Jun - Aug 09

AUGUST

Aug 31st– New migrants could still be found amongst the lingering birds by the months end and day totals for the 31^st included a flock of 5 Teal, 22 Ringed Plovers, 25 Golden Plovers, 4 Knot, a Sanderling, 10 Dunlin, 7 Curlew, 25 Redshank, 2 Turnstone, 3 Black-Headed Gulls, 8 White Wagtails, 3 Whinchats, 4 Reed Warblers, 3 Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 7 Willow Warblers and 5 Crossbill

Aug 30th– Birds seen on census comprised; a single Wigeon, 4 Teal, 2 Peregrine, 20 Golden Plovers, a Knot, 2 Sanderling, a Purple Sandpiper, 11 Dunlin, 31 Redshank, 20 Turnstone, 12 Black-Headed Gulls, 20 Common Gulls, an Arctic Tern, a single Swallow, 9 White Wagtails, 11 Willow Warblers, 2 Reed Warblers, 2 Whinchat, a single Sedge Warbler, and Whitethroat as well as 5 Crossbill

Aug 29th– Wildfowl continue to build with a flock of 19 Teal in the South and other birds of note include a Cormorant, 8 Golden Plovers, a Knot, 2 Sanderling, 3 Dunlin, 2 Ruff, 13 Redshank, 2 Turnstone, 2 Black-Headed Gulls, 35 Common gulls, 7 White Wagtails, 3 Whinchats, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Reed Warbler and 6 Willow Warblers

Aug 28th– It was hard to decipher whether emigration was outweighing immigration on the island on this date or vice-versa as new birds were appearing at the same time as birds were leaving. Birds seen include a single Wigeon, 7 Teal, a Peregrine, 25 Ringed Plovers, 10 Golden Plovers, a single Knot, 5 Sanderling, 11 Dunlin, 6 Curlews, 17 Redshank, a Green Sandpiper, 35 Turnstone, 6 Black-Headed Gulls, 10 Common Gulls, a Swift, 2 Wrynecks, 4 Swallows, 50 White Wagtails, 3 Whinchats, a Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Reed Warblers, an Icterine Warbler, a Barred Warbler, 5 Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 20 Willow Warblers, 3 Pied Flycatchers and 25 Crossbills

Aug 27th– 8 new Wigeon had joined the 2 lingering drakes as well as 2 Teal. A Peregrine was seen in the south and other notable species included 18 Golden Plovers, 5 Knot, 2 Sanderling, 13 Dunlin, a Ruff, 2 Whimbrel, 27 Redshank, 3 Greenshank, a Green Sandpiper, 25 Turnstone, 7 Black-Headed Gulls, 47 Common Gulls, 3 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, a Tree Pipit, a Wryneck, 64 White wagtails, 10 Whinchats, 2 Sedge Warblers, 4 Reed Warblers, an Icterine Warbler, a single Barred Warbler, 4 Whitethroats, 13 Garden Warblers, 25 Willow Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher and 23 Crossbills

Aug 26th– Birds had clearly arrived on top of the few migrants that remained and birds noted included 3 Teal, 19 Golden Plovers, 18 Lapwings, 4 Knot, 10 Dunlin, a single Ruff, 4 Curlews, 14 Redshank, 5 Turnstone, 8 Black-headed Gulls, 190 Common Gulls, 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Passerines comprised of a single Sand Martin, 177 Meadow Pipits, 2 Tree Pipits, 66 White Wagtails, 10 Whinchats, a Sedge Warbler, 4 Reed Warblers, an Icterine Warbler, 4 Barred Warblers, 2 Whitethroats, 8 Garden Warblers, 43 Willow Warblers, a Pied Flycatcher, 13 Crossbills and a very mobile Greenish Warbler that was found by one lucky observer who had come to Fair Isle in the hope of finding this stunning little phylloscopus warbler.

Aug 25th–2 Wigeon, 2 Teal, a Grey Heron, 18 Ringed Plover, 12 Golden Plover, 7 Dunlin, one each of Whimbrel and Curlew, 16 Redshank, a Green Sandpiper and a juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Swallows, 25 White Wagtails, 4 Whinchats, 2 Reed Warblers, a Barred Warbler, 2 Whitethroats, 5 Garden Warblers, 10 Willow Warblers and 4 Crossbill

Aug 24th–9 Golden Plovers, 14 Lapwing, 2 Knot, 2 Dunlin, 7 Curlews, 21 Redshank, 2 Common Sandpipers, a lone Turnstone and Bar-Tailed Godwit, 2 Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Garden Warbler, a Single Redstart and Whinchat, 14 Willow Warblers and a Crossbill

Aug 23rd– A quieter day today in comparison to yesterday with birds of note being 2 Wigeon, 2 Teal, 5 Grey Herons, 13 Golden Plovers, a Sanderling, 4 Dunlin, a Greenshank, a single Lesser-Black Backed Gull, a swift, 2 Mallard, 24 White Wagtails and a Willow Warbler.

