Easterly winds are sending unusual seabirds onto Caithness headlands
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Bird migration has already begun for waders moving south from their Arctic breeding grounds.
This year seems to have been particularly good for sanderling and knot, with quite a few juveniles in the flocks indicating a better breeding season than in recent years.
Last year the largest flock of knot was eight at Sandside, whereas this year they are on most beaches with a high count of 69 in Dunnet Bay alone. Curlew sandpipers were seen in Dunnet Bay and on Keiss beach with the large dunlin flocks.
Ospreys have also starting to migrate south, with one in Dunnet Bay on the 2nd being particularly obliging, catching a fish before taking it inland to eat. A juvenile white-tailed eagle was seen at Broubster on the 22nd.
A pied flycatcher at Noss Head on the 11th was also the first sign of songbirds heading back south.
The recent strong easterly winds have forced more typically pelagic seabirds to shelter in the protected firths and coastal bays. Species of shearwaters, skua and gulls are often forced into parts of the Moray Firth and, once calmer, filter out up the coast as they head back into the Atlantic.
The easterly winds keep the seabirds close to shore, making headlands such as Noss Head and Duncansby particularly good for looking for more unusual seabirds.
On the 25th a blue morph fulmar flew past Noss Head. The ‘blue’ fulmars are a colour morph that are more typically found in parts of Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen. They generally look like the local breeding fulmars but with blueish grey on the head and underparts that would be whiteish on a local bird.
Along with the Arctic and great skuas heading back to Africa for the winter, a juvenile pomarine skua was seen off Ham on the 18th and a long-tailed skua flew past Noss Head on the 26th. Plenty of Manx and sooty shearwaters have also been pushed close to the coast.
A juvenile little gull was in Dunnet Bay on the 23rd. This is a very dainty gull species, smaller than a black-headed gull, which delicately surface-dips the sea surface for small fish or aquatic invertebrates.
There have been numerous sightings of cetacean in the calmer seas. A basking shark off Brough on the 21st was a highlight to the lucky observers.
Risso’s dolphins have been roaming the coast with at least 30 in one pod off Holborn on the17th, but sighted at many coastal sites.
Minke whale and porpoise have also been easier to see without the crashing waves.
There seems to be particularly high numbers of small tortoiseshell butterflies recently in the county, mirrored by other parts of the UK.
The next Caithness Bird Group is on Tuesday, September 1, at 7.30pm with a talk entitled Puffins at the Outer limits – from St Kilda to Lofoten by Kenny Taylor. The meeting will be held virtually, and all are welcome.
n Originally from Conwy in North Wales, Rob Hughes has been into wildlife, particularly birds, since he was about eight years old. Now living in Castletown, Rob can often be found birding around Dunnet and the surrounding area. Feel free to say hello and share your sightings with him. To report earlier bird arrival dates or scarce/unusual sightings, feel free to email Rob at xema_sabini@hotmail.co.uk
