Jan-Mar 2005

March 30th: Another Ring Ouzel was seen at Neder Taft, a ringed Hawfinch in the Obs garden whilst Grey Wagtail and Jackdaw were added to the year list.


March 29th: First Ring Ouzel of the year at Upper Stoneybrek. Another Hawfinch was trapped in the Plantation. A Stonechat and four Wheatears were also seen. All photos Deryk Shaw

March 28th: A female Hawfinch trapped in the Vaadal before breakfast was a nice start to the day. There were lots of Robins around the traps and a wander around the south of the isle produced a count of 74 birds - a count only beaten by Skylarks (450), Meadow Pipits (85) and Starlings (1,000). Also of note were three Rook (another year tick), 3 Wheatears, 8 Dunnocks, 7 Mistle Thrush and a Yellowhammer.

March 26th: A better day, with some arrivals. The first Lesser-black-backed Gulls (3) have finally put in an appearance on Buness and a female Northern Bullfinch appeared in the Obs Plantation. Three Wheatears and a Black Redstart were also of note.

March 25th: FOG!!

March 24th: A trek around the north of the isle produced 27 Goldcrests on the cliffs, a male Wheatear at the Mast, with the female still in the Havens, 100 Meadow Pipits and a Mistle Thrush. Best of all though were the first returning Puffins in the Bay of Furse.

March 23rd: Highlight was the Great Tit in the Obs garden first thing but this was just one of four year ticks today; Red-throated Diver, Dunlin and Reed Bunting were all added before lunchtime. Other sightings of note included two Wheatear, two Stonechat, two Mistle Thrush, two Dunnock, an Iceland Gull and a littoralis Rock Pipit. Counts included 320 Skylark, 65 Meadow Pipit, seven Pied Wagtail, 150 Blackbird, 15 Song Thrush, 15 Fieldfare, 25 Robin, 16 Chaffinch and 65 Snow Bunting.

March 22^nd: An even stronger and colder SE’ly curtailed any meaningful census but Meadow Pipits appeared to be common whilst our first Dunnock of the year in the Plantation was demoted to an also ran by our first true summer migrant – a female Wheatear in the Havens. The two Moorhens remain at the Chalet.

March 20^th: A light SE’ly produced an influx with wader counts of; Oystercatcher (120), Lapwing (74), Ringed Plover (26), Curlew (32), and Woodcock (5+). On the passerine front, Skylarks (400) and Blackbirds (130) once again dominated but increases of Meadow Pipit (13), Redwing (35), Fieldfare (10), Song Thrush (24) and Chaffinch (18) added to a nice walk whilst a 2ndW Glaucous Gull, two Pied Wagtails, four Siskins and 14 Snow Buntings were outshone by three year ticks – a Shelduck at Hegri Burn, Goldcrests in Raeva and Plantation and a male Yellowhammer at Schoolton. Lots of Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Razorbills were noted still ashore in the afternoon.

March 18^th: Two Mistle Thrushes at Furse were new for the year as was a Wood Pigeon. Another Meadow Pipit put in an appearance and six Golden Plover.

March 17^th: A pleasant mild sunny morning with a light SW’ly wind had clouded over by lunchtime as the wind switched to a cool NE’ly. Nevertheless, the bried period of southerly winds had brought birds in with increased numbers of Oystercatchers (146), Lapwings (45), Ringed Plovers (35). Passerine counts were also up and were dominated by Skylark (100), Blackbird (80) and Starling (500). Other counts included a Grey Heron, Pied Wagtail (2), Fieldfare (8), Redwing (25), Stonechat (3) and Snow Bunting (17). Year ticks came in the form of a Meadow Pipit and (most surprisingly) a Grey Plover – usually a very scarce autumn migrant.

March 16^th: The first Stonechat (a fine male) was at Midway and the first Skylark song was noted. Both Glaucous and Iceland Gulls were seen and a Black-headed Gull.

March 1^st-14^th: A quiet start to the month saw Skylarks slowly building up (seven on 1^st, 18 on 8^th, 25 by 14^th) and first Lapwings displaying on 2^nd. Migrant Oystercatchers, Ringed Plovers and Lapwings continue to pass through in small numbers whilst the geese gradually depart. Thrushes (notably Blackbirds) began to pass through (50 on 8^th) and year ticks began to arrive with a Pied Wagtail on 6^th , Red-breasted Merganser the following day and a Woodcock on 14^th – a day when the first Fieldfare since January was seen. Iceland Gulls and a Merlin were seen occasionally. The first Common Frog of the year was spotted on 8^th with several on the road on the night of 10^th.

February: Highlights: Occasional Iceland Gull and a European White-fronted Goose (15^th-22^nd).

Numbers of thrushes remained encouraging with max counts of; 40 Blackbird, 35 Redwing and 15 Song Thrush. The over wintering Moorhens (2) and Chaffinches (2) remained throughout. A male and a female Merlin were regularly seen whilst a Kestrel (8^th) was unusual. A pair of Wigeon and occasional Goldeneye was noted. The wintering Greylag Goose flock began to depart and a couple of Pink-footed Geese dropped in (24^th-28^th) and a Barnacle Goose (13^th). The Twite flock on seed in the Obs garden peaked at 20 and was joined by occasional Snow Buntings and Skylark. First Gannets were back on the Outer Stacks o’ Scroo from 15^th and Guillemots were first noted ashore on 22^nd when Curlews were noted back on territory. Passage was most prevalent in Oystercatchers and Lapwing with small parties continually passing through (peaks of 51 and 40 respectively).

The white morph Gyr Falcon from December remained until 11^th whilst a Puffin (1^st) was un-seasonal. The overwintering Greylag Goose flock reached 160 and was joined by 15 Barnacle Geese. The stormy weather produced some unusual winter sightings with three Bar-tailed Godwits and a Knot (15^th-19^th) and occasional Oystercatcher. Two overwintering Moorhens at the Chalet battled with the local ducks for scraps and were occasionally joined by a Water Rail. Other waders included Lapwings (peak count 44), Golden Plover, Redshank (60), Turnstone (155), Curlew (12), Common Snipe (45) and Purple Sandpiper (7). Kestrel and at least two Merlins were seen sporadically and at least two each of Iceland and Glaucous Gull were present. Overwintering thrushes consisted of peak counts of 45 Blackbird, 70 Redwing and, unusually, 18 Song Thrush. Other passerines of note included a single Skylark, a Chaffinch, a handful of Robins and peak counts of 20 Twite and 17 Snow Bunting.