Aug 22^nd – Highlights today were singles of Icterine Warbler, Barred Warbler and Common Rosefinch. Also were the autumn’s first Lesser Whitethroat, a couple of Reed Warblers and a notable increase in alba Wagtails.

Aug 21^st – A rather wet mild morning with a brisk south-westerly wind cleared in the afternoon to blue skies and sunshine. There was a small arrival including the first Blackcap of the autumn and an Icterine Warbler. Other warbler counts were; 13 Willows, 3 Reed and 2 Garden Warbler. On the wader front, 15 Golden Plover, 6 Knot, 3 Ruff, 9 Dunlin and a Whimbrel were counted. Also, were 2 Wigeon, Teal, Peregrine, 4 Whinchat and 18 Common Crossbill.

Aug 20^th – A continuing warm strong southerly but a bit drier today. Birds were hard to come by but there was a Barred Warbler at the Obs, Reed Warbler at Quoy, 10 Crossbills at the Mills, 4 Greylag Geese and a couple of Sanderlings.

Aug 19^th – Although fairly mild with a brisk southerly wind, it was pretty wet today. The Greenish Warbler remains but 3 Willows and a Garden were the only other warblers logged. Waders included 3 Golden Plover, 2 Greenshank, single Whimbrel, Knot and Sanderling.

Aug 18^th – At least 14 Grey Herons were counted along with 3 Whimbrel, 3 Redshank, 16 Turnstone, a Golden Plover, 3 Dunlin, and single Knot and Sanderling. Lurking inland were; a Reed Warbler, 2 Willow Warbler, the 2 Barred Warblers and the Greenish Warbler remains in the vicinity of Stackhoull and Vaila’s Trees.

Barred Warbler
(upper left)

Photographs
by Jack Ashton-Booth

Greenish Warbler
(lower left and right)

Aug 17^th – Morning census produced a counts of a Greylag Goose, 2 Golden Plover, 15 Redshank, a Purple Sandpiper, 5 Dunlin, 8 Turnstone, 9 Pied Wagtail, 4 alba Wagtails, 2 Swallows, a Swift. A new Barred Warbler was at Leogh but best of all was a Greenish Warbler late in the afternoon at Stackhoull.

Greenish Warbler

Photographs
by
Deryk Shaw (left)
and
Jack Ashton-Booth (right)

Aug 16^th – Little of note although yesterdays Barred Warbler was still present. A Sanderling and 2 Dunlin were the wader highlights whilst 5 Willow Warbler and 3 Garden Warblers were also seen.

Barred Warbler Photograph by Jack Ashton-Booth
Aug 15^th – Although the weather made census pretty hard work the Greylag Goose remained and one more Grey Heron had joined yesterdays 8. A Green Sandpiper was heard and 4 Golden Plover, 2 Dunlin, 29 Redshank, 9 Black-Headed Gulls were counted. Passerines were represented by 4 Willow Warblers, 2 Crossbills, a Garden Warbler and a bedraggled Barred Warbler at the chalet that was trying to keep to the fences and seed heads of the Wild Angelica to avoid getting completely saturated in thicker vegetation. You couldn’t help but feel for this bird because not only was it trying its best to feed during driving winds and rain but also an obvious fault bar could be seen towards the base of its tail indicating the hardship it had to undergo prior to even crossing the North Sea!

Aug 14th– 8 Grey Herons were seen around the South Harbour and a Greylag Goose was seen grazing nearby

Aug 13^th – Waders stole the show with a cracking adult and juvenile Dotterel seen in the North as well as Ruff.

Aug 11/12^th – Autumn was beginning to get ever more apparent especially with the on set of light south easterly winds that had brought about 5 Willow Warblers (11th) and 16 Willow Warblers and 2 each of Whinchat and Garden Warbler (12th).

Aug 10^th – A single Common Sandpiper was the only bird of note

Aug 9^th – A small influx of passerines seemed to have occurred during the night of the 8^th indicated by the presence of 2 Reed Warblers and 3 Garden Warblers. In the south 2 Knot, 170 Common Gull were counted.

Remarkable views of a 15ft Basking Shark were obtained from the Zodiac just offshore at South Light.

