With the wind from the northwest I seawatched from Lamba Ness for an hour but it proved quiet with just 10 Guillemots and 2 Razorbills seen among the many Fulmars and Gannets all flying north. Willie & Hazel kindly told us that there were 7 Whooper Swans present on Haroldswick pool first thing this morning and we couldn't help but wonder if they were those seen on North Ronaldsay yesterday? We then completed the monthly WeBS counts. In doing so we also saw 3 Woodpigeons, 2 Meadow Pipits, a Pied Wagtail and the Chiffchaff at Norwick and a Fieldfare at Burrafirth. With the weather improving throughout the day I decided to walk up Clibberswick late in the afternoon from where a Bonxie was seen flying high over Haroldswick heading towards Hermaness.
Black-headed Gull at Norwick
there's some beautifully pink-suffused adults around at the moment
Bonxie over Haroldswick heading towards Hermaness
Whilst I saw one from Lamba Ness on the 8th January this year my earliest dates the last two years were the 5th April and the 10th April. It's amazing what detail digital cameras capture - even the 'landscape' image is cropped!
Norwick from Clibberswick
