Birds' movements in and out of Caithness affected by barrage of storms
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Wildlife Sightings by Rob Hughes
Storms Malik and Corrie strongly influenced the bird sightings in January. Strong winds with any northerly or north-westerly direction bring little auk close to shore during the winter.
On the 4th (off the back of Storm Barra), an exceptionally high minimum count of 100 little auks were in Dunnet Bay with scatterings of birds along other parts of the coast. The majority of them will have come from breeding colonies on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between north Norway and the North Pole.
The same conditions also brought a couple of grey phalarope into Dunnet Bay. Grey phalaropes are a small wading bird that breed inland in Iceland and Scandinavia but spend their winters in the Southern Ocean. During the breeding season they spin around in tight circles creating a vortex in the water, disturbing small invertebrates and crustaceans to eat.
In the stormy bays, the strong waves and tide create the vortices for them. Infrequently, a number of dead seabirds have been washing up on the beaches, including puffins, which is unusual for this time of year, as they should be out in their wintering areas away from the coast. If you do see a dead puffin on your beach walk, please let me know, and it would be great to have any photographs to help age them.
These same storms kept the glossy ibis in Reay and the great white egret at Loch Watten in the country. The colder weather around the 21st brought in the first waxwing of the year in Wick. On the 23rd, as predicted in last month's column, a ring-necked duck from North America was found on Loch Watten during a Wetlands Bird Survey (WeBS).
Hen harriers have been more prominent recently, perhaps pushed down from Orkney.
A juvenile Kumlien’s gull was in Scrabster harbour on the 23rd. Kumlien’s gulls are a subspecies of the much more common winter visitor, the Iceland Gull. Kumlien’s gulls breed in the Arctic region of Canada and, as with the little auk and grey phalaropes, arrived during the strong winds.
The Kumlien’s gull was in good company with at least six Iceland and a glaucous gull around the harbour area. They often follow the fishing boats into the harbour looking for scraps. The harbour also offers a bit of shelter from the elements.
In recent days there have been reports of more finches appearing in gardens, mostly at bird feeders. With the colder weather the lack of natural food may force them to take advantage of these feeders.
Goldfinches and siskins are being reported more frequently in Caithness whilst further south in the Highlands large flocks of brambling have been seen. The mixed finch flock at Dunnet Bay has also been impressive over the last two months with approximately 400 finches, mostly twite and linnets. Snow buntings have been keeping close company with the flock too with 13 the highest count reported.
To report any sightings, email Rob at: xema_sabini@hotmail.co.uk
