Sanday 2024 (1 Viewer)

[Steve Keen]

First things first, and apologies to Mark for overlapping with his thread on his visit last week. Far easier to do these things on the night when one is here alone (as I am) though, so it is what it is.

After missing out on visiting last year due a very poorly timed wedding (my son's) I was raring to go for this year. I too have opted for my earliest visit (although it's only my third trip vs Mark's millionth), and have given myself 11 nights up here. By the looks of the weather forecast I may just haved timed it to perfection. Forecasts vary as to the start and duration of the upcoming spell of easterlies but they all agree there'll be at least four days of them, starting no later than Thursday. Exciting news indeed!

Today was actually fairly low-key in terms of birds, but it was lovely calm day, with temperatures rising to a balmy 14 C!

Got the early ferry over, and made Stove my first port of call as it's near the harbour. A single Pale-bellied Brent Goose was masqurading as a gull out on the water, and singles of Dunnock and Robin were in the bushes, with 5 Reed Buntings on wires.

From here I headed up the west side of the island, picking up my first ringtail Hen Harrier at Boloquoy, then giving Loch Bea a scan - not much was on the loch, 2 Little Grebes about the best, but there was a nice gathering of 31 Ravens around it.

Next up was a loop from Roos Loch to Burness and back the other side. Roos Loch held, amongst the ubiquitous Greylag Geese an impressive count of 781 Wigeon. A female Sparrowhawk flew over whilst here, and 6 Knot were in Roos Wick, but other sightings were more run-of-the-mill.

After checking into my log cabin at Marston (the same one I stayed in on my first visit to the island in 2021) and having a hasty late lunch I headed out for a bit of a minor tour, taking in Cleat, Lady village and a walk out to the chambered cairn at Quoyness. 85 Eider were out in Otters Wick, another (or the same) ringtail Hen Harrier whizzed through, and waders on Little Sea included 25 Sanderling, 18 Bar-tailed Godwits and 4 Knot.

54 species were noted today, not too bad a tally.
Everything is now crossed for the easterlies to materialise as promised, as soon as and for as long as possible, and for the birds to come and me have the wherewithal to find them!

 

[Steve Keen]

17th September

First full day on the island, and what a very full day it was!

Overnight the wind, such as it was was, had switched southerly, and a bit of pre-dawn rain had me hoping for an arrival of birds, and whilst there wasn't much in the way of migrant passerines there was plenty to keep me amused on what was a very pleasant day to be out birding.

Headed out east at dawn, and spent the whole morning and through to 13h30 exploring the eastern end, firstly the area around Neuks and Buryan, then a nice slow and thorough North Loch loop.
Allowed myself an early seawatch at Neuks, just half an hour, but enough time to see three of the Sooty Shearwaters I was craving. A species I absolutely love, and NE Orkney is a great place for them. Not a lot else moving, although 176 Gannets and 28 Fulmars in half an hour is a nice enough start to seawatching proceedings. There wasn't a lot else at this extreme eastern end of "mainland Sanday", 5 Red-throated Divers and a Wheatear about the best.

The North Loch loop started very nicely with a Whinchat at Coo Road, where there was another Wheatear with a further of these up the road at Kinloch.
Up at The Gallery there were singles of Chiffchaff and Robin, and 15 Pintail flew over eastwards.
Spent a while sifting through the 550-strong Golden Plover flock around Galilee, but couldn't dig out an American one was in the area last week), but they were flightly, often in dips and hollows and frequently behind cows!

North Loch held 49 Mute Swans, 1 female-type Goldeneye and a loafing Great Skua, and as I rounded past Tofts a cracking male Hen Harrier ghosted by.

Loch Rummie held 18 Coots and a Little Grebe.

Had lunch at the parking area towards Start, my 15 minutes there also spent staring out to sea, with two more Sooty Shearwaters and a Great Skua heading north.

From here I drove round to the start of the path out to Tresness, and headed out there along the south edge of Cata Sand. Waders on the sands included 31 Grey Plover and 22 Bar-tailed Godwits, plus huge numbers of impossible-to-count Golden Plovers, and there was also a single Arctic Tern, 9 Red-breasted Mergansers and yet another Wheatear. There wasn't too much on Tresness itself, but out in the millpond-calm Bay of Newark were 21 Red-throated & 3 Great Northern Divers. At least one ringtail Hen Harrier gave repeated viewings, but mostly it was just nice being out on a ridiculously warm afternoon: once the sun poked through the clouds the temperature rose to 17 C, and I was birding Sanday in shorts for the first time ever!!

By the time I got back to the car I was pretty shattered, but couldn't resist popping in to Cleat on the way home, being rewarded, as hoped, with nice views of a Short-eared Owl, as well as yet more Hen Harrier action, and another couple of Wheatears.

An excellent day with 63 species recorded, the trip list moving on to 70.

 

[Chris Roseveare]

First things first, and apologies to Mark for overlapping with his thread on his visit last week. Far easier to do these things on the night when one is here alone (as I am) though, so it is what it is.

