Return of migrants puts a spring in your step
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Wildlife Sightings by Rob Hughes
Spring is fast approaching with song thrush, skylark, robin and blackbird already singing, whilst geese and waders are heading north.
Tawny owls have been a lot more vocal at night recently too. Pied wagtails have also been more noticeable and grey wagtails are starting to arrive back on the rivers.
The first wheatear, sand martin, house martins and white wagtails have arrived back into the UK, so it will not be long until they are back in Caithness.
Osprey is another typically early migrant to look out for, usually picked out when they are being mobbed by gulls or corvids.
It also will not be long until the puffins return. Razorbill and guillemot numbers are building on the sea near their colonies. Lesser black-backed gulls have been seen along the coast, having been completely absent in the county during the winter.
Flocks of black-headed and common gulls are passing overhead, possible migrating through to Scandinavia – look out for them passing over high in sometimes quite large flocks.
Groups of curlew and oystercatcher are a lot more vocal as they migrate north. Slightly more subtle was a ringed plover that flew over our house in Castletown at 2am, recorded on the sound recording equipment. The equipment is also recording lots of pink-footed and greylag geese overhead.
The occasional white-tailed eagle has been seen in February with the last flying south over Thurso on the 28th. A red kite has been lingering in Strath Halladale and occasionally crosses over the border into Caithness. There will perhaps be a few more migrating north as spring progresses.
Despite the recent warmer conditions, the scarcer birds being reported remind us that it is not fully spring yet. There is a black redstart hopping around the rocks and on buildings in the harbour area of Wick. They breed in some English cities with a few breeding on cliffs and power stations along the southern coast.
However, in winter, the occasional individual, most likely continental European birds, winter along the Scottish coastline. The Wick bird is in first winter plumage with its browner (non-black) plumage, about the size of a robin, having a red tail that spreads out whilst it chases flies from the rocks.
A waxwing in Thurso on the 25th was a nice surprise with only a handful in Scotland recently. It is possibly still around, keep an eye out on berry bushes.
A pair of snow bunting have been quite regularly seen near Midsands, Dunnet Bay, but there is likely to be more along the coast. Iceland gulls are still at large with a high count of nine seen between Scrabster and Thurso. The adult glaucous gull is still in Dunnet Bay, usually around the southern car park.
To report any sighting’s feel free to email me: xema_sabini@hotmail.co.uk
