Orkney

Latest Happenings June 15th

2013-06-16T11:03:17Z

Hi Everybody

Here is the remainder of the RSPB Local Group programme for 2013:

Sat/Sun 27th/27th July - Storm Petrel Ringing

A night event led by Alan Leitch to watch the catching and ringing of the nocturnal storm petrel and listen to their eerie calls. Contact RSPB office on 01856 850176.

Weekend 3rd/4th August

Joint event with Orkney Field Club and the Wildlife Explorers Group. Moth traps will be set in Malcolm Russell's garden in Finstown on Saturday night and in the morning the night's catch will be examined while receiving expert tuition. Contact Sydney Gauld on 01856 872468.

Sunday 8th Sept - to Stronsay for Autumn Migrants

Off again to look for migrants on Stronsay - waders, warblers, flycatchers, etc. Contact Dick Matson on 01856 751426.

Sunday 15 or Sunday 22 September - to Sanday for Autumn Migrants

Situated just in sight of Fair Isle, Sanday can be a magnet for migrant birds. Nearer the time the weather forecast will be studied before a final decision on the date is made. Contact Grace Currie on 01856 872742

Other Regular Sessions:

Orkney Mainland Hide Sessions

Visit one of the mainland reserves and watch birds from the hide with RSPB staff who can explain what you are watching and answer questions. The sessions, which take place on most Mondays (whatever the weather), are FREE and you can drop in any time between 9.30 am and 12.30 pm. You don't need to book but for more information call the RSPB Orkney Office on 01856 850176.

The Loons Hide

Join us at this wetland reserve which can host a variety of wildfowl and waders. Meet: The Loons Hide off the B-class road betweenTwatt and Marwick (HY247243).

Dates: June 24; July 8, 22; August 5, 19.

Burgar Hill Hide

The star of the show here is the breeding red-throated diver but a variety of other wildfowl, waders and an occasional skua or raptor can be expected also.

Meet: Burgar Hill Hide off the A966, north of Evie. Follow the signposts to hide which overlooks Lowrie's Water, Birsay (HY345257).

Dates: June 17; July 1, 15, 29; August 12, 26

Orkney Mainland Guided Walks

Watch birds and other wildlife on a guided walk with RSPB staff. Bookings must be made beforehand with the RSPB office on 01856 850176. Duration is up to 2 hours and stout footwear and waterproofs are required. RSPB members go free but the cost is £5 for non-members; £2 children 12-18; under 12 free.

Marwick's Seabird City

Come see, hear and smell the seabird spectacle at this magnificent reserve.Time 10 am. Meet Marwick Bay Car Park (HY230242).

Dates (all Wednesdays): July 3, 24.

Hobbister Coastal Walk

Come for a walk through this moorland reserve and along the Scapa Flow coastline. Time 9.30 am. Meet Hobbister Car Park off the A964 (HY395069)

Dates (all Wednesdays): June 26; July 17.

Brodgar

Learn about Orkney's birds and wildlife on a pleasant, easy guided walk on the RSPB reserve surrounding the Ring of Brodgar.

Time 10 am, duration up to 2 hours. Meet Ring of Brodgar Car Park (HY295135).

Dates (all Wednesdays) June 19; July 10.

Archeology & Birds at Brodgar - two-in-one.

Guided walk around the Ring of Brodgar led jointly by Historic Scotland Rangers and RSPB staff. Learn about the history as well as the birds and wildlife.

Time 10 am. Duration 1 hour. Meet Ring of Brodgar Car Park (HY295135). Free event.

Walks take place on Thursdays to July 4.

Wild Hoy Walks

Use your senses to explore the amazing wild landscape of Hoy by joining the RSPB Warden to learn more about the wildlife and history of the reserve. Duration 2-3 hours. Bring packed lunch & binoculars. Meet: Moaness Pier 10.30 am. Cost £5 adults; £2 children aged 12 to 18; children undeer 12 & RSPB members free. N.B. Extra cost for local bus transport of approx. £2. Booking essential: Warden on 01856 791391.

Dates (All Tuesdays) June 18, 25.

RSPB PapaWestray Guided Walks

Guided walks by the RSPB Warden around the RSPB reserve of North Hill where you can witness life in the seabird city along the cliffs, watch spectacular aerial chases between terns and skuas and enjoy the wild flowers. Booking essential.

Wednesdays & Saturdays to August 31.

(There will be a few dates in this period when there is no walk - please check).

Time 1.30 to 3.30 pm. Meet: Rose Cottage. Cost: free. For info and bookings contact the warden Sarah West: 01857 644240. Donations welcome.

Orkney Field Club events

Here are some of the future activities:

Sun 7^th July Wildflowers, Butterflies & Birds of South Walls

A visit to the Hill of White Hammars SWT Reserve in South Walls, Hoy to see an amazing range of plants, insects and birds of wetland and maritime heath. We should find Primula scotica, orchid species including the rare frog orchid, many other wildflowers, wading birds, butterflies and damselflies. Ferry departs Houton at 9am and Lyness at 16.30 on return. Contact Dick Matson 751426 (email: r.matson42@btinternet.com). Booking essential.

Sat 6^th, Sat 13^th or Sun 14^th July Dragonflies and Wildflowers of North Hoy

Taking the spectacular ferry journey from Stromness to Moaness; on foot to Sandy Loch to look at the damselflies and wildflowers of that area; then by minibus to Rackwick and nearby lochans to locate previously undiscovered breeding pools of the (rare in Orkney) 4-spot chaser dragonfly and emerald damselfly. Time permitting we will also have a search for grasshoppers. We return to Moaness by minibus. Ferry departs Stromness at 9.30am and Moaness on return at 18.30. Contact Dick Matson on 751426 (email: r.matson42@btinternet.com). Booking essential.

Sat 20^th July BSBI Field Event

OFC members are invited to join BSBI outing to record plants for the Atlas 2020 project around Carness/Head of Work/Bay of Meil on Saturday 20 July. Contact John Crossley on 831507 (email: john.crossley@uku.co).

Sun 28^th July International Bogs Day

An exploration of the nature and beauty of an Orkney bog. Bogs look dull and brown but they are full of life! This includes insectivorous plants, brilliantly coloured mosses, insects and birds. This special outing will involve artists and naturalists giving their own insights into this ancient landscape. Come along and be inspired. The venue will the burn of Lushan (off the Hillside Road). Meet in Dounby main car-park.

Come & see the Hen Harrier chicks!

The eggs are now all hatched and proud mum is looking after 4/5 chicks (when I was last on duty at the Kirkwall Visitor Centre I did my best to count the bobbing heads but it was very difficult!) Dad provided a small bird for the family which the fluffy youngsters devoured greedily and mother had to make do with the legs! Hen Harrier chicks grow very quickly so I would advise members to go along soon to the Kirkwall Visitor Centre and take a look at the fascinating live footage.

It's not such good news from the puffincam from Sumburgh Head in Shetland I'm afraid. After watching the puffins take turns on the nest, staff at the Visitor Centre were dismayed to switch on the camera one morning to find just an empty nest! What a great pity.