After missing out on visiting last year due a very poorly timed wedding (my son's) I was raring to go for this year. I too have opted for my earliest visit (although it's only my third trip vs Mark's millionth), and have given myself 11 nights up here. By the looks of the weather forecast I may just haved timed it to perfection. Forecasts vary as to the start and duration of the upcoming spell of easterlies but they all agree there'll be at least four days of them, starting no later than Thursday. Exciting news indeed!

Today was actually fairly low-key in terms of birds, but it was lovely calm day, with temperatures rising to a balmy 14 C!

Got the early ferry over, and made Stove my first port of call as it's near the harbour. A single Pale-bellied Brent Goose was masqurading as a gull out on the water, and singles of Dunnock and Robin were in the bushes, with 5 Reed Buntings on wires.

From here I headed up the west side of the island, picking up my first ringtail Hen Harrier at Boloquoy, then giving Loch Bea a scan - not much was on the loch, 2 Little Grebes about the best, but there was a nice gathering of 31 Ravens around it.

Next up was a loop from Roos Loch to Burness and back the other side. Roos Loch held, amongst the ubiquitous Greylag Geese an impressive count of 781 Wigeon. A female Sparrowhawk flew over whilst here, and 6 Knot were in Roos Wick, but other sightings were more run-of-the-mill.

After checking into my log cabin at Marston (the same one I stayed in on my first visit to the island in 2021) and having a hasty late lunch I headed out for a bit of a minor tour, taking in Cleat, Lady village and a walk out to the chambered cairn at Quoyness. 85 Eider were out in Otters Wick, another (or the same) ringtail Hen Harrier whizzed through, and waders on Little Sea included 25 Sanderling, 18 Bar-tailed Godwits and 4 Knot.

54 species were noted today, not too bad a tally.
Everything is now crossed for the easterlies to materialise as promised, as soon as and for as long as possible, and for the birds to come and me have the wherewithal to find them!

Excellent summary- look forward to reading more updates

 

[Steve Keen]

When I booked this return visit back in February I was full of virtuous ideas of investigating new areas, walking new routes . . .
But now I'm here, especially with the weather so clement, it's really very hard to think beyond the east end of the island.
That said, even though the wind at dawn was a tad east of south I was a good boy and set off for a walk from my accommodation, heading through Lady Village to the loop round past Brassigarth. Nothing out of the ordinary was seen in that area, although a few cronking Ravens headed west from a roost somewhere, and a nice flock of 59 Bar-tailed Godwits went over.
I then headed down to Little Sea, which held moderate numbers of the usual wader suspects and the first 7 Sandwich Terns of the trip. From here I doubled back on myself before cutting north past Ladybank and then home via the airfield road, still with not much being seen but me not caring a jot because the weather was glorious and, well, I'm on Sanday, which has got to be worth celebrating. Shortly before getting back I was treated to two ringtail Hen Harriers sparring about a km to the north over Coll Ness with 2 Hooded Crows. One of the harriers then gave me a nice close flyby as I sat outside the cabin enjoying an early lunch.

Once I'd eaten I (rather inevitably) Headed East.
I couldn't resist a seawatch from Neuks to start - I try and sneak in a seawatch whenever possible here because even when it's poor for here it's so much better than the vast majority of Hampshire seawatches, and when it's good it's really very good. Today's half hour was dominated by Kittiwakes, with 115 heading north (and another 12 when I scanned the sea a little later). Also a single Sooty Shearwater (which will never not be exciting) among 75 Gannets and 60 Fulmars.

After a bit of an explore around Buryan I parked up at Coo Road for another North Loch loop (eleven words I'm set to repeat a few times in the coming week or so). At Coo Road itself the Whinchat was still present, and then at Salties a Willow Warbler sunned itself. There was nothing of note at The Gallery, but whilst there an adult Little Gull went over and was seen to drop on North Loch. Not just a trip tick, but an Orkney lifer for me.
North Loch was pretty uneventful, and the gulls on the loch were poorly placed for grilling due to the position of the sun (no, I am not complaining about the sun!)
The Galilee Golden Plover flock was slightly smaller than yesterday, and mostly better positioned, but I was still unable to pick out an American. Maybe it wasn't there? Maybe I'm not good enough? I will keep trying, because scanning wader flocks up here is always a good idea.

The first Snow Bunting of the trip flew up from the roadside near Meur, and I then headed round to view Loch Rummie, with the five ducks present including a single Shoveler for the trip list. Normally I'd cut through from here to The Gallery again to get back to the car, but today I decided to double back and take the road down to East Langamay instead. This proved inspired as a Grey Wagtail went over on this section. Quite a scarce bird up here, I've managed three from my two previous visits.

Once back at the car I still had time for a shortish detour on the way home, and once again it was to Cleat. Once again I had nice views of a hunting Short-eared Owl. Then, just as I was thinking about leaving, a small flock of geese flew in, both of them new for the trip: seven Pink-footed Geese and three Barnacle Geese.

A very nice way to end a very nice day. Wall to wall sunshine, shorts and t-shirt in 17C warmth again. As an indication of how pleasant it was I saw four Red Admirals, taking the butterfly tally to seven in three days. I don't recall having seen more than a couple in total previously in about 22 days on the island.

