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August 31st
Easter Ross: 4 White Wagtail at Tarbat Ness briefly, adult and 3 juveniles, before heading south (Dave Tanner). At Udale Bay at 1900pm today, 4 Ruff (1 ruff and 3 reeve), 40 Golden Plover, 10 Black tailed Godwit, 80 Bar-tailed Godwit and 50 Curlew (Mary Galloway and Jonathan Mercer). Sutherland: Adult Rosy Starling still at Embo in garden at Inverview Terrace at 1618pm (Dean MacAskill). Wester Ross: Ullapool to Stornoway ferry today; 9 Sooty Shearwater, 10 Storm Petrel, 5 Manx Shearwater and lots of Arctic and Great Skuas (Dave Slater). Inverness-shire: Whooper Swan still present on the shore at Ardersier. August 30th
Wester Ross: Cory's Shearwater from the Stornoway to Ullapool ferry at 1810pm, heading south (John Poyner). also 1 Sooty Shearwater, 30+ European Storm Petrels, 50+ Manx Shearwater, plenty of Bonxies, arctic Skuas and a Minke Whale. also a White Wagtail flying with the boat for ten minutes!! (All John Poyner). Skye and Lochalsh: Lots on the move today through Broadford Bay with 260 Dunlin, 200 Ringed Plover and smaller groups of Sanderling, Knot and Black-tailed Godwit, also Wigeon, Teal, and another 5 Pintail. A group of 8 Pale-bellied Brent Geese were at Sconser. Inverness-shire: Large numbers of birds again at Whiteness Bay this evening, although nothing unusual yet.... High tide count: Oystercatcher 680, Ringed Plover 187, Curlew 53, Bar-tailed Godwit 1, Knot 9, Sanderling 45, Dunlin 340, Redshank 24, Sandwich Tern 28 (10 Juveniles), Common Tern 54 (Juveniles 32), Arctic Tern 6 (Juveniles 2), Kittiwake 7 (All Tom Wells). Easter Ross: 5 Black-tailed Godwits at the mouth of the River Peffery in Dingwall this morning. Also Kingfisher along the river near the railway bridge (Bob Wilson). Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier still at Insh Marshes (Dave Pierce). August 29th
Easter Ross: Spotted Redshank still at Tain Links this afternoon (Bob Swann). Sutherland: Rosy Starling still at Embo at Rosedene at Station Road/Gate Street junction, grid ref (NH814929) at 1040am (Dave Pullan). Wester Ross: 2nd summer Glaucous Gull reported at Ullapool at the river mouth (Birdguides), visiting birders please note there has been a 2nd summer Viking Gull (Glaucous x Herring) present in recent months at Ullapool. August 28th
Easter Ross: Spotted Redshank still at Tain Links this afternoon (Bob Swann). Sutherland: Rosy Starling still at Embo at Inverview Terrace. August 28th
Sutherland: Adult Rose-coloured Starling again at Embo in garden on Interview Terrace then in Rowan by large car park at 0957am (Dean MacAskill). Easter Ross: Spotted Redshank still at Tain Links (Bob Swann). Skye and Lochalsh: 5 Arctic Skuas and 7 Great Skuas in Sound of Raasay off Beal Point, Portree between 1115am-1400pm (Neil Bennett). 4 Pintail in Broadford Bay one of which was taken and drowned by a Great Skua! (Bob McMillan). August 27th
Easter Ross: 550 Canada Geese in the moulting flock at Udale Bay, also a hybrid Canada x Greylag (Jack Harrison). Spotted Redshank still at Tain off the links at high tide with 200 Redshank (Bob Swann). Lochaber: Black Duck still at Strontian this evening at the river mouth (RBA). August 26th
Skye and Lochalsh: Today 9 Black-tailed Godwits at Ardnish, Broadford and 9 Greenshank at Ashaig (Bob McMillan). Sutherland: Whooper Swan on Loch Croispol (Michael Fitch). August 25th
Wester Ross: On the Ullapool-Stornoway ferry crossing today; 4 Arctic Skuas, 10 Storm petrels, 25+ Harbour Porpoise, 100+ Short-beaked Common Dolphin and 2 Minke Whales (Andy Williams and Tessa Rhodes). Inverness-shire: 5 Whimbrels at Whiteness Point today with approx. 200 Ringed Plover, 30 Sanderling also 2 Magpies on range just by Fort George (Tim Meredith). August 24th
