Swarovski AT Balance 65mm spotting scope mounted on a Gitzo tripod head.

🫣 Look what’s just winged its way to Westray! Hoping this is going to be a game changer for my windy #WestrayBirding. I’ll be sure to give you a full low down on what I think in due course for the #BirdingGear feed.

Passive. That was the word that wouldn’t come to mind earlier when I saw Amy’s post. Birdwatching is passive. Conjures up images of sat in a hide waiting for something. Birding is active. The whole time I’m out #WestrayBirding I’m searching for, chasing down, birds. (trying not to use the H word!)

A calling Tystie (Black Guillemot), Westray, Orkney Isles, 9 April 2026

This Tystie came and sang (ok, squeaked) on the clifftop next to me whilst I was waiting for a Minke Whale to reappear. #WestrayBirding

Male Wheatear, Westray, Orkney Isles, 9 April 2026

Pied Wagtail, Westray, Orkney Isles, 9 April 2026

Redwing roosting up amongst the solar array at the lighthouse, Westray, Orkney Isles, 9 April 2026

Redwing in a stone dyke, Westray, Orkney Isles, 9 April 2026

Another day of migrants. My first Wheatears. Lots more Pied Wags and first White Wag. And Redwings. There’s something very Orkney watching birds work its way along a stone dyke - even the common somehow feel rarer! #WestrayBirding

From yday, a rather distant Iceland Gull bathing in the loch below the house. A Black-tailed Godwit dropped in briefly whilst I was watching. Which was nice (any Fast Show fans out there?). #WestrayBirding

Female Stonechat, Westray, Orkney Isles, 8 April 2026

Chiffchaff, Westray, Orkney Isles, 8 April 2026

Golden Plover, Westray, Orkney Isles, 8 April 2026

Bonxie (Great Skua), Westray, Orkney Isles, from 6 April 2026

Wind turned SE and dropped to make today the most pleasant day of early spring to date. And plenty of migrants including an Chiffchaff in the garden, Stonechat up the Noup and lots of hirundines with Swallows, Sand Martins and a couple of House Martins all arriving during the day. #WestrayBirding

Sandwich Tern in flight, Westray, Orkney Isles, 26 March 2026.

Lesser Black-backed Gull in flight, Westray, Orkney Isles, 26 March 2026.

Herring Gull, Westray, Orkney Isles, 26 March 2026.

Merlin eating a Starling, Westray, Orkney Isles, 26 March 2026.

A few more snaps from yday’s fine #WestrayBirding weather - today’s been back to driving winds and squalls of hail and rain so it’s been cracking on with Orkney BirdReport 2025.

A pair of Sandwich Terns (stood on a large rock at low tide), Westray, Orkney Isles, 26 Mar 2026.

We had calm between storms here today so I spent every second out #WestrayBirding! Things were very slow after days of northerlies but then a few highs with a fly-by by the long-staying 3CY Med Gull whilst I watching this pair of loved-up Sandwich Terns. Throw in a Merlin and some Whooper Swans.

Female Snow Bunting on a piece of concrete, Westray, Orkney Isles, 20 March 2026

Male Pied Wagtail on a stone on the ground, Westray, Orkney Isles, 20 March 2026

Male Stonechat on a stone dyke (wall), Westray, Orkney Isles, 20 March 2026

Two Linnets on a barbed wire fence, Westray, Orkney Isles, 20 March 2026

A lovely bright day. The wind turned with a little south in it overnight and produced a smattering of new migrants for me to enjoy today. Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Snow Buntings, Stonechat and the first real wave of Linnets, more Pied Wagtails and a few Meadow Pipits. #WestrayBirding

Our return to Westray meant some time for #birding on Orkney Mainland so it would’ve been rude not to go and look for the Jack Snipe at The Loons. And sure enough, there it was bobbing away right in front of the hide 🙂 Only ever seen them when flushed when #WestrayBirding so this was a real treat.