Day list was 59, with ten additions taking the trip list to 80.

 

[Steve Keen]

19th September

Very much a day of mixed emotions.
After a false alarm in the middle of the night when I thought my alarm hadn't gone off but in fact it was just very light due to the full moon, and it was actually 3am as hoped, I headed over the the east end of the island at dawn.
On the way over a total of 18 Ravens were at three roadkills (rabbit, hedgehog, rabbit).

First stop was Neuks, of course, although more to check the accuracy of the tide times I have with a view to visiting Start Point Island in the next couple of days. It was low, as expected, but as I couldn't be sure it would be low for long I decided against going over today, especially as I tweaked a lower back muscle slipping on a weedy rock and didn't want to risk more unnecessarily.
Needless to say I gave the sea a half-hour watch whilst there, highlight being a single Manx Shearwater, which was hugging the coast so close I struggled to work out its size for a few moments. Also 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 93 Kittiwakes, 59 Fulmars, 42 Gannets and 13 Razorbills.
Whilst in that area I gave the Buryan and Lopness areas a little time, the highlights being a Great Skua heading north and a flock of 54 Black-tailed Godwits.
Next up was the inevitable North Loch loop. The Willow Warbler was still at Salties, with another then at The Gallery. As I was scanning the loch itself a familiar call revealed itself to be a couple of Jackdaws heading north east towards North Ronaldsay; an unpredictable species on Sanday, with my only previous record being of two birds heading north east towards North Ronaldsay . . .
Six Pink-footed Geese were in a field on the far side of the loch, and a Great Skua on the beach at the north end, in between which I set about the daily task of scanning the Galilee Golden Plover flock. Much to my surprise I'm not totally incompetent, as I managed to find the American Golden Plover. A bit of a reality check late afternoon however, when a Buff-breasted Sandpiper was reported from the same flock. I'll assume it arrived this afternoon I think!

Little else was seen was seen on the way back to the car, where I decided to abandon the planned Tresness walk for the sake of my back, and instead headed back to the cabin for lunch and paracetamol. After then checking out some village gardens (including Robin at Viggie) I headed up to the NW of the island for some car-hopping between sites. One of which added to my feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy of course: at Northskaill I found 4 Redpolls, which I'm relieved have been lumped as one species, because now they don't need much attention as they're all just redpolls right? Wrong. I assumed at first that they were north-western rostrata, both on looks and most logical option with reports of them elsewhere. But when they landed next to a bunch of Linnets they seemed smaller, so I then presumed cabaret, and reported them as seemingly such on the Orkney WhatsApp group. But back at home, able to look at the photos (which were surprisingly good by my standards) I'm now really not so sure. Posted the most helpful pics on my Twitter feed, and anyone who wants to look there and comment, please do

https://twitter.com/x/status/1836816205031821573

Popped in to Whitemill, where 10 Red-throated Divers were out in the bay, then finished up at Roos Loch, where I estimated the Wigeon flock at a whopping 1040. And then in the interest of fairness estimated the Greylag flock at an obscene 1720!!
Another mostly warm and sunny day, with 7 butterflies seen (6 Red Admirals, 1 Peacock), plus three moths (Silver Y, Small Wainscot, White-shouldered House Moth), but it was good to see cloud roll in late pm. Definitely need it to encourage a few more migrants, and the forecast is for it to stay for several days, and the wind to be helpfully east-ish too.
Whether I'll be able to find and/or identify anything remains to be seen

Day list of 59 today, with the trip list advancing to 84.

 

[Steve Keen]

20th September

A tough day today, partly because of inflated expectations, partly the weather. The easterly wind/cloudy and occasionally drizzly day bird bonanza didn't happen for some reason. And whilst the weather was just what was needed birding-wise (or so I thought), and it wasn't actually cold (13 C) it's certainly felt it. A combination of the drop in temperature, increase in wind, lack of sun and damp air has had me fully swaddled in woollies all day. Even the locals I've spoken too have been fully insulated, so it's not just me.

Started the day, you guessed it, heading east. After bashing around Buryan for a bit, I actually finally crossed on to Start Point Island for about half an hour. In hindsight I could've had a lot longer, but for reasons too tedious to explain I didn't, but am now better equipped to give it a proper visit tomorrow morning.
Once back on the "mainland" I, rather inevitably, gave the sea a look. Which actually ended up being a 70-minute look, producing 8 Sooty Shearwaters, 180 Gannets, 149 Fulmars and 30 Kittiwakes.

As I was leaving Neuks a Snow Bunting flew up and over the beach, but nothing else could be coaxed out anywhere.

For a bit of variety I did my North Loch loop the "wrong way round" (clockwise) today, for no reason in particular. One of my favourite gardens, Meur, actually had a new migrant in, with a Lesser Whitethroat hopping around on the ground with 2 Wheatears, but that was the only warbler I saw today, and the only wheatears. Otherwise the highlights of the walk were the Goldeneye on North Loch and a Great Skua which short-cutted across the headland. The Galilee plover flock was half the size of yesterday, and I couldn't locate either American Golden Plover or Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

Mid afternoon I gave the sea another hour from Neuks, with the most notable count being of 30 Manx Shearwaters, including a flock of 16 ridiculously close to land. Also my first Arctic Skua of the trip and nice counts of 23 Sooty Shearwaters and 96 Kittiwakes.

