Birdwatch UK October 2017

http://www.birdguides.com/birdwatch Birdwatch•October 2017 27

WHERE TO WATCH BIRDS

VISITOR INFORMATIONVISITOR INFORMATION

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© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2017 ORDNANCE SURVEY. MEDIA 059/17

❯ Sites and access

All sites mentioned are completely open to the public and free to

access, but please be sensitive to locals when birding around

gardens. Car parking charges may apply. The Sanday bus only

operates up to 27 September, so you will need a car to complete

this itinerary. Although some birding can be done from the roadside,

much of this route requires walking on unimproved paths.

❯ Maps

• Ordnance Survey Explorer 465 and Landranger 5.


• See bit.ly/bw304Sanday for an annotated Google map which can
  be viewed in a smartphone or tablet browser.
  ❯ Web resources


• http://www.loganair.co.uk and http://www.orkneyferries.co.uk for travel to
  Sanday.


• http://www.orkney.com and http://www.visitorkney.com for general
  information on the islands.


• Follow on Twitter: @BirdGuides.

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JIM ALMOND (WWW.SHROPSHIREBIRDER.CO.UK)

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Shrike, Common Rosefi nch and

Yellow-browed Warbler among

the commoner migrants.

Further along the road, scan

the loch for Whooper Swan,

various geese, large numbers of

Northern Pintail and a decent

chance of American Wigeon. The

north and south ends of the loch

can be productive for waders,

and look out for bathing Great

Skuas, too. On the other side of

the road, the  elds often have

large European Golden Plover

 ocks, with multiple American

Golden Plovers and Buff-

breasted Sandpipers in recent

years. Pectoral Sandpiper is a

possibility here, while Snow and

Lapland Buntings are regular.

You could  ll a day’s birding

at the east end, but Sanday has

plenty more to offer. Head back

towards Lady , and park in

the village, which regularly holds

migrants and has attracted Rustic

Bunting and Arctic Warbler. The

 elds to the south-west, around

Overbister (HY 692402) , are

excellent for golden plover  ocks

and any attendant rarities.

While in this area, it could

be worth

checking

Cata Sand (on a rising tide from

HY 703413 or HY 693407) or

exploring the network of pools

and lagoons around Northhill (HY

700422). Both options will offer

a good selection of waders, with

the row of cottages at Northhill

being good for migrants, too

• most notably, a Swainson’s
  Thrush in October 2015.
  If time is on your side, and
  you’re feeling like a walk, a trip to
  Tresness could be rewarding.
  Park at HY 703413 and follow
  the edge of the tidal  ats
  towards the headland. Beyond
  the house, there are  elds, walls,
  weedy mounds and pools that
  all attract good birds, recently
  including Bluethroat, Richard’s
  Pipit, Red-backed Shrike, waders
  and wildfowl. This is also a
  particularly good area for Twite.
  By now you will be running
  out of time and will need to
  think about returning to the
  ferry terminal. However, make
  sure you’ve left enough time to
  check the little wooded garden
  at Stove (HY 608355). This
  great little site delivered Arctic
  Warbler in 2016.
  There are many other options
  for  nding rarities on the
  island, and away from the sites
  mentioned, recent autumns on
  Sanday have produced Laughing
  Gull, Brown Shrike, Blyth’s Reed
  Warbler and a probable Long-
  billed Dowitcher, with good
  numbers of scarcities. The whole
  island has bags of potential and
  will reward exploration. You can
  be reasonably sure you’ll have
  most of it to yourself, too. ■

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READS

Where to Watch

Birds in Britain

by Simon Harrap

and Nigel Redman

(second edition,

Christopher Helm,

£19.99) – order for

£18.99 on page 61.

Where and why

Situated just south of North

Ronaldsay, Sanday offers intrepid

birders an opportunity to work

an underwatched area with huge

potential for migrants and rarities,

with the bonus of excellent

all-round birding as back-up if

migrants are thin on the ground.

Route planner

Sanday can be accessed from

Kirkwall by air or sea; the ferry

option is best as it allows you to

take a car over to this big island.

On arrival, drive to the east end

of the island and follow signs for

Start Point.

Park at the car park (HY

769439) and explore towards the

point and around any accessible

ditches, walls and ruined

buildings for migrants. Red-

breasted Flycatcher, Bluethroat

and Little Bunting have occurred

here in recent Octobers. The

‘hut’ (HY 777436) offers a good

seawatching vantage point, and

Sooty Shearwater is regular.

You can make the crossing

to and from Start Island on foot

roughly 90 minutes either side

of high tide, and there is more

excellent migrant hunting on

the island. However, please only

cross over if you are certain you

will be able to make it back in

time. You won’t be the  rst birder

to get stranded there!

From here, return northwards

towards North Loch. The

houses and gardens on its

eastern side are often very

productive, and have hosted

Greenish, Icterine and Blyth’s

Reed Warblers and Little

Bunting, as well as Red-backed

SANDAY

(^3) By Mark Lewis
Where
to watch
birds
The large fl ocks of European Golden Plover may hold something rarer,
such as the Nearctic Buff-breasted Sandpiper.
1710 p26-28 WTWB sites FIN.indd 27 15/09/2017 14:26:49