Bag-packing at Tesco

I know it's a long way off yet, but here's a reminder about the RSPB Local Group bag-packing on Fri/Sat 18th/19th October. It's a fantastic opportunity to raise funds for local conservation here in Orkney. Last year's volunteers raised over £1300 and I hope to match this amount in 2013. However, to do this I need plenty of willing people to lend a hand for an hour or two on either day. My list is open now so if you feel able to help I would be grateful to hear from you. Either email me or phone 01856 741382. Many thanks in anticipation!

Local Group AGM

More advance notice - this time of our group's Annual General Meeting which will be taking place on Wednesday 13th November at the St. Magnus Centre. The AGM is usually over quite quickly and this will be followed by A Report from the Orkney Reserves which will be particularly interesting this year with the 'Enjoy Wild Orkney' project on the go.

Corncrakes

A reminder that the RSPB Cornrake Initiative Officer Amy Liptrot is keen of hear of any reports of calling corncrakes. Her contact details are:

Amy Liptrot, Project Officer - Corncrake Initiative 01856 852 029

You can also email her: Amy.Liptrot@rspb.org.uk. Please let her know the location of the corncrake (grid reference) if possible and the time and date you heard the bird.

I have no news just yet about how many birds are in Orkney although but hopefully I will hear the latest from Amy very soon.

I do have some Corncrake news however, as just last night I had a phone call to say one has been heard here in Deerness so I have passed on the news to Amy.

Shapinsay outing appreciated

On the trip to Shapinsay at the end of April we welcomed Bruce & Cathleen Wheatley all the way from Alabama in America who have since sent me the following email about their holiday in Orkney:

Hi Pauline. We enjoyed meeting you and the others. It was very nice of Julie to get hold of you and your group and to have us tag along. We saw another otter at the pier on Rousay. Finally saw some hunting arctic terns off Papa Westray, puffins up close on Westray. Very impressed with the flying abilities of fulmers on the cliffs of Noup and elsewhere. I thank you very much for the use of your binoculars. They were most useful and that was very nice of you. We are having summer weather already as it is 90 degrees and very humid with much worse to come. I can imagine the fields of wildflowers coming up soon in Orkney. Our best to all, Bruce & Cathleen.

It's great when visitors to Orkney are able to join in our local events and gain enjoyment from this.

Orkney Bird Report

Jim Williams has sent me an email about the difficulties he is encountering in producing the latest Bird Report:

The 2012 report should have been published this week.Unfortunately I’ve just been told that the company ‘sooth’ which binds the reports has ceased trading. I suspect it will be in the same situation as Ortak recently, so they may be able to restart while they find a buyer. In the meantime this is leaving us in limbo as the company has the cover page which is printed at The Orcadian.

It’s out of my control obviously, but Orcadian are in process of seeing what they can do – if the company is able to restart production then all will be well albeit delayed. If not they will look to find another binder to do the work. This could mean a delay of weeks – who knows. I’ll be in touch when I have any further information. Cheers Jim

I hope Jim is able to get things sorted out very soon, especially in view of all the work he and others put in to produce this most interesting book of Orkney bird sightings each year. This latest one is to be special, I understand, as colour is to feature, thanks to the generosity of Tim Wootton who sold some of his artwork towards the costs of production.

Good news at last for Stonechats

I was delighted to read Steve Sankey's email early in June about 3 recently-fledged Stonechats at Hobbister. Here's hoping this is just the start of a change in their fortunes and we will be seeing a lot more of this tiny bird again.

On that cheerful note I will sign off. I am looking forward to a trip into The Gloup tomorrow with Sue Whitworth and other friends then it's off on the Orkney Bus with our eventual destination being Lancashire and Yorkshire. I hope to visit the Marsh Hide in Southport to look at the Avocets and go to Fairburn Ings near Castleford where they do a great line in Tree Sparrows and a chance to spot the Kingfisher. A couple of years ago I saw two Spoonbills here so you never know.

I'll be in touch when I get back.

Best wishes Pauline W/RSPB Orkney Local Group Sec.

Enjoyable Trip into the Gloup

2013-06-13T19:07:11Z

Hi Everybody

I heard very good reports from those Orkney Local Group members and friends who were on the Gloup trips last weekend in Deerness. Every seat was spoken for, meaning 21 people were able to enjoy this unique experience with local boat operator Sidney Foubister.

The Verona entering the cave at the Deerness Brough. (Photo Pauline Wilson

The main event, of course, is going into the Gloup and, with the aid of lamps provided by Sidney, see the fantastic rock formations. A venture into the cave at the Brough is also very interesting, especially if there happens to be a seal or two in occupancy at the same time - as there was on at least one of these 3 trips. Continuing up the coast, taking in the seabird colonies on the way - bad news for kittiwakes this year with very few nests. Sidney always manages to find puffins and several were on the cliffs this year as well as guillemots and razorbills; black guillemots were in the sea. The boat rounded Mull Head within sight of the Covenanters Memorial before heading back and taking a look at the seal colony at Skaill.

Sidney Foubister sets off on the trip to the Gloup and Brough Caves on 8th June (Photo Pauline Wilson

I have had several comments from our members about the trips. I asked committee member Kathie Brown to tell me of anything worth reporting and she writes:

Just briefly, there were hardly any kittiwakes on the cliffs. I think Sidney said 20ish in one spot and then another 20 or so around the headland. We saw quite a few puffins, two bonxies with something dead in the water (probably a guillimot), quite a few razorbills and lots and lots of guillimots! Plenty of tysties on the water but not very many on the cliffs, except for one that dived off a rock in the Gloup right next to the boat and splashed me! There were about 11 seals in the water watching us towards the end.

Bernie Bell writes:

Hello Pauline

This is just to say a big 'Thank You' for organizing the
trip into the Gloup. You asked did we enjoy it? It was, simply, something else!
It was like going into another world. It was so good, in so many ways. What a
way, to spend a Saturday morning! All these little hidden parts of Orkney,
still to be discovered. It'll take some time, to actually process all our
impressions, from the morning. It was just brilliant, and thanks to yourself
and Sidney Foubister for giving us an exceptionally enjoyable, wonder-full
trip!

Sheila Dick sent the following message:

Hi Pauline
It was a super day at Auskerry as was today's trip into the Group and beyond. Thank you for organising us. Keep us posted for any other events. Sheila.

Noup Cliffs Colony Count

2013-06-13T13:23:00Z

Early June is the time to count the population of the seabirds breeding on the cliff ledges on our seabird reserves, and that is exactly what RSPB staff spent last Saturday doing at Noup Cliffs! The seabird colonies on our Noup Cliffs reserve on Westray hadn’t been counted since 2004, so it was about time for us to do another count to see how the population of nesting birds has changed in the last nine years.

