August 08

31^st August: Much the same as the previous couple of days. Wildfowl numbers are increased slightly with 7 Wigeon and 12 Teal. A brief seawatch off the south produced a Sooty Shearwater. Warblers present included 1 Icterine Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler and 1 Reed Warbler. Not a great deal else but there were 2 Tree Pipit, 2 Whinchat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Pied Flycatcher and a Rosefinch.

30^th August: A fairly quiet day with the only bird of note being a Barred Warbler trapped and ringed in the late afternoon. Otherwise it was mainly warblers present with 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whitethroat, 4 Garden Warbler, a male Blackcap (first of the autumn), 11 Willow Warbler, there was also 6 Whinchat, 3 Goldcrest and 1 Pied Flycatcher.

29^th August: Quite a few of the Wheatears had moved on with only 160 birds still present. There were also less White Wagtails but there were still 38 birds on the isle. A ‘blue’ Fulmar seen from Buness was a fairly early occurrence. There was quite a variety of birds around, mainly waders and warblers. There was still at least 6 Wigeon present as well as 8 Teal. On the wader front there were 2 Knot, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 21 Dunlin, 1 Ruff, 1 Green Sandpiper and the first Jack Snipe of the autumn, in Homisdale. There were still 4 Swifts in the north two of which were successfully trapped and ringed in the afternoon. Also present today was 2 Tree Pipits, 5 Whinchat, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Whitethroat, 4 Garden Warbler, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 3 Pied Flycatcher.

28th August: Main event of the day was the huge arrival of Wheatears with at least 400 birds present around the isle - including a high percentage of birds of the Greenland race. It was certainly a surprise to catch 27 on early morning trap round. Also present in high numbers were White Wagtail with 61 birds. Of note was the first Grasshopper Warbler of the autumn, a Black-tailed Godwit in the south, a Black Redstart at North Light and 3 Common Rosefinches at Leogh. Still present were the 4 Swift and now 6 Wigeon on Golden Water. There was still a sprinkling of Whinchats and Warblers in the south.

27^th August: A few migrants today; 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 4 Swifts, 3 Swallow and Tree Pipit were all seen during the morning. The 4 Wigeon were still present on Golden Water but made a brief visit to the south. The Lapland Bunting was seen briefly at Wester Lother and there were 3 Common Rosefinch together at Schoolton. Numbers were made up by 9 Whinchat, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroat, 6 Garden Warblers, 12 Willow Warbler and 2 Goldcrest.

26^th August: Four Wigeon in the north were new birds in as was the first Goldcrest of the year in Klingers Geo. The result of another pre-breakfast seawatch was only 1 Sooty Shearwater. A few new waders were seen including 9 Knot, 1 Purple Sandpiper and a Bar-tailed Godwit. Warblers present today were 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Common Whitethroat, 6 Garden Warbler, 9 Willow Warbler. There was also 4 Whinchat, 1 Common Rosefinch and the Lapland Bunting still present at Wester Lother.

25^th August: Seawatching before and after breakfast produced a total of 11 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Storm Petrel and 2 Arctic Tern. A few birds around today including a Wryneck (South Harbour) 2 Common Rosefinch (in the Vaadal first thing), a female type Lapland Bunting (Wester Lother then Ward Hill). Other sightings includeed; 1 Sanderling, 6 Knot, 1 Swift, 1 Tree Pipit, 6 Whinchat, 1 Reed Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, 1 Garden Warbler, 13 Willow Warbler and 1 Pied Flycatcher.

24^th August: A quiet day, with 1 Sanderling, 1 Ruff, 2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Whinchat, 5 Garden Warbler and 7 Willow Warbler. A brief seawatch in the afternoon produced 5 Arctic Terns, 5 Kittiwake and 1 Puffin.

23^rd August: Although there were less common migrants present there were a couple of new arrivals in the north. Namely a new Citrine Wagtail at Wester Lother and a Black Redstart. The original Citrine Wagtail was still present on the Scrape. Numbers were comprised of; 1 Knot, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Swift, 1 Tree Pipit, 7 Whinchat, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Whitethroat, 9 Garden Warbler, 10 Willow Warblers and 2 Pied Flycatchers.

22^nd August: There was a Wryneck at the Puffin briefly in the morning and the Citrine Wagtail was seen again on the Scrape. Migrants today included 1 Tree Pipit, 17 Whinchat, 3 Reed Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Whitethroat, 1 Wood Warbler, 27 Willow Warbler, 2 Spotted Flycatcher and 1 Pied Flycatcher.

21^st August: New birds in included a Short-eared Owl, a Barred Warbler (trapped and ringed) and a second Wood Warbler (Houll Crop, with the one still present at Barkland). Warblers were again present in good numbers with 5 Reed Warbler, 4 Whitethroat, 13 Garden Warbler and 30 Willow Warblers. Also seen were; 14 Whinchat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Pied Flyfatcher and the Red-backed Shrike still present.

20^th August: Still plenty of birds around today. Highlights were 2 Wryneck (Scrape & Plantation), the juvenile Turtle Dove (Gilsetter), 1 Grey-headed Wagtail , the Citrine Wagtail (still present in the south) and the Red-backed Shrike. Waders included a high count of 36 Ringed Plover, 7 Knot, 1 Ruff, 2 Green Sandpipers and 4 Common Sandpipers. Warblers were well represented with 10 Reed Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, 24 Garden Warbler, 1 Wood Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff and 27 Willow Warbler. Also, 3 Tree Pipit, 19 Whinchat and 2 Spotted Flycatchers were seen.

