Mega!!! 21st September 2023

[Hawkeye]

Western Isles / Outer Hebrides bird sightings for today, 21st September 2023. Updated throughout the day.

Hirta, St. Kilda
A ***Buff-bellied Pipit*** was seen this morning. A , 6 Snow Bunting, 5 Barnacle Geese, a Purple Sandpiper, Redwing, Jack Snipe, Brambling, Ruff, Whinchat, Pale-bellied Brent Goose (still), Lapland Bunting, 30 Pinkfeet, Whitethroat, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Goldcrest, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and a Knot were also on the island

Loch Stiapabhat, Isle of Lewis
10 Whooper Swans and a Black-tailed Godwit were there today

Tiumpan Head, Isle of Lewis
64 Sooty Shearwaters and a Pomarine Skua flew past late morning.

North Ford
246 Pink-footed Geese were seen on North off Carinish this evening

Stinky Bay, Benbecula
The ***Semipalmated Sandpiper***, Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint were seen there again early evening

Griminish, Benbecula
A Redstart was seen there today

Drimsdale, South Uist
104 Black-tailed Godwits were on the machair there this morning

Stoneybridge, South Uist
The Grey Phalarope was still present this morning

Eoligarry, Barra
Two ***Red-eyed Vireos*** were present this morning, i'm sure Bruce will post an update later

Nask, Barra
Certainly the day for North American birds with a ****Tennessee Warbler**** being found by Bruce late morning!


Buff-bellied Pipit (C) St Kilda Rangers

 

[MisterT]

Sadly, a male Snow Bunting at Orasay and a Ruff at Boisdale are the most interesting things I've turned up in South Uist today

 

[Bruce]

Barra
It's been a remarkable day! It started with a short seawatch off Cleat at first light. A couple of Sooty Shearwaters and 3 Arctic Terns passed in the 15 minutes we gave it before heading off to check bushes. For 2 hours we got completely soaked and didn't see a single migrant. By mid-morning we arrived at Eoligarry church as the rain stopped. Peering over the wall behind the church I came face to face with a Red-eyed Vireo. As I tried to get a photo Kathy found a second bird in the same clump of sycamores. We eventually moved on to check other sites, arriving at Nask a couple of hours later where we promptly found a Tennessee Warbler in the rough grassland on the lower side of the road near the first cattle grid. This bird was still present this afternoon though elusive. As if this wasn't enough, we found a Kingfisher by the football pitch in Castlebay this afternoon, only the third Barra record.

Both Red-eyed Vireos and the Tennessee Warbler.

 

[YvonneB]

Barra
It's been a remarkable day! It started with a short seawatch off Cleat at first light. A couple of Sooty Shearwaters and 3 Arctic Terns passed in the 15 minutes we gave it before heading off to check bushes. For 2 hours we got completely soaked and didn't see a single migrant. By mid-morning we arrived at Eoligarry church as the rain stopped. Peering over the wall behind the church I came face to face with a Red-eyed Vireo. As I tried to get a photo Kathy found a second bird in the same clump of sycamores. We eventually moved on to check other sites, arriving at Nask a couple of hours later where we promptly found a Tennessee Warbler in the rough grassland on the lower side of the road near the first cattle grid. This bird was still present this afternoon though elusive. As if this wasn't enough, we found a Kingfisher by the football pitch in Castlebay this afternoon, only the third Barra record.
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Both Red-eyed Vireos and the Tennessee Warbler.

An amazing day Bruce and Kathy!

 

[Craig.Nisbet]

Nice one Bruce!! Wondering whether the Kilda Tennessee headed south? Totally plausible another one's turned up given the number of other Nearctic passerines dotted about. Wales got their fair share today, I'm sure there's more in store though!

 

[Bruce]

Nice one Bruce!! Wondering whether the Kilda Tennessee headed south? Totally plausible another one's turned up given the number of other Nearctic passerines dotted about. Wales got their fair share today, I'm sure there's more in store though!

Thanks Craig. Hard to be 100% certain of course, but the Barra bird appears to be a brighter individual than the St Kilda bird. Given that we found 2 Red-eyed Vireos just beforehand, my gut feeling is that it's a different bird. We still can't find any Buff-bellied Pipits here, so any tips would be gratefully received!

 

[Craig.Nisbet]

You'll need to ask Will, Bruce. They're only annual because he keeps finding them!
Yeah, agree that it looks a brighter bird on Barra. We were also seeing an interesting fleck above the bill and darker lores than in the one we saw. Great finds today! Here's to a few more in the coming days