So, early on Saturday morning, staff from the Stromness office took the early boat over to Westray for a full day of seabird counting! Once on Westray we split into two groups, and telescopes in hand, half of us made our way up to Noup Cliffs to get started. The cliffs are 75metres high and stretch for about 2 miles along the coast, with birds nesting all along the cliff faces, so we had a lot of counting to do! A group of five of us made our way slowly along the cliffs, counting all of the Guillemots and Razorbills, and any Kittiwake, Shag and Gannet nests that we could see, as well as noting down any Puffins that we saw along the way.

Early on in the counting, and the Guillemot counters are already behind the others!

1,2,3....1001, 1002, 1003... counting Guillemots took a long time!

This often involved getting quite close to the cliff edges so that we could see (and count!) all of the birds below, but we were very careful not to get too close with the cliffs being that high! 7 hours later, and a mad rush back to catch the ferry on time, and we were done! All seabirds visible from the top of the cliffs were counted – good effort everyone!

Getting close to the edge to count!

Meanwhile, the rest of the team made their way down to the pier to greet visitors as they arrived for the boat trip that was going to go around the base of the cliffs so that people could look at the seabirds from a new angle. The team of staff on the M.V. Golden Mariana were going to count the seabirds from the boat and take a series of photos of the cliff face from the sea as well. All previous counts of the colony have been from land, but there are several areas of cliff that can’t be seen from land, so we wanted to try and get a count from sea as well, to see how well they compare. Unfortunately, it was a bit rough out on the sea, and the count had to be abandoned part way through, but we did manage to get a full set of photos of the cliffs, so we will be able to count all of the nesting birds from these, which will give us a unique comparison between land-based and sea-based counts.

The boat as we saw it from the cliffs. It doesn’t look too rough, but there was quite a bit of swell! Scary stuff, but he’s not as close to the edge as he looks, honest!

We are still awaiting the results from counts of the photos, and until we compare our land-based counts with the figures that we get from the photos, we must consider these numbers to be minimum figures. There is always a degree of uncertainty with any counts of large seabird colonies, but our land-based counts are directly comparable to the previous counts done in 2004 and in 2000, as these were also done from land. So here are the preliminary results from our day of counting!

	2013	2004	2000
Guillemot individuals	22003	25237	37390
Razorbill individuals	614	898	1088
Kittiwake nests	2683	4698	17546
Fulmar nests	530	516	1067
Gannet nests	673	14	0
Shag nests	14	8	18

We also counted 54 Puffins and 9 Black Guillemots, but these are almost certainly under-estimates, as there could be many more birds in their burrows and therefore hidden from view. These results were pretty much what we expected them to be - we know that most of our seabird species are on the decline, with the biggest decreases seen in the numbers of Kittiwakes. A depressing state of affairs really, with only the Gannets showing a steady increase, but with the stopping of fishing discards, even these hardy birds may start to decline, which makes the work that we do here even more important. We survey the seabird populations, monitor their breeding to see how many chicks they are raising, and track individual birds to find out where they are feeding and what they are feeding their chicks. This helps us to know what’s happening with our local seabird populations and how this compares to other colonies across the UK and Europe. The next national count is set for 2015, so we will see then how our seabird populations change over the next two years.

If you would like to visit this bustling seabird city, please click HERE to find out more about our Noup Cliffs reserve.

A great day out on Auskerry

2013-06-04T14:23:00Z

Last Saturday saw the annual trip to Auskerry, organised by the Orkney RSPB Local Members' Group. The weather was perfect and it proved to be a magical day out for the 11 folk who took part with Alan Leitch, RSPB site manager, leading the group. Harvey Groat's boat, the Charlie-Ann took us from Kirkwall in about an hour and 20 minutes.

Auskerry has been inhabited by just one family since 1975. Simon Brogan, who farms North Ronaldsay sheep on the island, met us at the jetty and told us about what we could expect to see by way of birdlife as we explored the island. I should mention that it is around 85 hectares in size, roughly the size of 6 football pitches so we were going to be able to get round it easily. Apart from the Brogan's steading, the only other building on the island is the lighthouse. It was the first to be automated by the Northern Lighthouse Board but Simon has been unable to find out exactly why that was. Whilst Simon was welcoming us I watched a number of tysties (black guillemots) flying round and round the cliffs. Over the course of the day we must have seen at least 60 in flight or on the water. In flight their bright red legs and feet are very obvious.

Even before we set off round the island, the air was filled with the sounds of Arctic terns screeching away and as some of us explored the lighthouse, Alan counted around 50 on the shore nearby. A pair of House Martins and a Wheatear were also seen in the lighthouse area. As we continued at a leisurely pace with the group strung out Alan and I stopped to count a group of geese and goslings out on the water - 18 non-breeders and 5 broods of 4,3,3,2,& 5 goslings. Whilst we were doing this we noticed the rest of the group was completely oblivious to a cheeky puffin which had obviously just stepped outside its burrow. In fact there must have been over 50 puffins seen during the day, almost all on the water or flying onto the cliffs

There was a lone Red-throated diver in the water at Dinna Pow and 10 - yes, 10! - Eider nests in the flag irises by the Loch of Pow. Some of the females flew off briefly at our approach but most hunkered down and sat tight. As you can see from the photo, they were well hidden. From there is was a short stroll to Simon's house where he very kindly made us all tea and coffee - thank you Simon, it was most welcome.

The steading there and the beach outside is obviously ideal for Rock Pipits. Several must have had chicks as the adults were carrying food to and fro. We also spotted a pair of Pied Wagtails as we stood outside, enjoying the sunshine

On round Longrigging and we came across a whole raft of Shag nests in the cliffs - a minimum of 18, possibly more. Some of the shags very obligingly stood aside so we could see the eggs in the nests. You have to say that Shags clearly favour size over neatness when it comes to nests - they are great sprawling constuctions made mainly from tangles (seaweed).

Then finally round to the jetty for the boat home. As I said at the beginning, it was a magical day. The air was filled with the sounds of birds and even though the numbers weren't great, there was plenty of evidence that the breeding season is well and truly underway. Places like Auskerry are so very special and we are extremely grateful to Simon for allowing us to visit. Thanks are also due to Alan for sharing his knowledge of birds and other wildlife and to Dick Matson for organising the trip. It was my first to Auskerry but I shall make sure it is not the last.

Hen harrier filming goes live

2013-05-31T08:38:00Z

Great news! We are now showing live film from an occupied hen harrier nest. Engineer Peter Mackay, along with Alan Leitch and Brian Ribbands were out on the West Mainland hills yesterday installing the camera with it's solar powered battery. The weather was perfect - dry, calm and not too hot for tracking through the heather.

The female hen harrier is sitting on a clutch of 5 eggs and we are expecting them to hatch some time next week over a period of days. The females we have filmed in previous years have almost all managed to rear 4 chicks to fledging so I am hoping this year will be no different. Orkney has upwards of 80 breeding females, the male being polygamous which means he often has more than one mate. Orkney is therefore vitally important to the continued survival of this magnificent bird of prey, especially when you consider there was only one successful nest in England last year.