Little of note was then seen for the remainder of the afternoon as I checked Lady Village, Little Sea and Bea Loch via a bit of shopping.

And then, to round off a disappointing day I'd just started reviewing my photos from the day and my camera packed up. The last two hours has largely been spent troubleshooting (and failing to find a fix) and investigating opportunities for a replacement; unfortunately small islands off the top of Scotland aren't great for camera shops or for getting anything delivered in a hurry (especially at a weekend), no matter how Prime your Amazon subscription!

On the bright side, it's less to carry, and my pictures were mostly not good anyway.
On the really bright side I suspect not having a camera greatly increases my chances of finding something good.

Day list 58, trip list 87.

 

[etudiant]

20th September

A tough day today, partly because of inflated expectations, partly the weather. The easterly wind/cloudy and occasionally drizzly day bird bonanza didn't happen for some reason. And whilst the weather was just what was needed birding-wise (or so I thought), and it wasn't actually cold (13 C) it's certainly felt it. A combination of the drop in temperature, increase in wind, lack of sun and damp air has had me fully swaddled in woollies all day. Even the locals I've spoken too have been fully insulated, so it's not just me.

Started the day, you guessed it, heading east. After bashing around Buryan for a bit, I actually finally crossed on to Start Point Island for about half an hour. In hindsight I could've had a lot longer, but for reasons too tedious to explain I didn't, but am now better equipped to give it a proper visit tomorrow morning.
Once back on the "mainland" I, rather inevitably, gave the sea a look. Which actually ended up being a 70-minute look, producing 8 Sooty Shearwaters, 180 Gannets, 149 Fulmars and 30 Kittiwakes.

As I was leaving Neuks a Snow Bunting flew up and over the beach, but nothing else could be coaxed out anywhere.

For a bit of variety I did my North Loch loop the "wrong way round" (clockwise) today, for no reason in particular. One of my favourite gardens, Meur, actually had a new migrant in, with a Lesser Whitethroat hopping around on the ground with 2 Wheatears, but that was the only warbler I saw today, and the only wheatears. Otherwise the highlights of the walk were the Goldeneye on North Loch and a Great Skua which short-cutted across the headland. The Galilee plover flock was half the size of yesterday, and I couldn't locate either American Golden Plover or Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

Mid afternoon I gave the sea another hour from Neuks, with the most notable count being of 30 Manx Shearwaters, including a flock of 16 ridiculously close to land. Also my first Arctic Skua of the trip and nice counts of 23 Sooty Shearwaters and 96 Kittiwakes.

Little of note was then seen for the remainder of the afternoon as I checked Lady Village, Little Sea and Bea Loch via a bit of shopping.

And then, to round off a disappointing day I'd just started reviewing my photos from the day and my camera packed up. The last two hours has largely been spent troubleshooting (and failing to find a fix) and investigating opportunities for a replacement; unfortunately small islands off the top of Scotland aren't great for camera shops or for getting anything delivered in a hurry (especially at a weekend), no matter how Prime your Amazon subscription!

On the bright side, it's less to carry, and my pictures were mostly not good anyway.
On the really bright side I suspect not having a camera greatly increases my chances of finding something good.

Day list 58, trip list 87.

Think you are quite right.
Photography and birding are at best an uneasy mix, doing both together invariably disappoints.
Ditch the camera, embrace the concept of leave only foot prints, forget about the 'take only pictures'.
Seriously, photographers must have the patience of Job and an academic upbringing.
It was Kissinger who said 'academic fights are so vicious because the rewards are so small'. I'll vouch for the 'very' small rewards.
Instead, just enjoy the day, free from the office and cares. As with fishing, a day spent birding does not count in your allotted days....

 

[Steve Keen]

Wise words, although in fairness I didn't waste much time taking photographs.
It's a bridge camera, is permanently on auto settings (because I don't have the time, patience or dexterity to be changing settings on the go, and don't understand the jargon anyway) so I basically point at some stuff and press the shutter.
Anyway, rather ironically, and totally inevitably, it works this morning.

 

[Richard Prior]

Wise words, although in fairness I didn't waste much time taking photographs.
It's a bridge camera, is permanently on auto settings (because I don't have the time, patience or dexterity to be changing settings on the go, and don't understand the jargon anyway) so I basically point at some stuff and press the shutter.
Anyway, rather ironically, and totally inevitably, it works this morning.

Ah, bang goes your chance of finding something mega then Steve!

 

[Steve Keen]

21st September

Firstly, the camera: it worked this morning. Then it didn't for a while. Now it does. It's clearly not just a momory card issue that the error code implies it should be, because it has a new memory card since yesterday. It is what it is however, and photographic opportunities have hardly been leaping out at me.