Blue Tit on fencepost, Loch Garten, 15 March 2026.

Great Tit in a pine tree, Loch Garten, 15 March 2026.

Coal Tit on trunk of a pine tree, Loch Garten, 15 March 2026.

Treecreeper creeping up the trunk of a Silver Birch tree, Loch Garten, 15 March 2026.

An eye watering day with a costly car service and an emergency dental appointment 😖. As I laid in the dentist’s chair I cast my kind back to an enjoyable day yday around Loch Garten enjoying common birds I don’t see in #WestrayBirding

View of the edge of the planted scrub area at south end of Westray, Orkney Isles, 10 March 2026

A table and bench being used by a Sparrowhawk as its workshop with lots of plucked feathers. Westray, Orkney Isles, 10 March 2026

Remains of a Sparrowhawk-killed Robin on a wooden table. Westray, Orkney Isles, 10 March 2026

The mandible of a Common Snipe (killed by a Sparrowhawk) on a wooden bench. Westray, Orkney Isles, 10 March 2026

At the south end of the isle is a 15yo planted scrub area of c. 5 acres. It’s a favourite of visiting Sparrowhawks and I regularly find kills. The current resident female has taken to using this table as its workshop with remains of a recently despatched Robin and Snipe mandible. #WestrayBirding

Noup lighthouse, Westray, Orkney Isles, 8 March 2026

Coming up to five years here in Westray and I still have to pinch myself that we live here and that the west-facing Noup headland, just up along the road from our house, is part of my core #WestrayBirding patch.

Part of the sea cliffs at Noup, Westray, Orkney Isles, 8 March 2026

A beautiful, sunny if a little cool day and an overdue check on the sea cliffs saw a few (by Westray numbers) Guillemots and Gannets back on the ledges. More Pied Wagtails and a significant increase in wader and Shelduck numbers plus the usual Merlin and Sparrowhawk. #WestrayBirding

My first Pied Wagtail of spring, a male stood on a wrack of seaweed, here on Westray, Orkney Isles, 4 March 2026.

Spring is turning its head here at 59°N with today’s temp touching 11°C and new in this Pied Wagtail, six Meadow Pipits and three Stonechats, all summer breeding migrants to Westray. Spring proper tho, with returning migrants from Africa, still some way off. #WestrayBirding

Month two down and Feb delivered some expected #WestrayBirding year ticks and a few I might struggle to get in the second winter period including Mistle Thrush (aye, usually only get one or two a year here), (Euro) White-front (didn’t get last year) and Taiga Bean geese, and #patchgold Stock Dove.

It's been a couple of proper dreich days #WestrayBirding. No torrential downpours but constant, fine curtains of drenching rain that has you constantly wiping your glasses and optics 😩 And was my perseverance rewarded? Nah. Just an early returning Woodpigeon about it. Meh.

Stock Dove in flight showing the upper wing and rump against a blue sky. Westray, Orkney Isles, 23 February 2026

Stock Dove in flight showing the underside and underwing against a blue sky. Westray, Orkney Isles, 23 February 2026

#WestrayBirding #PatchGold (no, not the blue sky) - only the third #Westray record of Stock Dove 🙂 which coincides with birds on Orkney Mainland and at @northronbirdobs.bsky.social in recent weeks (I know it’s not the latter bird cos that one got done by a Hen Harrier). #PWC2026

Mistle Thrush on barbed wire fence, Westray, Orkney Isles, 18 February 2026.

At the harrier roost last night I had what I thought was a Mistle Thrush distantly coming in near dusk to roost. And today I find one a couple of miles south of there. Only nine records in five years so good to get one in early for #PWC2026 in case the rest of the year is blank. #WestrayBirding

A view along the coast from Ness east towards Rapness, Westray, Orkney Isles, 17 February 2026

Here comes the light! Mid Feb and now still out #WestrayBirding beyond 1700h here at 59°N! Nowt of note today but heading for the Hen Harrier roost on this first calm, light evening for some time.