This is the 7th year we have installed a camera on a hen harrier nest with the live film showing in the Tourist Information Centre. Although there were some technical hitches in the early days, the HD camera we now use produces superb picures. I was in the VIC this morning and the film was attracting a lot of attention from passengers from the cruise liner the Carribean Princess, currently on call in Kirkwall. So, if you are passing through Kirkwall, do drop in and have a look at what is going on in the nest.

Wild Orkney: The Way I See It - the winning photographs

2013-05-23T11:21:00Z

More than 150 entries were received for the RSPB’s Orkney Local Group and Orkney Camera Club "Wild Orkney: The Way I See It” photographic competition.

The winners and the best of the rest were displayed during the Orkney Nature Festival at the Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, along with a photo-montage specially created for the exhibition by the pupils of Class One (P1-P3) at North Walls Community School. There was also an electronic display of the best entries in the entrance to Kirkwall Town Hall, and a selection of images were displayed at Appie's Tea Room & Gallery, West Mainland and at Roeberry House, St Margaret's Hope.

The competition judges were Alex Rodwell, of Orkney Camera Club; Eric Meek, formerly the RSPB's Orkney Area Manager; and Anne Bignall, Community Engagement Officer, Enjoy Wild Orkney, RSPB, and organiser of the Orkney Nature Festival.

Anne said: "I was thrilled to see so many entries and they were of such a high standard. The judges had to make some very hard choices to pick the winners."

Here are the prize-winners:

Orkney resident (adult): Alistair Holmes, of Quoybanks Crescent, Kirkwall, short-eared owl

Orkney resident (adult, runner-up): Margaret Norquoy, of Front Road, St Margaret's Hope, raven

Orkney resident (12 to 16 years): Katie Bevan, of Stenness, flower

Orkney resident (under-12): Ewan Howe, of Soulisquoy Place, Kirkwall, cormorant

Orkney visitor (adult): John Saunders, of York, fulmar

Orkney visitor (12 to 16 years): Cameron Coppola, of Edinburgh, black guillemot

And here is the montage created by the pupils of Class One at North Walls Community School:

Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition, to those who helped organise and promote it, and to those who donated prizes - Alison Moore Designs, Raymond Besant, RSPB Orkney, Stromness Books & Prints, Sutherland's Photolab and The Orcadian.

Remembering the great auk

2013-05-22T15:18:00Z

An unusual weekend on the island of Papay - home to our North Hill reserve - marked 200 years since one of the last great auks in the UK was killed there. The great auk was a large flightless bird that spent most of its life at sea and was hunted to extinction in the 19th century.

The last Papay great auk - shot at Fowl Craig in 1813 by an islander working to the order of a collector - was stuffed and is now held in the Natural History Museum at Tring. The auk is too delicate to travel but the museum provided the next best thing for the weekend: a virtual replica of the bird! People on Papay were invited to look through 3D glasses and view the beautifully filmed specimen as it slowly rotated, as if it had come home to Papay after 200 years.

Picture © The Natural History Museum, London.

The 'AAKNOWLEDGE' weekend included a walk to view the great auk's home at Fowl Craig, a dance where 'aakstinct' homebrew was served, a farmers market including local auk-themed crafts, and a dinner with speakers. Dr Jo Cooper from the Natural History Museum had made the 'pilgrimage' to Papay and gave a fascinating talk about the exploitation and demise of the great auk and the story of the Papay specimen. She explained that although the last British great auk was captured off St Kilda in 1840, the Papay specimen is the only British example of the bird still in existence.

Although there are no great auks left, Fowl Craig on the North Hill reserve is still home to seabird colonies. The auks breeding there today are guillemots, black guillemots, puffins and razorbill. Seabird numbers have declined dramatically in recent years and the sadness over the fate of the great auk made Papay residents and RSPB staff all the more determined to protect our remaining birds.

Fowl Craig photo by Lorna Dow

More Latest Happenings

2013-05-05T15:32:33Z

Hi Everybody

I know it's not long since I wasin touch but things are happening just now so here I am again.

Outing to Shapinsay

It was a small group crossing to Shapinsay on a bright but cool April 27th when we were pleased to welcome Bruce and Cathleen Wheatley, visitors from Alabama, USA who thoroughly enjoyed their day out.

Paul Hollinrake met us off the ferry and some of the group had a great start to the day by spotting a huge dog otter at the pier. It attempted to cross the road from the Lodge and enter the sea, but thought better of it and returned to the safety of the buildings when it saw people gawking at it! Typically, though, Dick Matson and I missed the spectacle!

Paul took us to the East Hill area of Shapinsay to Castle Bloody, a chambered cairn then we came back along the cliffs - a part of the island I had never visited before so it was a nice change. Just off shore were good numbers of razorbills but only a few common guillemots and about 20 puffins. But what really surprised us was the presence of 90+ tysties. Is this a record gathering for Orkney?
The Mill Dam was amazingly quiet with no gadwall or pintail, only a few pairs of shoveler and very few waders or gulls to be seen. However Lairo Water had at least 400 long-tailed ducks, 20+ bar-tailed godwits were in the Oyce and there were 2 red- throated diver and 1 black-throated diver out in Veantrow Bay.

Over 50 species were seen during the day plus a nice sighting of a common seal colony aside the shop; they weren't in the least bit worried about a couple eating ice cream just nearby!

A day on Shapinsay: Back Bruce & Cathleen Wheatley from USA; Front (l to r) Dick Matson, Paul Hollinrake, Megan Taylor. Photo by Pauline Wilson

Shapinsay: Common Seals in the bay. Photo by Pauline Wilson

Orkney Nature Festival

I hope a lot of you have perused the exciting programme of events for this exciting week of appreciation of nature in Orkney which runs from Saturday 11th until Sunday 19th May. There are plenty of outings and activities to choose from, be it trips to the isles or mainland walks. There is even a birding trip by horse-drawn carriage! A puffin cruise sounds inviting - I hope to be on this one. An invitation even more intriguing is to the RSPB Office on Friday 17th May to see Something Fishy in the Office. Apparently there's a wealth of treasure to be found so it is worth a look to see how they transform what used to be Eric Meek's office into a sandy beach complete with wilflife! Drop in any time from 11 am until 5 pm. The Festival culminates in Shapinsay on Sunday 19th May where a series of talks, walks and bus trips will be taking place before a buffet-style banquet of fine food by Balfour Castle chef Jean-Baptiste Bady. An feast not to be missed by the 'foodies' among you. For full details of what is going on go to www.orkneynaturefestival.org.

The RSPB will have a table at the St. Magnus Centre on Sunday 12th May for the Wildlife in the Isles event. There are lots of organisations there publicising an array of interesting aspects of Orkney wildlife. It is from 2 until 5 pm so I hope to see some of our local group members paying a visit.