In the lead up to the trip my days at work were (obviously) spent daydreaming about it: I'd walk out to Start Point on an early morning low tide, into a drifty SE wind with blanket cloud and lots of mizzle. The dykes and nettle patches of the island would be hopping with common migrants, with the odd scarcity thrown in too; a Bluethroat or two here, a Wryneck there, ooh look, a rosefinch, and hey, is that a bluetail?? I'd be so wrapped up in scribbling notes and trying to photograph the good stuff that I'd almost miss the low tide to get back off the island again, but that wouldn't matter, because there were so many birds and there's always a busy seawatch to occupy a few hours until the evening low tide.

Fast forward to this morning. I walked out to Start Point on an early low tide, into a drifty SE wind with blanket cloud and lots of mizzle. An hour and a half later I was back on mainland Sanday, the only passerines seen having been Starling and Meadow Pipit. That was not in the script! A short seawatch had produced two each of Great Skua and Sooty Shearwater, but little else; and the loch had 2 Goldeneye among the more expected ducks, plus singles of Moorhen and Little Grebe.
A downbeat poke around Neuks and Buryan drew a blank on anything interesting, and so it was off for the obligatory North Loch loop. The Gallery held the highlight for sure, with a calling and then briefly seen (too brief for the binoculars, let alone the camera) Yellow-browed Warbler. A bird that will always give inordinate amounts of pleasure. There was also a Willow Warbler in the garden there, but these were the only migrants seen on the loop. Had planned to grill the Golden Plover flock again, but when I got to Galilee a thick fog suddenly descended, and any plovers were heard only. The fog lifted again just as suddenly, but only once I'd gone so far beyond that I really couldn't be bothered to turn round.
A Great Skua was again loafing on the North Loch "beach", which was just about within the visibility range, and 4 Great Northern and 1 Red-throated Divers were in Sandquoy Bay once the visibility miraculously returned, but after this the biggest/only notable was the fact that there were 20 Coots on Loch Rummie, whereas there have been 18 every other day.
Headed back home for a recuperative cuppa mid afternoon, and then set off on foot for a Lady Village and Cleat Road walk. A Lesser Whitethroat in the Surgery garden was a welcome addition, but other than a ringtail Hen Harrier down on Cleat Road there's nothing else to report. Even Short-eared Owl failed to put in an appearance.

Tonight marks the halfway mark of the trip, and if I sound downbeat it's because I am. Much as I love being here, nothing can escape the fact that the birding isn't going to plan. Not just the shortage of migrants (which I've had in far better numbers in far less suitable weather on previous visits), although that is baffling given the conditions, but also the more regular common stuff like ducks and waders are harder to come by than usual. Hopefully tomorrow it'll all change, and in any case today could've been a whole lot worse (and would've been had I been at work instead). I think, despite it being the logical thing to do in the current conditions, I need an alternative morning to yet another North Loch loop!

Day list 62, trip list 88 (Yellow-browed the only addition).

 

[Steve Keen]

22nd September

Ok, so I feel a bit more positive about life now . . .

Getting a few good birds has definitely helped, I'd be lying if I said otherwise, but so too did mixing it up a bit this morning. I even allowed myself a minor lie in, not getting out until 7.30, although under the heavy low cloud it wasn't that much lighter than it had been at 6.30 anyway!
As I had promised myself, I walked from home for a change, and this alone was enough to lift my spirits, checking out a few places I rarely visit, and a couple I never have.
First I headed out to Quivals, getting a nice count of 263 Bar-tailed Godwits in Lamaness Firth on the way, then up to Thorwald in Broughtown from where I cut across to Rowans, where I had the day's first warbler, a furtive Willow Warbler up in a sycamore. From here it was down to the school, concentrating on the wood in the grounds (OK to do so, it being Sunday). And here I picked out a silent (as virtually all those I've had on the island have been) Yellow-browed Warbler, and the spirits were boosted further. Then it was across country to Little Sea, with 2 Jackdaws putting in a couple of appearances, where I spent a while searching through the gulls and waders, and got the trip's first 2 Twites in some weeds by the road. Then it was back across the middle via Ladybank and into Lady Village itself. The first garden I checked was at Viggie, and it turned up another Yellow-browed Warbler, as well as Garden Warbler and Robin. Things were definitely happening!!
Along at the surgery another Yellow-browed called and showed very well in the willows across the road, soon after which a second bird appeared in the garden itself, and 2 Siskins also dropped in. It was no good, there was no way I was going to be able to avoid the east all day!! So I headed home and then after a quick lunch drove east. And was very glad that I did.
Parked up at Salties, and as the owner was cutting the grass in the northern bit of garden, I started in the southern bit. In the sycamores at the far end was a Yellow-browed Warbler, and also a Lesser Whitethroat. And then in the sycamores by the front gate was another Yellow-browed!! This time it was accompanied by a Goldcrest. Gave it all a while longer, and then moved to the now-quiet part of the other garden. Which amazingly held yet another Yellow-browed, as well as 2 Chiffchaffs. Once I was sure I'd given it all a suitable amount of time, I headed off up the road, wondering just how much might be in the dense jungle of The Gallery. The answer is, as always with there, that I have no idea. In the event the migrant total was 2 Yellow-browed, the first Chaffinch of the trip, and a very out-of-place Stonechat moulting out of juvenile plumage - as far as I know they only breed at the far SW end of the island, a juvenile here was surely unlikely to have come from there. I suspect there were a fair few more Phylloscs lurking in the bushes too.
Up the road from here came the day's only frustration: a message came through on The Orkney Whatsapp that a Black Kite had left North Ronaldsay and was seemingly headed right for me. Half an hour of high alert later and it was picked up in the west of the island, having clearly changed course on the way between the islands, and was then tracked leaving the island high to the south from its southernmost point. Not a major disappointment on a day such as today (I suspect I might have felt differently yesterday!), I was enjoying MY birds way too much to get hung up about someone else's.
Very few Golden Plovers were in the usual field, so scanning them didn't take long; North Loch held 1 Goldeneye amongst the tufties.
There aren't really any gardens along this stretch, so I was back on full migrant alert when I got round to Tofts, and lo and behold the garden there held yet another Yellow-browed Warbler (the tenth of the day), as well as the day's second Garden Warbler. From here a scan of the calm bay revealed 2 Great Northern Divers and 2 Black Guillemots, but way better than those were the 3 Harbour Porpoises making their way slowly north. Been a very long time since I've seen that species, and any cetacean is always a bonus.
Round at Meur, one of my most productive gardens on the island, there was just a single migrant, but not surprisingly it was a Yellow-browed Warbler.
Then to cap it all of the garden at Sandquoy, in which I've seen exactly nothing of interest ever, had the 12th and last, but by the far the most showy, Yellow-browed Warbler of the day.
The walk back to the car, and the drive home after were pretty uneventful, but who cares?!?