Easter Ross: 120 Common Scoter at Inver (Bob Swann). 2 Black-throated Divers and c100 Manx Shearwaters at Tarbat Ness late morning, juvenile ruff and Osprey at 2pm at Udale Bay and one Common Sandpiper at Muirtown Pools late afternoon (All Al McNee and John Carruthers). 22 Grey Heron roosting at Muirtown Pools (Alan MacAskill). August 23rd
Easter Ross: Wood Warbler in the plantation at Tarbat Ness (Bob Swann). Juvenile Ruff at Udale Bay from the hide this afternoon (Tom Wells). Inverness-shire: 32 Whimbrel in Whiteness Bay this evening (Colin Leslie). Sutherland: Four Little Gulls at Brora at 1pm, 2 adults, a first summer and a juvenile (Dean MacAskill). August 22nd
Sutherland: At Dornoch Point at high tide; 1 Short-eared Owl, 1 Peregrine, 1 Grey Plover, 4 Arctic Skua, 40 Bar-tailed Godwit, 25 Whimbrel and c90 Sandwich Tern. No sign of the Black Tern or any Little Gulls. 89 Redshank at the Mound (all Andy Williams). Easter Ross: Hobby seen chasing Swallows at Tarbat Ness at midday (Tim Meredith). Single Whimbrel at Tarbat Ness (Bob Swann). Lochaber: Nuthatch still at Resipole, Strontian (First reported in May 2017) (Jon Sherwood). August 21st
Sutherland: Juvenile Black Tern in the tern roost at Dornoch Point at high tide, 1pm, also juvenile Little Gull and Whimbrel. 10 Sooty Shearwater north past Embo in one hour this evening, also 5 Arctic Skua and c200 Manx Shearwater (all Dean MacAskill). Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier still at Insh Marshes RSPB (Dave Pierce). Flock of 50+ (!!!) Ring Ouzels in Strath Nethy at NJ019055, including 20 juveniles feeding on Blaeberry and Crowberry crop. Wester Ross: In 3 hours at Stoer; 2 Arctic Skuas and 80+ Common Dolphins (Andy Williams). August 20th
Wester Ross: 2.5 hour sea watch from Reiff; 2 Arctic Skuas, c.210 Kittiwakes feeding offshore and 27 Wigeon flew south down the Minch. At Achnahaird, high tide wader count included 5 Golden Plover, 4 Curlew, 14 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 24 Oystercatchers, 1 Ruff, 3 Sanderling, 37 Dunlin and 33 Ringed Plover. A breeding adult Manx Shearwater GPS tagged on the Welsh island of Bardsey, was found to have travelled 500km to the sea around Rum during a feeding sortie, see maps below. The adult had a chick in a burrow on Bardsey. Many thanks to Ben Porter, a student from Exeter University, for the information. Ben is studying the shearwaters as part of his third year dissertation, more details on the project here. August 19th
Sutherland: Hobby at Loch Fleet and a Whimbrel at Dornoch Point (Dean MacAskill). Wester Ross: 11 Whimbrel at Dundonell. 3 hour sea watch at NW extreme of Loch Ewe produced 4 Arctic Skuas. At Firemore cove there were 42 Dunlin and 37 Ringed Plover and a single Black-tailed Godwit (Andy Williams). Easter Ross: Late morning at Udale Bay, a single Ruff, 2 Dunlin, 2 Greenshank, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 35 Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Knot, 28 Lapwing, 135 Redshank, 125 Curlew, as well as 11 Sandwich Terns and one Lesser Black-backed Gull (Kevin Davis). August 18th
Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier still at Insh Marshes RSPB (Dave Pierce). Inverness-shire: At the Longman this morning beside the small bay, 73 Ringed Plover, 25 Dunlin and approximately 100 Goldfinches. Easter Ross: At Ferry Point a single Sanderling with the Redshank flock (Simon Cohen). August 17th