Corncrake time again

Orkney's Corncrake Initiative Officer Amy Liptrot asks our local group members to be alert for the sound of calling corncrakes as they return from their wintering grounds. Amy has the following message for us:

Orkney's first corncrake of the year has been heard today on the RSPB's Mill Dam reserve on Shapinsay!
So it's time for me to ask people to let me know if they hear a corncrake. Please call me, Amy, at the RSPB on 852 029 to report any calling birds, and please don't assume that I've already heard about it. Last year we recorded 32 calling male corncrakes around Orkney, with 11 of those on Westray. There has been a slow but steady upward trend in the numbers of corncrake around Orkney over recent years, from an all-time low of six birds in 1993. Once we can establish that a corncrake has been in the same location for a while, we approach landowners to take part in the Corncrake Initiaive - offering payments to delay mowing or grazing and to mow grass in a "corncrake-friendly" pattern.
I look forward to hearing your reports over the next weeks.
Amy Liptrot, Project Officer - Corncrake Initiative 01856 852 029

You can also email me Amy.Liptrot@rspb.org.uk. Please let me know the location of the corncrake (grid reference) if possible and the time and date you heard the bird.

Photo Competition

Those of you who have read the Orcadian will by now know the results of 'Wild Orkney the Way I See It' - the photo competition which has been running for the past 12 months in conjunction with Orkney Camera Club. More than 150 entries were received and the winners and 'best of the rest' will be on display at the Orkney Nature Festival from May 11th to 19th at the Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, along with a photo-montage created by the pupils of Class One at North Walls Community School.

There will also be an electronic display of the best of the entries in the entrance to Kirkwall Town Hall and a selection will be displayed at Appie's Tearoom & Gallery, West Mainland and at Roeberry House, St. Margaret's Hope.

Winning photos are published in the Orcadian, but do go along and see the full display during the Nature Festival.

Graham & Kathie Brown have put in hours of work to make the competition a success, assisted by Aileen Meek. Many congratulations on a great outcome.

Book your places!

Dick Matson is organising the trip to Auskerry on June 1st (2nd in reserve) so please contact him asap if you with to go 01856 751426.

I have quite a few names for the trips into the Deerness Gloup & Caves on June 8th & 9th but there are places still available. Cost is £12 for a unique experience. Please ring me on 01856 741382 to book a place. One boat is full on the Saturday but I have started another list and two trips are planned for that day.

For other events please see my last email or the RSPB Orkney 2013 Events leaflet.

Co-op Bag-packing Friday 24th/Saturday 25th May

I have a few volunteers for this but time is getting near now so I hope more people will offer an hour on either date so raise funds for local conservation. Last year we raised £514.43 and, with your help we could do well once more. Please contact me on 01856 741382 or by email p.wilson410@btinternet.com

I hope to hear from some of you soon! Thanks.

That's all for now.

Best wishes, Pauline Wilson, RSPB Orkney Local Group Sec.

Back on Papay!

2013-05-02T11:19:00Z

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve come back for a second season as Warden for the RSPB reserves on Westray and Papa Westray, the two most northerly Orkney islands with RSPB reserves. I had an amazing time last year working as Warden on North Hill and Noup Cliffs, and I enjoyed it so much that I thought I’d come back for more! I started at the beginning of April, so I managed to experience a week of lovely calm, sunny weather before the winds and rain set in...

Despite the weather though, I have managed to get some of my survey work done, as well as keeping an eye on the migrants passing through. This month, I’ve mostly been concentrating on counting the Black Guillemots (or Tysties as they’re called up here) that nest in geos and in caves along the cliff faces, and in the spaces between boulders or underneath rocks. These surveys involve getting up very early and walking around the coastline, counting and noting down any Tysties that I see, and noting whether they are in their fine black and white breeding plumage, or if they are still in their grey winter colours. Usually, the Warden only counts the Tysties seen around the coastline of the North Hill reserve, the Holm of Papa (by boat – thanks to Tommy Rendall) and the cliffs down in the south-east of the island, but this year I’m surveying the entire coastline! Twice! This hasn’t been done since the national scale Seabird 2000 surveys, so it will be really interesting to see how my results compare to the previous ones! I have now completed both counts, with 671 being the highest number seen around the island, more than half of which were around the reserve! I’ll let you know how that compares to the Seabird 2000 results when I find out.

In addition to the Tysties, I’m also in the process of surveying breeding Curlews across the island...when the weather’s good enough for it! The UK supports an internationally important population of breeding Curlews, around 60% of which are in Scotland alone, but unfortunately, like in the rest of Europe this population is declining rapidly, as Alan mentioned in his previous post (below). Data from the Breeding Bird Survey shows that the number of breeding Curlews in the UK decreased by 42% between 1995 and 2008, and they are continuing this decline. All of this has led to Curlews being ‘upgraded’ to the Amber List for birds of conservation concern in the UK. Reasons for this decline may be predation, poor breeding success, or changes in habitat making areas less suitable for breeding. And it is because of this decline that I am surveying Curlews all across Papa Westray this year, to see how many are breeding across the island so that we can try to compare these figures to previous numbers and see how our population is changing. It’s a lot of ground to cover, and I need good weather conditions to do the surveys, so wish me luck!

As well as this, have been keeping an eye on the breeding birds and migrant birds on the island, with recent highlights of migrants below. Sandwich Terns have returned to the island once more, with the first being seen on the 15^th, and have now taken up residence opposite the kirk again. Their numbers are slowly increasing - hopefully they will be successful in raising chicks again this year! The Great Skuas (Bonxies) are back as well, with two seen on the reserve on the 12^th April, rising to 13 birds by the 20^th, getting ready to breed! Arctic Skuas have also returned to the reserve, with a beautiful pale phase bird and another dark phase bird both seen on 20^th April – I do hope they do well this year! I have also seen my first Swallow of the year, so I guess it must be summer... In addition to this, I have been getting everything set up for the coming season, including getting ready to start my guided walks again! Guided walks are on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8^th May to 31^st August, when I will take visitors along the coastline and up to the cliffs to have a look at the breeding seabirds and Scottish Primroses, as well as seeing a few seals! If you would like to book on to a tour, please call me on 01857 644240 – please note, the tours have been cancelled on some dates that clash with island events. That’s all for now, but I’ll be back with regular updates!