Aug 7^th – A Single Swift and a Peregrine were noted

Aug 6^th – A lonesome Teal, Knot, and Green Sandpiper toured the island and passerines comprised of a Garden Warbler and 4 Crossbills (including a Juvenile bird).

Aug 5^th – 3 Lapwing (within a flock of Common Gulls) and 3 Grey Herons were seen coming off the sea and 5 Sanderling, 2 Golden Plover,4 Dunlin, a single Green Sandpiper, Greenshank and Bar-Tailed Godwit were seen on the land. 400 Common Gulls were in the south and warblers comprised of a Willow Warbler and a Sedge Warbler.

Also of note were 5 Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies that once again highlights how fantastic 2009 has been for Butterflies.

Aug 4^th – Waders were represented by 29 Redshank, 2 Sanderling, 28 Turnstone, 10 Purple Sandpipers, and a Juvenile Golden Plover. A female Common Scoter was seen in the south along with, a Garden Warbler, 3 Swifts and 9 Crossbills.

Aug 3^rd – 2 Cormorants, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Green Sandpipers, a single Ruff and Greenshank, 151 Common Gulls, 5 Swifts, 8 Crossbills and a Whitethroat were seen.

Aug 2^nd – The Common Gull flock had increased to 350 birds but 20 Black-Headed Gulls, a Green Sandpiper and a Dunlin were noted.

August 1^st – The start of the month saw the month’s highest count of crossbills with a flock of 15 birds that continued to frequent the Oyster Plant in the south, 150 Common and 15 Black-Black Headed Gulls were also counted nearby.

July Highlights:

The main talking point of the month was the continued arrival of Common Crossbills following the first influx in late June. The majority of birds were seen on the vast carpets of Thrift that adorn the cliff topsaround the isle but birds could be heard almost anywhere on the island on a daily basis. Although these birds were not counted daily, flocks of around 30+ birds could be found regularly around Buness and the Malcolm’s Head/Lighthouse area throughout the month. However the turnover of birds was rather remarkable with 145 birds counted on the 4th, 123 on the 7th, 85 on the 9th, 99 on the 12th and 118 on the 18th with some individuals showing rather prominent wing-bars. Other birds that took refuge on the island alongside the crossbills in the first few days included a Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper (1st), a Green Sandpiper (2nd) and a Blackcap (3rd). On the 4^th a Red-Throated Diver was seen on the sea in the south and nearby a Bar-Tailed Godwit, Grey Heron and Collared Dove were noted. A Great-Northern Diver had replaced the Red-Throated Diver on the 5^th but was seen again on the 6^th along with 4 Common Terns off the south coast. More interesting however was the arrival of a male Red-Backed Shrike on the 5th and a Woodcock trapped in the Plantation the following day. The south produced the birds once again on the 7^th with a drake Teal, 3 Redshank, 2 Whimbrel, a single Bar-tailed Godwit and Black-Tailed Godwit (until 11th), a Dunlin and 37 1^st Summer Arctic terns. A single Green Sandpiper arrived with a 2^nd Bar-Tailed Godwit, a Whimbrel, a Cormorant and a Woodpigeon on the 9^th and 2 Great Northern Divers along with a Manx Shearwater were seen on the sea on the same date. The next new arrival wasn’t until the 12th but did however take the form of another cracking male Red-Backed Shrike that happily fed around the Chalet garden much to the appreciation of the Assistant Wardens. Two Grey Herons, 6 Golden Plover and a single Knot were noted on the 13th and a Blackcap arrived on the 14^th. By the 15^th it finally seemed like a line could finally be drawn under spring 2009 with the departure of the Red-Backed Shrike but this wasn’t to be with arrival of a Great Reed Warbler at Schoolton Croft. Not only did the arrival of this bird represent the 2^nd record of this species on the island this year but once again highlights how the once defined period between spring and autumn passage appears to be getting that little bit hazier. A drake Wigeon, 3 Whimbrel, 30 Redshank, a Green Sandpiper, a Blackcap, 2 Swifts and a Mealy Redpoll were also recorded on the 15^th. The 16^th saw a 3rd Summer Glaucous Gull as well as an adult Iceland Gull, 8 Swifts and a Swallow and 2 Golden Plover and a single Knot were recorded on the 17^th. Waders were even more evident by the 18^th with an adult Wood Sandpiper, 4 Green Sandpipers, a Dunlin, 18 Lapwing, and 2 Whimbrel that arrived alongside 4 Grey Herons. Wader movements continued for the next few days with 5 Whimbrel, 4 Turnstone (19th) 7 Golden Plover, 5 Green and a single Common Sandpiper joining the Wood Sandpiper

