Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
As our four previous autumn trips had demonstrated, Sanday has the potential to deliver good birds in any conditions, and across a wide spectrum of passerines, waders, wildfowl, gulls, etc. No doubt inspired by a grey, wintery day in the office, a few of the regular Sanday team decided that it would be worth a look in spring, and with the last week of May in our favoured accommodation not an option, we decided that we’d give it a go in the first week of June. We didn’t get any catharus thrushes, but we didn’t do too badly for spring migrants. The birding was set to a background of largely good weather, the beautiful Sanday scenery and friendly islanders, and a plethora of breeding waders, seabirds and wildfowl.
Saturday May 30th
After assembling in Aberdeen, and a quick jaunt up to the Ythan to have a glance at the distant king eider, we boarded the ferry that would get us in to Kirkwall at about 11 in the evening. From the boat we had the usual seabirds – great and arctic skuas, manx shearwaters, and plenty of auks and terns. The journey was neatly bookended by cetaceans, with the impossible to miss bottlenose dolphins in Aberdeen Harbour, and a minke whale as we approached Orkney in the fading evening light. The sunset over the islands was pretty spectacular too…
Saturday May 30th
After assembling in Aberdeen, and a quick jaunt up to the Ythan to have a glance at the distant king eider, we boarded the ferry that would get us in to Kirkwall at about 11 in the evening. From the boat we had the usual seabirds – great and arctic skuas, manx shearwaters, and plenty of auks and terns. The journey was neatly bookended by cetaceans, with the impossible to miss bottlenose dolphins in Aberdeen Harbour, and a minke whale as we approached Orkney in the fading evening light. The sunset over the islands was pretty spectacular too…