Birdlife
Every year large numbers of migrant birds pass through North Ronaldsay, mostly from the end of March through to November. This guide briefly goes through each month in turn, detailing the best times to see particular species.
Black-headed Gulls return in February. Sandwich Terns and large numbers of Oystercatchers in March. Passerines also begin moving in March with species like Meadow Pipit, thrushes, some finches, the occasional Black Redstart, and returning breeding birds like Pied Wagtail, Linnet and maybe Wheatear before the end of the month.
Depending on the weather, large falls of migrants can occur in April and May. Usual April migrants include Arctic Tern (at the end of the month), Sparrowhawk, Long-eared Owl, Sand Martin, Swallow, Wheatear, chats like Dunnock, Robin, Redstart, Whinchat, the first warblers - Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler - and corvids. The wintering Whooper Swans usually depart around 20th April. Other April birds regularly include White-billed Diver, Marsh Harrier, Snowy Owl, Great Grey Shrike and Hawfinch.
May is often the best spring month for good numbers of species. There is a good wader passage with numbers of Ringed Plover, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Curlew and Turnstone passing through. It is a good time to see the odd Dotterel, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Green, Wood and Common Sandpipers and Red-necked Phalarope. Both Woodpigeon and Collared Dove are migrants on North Ronaldsay and May is also a good time for Turtle Dove and Cuckoo. Pipits, wagtails, chats, warblers and flycatchers all migrate in May. Some of the regularly occurring scarcer species include Osprey, Wryneck, Bluethroat, Reed, Icterine and Wood Warblers, Red-backed Shrike and Common Rosefinch.
Towards the end of May and beginning of June is a good time for rarities with notable ones in recent years being Red-necked Stint, Red-throated Pipit, Collared Flycatcher, White-throated Sparrow, Rustic and Pine Bunting. June is a common time for Crossbill and perhaps the odd Long-tailed Skua. As passerines finish their spring migration, waders are beginning to return, with Golden Plover appearing after an absence of a month or so. Seabirds begin to move with small numbers of Manx Shearwaters and petrels, and often large numbers of Kittiwakes moving down the coast, in fields or on Seal Skerry. July is generally a quiet month though more waders begin to return - Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin and Whimbrel; a good time for Little Gull and the occasional rarity like Black-headed Bunting and Pacific Golden Plover.
During July and August large numbers of Storm Petrels and a few leach's can be tape-lured at night and both August and September can be good for seawatching as birds pass from the North Sea round the north end of the island into the Atlantic Ocean. Fulmars and auks often appear in large numbers, with smaller numbers of Sooty and Manx Shearwaters and occasionally a Cory's, Great or Mediterranean Shearwater, Pomarine or Long-tailed Skua.
August is a good month for waders again with large numbers of Golden Plover and others on passage: Ringed Plover, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Turnstone; and smaller numbers of Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, godwits, Greenshank and Common Sandpiper. Arctic Tern numbers build up just before they all leave later in the month. Passerine migration gets going again about the second week of August with the first warblers appearing and then species like Meadow Pipit and Wheatear in the second half of the month. A good time of year for birds like Cuckoo, Swift, Wryneck, Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Barred and Wood Warbler and Common Rosefinch.
September is good for all migrant families from raptors to near-passerines, more chats, small numbers of thrushes, a wide variety of warblers and flycatchers, and finches towards the end of the month. Regular scarce species in September include Short-toed Lark, Bluethroat, Reed, Icterine and Yellow-browed Warblers, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Rosefinch, Lapland, Ortolan and Little Bunting.
October can also be good for seabird passage and sometimes wildfowl. This is the month for large movements of thrushes, Robin and Blackcap and finches, along with a few Sparrowhawk, Jack Snipe, Woodcock and Long-eared Owl. Scarce migrants like Great Spotted Woodpecker, Richard's Pipit and Great Grey Shrike are likely and wintering species such as Whooper Swan and Snow Bunting return. Towards the end of the month and into November is a good time for Little Auk, Waxwing, Redpoll and Northern Bullfinch.
From November through to March there are mainly wintering birds only, but Iceland and Glaucous Gulls are frequently seen and the first Shelduck usually reappear in December. Rarities can turn up in any month of course, though May and June, September and October are very good months for vagrants. Regular (annually or every 2-3 years) rarities include Red-footed Falcon, American and Pacific Golden Plover, Great Snipe, Snowy Owl, Olive-backed and Red-throated Pipit, Thrush Nightingale, Blyth's Reed and Arctic Warbler, Rose-coloured Starling, Arctic Redpoll and various buntings.