For context re the Yellow-browed Warblers, my previous two trips have produced twelve bird-days between them, probably nine individuals in total, and never more than two in a day. Twelve in a day is a personal best anywhere, and I suspect, given the weather forecast, there are plenty more to come . . .

Oh, and the camera is fine, so I've even got some videos and photos of them.

Day list 64, trip list now 93

 

[Steve Keen]

23rd September

A bit of a bump back down today, but not too bad really, and pretty amazing it's taken until day eight to get one with a disruptive amount of rain.
After being woken by heavy stuff at about 5, it was still pretty damp when I headed east full of hope for more migrants dropped in by the rain. Parked at Salties, but the garden there only held leftovers from yesterday: 2 Yellow-browed Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Goldcrest.
Walked up to The Gallery, but again there was nothing new, "just" a single heard-only Yellow-browed Warbler. From here I headed back to Salties and then drove round to the Start Point parking area with the intention of heading on to the island with low tide being at 0930. But when I got to Neuks I gave the sea a quick scan and it was apparent that there was quite a bit of movement offshore, so I decided instead to seawatch from there. I could've gone onto the island to seawatch, everything would've been that little bit closer, and I might have seen some further stuff, but I didn't want to lose the time spent walking out to the lighthouse and back (probably 20+ minutes each way), and staying put would save any worry about when to leave to make the crossing back. In any case most of the movement I had was very close in: between about 200m (so just off the shoreline) and perhaps 800m, plenty close enough. And the hut at Neuks provided shelter from the constant light drizzle.
It was an excellent seawatch, so much so that I gave it just over three hours (basically until I could no longer feel my feet), especially for a birder from Hampshire, where a three-hour seawatch can quite easily not produce a seabird, or nothing closer than 5km away. Fulmars were the star of the show, with 1173 heading north, including my first ever Blue Fulmar. There were periods with none, and then waves of them coming through at 50 or more a minute: spectacular stuff. Gannet and Kittiwake were also well represented, with 553 and 292 respectively.
Sooty and Manx Shearwaters weighed in with 56 and 55.
Star bird was the intermediate juvenile Pomarine Skua that passed right along the shoreline, scaring the bejeezus out of the waders along there, whilst there were also two each of Arctic (both pale adults, and within ten miutes of each other) and Great Skuas.
Pick of the auks was a single identifiable Puffin, and there was also an adult Arctic Tern.
I guess a lot of birders, given the conditions, would have preferred to bash for migrants, but one of the main reasons I come to Sanday is for the seawatching, and this was just the sort I was hoping for. Hopefully I'll get a few more decent counts in the remaining days.

After the seawatch I headed home for lunch, and then the afternoon was a bit of a struggle in increasing winds and frequently heavy and unpleasant drizzle: I know there's the old adage of there being no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing, but for me sufficiently good clothing costs too much to justify the little use I'd get out of it, and birds tend not to be particularly cooperative in bad weather anyway. If it makes me a fair-weather birder, then that's fine by me.
Walked out to Cleat, failing in both directions to find the Barred Warbler seen earlier in the Surgery garden (another Yellow-browed Warbler here though). Highlight was no doubt the 535 Bar-tailed Godwits which headed over northwards in two flocks, having presumably been pushed of Cata Sand by the rising tide. Whilst out on the Cleat Road news came through of a Red-breasted Flycatcher in Broughtown, and when I got back to the cabin I drove out there to see it (eventually, and not particularly well) rather than pack up too early (which was tempting given the weather). A new Sanday bird for me, hopefully I'll get time to try again in sunnier conditions tomorrow.

