15th September

New migrants, still rather few and far between, nevertheless included an eclectic hat-trick of species that were new for the autumn: an adult Slavonian Grebe on Ancum Loch was a bit of a surprise, a Short-eared Owl gave fantastic views nearby, and a Jack Snipe lurking in the irises at Kirbest narrowly missed our mist nets. The selection of passerine migrants was similar to previous days, with census counts coming to 3 Common Rosefinches, 2 Barred Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, 11 Blackcaps, 2 Garden Warblers, 5 Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 17 Lapland Buntings and a Snow Bunting.

Other sightings included the Scaup, a Grey Plover, 2 Merlins and a Kestrel.

14th September

A small arrival of migrants that appeared unexpectedly in the late morning included the first Red-backed Shrike, and Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn, 3 Barred Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Common Whitethroats, 8 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, 6 Willow Warblers and a Common Redstart. A Common Rosefinch and a Barred Warbler were at Holland House again and the Siskin and the Robin were still present. 13 Sooty Shearwaters passed the seawatching hide, while 2 Lapland Buntings and 6 Snow Buntings were on the shore nearby.

13th September

Although a reasonable variety of migrants was on the land, the bird of the day came in the shape of a Balearic Shearwater from the seawatching hide: this is still a very uncommon species in Orkney and less than annual from North Ronaldsay. A Barred Warbler trapped at Holland House in the morning was probably a new migrant, but 3 Common Rosefinches were presumably the birds from earlier in the week. A Reed Warbler, 2 Whitethroats, 6 Blackcaps, a Robin, a Siskin and a Common Redpoll were new migrants; other passerines included 13 Lapland Bntings, 3 Snow Buntings, a Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warblers and a Whinchat.

A drake Scaup was on Hooking Loch, and the 8 Pink-footed Geese were still present. A blue phase Fulmar passed by among 200 ordinary Fulmars, 4 Sooty Shearwaters and 7 Manx Shearwaters. At least 5 Kestrels were still around, while the wader highlight was a Little Stint on the golf course.

A few Merlins have passed through during the last few days of good raptor passage.

12th September

A further sparse scattering of migrants appeared in a day dominated by rain and fog. The highlight was a frustratingly mobile Citrine Wagtail that made a couple of fleeting appearances at Kirbest in the afternoon, soon hightailing away into the fog towards Bridesness on both occasions. Other new passerines on the island included 2 Garden Warblers, a Blackcap, a Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warblers, a Goldcrest and a Snow Bunting; 6 Lapland Buntings had probably arrived earlier in the week.

A flock of 8 Pink-footed Geese were the first of the autumn, and it was another good day for raptors: at least 5 Kestrels were seen again, as well as 2 Merlins and 2 Sparrowhawks. Waders included a new Little Stint at Bridesness, 2 Grey Plovers, 2 Whimbrels and a Common Sandpiper.

This is the third Citrine Wagtail sighting this month, and it is not clear how many different birds have been involved. We think that this individual has a noticeably darker and less clean appearance than the birds seen on the 2nd and 7th, and is probably a new bird.

11th September

A welcome return to relatively clement weather gave us an opportunity to find any birds that had gone undetected during the previous day's deluge, as well as any new arrivals that had come in overnight. The first Corncrake of the autumn at Ancum Loch was the highlight, although a drake Scaup sitting on the sea near Westness was a bit more of a surprise. A group of 3 Common Rosefinches at Lurand were a promising start to the day, and nearly 300 Meadow Pipits were counted, but other new passerines were rather thin on the ground: a Pied Flycatcher, a Blackcap, a Sedge Warbler and a Whinchat were the best we could come up with, although at least some of the 28 Lapland Buntings that were logged would also have been fresh arrivals. Small birds remaining from earlier in the week included the Barred Warbler, a Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warblers, a Whinchat and a House Martin.

There was a noticeable increase in raptor activity, with a Peregrine, 2 Merlins and at least 5 Kestrels on the island during the morning. New waders included 2 Grey Plovers, a Little Stint and 2 Common Sandpipers; those that had been seen in previous days included the Wood Sandpiper and at least 33 Ruffs.

Scaup is quite a scarce duck on North Ronaldsay, but this is the third record of the year so far.

10th September

Torrential rain, fog and wind were the bringers of difficult birding, but, when they're coming from the east, these are the type of conditions that can result in migrants arriving and taking refuge on the island. On this occasion no sizeable fall materialised, although a small number of new birds found in the afternoon included one each of Tree Pipit, Common Redstart, Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and Blackcap. Another Common Redstart, a Willow Warbler, 12 Lapland Buntings and a House Martin all remained from earlier days.

When the mist cleared for a few brief minutes, 12 Sooty Shearwaters were seen from the north end of the island, raising the question of just how many seabirds had been passing unseen behind the veil of fog. A Greenshank was the only notable new wader, while the Wood Sandpiper stayed faithful to its usual spot at Gretchen Loch.

Lapland Buntings

9th September

An early vigil from the seawatching hide, hoping that the impressive number of seabirds that have been passing the south and west coasts of Britain might have finally made their way around to North Ronaldsay, eventually produced a Great Shearwater, but numbers of the commoner species were fairly average: 533 Fulmars, 47 Sooty Shearwaters and 18 Manx Shearwaters passed by. On land, the first Snow Bunting of the autumn was the highlight, while the Lapland Bunting count increased to 28. A Reed Warbler was discovered at Ancum Loch, while a new Willow Warbler and the remaining Barred Warbler were also logged.

Snow Bunting