Recent Sightings - April

Great Northern Diver seen regularly around coastline; WHITE-BILLED DIVER – 1 seen off of the Minister’s Flag area on the southwest coast on 26^th; Pink-footed Goose – 9 on 20^th; Shelduck pair on 22^nd; Wigeon seen regularly, 42 on 9^th; Teal seen often on the lochs; Shoveler seen regularly, c.25 at Backiskaill Loch on 9^th; Pintail pair on St Tredwell’s Loch on 9^th;Tufted Duck – c.40 on St Tredwell’s Loch on 3^rd; Goldeneye – 9 on St Tredwell’s Loch on 3^rd; Long-tailed Duck – 30 around south-west coast on 9^th; Hen Harrier – 1 ringtail seen across the island; Peregrine – 1 on 5^th and again on 13^th; Merlin – one at Mull Head on 20^th and 21^st; Golden Plover – 102 highest count on 18^th; Grey Plover – 1 at North Wick on 10^th; Purple Sandpiper – 115 at North Wick on 10^th; Sanderling – 34 at North Wick on 10^th; Bar-tailed Godwit – 6 at North Wick on 5^th and 10^th; Black-tailed Godwit – 2 in summer plumage on 24^th; Woodcock – 1 on 13^th; Puffin – 5 seen on the sea below Fowl Craig on 14^th; Woodpigeon – 1 on reserve on 20^th; Collared Dove seen by islanders on 21^st; Swallow first seen on 20^th, 4 on 26^th; Robin – 1 on 2^nd and 1 on 24^th; Wheatear – first seen on 18^th, 28 around reserve on 20^th; Blackbird – 20 on 17^th is the highest count; Ring Ouzel seen by islanders on 21^st; Song Thrush – 1 on 11^th, 2 on reserve on 14^th till 16^th; Redwing – 7 on 14^th and many seen across island until 24^th; Fieldfare – 3 on 16^th, 1 on 17^th; Chiffchaff – 1 on 20^th and 21^st; Raven – pair with 3 chicks at Fowl Craig; Chaffinch – 1 in Rose Cottage garden from 16^th till 20^th; Snow Bunting – 20 at North Wick on 31^st March and 1 on reserve on 12^th.

Orca – 3 seen close to Westray from the morning plane on 13^th April. Otter scats and prints found in the snow on 8^th April.

Bubbling Curlew & Boxing Brown Hares at the RSPB Brodgar Reserve

2013-04-28T18:55:00Z

The magical Ring of Brodgar is a special place at any time of year, the RSPB reserve surrounds this historical site. During April and May the site really springs alive with the territorial displays of male Curlew, and the female Brown Hares 'boxing' unwanted attention from amorous males. During a dawn breeding bird survey last week I was fortunate enough to record a minimum of 10 displaying male /pairs of Curlew and an impressive 12 Brown Hares (8 in one group) on our Brodgar reserve.

A bit mad . . . 'April/May' Brown Hares can be seen commonly all over Orkney at the moment with morning & evenings being an especially good time for watching these facinating mammals.
Brown hares are famous for their boxing matches which draw a lot of attention to them. Hares face each other in the middle of open fields, sometimes with an audience gathered round, and spar with each other, rearing up on their large hind legs and scrabbling at each other with their paws.

It was once thought that these strange dances were fights between males (jacks), perhaps to impress nearby ladies or warn off rivals. Instead, it seems it's actually female hares (jills) that are doing the boxing, using their paws to fend off over-enthusiastic males.

Hares shelter/rest in a shallow depression on the ground called a 'form'. The Brown Hare is larger than the Rabbit, with longer legs and longer ears with black tips. A baby hare is called a leveret. They live for about 4 years in the wild and can run at an impressive 30 miles per hour.

During, this late Orkney spring, you cannot have failed to notice the 'bubbling' cries of male Curlews as they rise from the ground and then glide around their territory before decending again. These aerial displays are to guard a territory from other males and to impress the nearby ladies. For me and many others it is one of the main sights & sound of an Orkney spring. They breed when they are two years old and on average live for between 5-10 years. The oldest known Curlew (from ringing data) was over 32 years old - wow! Males are slightly smaller than females, which is only really obvious when they are together.

Curlew are a species under threat in the UK and indeed in Ireland huge declines have been witnessed with an estimated population of 5000prs in the 1980's, now thought to be a few hundred! This population collapse strikes a chord with me as it is a similar figure that was quoted for the Orkney population around the same time. Orkney has not suffered the same level of decline but, there are fewer Curlew present today, hard to believe if you take a walk anywhere on the islands at the moment. Long term RSPB data sets suggest as much as a 30-40% decline have occured on our reserves.

The supporting cast on my mornings walk comprised of; Lapwing (7prs), Redshank (3prs), Oystercatcher (14prs), Snipe (3 displaying males), Skylark (5 singing males) and a silent hunter in the form of a Short-eared Owl. The pools opposite the Historic Scotland car park were alive also with; Wigeon (192), Teal (85), Gadwall (13), Shoveler (3), Shelduck (2prs) and a rarity amongst our regular ducks in the form of an American Wigeon. All in all a very nice morning out watching wildlife.

RSPB have a guided walk around Brodgar on the 8th May - Give the office a call to join staff on a pleasant stroll around the site. Tel (01856) 850176.

Latest Happenings 22nd April 2013

2013-04-23T10:56:20Z

Hi Everybody

Not a good start to the year for RSPB Orkney Local Group due to the poor weather; the Harrier Sky Dancing unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the high winds - certainly not 'dancing' weather for these birds.

Let's hope we have more luck with this Saturday's outing to Shapinsay on April 27th. There are still places available but please ring Julie by Wednesday teatime if you wish to book as, once again, the weather will have to be taken into consideration.

The ferry leaves Kirkwall at 9.45 am and departs Shapinsay at 3.15 or 4.45pm. We will see waterfowl in their breeding plumage at the RSPB Mill Dam Reserve, also visit the Ouse and Lairo Water. Please bring a picnic. Cost: Ferry fare plus a share of transport cost of vehicle to the island. Contact Julie Rickards on 01856 861328.

Trip to Auskerry - Saturday 1st June (Sunday 2nd June reserve)

Dick Matson has booked the boat for the outing to Auskerry - a popular destination if previous years are anything to go by. This lovely island hosts a tern colony and other breeding seabirds will be seen also some interesting migrants could be making a stop-over (I remember a red-backed shrike being reported on a previous trip). It's time to book now so Dick can make the arrangements so phone Dick Matson on 01856 751426.

Saturday/Sunday 8th/9th June - Into the Deerness Gloup by boat

Names are now coming in for this excursion into the Gloup and caves of Deerness with their spectacular rock formations. Nesting seabirds - including the kittiwake colony - will be on view and Sydney is certain to steer by puffins and the local seals. Two years ago a basking shark accompanied the boat for part of the journey so you never know what will pop up! Departs from Skaill, Deerness at approx. 10 am/10.30 am. Cost £12 per person. Contact Pauline Wilson on 01856 741382.

Sunday 16th June - Trip to Eday

After viewing the red-throated divers on Mill Loch, walk around the stunning Red Head with the Eday Ranger. Fulmars nest on the cliffs of the Red Head while a variety of seabirds can be seen feeding in the water near the Calf of Eday. Peregrines sometimes nest on the clifs. Thrift, spring squill and sea campion all flourish on the exposed cliffs. Cost: ferry fare plus £7 minibus on Eday also early evening meal if required. Please bring a picnic for earlier. Please note: The walk is 5 miles and includes some rough terrain. The ferry leaves Kirkwall at 9.00 am, arriving Eday at 10.15am. It leaves Eday at 5.50pm, arriving in Kirkwall 7.05 pm. Contact Pauline Wilson on 01856 741382.

Wex Event

Sunday 28^th April – Nesting Birds Safari

Come for a walk in a hidden wood and discover which birds are making their homes in the trees. Enquiries phone Jane 841212 or Kate 851835.

Time 2-4 pm. Meet St. Olaf’s Wood, South Ronaldsay.