It was still an earlier-than-usual finish, but I felt the seawatch alone had been worth getting out of bed and often wet for!

Day list 56, trip list 96

 

[Steve Keen]

24th September

Strong winds, from the NNE, were the order of the morning, but thankfully without the driving rain that had accompanied them overnight. Not really the conditions for finding small birds, so it was off to Neuks again for another seawatch. In fairness, it probably wold have been anyway.

Another three hour session was enjoyed, nicely sheltered behind the hut there (but still glad to be wearing several layers), and whilst it was a lot quieter than yesterday in terms of numbers it was still pretty busy, and had a couple of very major highlights. Fulmar and Gannet were the main players again, with the irritatingly exact counts of 700 and 400 respectively, and Sooty Shearwater totalled 41 (but only 4 Manx).
At one point, whilst scanning through the scope, I caught at the edge of the image what looked like a very tall, narrow wave out toward the horizon that appeared briefly, then vanished, and had me completely flummoxed. About five minutes later, a fair bit closer (perhaps 5km away though) a huge fin appeared in the scope before slapping the sea surface. Then again, and then a third time: HUMPBACK WHALE!!!!!
I never saw it again, but I really didn't need to, what I saw was plenty exciting enough for me. Rather embarrassingly my first whale in the UK.
A while later, a squall passed by not far offshore pushing quite a few birds closer inshore, and in amongst the many Fulmars was a shearwater that I initially took to be a Manx. But as it got closer, repeatedly banking into the F5-7 wind it was clearly not the sharp black-and-white of that species, the white below was restricted to the belly and lower breast, and the underwing coverts were also dusky. And it definitely seemed a little stockier. It was clearly a Balearic Shearwater. Quite a scarce bird up here, but actually my second for the island.

From here I checked out the gardens a few of the North Loch loop gardens, but the lazy (avoiding a long walk in the strong wind) option of driving between them. Salties had singles of Chiffchaff and Siskin, but nothing else of note was seen. Wildfowl on North Loch included 3 Goldeneye and 23 Pintail.

Headed back for lunch and a much needed cuppa or two, then, after a visit to the excellent Heritage Centre, with the wind reducing all the while, headed into Lady Village to check out the gardens. Viggie had a Yellow-browed Warbler still, and the surgery had Garden Warbler, Chiffchaff and Robin.
From here I wandered down to Little Sea, seeing the first 2 Redwings of the trip just outside the village. The tide at Little Sea was higher than hoped, with a single Sandwich Tern about the pick. From here it was north via Ladybank (2+ Chiffchaffs and a Sparrowhawk) and then back home. as my last birding of the day I drove out to Cleat, where a ringtail Hen Harrier was the highlight.

Day list 68, trip list 98

 

[Steve Keen]

25th September

Firstly, a correction to yesterday, I've been told that the fact that my seawatching here is that bit nearer to sea level (probably only about 5 metres above it) than on patch the horizon is probably only about 3km or so off, so the humpback sighting would've been down to about 1.5km. I'm used to the horizon being about 8 miles away!!

More northerlies (vaguely) today, and whilst they weren't too strong, I've got the seawatching bug and that's where I headed first thing. And I was definitely glad I did!!
It was really very busy, especially for Fulmars, with the three hour watch producing an amazing total of 1882. Sooty Shearwater put on a pretty good show too, with 186 passing, including one impresive flock of 47+ arcing across in the mid distance. Other numbers were lower, with just 212 Gannets, but highlights were 8 Manx Shearwater and 4 Puffins.
Oh, and a certain species of cetacean: I was happily counting Fulmars, when suddenly two enormously tall pointed dorsal fins appeared on the horizon: ORCAS!!!!!!!!! I tracked them, clearly two bulls, for several minutes as they got to within a mile of me, before they were lost in the glare of the sun, and never reappeared. A quite staggering coincidence: they appeared at the exact point on the horizon as yesterday's whale, which I know because I was using the same buoy as a marker whilst counting the passing birds. If either had appeared to the left of where they did, they would've been missed. The small margins of wildlife watching; we'll largely never know the stuff we miss through looking the wrong way, of course.
Had planned to seawatch for more than three hours today, but by the three-hour mark the sun was in exactly the wrong position, so three hours it was. Shortly after packing up a diver flew in from the north and passed overhead about 20 metres up, giving excellent views of a breeding-plumaged Black-throated Diver, quite a scarce bird on Orkney.

Headed home for lunch in a very good mood, it's fair to say, and then after eating set off on foot for a lap that took me via Quivals, Broughtown and the school.
Thorwald in Broughtown still held its Red-breasted Flycatcher, and it was still incapable of sitting still, and this and the adjacent garden also held Yellow-browed, Garden and Willow Warblers. A little way down the road another garden held Chiffchaff.