Two European White-fronted Geese, Westray, Orkney Isles, 15 February 2026

I spent the day searching the isle for geese and with some reward. As well as these two Euro White-fronts, a single Taiga Bean and 17 Pinks in the multitude of Greylag flocks around the isle. #WestrayBirding

A summary graphic for my year adding my bird records to BirdTrack. The graphic details the number of records (7,386), complete lists (305) and bird species (180). It also lists my top birds (Franklin's Gull, Radde's Warbler and Golden Oriole - all isle ticks), my most visited places (Loch of Swartmill, Loch of Burness and Loch Saintear - all Westray, Orkney Isles) and a map of Britain and Ireland with my sites visited plotted (mostly Orkney and a few in mainland Scotland). Graphic by birdtrack.net.

The summary of my 2025 BirdTrack year dropped. Joining part way thru the year I uploaded earlier records for my first full year on @birdtrack.bsky.social. As you see, I don't leave Westray much 😅 Top birds seen by fewest other birders? They were seen by no other birders! Why I ❤️ #WestrayBirding 😉

Another respite from the wind and rain and bingo! An adult Euro White-front. Joined the flock of Greylags which has hosted six Pink-feet so something about this flock or the east side of isle location? Also an early LBBG.

Not happy with Emulsio app update with its new watermark 😕 #WestrayBirding

My first full days #WestrayBirding in a fortnight! Gales relented at last and out I went. Covered the isle searching for geese in the hope of some of these Russian White-fronts (two on North Ron rosy) but managed only a decent flock of Barnacles and six Pinks. Jack Snipe was a Brucey bonus 🙂

A snow covered window, Westray, Orkney Isles, 3 February 2026

Being kept indoors when the weather is shite is one thing, but then not being able to see out the window is another 😩 Not so #WestrayBirding.

Screengrab of my BirdTrack app stats for my January 2026 Westray Birding. It shows 90 species seen. 75 places visited around the isle. 305 submissions. 64 complete lists. A graph compares January 2026 activity to January 2025.

I only took to the @birdtrack.bsky.social app mid last year and the more I use it the more I get out of it. The stats function is great and as can be seen by the graph here, 2026 effort is much reduced cf to 2025 cos we've had utterly shite weather for a month! #WestrayBirding #PWC2026

An apparent Great Black-backed Gull x Herring Gull hybrid (stood behind a Herring Gull), Westray, Orkney Isles, 26 January 2026

More gull watching today and I came across this apparent Great Black-backed Gull x Herring Gull hybrid. A real brute! #WestrayBirding

Fieldfare on an overhead wire. Westray, Orkney Isles, 25 January 2026

Fulmar caught mid-arc, Westray, Orkney Isles, 25 January 2026

A fly-by Herring Gull, Westray, Orkney Isles, 25 January 2026

A fly-by Common Gull, Westray, Orkney Isles, 25 January 2026

So good to be out in the sun today! Wind dropped a tad and between the showers I managed to check all the lochs and many of the bays. Focus was on gulls with lots of commoner species around and a single adult Iceland Gull on the loch below the house. A few Fieldfares were new in. #WestrayBirding

The aurora borealis showing as curtains of bright green below bright red across the northern skies above our house (lights in bottom in foreground) in Westray, Orkney Isles, 19 January 2026.

A fabulously fine weather day here and most of it spent #WestrayBirding with an adult Iceland Gull the best I could muster. But this evening’s aurora is something else! The Viking gods have set the northern skies ablaze in their anger at the mad orange one across the Atlantic. #StandWithGreenland

A 3CY (2nd Winter) Mediterranean Gull in flight, Westray, Orkney Isles, 18 January 2026

I probably shouldn't be too surprised to pick up this Mediterranean Gull this morning as it's likely the same bird that I first found here last September. And which was then seen by @papaybirder.bsky.social across the sound on Papay in October and at the beginning of this month. #WestrayBirding