• When here in the Outer Hebrides and looking at a bird, have you ever wondered how rare it is? The status of all species can vary enormously from island to island. How rare is Shoveler on Barra, has Stock Dove been seen on Harris, does Dotterel occur on Benbecula in the autumn, and how common is Blue Tit on North Uist? Well, fret no longer! The Status and Distribution of birds here on the Outer Hebrides has been completely updated and summarised for every species and each of the main islands and outliers. Available as an online resource at https://status.outerhebrides-birdreports.org/ or via our shop

    New - now available as an ebook

Hawkeye

Eyes and Ears Everywhere
Western Isles / Outer Hebrides bird sightings for today, 8th September 2020. Updated throughout the day

Butt of Lewis
10 Sooty Shearwaters, 7 Manx Shearwaters, 3 Great Skuas and a Great Northern Diver were seen between 0640-0740.

Knockaird, Isle of Lewis
A juvenile Dotterel was on the hills to the north of the township this morning. Two Lapland Buntings and two Greenland Wheatears were on the on cliff tops

Loch Ordais, Isle of Lewis
A juv ***Semipalmated Sandpiper*** there this afternoon.

Loch na Reivil, North Uist
The Pectoral Sandpiper was there again this morning.

Vallay, Strand, Nort Uist
16 Pale-bellied Brent Geese were there late morning

Traigh Iar, North Uist
11 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and nine Whimbrel were there this morning

Stoneybridge, South Uist
Six Black-tailed Godwits were on the beach this morning

Ardivachar, South Uist
Two *Buff-breasted Sandpipers* and a Lapland Bunting were on the machair to the south east Ardivachar point

Rubha Ardvule, South Uist
A*Buff-breasted Sandpiper* was seen in the south bay early this morning

Balgarva, South Uist
A *Buff-breasted Sandpiper* was on the saltmarsh and four Curlew Sandpipers and 15 Pale-bellied Brent Geese were nearby on South Ford

Eoligarry, Barra
Five ***Blue-winged Teal*** were there briefly before flying north [see @Bruce post below]
This is the largest group to be seen in Britain beating the previous high count of three seen together on South Uist in 2009.

Rubha Ardvule, South Uist
Counting period: 06:45-11:05
Weather: Wind SW-SSW f4. 8/8 cloud. Dull. Temp 14C

A 4+ hour seawatch this morning produced 241 Pale-bellied brent Geese (S), 1 Eider (N), 4 Red-throated Divers (3S 1N), 4 Great Northern Divers (S), 8 Storm Petrels (S), 15 Fulmars (11S 4N), 2 Sooty Shearwaters (S), 23 Manx Shearwatres (S), 121 Gannets (117S 4N), 11 Shag (N), 15 Kittiwakes (S) and 5 Razorbills (S).
Also present in the area were Greylag Goose 17, Eider 7, Fulmar 1, Hen Harrier 1, *Buff-breasted Sandpiper* [reported above], Guillemot 1, Peregrine 1, Raven 5
 

Bruce

Senior Member
Barra.
A visiting birder mentioned in passing that there were 5 Shoveler at Eoligarry this morning. As we've never seen a Shoveler on Barra, Kathy and I made our way to the site pronto with Ian joining us soon after. The birds were quickly located asleep in a wet field but were easily spooked and made a couple of short flights. The penny then dropped that they were actually Blue-winged Teal. As we were watching them a Pectoral Sandpiper flew in calling before settling among the Lapwing. A loud banger went off nearby causing everything to flush. The flock of BWT headed off northwards. Neither the Teal nor the Pec Sand had returned by late afternoon, but nearby there were 2 Lapland Buntings over the dunes and 4 Black-tailed Godwits on the beach.

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