Helpers are being sought to lend a hand with WEX events (see my last 'LH') - if you are able to help out then please contact either Jane or Kate at the numbers above.

Orkney Mainland Hide Sessions

The Loons Hide

Join us at this wetland reserve which can host a variety of wildfowl and waders. Meet: The Loons Hide off the B-class road betweenTwatt and Marwick (HY247243).

Dates: April 29; May 6, 27; June 10, 24; July 8, 22; August 5, 19.

Burgar Hill Hide

The star of the show here is the breeding red-throated diver but a variety of other wildfowl, waders and an occasional skua or raptor can be expected also.

Meet: Burgar Hill Hide off the A966, north of Evie. Follow the signposts to hide which overlooks Lowrie's Water, Birsay (HY345257).

Dates: May 20; June 3, 17; July 1, 15, 29; August 12, 26

Orkney Mainland Guided Walks

Marwick's Seabird City

Come see, hear and smell the seabird spectacle at this magnificent reserve.Time 10 am. Meet Marwick Bay Car Park (HY230242).

Dates (all Wednesdays): May 1, 22; June 12; July 3, 24.

Hobbister Coastal Walk

Come for a walk through this moorland reserve and along the Scapa Flow coastline. Time 9.30 am. Meet Hobbister Car Park off the A964 (HY395069)

Dates (all Wednesdays): April 24; June 5, 26; July 17.

Brodgar

Learn about Orkney's birds and wildlife on a pleasant, easy guided walk on the RSPB reserve surrounding the Ring of Brodgar.

Time 10 am, duration up to 2 hours. Meet Ring of Brodgar Car Park (HY295135).

Dates (all Wednesdays) May 8, 29; June 19; July 10.

Archeology & Birds at Brodgar - two-in-one.

Guided walk around the Ring of Brodgar led jointly by Historic Scotland Rangers and RSPB staff. Learn about the history as well as the birds and wildlife.

Time 10 am. Duration 1 hour. Meet Ring of Brodgar Car Park (HY295135). Free event.

Walks take place on Thursdays from May 2 to July 4.

Wild Hoy Walks

Dates (All Tuesdays) May 7, 21, 28; June 4, 11, 18, 25.

RSPB PapaWestray Guided Walks

Wednesdays & Saturdays from May 8 to August 31.

(There will be a few dates in this period when there is no walk - please check).

Time 1.30 to 3.30 pm. Meet: Rose Cottage. Cost: free. For info and bookings contact the warden Sarah West: 01857 644240. Donations welcome.

Orkney Nature Festival

Another reminder about this nine-day celebration of Orkney's wildlife taking place from 11th until 19th May. To see what events are taking place visit the website at www.orkneynaturefestival.org or call the RSPB office on 01856 850176.

Bag-Packing at the Kirkwall Co-op

Once again I am appealing for volunteers to lend a hand on either Friday 24th or Saturday 25th May when our Local Group will be raising money for vital conservation work here in Orkney. It's quite a fun event - and the customers don't bite I promise!

Last year we raised £514.43 so I hope we will be up to the challenge again this year.

If you are able to spare an hour on either day please email me or phone 01856 741382. Just a month to go so I would welcome offers of an hour or so on either date. Many thanks!

Photos from Ian

I am attaching two pics from Ian (1) at Scapa Pier a Great Northern Diver which clearly thought that Loganair should make less noise when it flies past! (2) a first winter Eider.

Photo of Great Northern Diver by Ian Cunningham

Phofo of First winter Eider by Ian Cunningham

Bag the Bruck

The final photo is of the hardy few who turned up for Bag the Bruck at Waulkmill last Saturday. We had Reserves Manager Andy Knight, Wardens Alan Leitch, Lorna Dow and Katy Norbury, Arun Leitch, yours truly plus a young lady who turned up later in the morning to lend a hand. The photo shows (left to right) Andy, Lorna, Alan, Katy, Arun - and Andy's dog 'Brewster' looking on. It was a big effort but Waulkmill Beach is now spick and span once more.

Dick Matson reports a good turnout at Marwick for the OFC Bag the Bruck.

Bagging the Bruck (l to r): Andy Knight, Lorna Dow, Alan Leitch, Katy Norbury, Arun Leitch - while Andy's dog 'Brewster' looks on!

photo by Pauline Wilson.

Bonny Birds

A lot of super birds have been reported on the Orkbird site - even a magpie in Shapinsay!

Here at Sunnybank we haven't been left out for, in addition to the stunning Hawfinch, we have had our usual flock of Greenfinches, 6 Chaffinches, a female Brambling, a beautiful Goldfinch (which arrived the day after I had consigned the old teasel plants to the rubbish heap) and today two lovely Siskins - one a male which made a colourful contrast against the peanut feeder he was so keen to dominate!

I think that's about it for now. Please send any items for inclusion in my next email and please lose no time in booking for the outings.

Best wishes

Pauline W/RSPB Local Group Sec.

Pairing up - in spite of the weather

2013-04-22T15:52:00Z

The weather may have been atrocious this morning for the Hide Session at The Loons Hide but it didn't stop the serious business of getting the next generation of birds underway. At times the rain was lashing in through the open windows but everywhere I looked, I could see birds in pairs. A pair of mute swans proved a good indicator of when the next wave of rain was coming across, making a bee-line for the shelter of the tall reeds. At one point, as the rain eased off, a pair of shovelers came cautiously out from behind some reeds. No sooner had they reached the other side of the stretch of water when a second pair emerged from the same spot. Other birds clearly in pairs were pied wagtails, tufted ducks, mallards and wigeon. Most striking of all was a pair of teal looking just like an illustration from a bird guide.

I spotted a little grebe displaying with, apparently, not another little grebe in sight. However little grebes are great divers and another may well have been underwater. Later on there I did see two together - one on a floating patch of vegetation, possibly trying it out for size as a nest site, and the other swimming round it. Little grebes are also known as dabchicks but the Orkney name is little footyarse (this is normally written as two words but the RSPB web site won't allow me to show the last four letters as a separate word). The German name for them, zwergtaucher, translates as "dwarf diver".

Picture : Little Grebe adult at nest with chicks by Mike Richards (rspb-images.com) - a taste of things to come?

There will be two more Hide sessions at The Loons - 29 April and 6 May - before we take a break to allow for the Orkney Nature Festival - www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/ORKNEYNATUREFESTIVAL/ . On 20 May we have the first Hide Session at the Burgar Hill Hide and after that the Monday sessions alternate between The Loons and Burgar Hill. For up to date info, contact the office on 01856 850176 or orkney@rspb.org.uk . Or check out the RSPB Orkney Facebook page.

As for me, I'm looking forward to seeing the results of all this activity in the shape of lots of chicks of many different shapes, sizes and colours.

32 Bird Species in 3 Hours

2013-04-16T19:49:20Z

I had another very pleasant Monday morning at The Loons Hide this week. It was a bit cold at some points but the sun eventually came out and everything began to warm up. Just to tempt you into either coming along to a session or visiting at another time during the week: This is what you missed....

