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2007 -
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER SIGHTINGS
2006 Report now out
Price £7 incl p&p (UK) or £8.50
December 11th:
Whilst taking the mist-net down for the winter, a
Long-eared
Owl wash flushed from the Obs Plantation – it looks like the same
dark bird that was in there in November.
December 8th:
A cold, bright day with a light Easterly wind meant a thrash around the
south was called for. Thrushes were still in evidence with counts of 50
Blackbird, 45
Redwing and 10
Fieldfare. Some late small stuff included 9
Skylark, 2 Meadow Pipit,
a
tristis Chiffchaff and a
Linnet. A total of 57
Snow Buntings were also counted.
December 5th:
A
Black-bellied Dipper was discovered in Wirvie Burn.
November 29th: Four new
Greenfinches have arrived in the garden.
November 26th:
Four Whooper Swans have taken up
residence. An increase in Turnstones (125) was noted whilst thrush numbers have remained
stable, with the addition of a couple of
Song Thrush. Also seen were the
Moorhen at the Scrape, 10
Jackdaw, 2
mealy Redpoll,
Chaffinch,
Yellowhammer and a
Reed Bunting.
November 23rd:
A ramp around the south produced highlights of single
Moorhen,
Common Scoter, Chiffchaff,
Brambling and
Yellowhammer plus counts of 100
Blackbird, 100 Redwing,
40 Fieldfare, 9
Jackdaw, 6 Siskin and 48
Snow Bunting.
November 22nd:
The Wood Pigeon,
Chaffinch, Greenfinch and
Common
Rosefinch all remain at the Obs.
November 21st:
The Common
Rosefinch, Chaffinch and now 2
Greenfinch still occupy the Obs garden, with the
Wood Pigeon.
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November 20th:
The Wood Pigeon,
Chaffinch, Greenfinch and
Common Rosefinch all remain at the Obs whilst a
Waxwing was at Lower Stoneybrek. The
Good Shepherd crossing
produced a
Glaucous Gull,
Razorbill and 30+
Little Auk – but only one
of these in Fair Isle waters!
November 19th:
A Wood Pigeon has joined
the Chaffinch,
Greenfinch and
Common Rosefinch in the garden. A
tramp around the south produced counts of 20 Skylark, single
Meadow Pipit, 50
Blackbird, 60 Redwing, 15
Fieldfare, single
Song Thrush, a
Chiffchaff, 6 Jackdaw and
26 Snow Bunting.
November 18th:
A male Chaffinch and a
very late
Common Rosefinch arrived in the
Obs garden. This is not our latest ever record however as there was
one on 30th November 1991.
November 17th:
An adult
Glaucous Gull was amongst the
3,000 gulls resting on the isle. The
Jackdaw count is still
around 10 whilst 2
mealy Redpolls and a
Chiffchaff were at the
Haa.
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Snow Bunting Photograph
by Deryk Shaw
Common Rosefinch
Photograph by Deryk Shaw |
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November 14th:
A glorious day with virtually
NO WIND! This meant that the whole day was spent outside doing Atlas
work, resulting in virtually complete coverage! There has been
another influx of Blackbirds
with 180 counted plus 41
Redwing, 6 Fieldfare
and a couple of Song Thrush.
Other arrivals included singles of
Waxwing, Black
Redstart, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and
Brambling. Other counts
included the 2 Merlins, 3
Water Rail, 6 Woodcock,
Long-eared Owl, 20
Siskin and a
mealy Redpoll.
Jackdaws have decreased further, to 11, whilst
Snow Buntings are up to 115. Even common resident birds such as
Rock Pipit (70),
Starling (400) and House
Sparrow (80) were counted today.
November 13th:
A female Chaffinch has
arrived in the Obs garden, feeding with a male
Greenfinch. Other highlights were seen from the
Good Shepherd crossing; a
Bonxie and 100+
Little Auk.
November 11th:
Very little to report. Two Merlins together and 4
Long-tailed Duck in the Havens. A 30 minute sea watch produced just 2
Kittiwake!!!!
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Long-eared Owl Photograph by Deryk Shaw
Black Redstart Photograph by Deryk Shaw
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November 10th:
The Pine
Bunting was at Neder Taft today (with a
Yellowhammer) whilst the
Long-eared Owl stuck it out at
the Obs. Little else of note, although 65
Jackdaws still remain, a
Mealy Redpoll, 4
Greenfinches and 55
Snow Buntings were noted. Thrush
numbers have dropped right away to less than 20 of each of the three
commonest species but 15 Skylarks
is quite good for the time of year.
Jackdaws Photograph by
Deryk Shaw |
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Long-eared Owl
Photograph by Deryk Shaw |
November 9th:
Two Glaucous
Gulls (adult & 1stW) were seen whilst the
Pine Bunting
was seen at Barkland and at Lower Stoneybrek today. The
Long-eared Owl was showing well
at the Obs.
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Pine Bunting |
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Photographs by Deryk Shaw |
November 8th:
With 85mph winds, birding was impossible but, whilst tying things down
around the outside of the building, the
Firecrest
was heard and the Long-eared Owl
spotted in the Obs Plantation. An adult
Glaucous
Gull has joined the first-winter
Iceland Gull
in the gull flock on Vaasetter.
November 7th:
The Pine
Bunting is still in the crop at Lower Stoneybrek in the company
of a Yellowhammer, whilst the
Firecrest
is still in the Obs Plantation, with a
Long-eared Owl. A couple of
Little Auk and many
Kittiwakes were seen off South
Light and a first-winter
Iceland Gull on Vaasetter.
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November 6th:
A look off south light produced a
Great Northern Diver and
3 Little Auk. A
Firecrest in the Obs garden has
presumably worked its way down from North Light in the preceding few
days.
November 4th:
The
Pine Bunting was seen again in the company of 3
Yellowhammer. Four
Blackcap were spotted plus a few finches; 6
Brambling, 8 Greenfinch,
and 30 Siskin plus still
70 Jackdaw.
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Firecrest Photograph by
Deryk Shaw |
November 3rd:
Two Blackcap and 70
Jackdaw linger.
November 2nd:
Six Waxwing
flew through.
November 1st:
A better day for weather allowing a decent census to be carried out (the
final one before my AWs leave!). The
Pine Bunting was seen again at Lower
Stoneybrek and the
Firecrest is still on the cliffs near
North Light. Two Pochards is a
good record and there were 4 male
Long-tailed Ducks. A late
Wheatear and a Blackcap
frequented the Obs environs whilst down-isle were 78
Jackdaw, 30
Brambling, 10
Greenfinch, 32 Siskin, 32
Snow Bunting and 3
Yellowhammer.
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