on the scrape (20th). Common Gull numbers were also increasing steadily with regular additions to the resident population coming in off the sea in small flocks that would gather around the freshly cut hay crops. At least 125 individuals were counted on the 19^th and by about the 22^nd there were no less than 350 birds. The latter part of July wasn’t all about the quantity of birds however and quality soon made an appearance on the 23^rd with a stunning male Two-Barred Crossbill (23rd until the 24th) and a female Common Rosefinch (23rd until the 25th). The Great-Reed Warbler was again seen at Lower Leogh briefly on the 24^th and then gave exceptional views on the 25^th after being undetected for nearly 10 Days. Birds on the 26^th were represented by a drake Tufted Duck that was seen flying south over the island, a Storm Petrel that was trapped and a Leach’s Petrel that was seen circling the net, also noted were 25 Redshank, 5 Purple Sandpiper, 7 Knot, 12 Turnstone, a single Green and Common Sandpiper, a Whimbrel, a Sanderling, a Dunlin and a Swallow. By the 27th the single Green Sandpiper had been joined by two more, 3 juvenile Dunlin and a stunning juvenile Ruff that remained until the 28^th. Activity was still predominantly in the south by the end of the month with a female Teal and a Green Sandpiper flushed of the scrape, a Cormorant, 44 Redshank, 12 Turnstone, 3 Whimbrel, 9 Dunlin, 6 Swallows and 6 mobile Golden Plover (30th) and a group of 3 Knot (31st).

June Summary: The month started off nicely with the continual south easterly airstream which saw the arrival of a Black Redstart, Marsh Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat and a single Mealy Redpoll and Siskin (1st). New arrivals the following day were; 6 House Martins, a Bluethroat, a Black Redstart, a Sedge Warbler, a Marsh Warbler, an Icterine Warbler, 2 Whitethroats, 3 Garden Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, 5 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 3 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Linnets, a Red-Backed Shrike and a Common Rosefinch. A Common Scoter was noted (4th) and 2 Redwing, a single Pied Flycatcher, Red-backed Shrike, Marsh Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat were all new in (6th) as were 4 Chiffchaffs (7th). Two Common Terns, 8 Swallows, 2 House Martins, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Redstart and a Willow Warbler (8th) were new immigrants as was a cracking male Red-Breasted Flycatcher, Corn bunting (only 5^th record since 1970’s), a Marsh Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler and 2 Chiffchaffs (9th). Another Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Chiffchaffs were new in on the 10th as was a Marsh Warbler (11th), a female Red-Breasted Flycatcher, 2 Whimbrel, a Swift, a Swallow, a Garden Warbler, a Reed Warbler and 2 more Chiffchaffs on the 12^th. Two first-summer Arctic Terns were seen as were 2 Common Terns and a new Marsh Warbler (13th). Four drake Wigeon were over the sea in the north and a Lesser Whitethroat was the only grounded migrant (14th) whereas a Spotted Flycatcher, a Garden Warbler and a Yellowhammer were all new in on the 15^th. Four Golden Plover were noted on the 16^th as was a Cormorant. A Canada Goose was a good island record as were the two Sandwich Terns on the 17^th. Four Swifts, a Marsh Warbler and a Red-backed Shrike were new arrivals on the 18^th as were three more Swifts, a Garden Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher (19th). The 21^st was undoubtedly the red-letter day in June though with an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler that arrived alongside a Bluethroat, a Whitethroat, a Tree Sparrow, a Sanderling and a Red-Breasted Merganser. Four more Sandwich Terns were recorded on the 24^th as was another female Red-Breasted Flycatcher, a Sedge Warbler, a Garden Warbler and the first Common Crossbill of the summer’s influx. A total of 13 first-summer Arctic Terns was an extraordinary count (25^th) and a Quail plus four Common Crossbills arrived (26^th). At least 20 Common Crossbills were recorded on the 27^th along with Red-Throated Diver, a Garden Warbler, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Siskin. A minimum 47 Common Crossbills on the 28^th was followed with 34 on the 29^th on the same day as a drake Tufted Duck, 2 Swifts and a Marsh Warbler. The month ended on a high note with a late Icterine Warbler, 2 Marsh Warblers and 27 Crossbills (30th).

June 2^nd: A male Red-backed Shrike and a female Bluethroat plus a lingering Marsh Warbler is all there was to report.

June 1^st: A quiet start to the month with a Red-backed Shrike and a Marsh Warbler all there was of note.