Sutherland: At Helmsdale between 1645-1730pm, 1 Sooty Shearwater north (Keith Langdon). Easter Ross: A Green Sandpiper at Loch Eye this morning in southeast corner, also 13 Greenshank and at least 1 probably 2 Kingfisher (Bob Swann). Inverness-shire: 63 Sandwich Tern and 30 Common Tern at Whiteness Bay (Jon Clarke). August 16th
Badenoch and Strathspey: Hobby (Dave Pierce) at Insh Marshes this morning at 0845am, also a Marsh Harrier. Inverness-shire: Whiteness Head, 100 Manx Shearwaters flew southwest along the firth then returned northeast. Still 500 Swifts feeding over forest and heath in the distance towards Ardersier (Lynden Schofield). The report of Iceland Gull today from Kerrow was erroneous. August 15th
Wester Ross: A single Sooty Shearwater, 2 Arctic Skua, 6 Manx Shearwater and 5 Storm petrels from the Ullapool-Stornoway ferry.Viking Gull still on the roof of the harbour office in Ullapool at 10:10 (All Andy Williams/Tessa Rhodes). Lochaber: One Sooty Shearwater offshore from the Mallaig-Lochboisdale (Birdguides). Inverness-shire: Corncrake in a garden (!!!) in Inverness this morning, at Kinmylies. At Buncrew this morning; 70+ Bar-tailed Godwits, 35 Black-tailed Godwits, 7 Common Sandpipers and 4 Osprey (Alan MacAskill). Cetaceans: 40 Short beaked Common Dolphin 3 miles off Priest Island from the Ullapool-Stornoway ferry. August 14th
Sutherland: Adult Little Gull at Brora at 1630pm (Keith Langdon). August 13th
Skye and Lochalsh: 50 Black-tailed Godwits south over Broadford late afternoon heading for Sound of Sleat and new arrival of 75 in Breakish Obbe in the evening. A count of 25 Greenshank heading south from Breakish Obbe. August 12th
Wester Ross: Adult or second summer Sabine's Gull (Peter Stronach) 8km northwest of Priest Island from the Stornoway-Ullapool ferry at 1728pm. Skye and Lochalsh: Rosy Starling again at Harrapool in gardens this morning (Bob McMillan). Easter Ross: 44 Manx Shearwater past Tarbat Ness today, and a single Purple Sandpiper migrating south (Dave Tanner). Lochaber: Male Common Rosefinch (RBA) at Back of Keppoch, Arisaig, on wires at campsite at Kinloid Farm at midday. Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier still at Insh Marshes, viewed from the lookout (Dave Pierce). August 11th
Easter Ross: The Spotted Redshank was still at Tain at 1145am (Tom Wells). Inverness-shire: Juvenile Hobby (Tom Wells) flew through Whiteness Bay today, also 86 Sandwich Terns and 41 juveniles. August 10th
Skye and Lochalsh: 2000 Manx Shearwaters in outer Sound of Sleat. 430+ Whimbrel (!!!), 103 Blackwits and 6 Sanderling in Broadford Bay, continued passage throughout the day in strong southwesterly winds. Easter Ross: At 16:55 the Spotted Redshank was again distantly viewable from the Tain Water Treatment Works, feeding with Redshank flock (Simon Levene). Cetaceans: Minke Whale breaching from the Ullapool-Stornoway ferry. August 9th
Inverness-shire: Flock of 1000 (!) Swifts near Gollanfield at 5pm last night (Stuart Benn). Easter Ross: 8 Barnacle Geese in front of the hide at Munlochy Bay at 1pm today (David Slater). Spotted Redshank still at Tain at 1240pm, in front of the sewage works then flew along to roost at Morangie. August 8th
Easter Ross: Spotted Redshank still at Tain Links this afternoon, between Water Treatment Works and Glenmorangie Distillery (Bob Swann/Dave Tanner). Quail still present calling in the field below the bird hide at Munlochy Bay, at 5pm, also in the bay 3 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Greenshank (Kevin Davis). Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier still at Insh Marshes RSPB (Dave Pierce). Late news, even by Highland standards!, a White Stork was photographed by the postman, James MacDonald at Uig, Skye on 22nd April 2016 at 8:45pm. If accepted this will only be the second record for Skye. It was only seen that evening, many thanks to Seth Gibson for digging out this record. August 7th