Drake Shoveler 13.04.13, Ian Cunningham

32 bird species in 3 hours (plus the brown hares!)

Mute Swans
Coot
Teal
Mallard
Wigeon
Tufted Duck
Curlew
Lapwing
Oystercatcher
Herring Gull
Black headed Gull
Common Gull
Greylag Goose
Reed Bunting
Water Rail
Redshank
Pintail
Snipe
Starling
Shoveler
Great Skua
Hooded Crow
Moorhen
Fulmar
Raven
Meadow Pipit
Blackbird
Golden Plover
Peregrine
Pheasant
Pink - footed Goose
Twite

Water Rail 13/04/13, Ian Cunningham

The Great Skua was my second of the day - the first I've seen this year so far.

The Joys of Spring

2013-03-25T20:29:33Z

It was the first Hide Session of the year at The Loons today and the morning wasn't promising with heavy snow showers and most of the birds hunkering down out of the wind. I wasn't too optimistic about how many would drop in to the session (you wouldn't believe the numbers of layers of clothing I put on in preparation!) but the morning past quickly with 6 people enjoying what the hide had to offer this morning.

The snowy weather didn't seem to put off the teal who were the stars of the show this morning pottering around on the banks, braking off from foraging to do a spot of courtship from time to time. The sunshine soon arrived though and the first of visitors timed it nicely to see the drake teal in all their finery right in front of the hide. A female hen harrier drifted past, half heartedly going after a snipe she flushed but she didn't hang around for long.

The pair of mute swans were back for a short time - checking out the nest site for this year - but one had a less than elegant landing, mis-timing it slightly and semi crashed landed into the reed bed! There was the usual complement of curlew and lapwing, an odd redshank or snipe about but the most activity was from the coot. The two pairs having a bit of a territorial dispute with a lot of noise and posturing going on. There were also an usually large number to moorhen visible today, with at least 5 present.

The geese are still around too, with the ever present greylag geese but also around 50 plus pink-footed geese in the field to the right of the hide. A small group of 11 Greenland white-fronts were very close to the road nearby.

The next hide session will be at The Loons again, on the Monday 8th of April, as ever just drop by any time between 9.30 and 12.30 to have a guide to what's about. The sessions this year will always be on a Monday. Our first guided walk will be at Hobbister at 9.30am on Wednesday 3rd April (next week). Keep an eye out on the RSPB web pages or Outdoor Orkney website for more information. You can also call the Orkney Office for more information on 01856 850176. If you haven't found the RSPB Orkney Facebook page - have a look and it'll keep you up to date with what's on as well.

All Set for 2013 Season

2013-03-22T19:40:19Z

Hi Everybody

The RSPB Orkney Events Calendar for 2013 is now published. Those with email will be receiving their copies tomorrow while the paper copies should land on doormats tomorrow also. Watch out for this arriving - hope you all enjoy the lovely hen harrier photo which adorns the front.

The programme covers hide sessions, guided walks - both on the mainland and the isles, a reminder about the Nature Festival in May and details of a new project for RSPB Orkney, ie Family Days which will be taking place on Sundays from the end of June to the end of August. This should solve the problem of where to take the children at weekends! Of course, our local group programme is also featured and I hope members will find something of interest there. Bookings are open from this weekend so ring the listed contact to book a place.

Events start this very Sunday 24th March with the WEX outing: Finding Orkney's Big 5 which is highlighted in the email I sent out earlier this week and which appears on the back page of the events calendar arriving tomorrow.

This coming Monday 25th March sees the start of the Bird Hide sessions. Members are invited to the Loons Hide which is off the B-class road between Twatt and Marwick. There may be the chance of singing sedge warbler, reed bunting and perhaps the scream from a water rail! Hunting hen harriers and short-eared owls are also a possibility. Drop in anytime from 9.30 am until 12.30 pm when an RSPB member of staff will be on hand to explain what you are watching and answer questions. Regular hide sessions at The Loons and Burgar Hill will continue on Mondays until August.

Our Local Group outings begin on April 7th with the Durkadale Picnic and continue until September with the ever-popular migrants trips to the north isles.

Once again our Local Group is Bag-Packing at the Kirkwall Co-op on Friday & Saturday 24th/25th May when I hope plenty of our members will volunteer to lend a hand for an hour on either date.

After our successfull fund-raising Bag-Pack at the Tesco Stores last October, I am pleased to report that we have once again been given permission for 2013. This will be on Friday & Saturday 18th/19th October.

These events are a great opportunity to raise funds for conservation here in Orkney and I hope our members and staff will rise to the challenge once more.

Just one other event to point out, ie, our Local Group Spring Meeting is on Friday 12th April when we will be joining members of the Orkney Field Club for an illustrated talk entitled "Orkney's Wild Geese". RSPB warden Alan Leitch will describe the county's population of wild geese and explain his ringing project. It will be at the St. Magnus Centre, Kirkwall starting at 7.30 pm. RSPB members £1. Non- members very welcome at an entry of £2. Full details in the events calendar.

Photo Competition

Just one week to go - please enter NOW before it's too late (see previous emails and Orkney Blog for full details). www.rspb.org.uk/community/placestovisit/orkney/default.aspx

Attached are two photos from Ian, namely a Golden Plover and a Grey Plover so we can see the difference between the two species. Ian writes as follows:

Hi Pauline, This time its a tale of two plovers. The golden variety we see quite regularly in Orkney often in large flocks in autumn and spring. The grey plover is much rarer here and usually you find just a solitary bird or two during the winter. The golden plover photo was taken last autumn and the grey plover I found at Skaill beach earlier this week. It was almost the only bird on the North section of the beach so I was pretty lucky to find it. Cheers, Ian

Golden Plover photo by Ian Cunningham

Grey Plover photo by Ian Cunningham

(Interestingly, I saw what I believe was this very same Grey Plover at Skaill Beach during the bird race).

I had an interesting email from member Sue Casely a couple of weeks ago:

Hi Pauline, Many thanks for your news as always. Just like to add that I heard a skylark yesterday on the moor road above Ireland Road Stenness. Also the blackbird has returned to our garden singing his heart out in a song that is completely different from Edinburgh blackbirds - is it an Orkney dialect? Chris and I have often wondered about this as blackbirds seem to have so many variations to their songs. We had one in Edinburgh who sang the first few notes of the Indiana Jones theme - none of the others did. Best wishes Sue

Do any of our 'experts' know if there is an Orkney dialect for blackbirds? Sue and I would be interested to know.

I also had an email from member Kate Flockhart who writes:

Hi Pauline, Just to let you Know that a Gyr falcon was seen in a field in Longhope on Thursday around 2pm . At the time I wasn't sure what falcon it was until I saw the Orcadian, Then checked on the internet it was the same. Kate Flockhart

I saw the photo of the Gyr Falcon in the Orcadian and must say that it looked very impressive and what a great sight for Kate on Hoy.

Best wishes

Pauline W/RSPB Local Group Sec