Hugh’s News – 10 July 2024

Shenagh visited North Ronaldsay on a birding holiday recently. It is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago. After a flight on very small plane and waiting for fog to lift, she eventually landed safely! She stayed at North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory, an excellent base for seeing birds. Here the ONLY sounds were of birds – Lapwing, Curlew and Snipe drumming in turn. And this amazing Long-eared Owl was caught in one of the mist nets. Just look at those piercing orange eyes!

A couple more photos from Ellie. She found a Great Spotted Woodpecker nest hole and caught this juvenile peering out. The red on the top of the head shows its age – on an adult male, the red is on the nape, and a female has no red at all on the head. The young can be very noisy at this stage, as they beg for food from their parents.

She also saw a Kingfisher with a fish supper. I never tire of seeing these jewels!

Finally, I noticed that the drake Mallards on Roodee Mere at Royden Park have already started to moult into their eclipse plumage. We don’t seem to have had a summer at all, but these birds think that autumn is just around the corner!

Photos courtesy of Shenagh, Ellie and Hugh

Hugh