The last 2 days!

The last 2 mornings have the mist nets have produce fairly good numbers of bird, with Willow Warblers dominating but also Garden warbler, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and the first Whinchat that I can recall seeing in the hand.

 Common Redstart the first I've seen this year in this country

 Spotted Flycatchers Juvenile above, adult below.

Whinchat

 Wryneck with Yellow Wagtails yesterday

Yesterday afternoon the Wryneck was showing well with some Yellow Wagtails at Galloways, but never allowed close approach, 18 Whinchats were present there along with Wheatears, Common Whitethroats and Willow Warblers.

On the ARC 2 Wood Sandpipers still present today as was the juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and the Garganeys.

 Whinchat at Galloways

Arctic Tern at the fishing boats

Mostly due to the efforts of AJG sea watching the last couple of day has recorded 1,000s of Sandwich and Common Terns moving down channel, with 10s of Arctic Terns, Little Terns and Black Terns all of which are providing easy meals for marauding Arctic Skuas of which up to 16 have been recorded.

Yellow-legged Gull at the fishing boats

 American Black Tern an excellent find by Stephen Message

Late yesterday afternoon Stephen Message found a juvenile American Black Tern among c20 Black Terns on Burrowes Pit. It resolutely stayed on the far side of the lake yesterday and did the same today all the time I was there. 

 American Black Tern with Black Tern