and five
Great. Terns were moving in the early morning with 30
Sandwhich Terns and 44
Arctic Terns along with four
Common Scoter and a single
Puffin. Nant and the observatory were far busier than they have been with four
Spotted Flycatchers, nine
Goldcrests, 30
Willow Warblers, eight
Chiffchaffs, a single
Garden Warbler, three
Robins, a
Sand Martin over and a
Song Thrush providing some entertainment. Elsewhere there were 144
Linnets, a single
Goldfinch, and waders numbered 4
Turnstone, a single
Common Sandpiper, five
Dunlin, nine
Sanderling, eight
Knot and four
Ringed Plovers.
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Two of the three Arctic Skuas seen over the island |
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Great Skua (Bonxie) at the north end |
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The BBQ for the young birders last day |
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