18^th August: Best new arrival was another Thrush Nightingale in Houll crop. This individual was obviously different to last week’s bird, being much more heavily marked on the breast. There were plenty of migrants seen during the day. On the scarce side there were 2 Wryneck (Lower Stoneybreck/Plantation), the Barred Warbler (Barkland) and 2 Red-backed Shrike (School/Gully). The Citrine Wagtail was seen flying over South Light. Of the commoner species there were; 2 Ruff, 3 Sand Martin, 1 Redstart, 8 Whinchat, 5 Reed Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Common Whitethroat, 16 Garden Warbler, 31 Willow Warbler and 2 Pied Flycatcher. There was a surprise in the evening when MTB and RH managed to trap the 4 Two-barred Crossbills on Buness. 3 were new birds but one was already ringed indicating that they are part of the original flock.

Two-barred Crossbills
Photographs by Mark Breaks

16^th August: Unfortunately, no Two-barred Crossbills were seen today. However, new birds included a Citrine Wagtail flying over Barkland, Barred Warbler at Quoy, 7 Whimbrel, 1 Chiffchaff, 5 Willow Warblers and a Common Crossbill.

15^th August: More Two-barred Crossbills were seen on Meoness, with 3 juveniles present. Otherwise, it was wader passage that was most noticeable. The highlight was a Spotted Redshank, heard during the morning before being seen flying south off the island. Numbers were made up by 14 Golden Plover, 2 Knot, 9 Dunlin, 1 Ruff, 1 Curlew, 62 Redshank, 3 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper and 12 Turnstone. Three Cormorant flew through the Havens in the morning. There were obviously birds moving with the first Tree Pipit and Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn among 126 Meadow Pipit and 3 White Wagtails, as well as 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Garden Warbler and 14 Willow Warbler.

14^th August: A fairly quiet day. A Storm Petrel was seen on an early morning sea watch. There were a few waders present, including 1 Knot, 9 Curlew and 23 Turnstone. The only other birds worth mentioning were 2 Fieldfare, 14 Willow Warbler and a Chiffchaff.

13^th August: The day got off with a very good start with a Thrush Nightingale spotted on the early morning trap round. Unfortunately it only obliged for a few observers and could not be re-found later. Other than this the isle was surprisingly quite with only a few warblers to make up the numbers; 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler and 5 Willow Warbler. There were also 2 Fieldfare around Pund.

12^th August: The 8 juvenile Two-barred Crossbills were still present on Buness. Otherwise there was 1 Ruff, 1 Greenshank, 3 Green Sandpipers, 1 Common Sandpiper and there was still a Reed Warbler still present.

11^th August: Yesterday’s rain obviously flooded out many Puffin burrows and as a result birds were forced to fledge slightly earlier than they would have chosen! Up to 8 juveniles were picked up around the trapping area and released to the sea!! There were still 8 juvenile Two-barred Crossbills present on Buness during the day, while in the evening 2 juveniles were present in Finniquoy. Possibly new birds?? Otherwise the day was dominated by a notable increase in waders, including 8 Golden Plover, 5 Sanderling, 2 Dunlin, 1 Whimbrel, 20 Curlew, 108 Redshank, 5 Green Sandpiper and 2 Common Sandpiper and 10 Turnstone. There were also a few warblers present including Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Garden Warbler. Also seen during the day were 5 Teal and counts of 127 Common Gull and 19 Black-headed Gull. Storm Petrel ringing in the evening produced 68 birds trapped, including 2 Leach’s Petrels.

7^th – 9^th August There were still 9 juvenile Two-barred Crossbills present on Buness. On 9^th efforts were made to catch them and 3 were successfully trapped and ringed. The only other birds of note were 4 Green Sandpipers on Buness (9^th), the Mistle Thrush (until the 8^th), a Reed Warbler in the Havens (9^th) and the usual selection of waders which included a Whimbrel flying over on 8^th. The local Peregrines are also still present.

6^th August The most extraordinary sighting today was yet more Two-barred Crossbills. A record-breaking flock of 9 juveniles with 4 Common Crossbill was found on Buness late afternoon and showed well during the early evening. They flew south towards Vaasetter around 8pm. Although overshadowed, the first Icterine Warbler of the autumn appeared at Skinners Glig and the Mistle Thrush was still present in the south west.

5^th August A juvenile Two-barred Crossbill was seen briefly behind the observatory first thing and again at the Plantation later in the day. A female type was also seen on Vaasetter during the afternoon. Otherwise, 5 Purple Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper were the only other sightings of note.

4^th August A fairly quiet day with 3 Red-throated Divers (south), Cuckoo, 2 Reed Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers and a Chiffchaff. A group of 8 Crossbills flying over Buness in the evening may have contained one of the Two-barred Crossbills.

2^nd August The male Two-barred Crossbill was still present around Hesti Geo but there was no sign of the female types. The best new arrival was a Wood Sandpiper on Da Water. Also present was a Sand Martin, 1 Mistle Thrush, a Reed Warbler, a Pied Flycatcher A stormie session during the evening produced an impressive total of 77 birds.

1^st August The month got off to a good start with two more Two-barred Crossbills being found. Firstly was a male near south light briefly and the second was another female that had joined the pair at Malcolm’s Head. Amazingly during the afternoon all four could be found together near Hesti. Waders present included Knot (3), Sanderling, Golden Plover, Common and Green Sandpiper. Other birds included a juvenile Cuckoo, female Common Redstart, 2 Fieldfare, a Marsh Warbler (Hjukni) and a Common Rosefinch.