23rd - 25th March
The past few days have been a very mixed bag weather-wise, with strong winds and heavy showers slowly making way for what was a very nice day on 25th. 23rd was a slow birding day, with census cut short because of the rain and wind. The highlight was a good movement of Fulmar past the sea watch hide, with 775 being recorded in 1hr 30mins. Otherwise, a Reed Bunting was the only other bird of note. The weather on the 24th at least allowed us to complete a full census which produced our first Rook of the year when two flew south over Waterhouse. However, it was a quiet day on the whole with two Stonechat at Ancum House providing the only other excitement. 25th was a much nicer day and coverage of the island was up. In 2hrs 30mins of sea watching our first Puffins of the year were recorded as well as a massive 2581 Fulmar passing north. Two other year ticks came in the form of a Carrion Crow that flew west over Scottigar, and a Linnet in with a Twite flock at Haskie. One rather smart male S