Easter Ross: Spotted Redshank still at Tain Links today at 5pm (Bob Swann). The Spotted Redshank at Tain Links was caught and ringed today as part of a routine wader catch, which also included 143 Redshank and 5 Knot. It was in non-breeding plumage, in active primary moult with two old outer primaries, two growing and the inner six primaries all new. So wither a non-breeding adult or a 2CY. Thanks to Bob Swann of Highland Ringing Group for the information. Cetaceans: Unfortunately one of the Long-finned Pilot whales, an adult female, stranded near the Kessock Bridge overnight, and had to be put down. The remaining pod stayed in the Kessock Channel for most of the day before heading east and out past Chanonry Point. August 6th
Easter Ross: Spotted Redshank (Bob Swann, Dave Tanner) at Tain Links, just below water treatment works at NH7788282853, though distant. Pale phase Arctic Skua at Chanonry Point this evening (Mary Galloway). 250+ Eiders at Loch Fleet (Alan MacAskill). Inverness-shire: One Whimbrel flying overhead at South Kessock (Al McNee). Quail at Lonnie, Castle Stuart (Hugh Insley). Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier still at Insh Marshes RSPB (Dave Pierce). Skye and Lochalsh: Single Green Sandpiper on the coast at Flodigarry, North Skye (David Blakesley). Cetaceans: 30 Long-finned Pilot Whales were present in the Inner Moray Firth all day today, ranging from between North and South Kessock and Chanonry Point. This evening at 2030pm they were still present at the mouth of Munlochy Bay. August 5th
Wester Ross: Viking Gull still at Ullapool harbour this morning and this evening. Adult or 2nd summer Sabine's Gull (Peter Stronach) off Priest Island, Summer Isles this evening. Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier at Insh Marshes (Jon Clarke). Lochaber: No sign of the drake Black Duck at Strontian today, but two hybrid Mallard x Black Ducks (Steve Clifton). Whimbrel at Savary, Lochaline. August 4th
Sutherland: First-summer Little Gull at Brora River mouth and 110 Sandwich Tern at Dornoch Point (Dean MacAskill). Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier still at Insh Marshes (Dave Pierce). Skye and Lochalsh: Single Green Sandpiper on a small puddle next to the Greshornish road, just north of Lowerglen today (Tom Wells). August 3rd
Lochaber: Grey Phalarope in Kentra Bay, firstly at singing sands at 0836am then flew towards Kentra Bay (Dan McGib via Twitter). Sutherland: Little Gull off Embo beach this morning (Jonathan Jones). First-summer Little Gull off Brora river mouth at 5pm (RBA). August 2nd
Hen Harriers have had a successful breeding season in Skye and Lochalsh with 7 pairs fledging 17 young in total. Information from Bob McMillan, further details on his Skye Birds blog here. This area is not subject to human persecution just natural predation from Foxes and other ground and avian predators. August 1st
Sutherland: Rosy Starling still at Balnakeil Farm this morning. Little Gull at Brora river mouth and the adult Rosy Starling still at Embo at 1030am. Easter Ross: Single Sooty Shearwater passed Tarbat Ness. Badenoch and Strathspey: Marsh Harrier at Insh Marshes, viewed from the viewpoint. A second summer Great Black-backed Gull seen in Portree, Skye on the 24th June 2017 (originally reported as a Caspian Gull), was ringed as a chick on Eilean Mhuire, the easternmost of the Shiants, on the 2nd July 2015. Previous recoveries of birds ringed as chicks on the Shiants have been from Peterhead and Stornoway. Thanks to Jim Lennon of the Shiants Ringing Group for the information. |
Highland Birds
