Saturday, April 14, 2012

12th - 14th April

At a top migrant hotspot like North Ronaldsay, every year brings exciting periods of the constant and varied bird movement that make it such a fantastic birding site, interspersed with occasional periods of unfavourable winds and almost no noteworthy bird passage whatsoever. This little spell fell squarely into the latter category.

Cold northerly winds throughout brought little besides a Sparrowhawk on the 13th and a Grey Plover on the 14th; although small numbers of Robins and Wheatears each day might have included the odd new migrant. A Manx Shearwater on the 14th was at least a new species for the year, flying past the seawatching hide on a date slightly earlier than average for the species. Up to 3 European White-fronted Geese and 2 Iceland Gulls continued their protracted stays, and the 2 Woodpigeons were still around to the 14th.

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