Nothing else of note was seen after this until I reached Lady Village, and here all the migrants were in the garden of the bungalow called Viggie. Firstly, a Robin (not had many of those on the trip), and then the second Garden Warbler of the day. But whilst watching this, it flew across the garden followed by a chunkier, greyer bird, and I was soon treated to repeated nice, if often skulking, views of a Barred Warbler. Quite likely (but obviously not definitely) the same bird as that seen in the surgery garden, a couple of hundred metres along the road, a couple of days ago. In any case, a nice bird with which to bring the trip list to three figures.

Day list 65, trip list 100

 

[Steve Keen]

26th September

With it blowing a hooley outside, packing needing to be done ahead of moving out of the accommodation in the morning, and a pub invite later meaning all the usual evening stuff needs to be brought forward a bit, it's an early finish today (albeit only by an hour or so).

This morning was actually very pleasant, with just a gentle northerly blowing and the frequent showers seeming to be avoiding Sanday, so I treated myself to one final North Loch loop. In the event I didn't see all that much of note, the pick being a Chiffchaff at Salties and 4 Goldeneye on North Loch, but it was nice to say a final thankyou to the generous locals who've let me repeatedly wander round their gardens, and bid a fond farewell to their dogs. Always the possibility it will be for the last time, but maybe not, too soon to say.

After lunch in the car I headed down to Neuks for yet another seawatch. It started fairly slowly, and I thought for a while it would just be an hour watch, but every time I thought I might leave there was a flurry of movement, and in the event it was yet another three hour effort, in an increasingly strong wind, with frequent squally showers. Fulmar numbers were well down, with just 361 counted, but the shearwaters were proportionally really well represented. Sooty Shearwater tallied 186 again, bizarrely exactly the same number as yesterday, with Manx totalling 63, an excellent count for here this late in the year. At one point a mixed flock of 19 Manx and 10 Sooty passed slowly just a couple of hundred metres offshore, allowing some amazing views, and one of the absolute highlights of the trip. 45 Kittiwakes was an improvement on the last couple of days, and a single Puffin was identified, but mostly the auks were passing a lot further out than previously so generally went unidentified.

Once I done with the sea, I tried Cata Sands but the tide was still very low and the waders distant, and scoping was hard work in the now F6 wind, and a half-hearted garden search in Lady Village turned up pretty much what was expected (nothing) and I traipsed back to the cabin for much needed tea!!

Tomorrow will be more or less a full day on the island, as I'm not leaving until the evening boat, and with the wind forecast to be more or less as it is now I suspect the sea will be getting a fair bit of attention.

Day list 61 (with potential for more additions I guess), trip list still 100

 

[ThomasStone]

Really enjoyed reading about your trip, hope the last day is a good one for you Steve

 

[Steve Keen]

September 27th

The last day, and so a sad one. Always hate to leave Orkney, even without the thought of a 700+ mile drive to come and then work on Monday.

Despite more of a pub session last night than anticipated, still got out to Neuks early for what I hoped would be another excellent seawatch, in strong northerlies with frequent torrential showers. But it wasn't to be: numbers were very much reduced, and for all the 2hr 20min watch everything except the 149 Gannets were pretty distant. Still nice, of course, to see 31 Sooty Shearwaters , just not the nice close sightings of previous watches. There was an added bit of excitement, however, with a close pass by 2 Risso's Dolphins, the 4th cetacean species of the week, having never had any on my two previous visits. Also whilst here I finally added Peregrine to the trip list.
After packing up my stuff, the rest of the day was spent visiting various sites, whilst dodging the continuing squalls.
Unsurprisingly, the gardens in Lady didn't yield any warblers, if they were in there they were keeping themselves well out of the wind.
Highlights from other stops included 2 Ruff at North wall, another trip addition (and another I really should have had before), a Wheatear at Cleat (the first for three days), a huge count of 1650 Wigeon on Loch Roos, a single Barnacle Goose with four (presumably wild, they were all very nervous) Greylags and 3 Shoveler on the pool at Obloquy, only my second record of the trip.
Finished my birding back where it started on Day One, at Stove. Enjoyed counting the waders (including 103 Sanderling and 17 Knot) on the mud, finishing just before two sparring Sparrowhawks sent everything into meltdown. But bird of the visit was a Sanday lifer for me, and not one to generally get too excited about , but it's all about context, and Woodpigeon is a pretty scarce bird on the North Isles, so I was very happy indeed.

And that took the trip total to 103.
Quite a disappointing total really, especially given the conditions. The previous trips have produced 111 and 110, in less favourable weather. Aside from the one day that was filled with Yellow-browed Warblers, small birds have been hard to come by. I'm not sure how I managed it but I didn't see a Blackcap. But Barred Warbler and Red-breasted Flycatcher were obviously nice.
I'm not sure I was particularly efficient or proficient, but I certainly put in the effort, the mostly clement weather allowing me to be in the field for 10+ hours every day.
The seawatching has largely been as good as hoped, it's been amazing to see in the region of 500 Sooty Shearwaters, most of them very close, and the cetaceans have been outstanding of course.
And tough birding or not, it's just nice to walk around Sanday, chatting with the diverse locals (a few of whom are actually from Orkney, but only a few).
Will I be back? I expect so . . .