Wheatears, Stormies, and Swifts

Not had a lot of time recently to update this blog, so here's a bit of a run-down of what's been going on here on Canna and Sanday in the last few days.

Bob Swann was here for the final one of his week-long visits of the summer. This one was with his family, and we had a great night out on the headland below Tallabric catching Storm Petrels with him and his son Rob. I think we got 12 birds in total, with no retraps, and though I think Bob and Rob were a little disappointed with the numbers, it was the first time I'd handled these fabulous little seabirds, so I was very pleased with the night's efforts.

Waders seem to be really piling in here now, with good-sized flocks of Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew, Ringed Plover, and Oystercatcher present. I've finally taken delivery of a new wader net from NHBS, so I'll be looking at suitable catching sites for them in the next few days. Also, on Sanday, there's been a nice flock of 22 Golden Plover, with a mix of adult and juvenile birds among them.

Also of note at the moment are the Swifts that are now feeding above the trees below Tighard. Swifts don't breed on Canna, so they're obviously just passing through, but these are the first ones of the year for me, so it's good to see them.

The bog behind Winnie's house is now starting to attract reasonable sized roosts of Swallow, Pied Wagtail, and Meadow Pipit, so there'll be a roost catch there sooner or later, and I do want to get in there early one morning for some juvenile Sedge Warblers before they start on their migration south.

Juvenile Wheatear

The numbers of Wheatears on Canna and Sanday have been incredible this year. Bob Swann tells me that they've been doing particularly well here since the rat eradication. I've spent a bit of time out on Compass Hill with a couple of Moudry Spring Traps, and this morning went out to the crags at Greod on Sanday. In total I've ringed 15 birds, plus 5 pulli this season.

Female Wheatear