Food sampling of our Puffins Fair Isle Bird Obs this year shows quantity over quality, with birds bringing in very small prey items, consisting mostly of small Sandeel and Rockling, but with over 90 fish in this single feed!

Arctic Tern chicks little and large Fair Isle Bird Obs - in a generally poor year for many of our seabirds here, it’s great to see the terns doing well thus far

Purple Sandpipers have begun passing through Fair Isle Bird Obs again on their journey south, with many adults still in summer plumage, an unfamiliar sight for most of us in the UK

Some slightly different Puffin images from recent days Fair Isle Bird Obs - it's hard to resist such photogenic subjects!

Dunlin chicks Fair Isle Bird Obs today 😍 an irregular breeder on the isle with this being the 8th recorded attempt

Storm Petrel season is upon us again Fair Isle Bird Obs - always great to get reacquainted with these brilliant little seabirds. Norwegian and Portuguese controls in our first two ringing sessions have got us off to a good start!

First full day of a short break in the Outer Hebrides today, with great views of the iconic Great Yellow Bumblebee amongst the machair - what an amazing habitat!

Some spectacular moths that I don't usually get to see Fair Isle Bird Obs trapped in the last couple of nights on North Uist - Gold Spot, Pebble Prominent, Garden Tiger and Brimstone

An unexpected bonus before the ferry home this afternoon, as the Alpine Swift at Loch an Tiumpan stayed long enough for us to catch up with it. Incredible views as it buzzed around our heads!

News of Fair Isle Bird Obs's second ever Common Kingfisher came just as my travel back to the isle was delayed by the weather... Happily though, two days later and it remains in the Haven, catching sandeels and zipping between sea caves, allowing great views this afternoon.

Not what you expect to find at the end of a Heligoland trap - this young Puffin Fair Isle Bird Obs had obviously taken a wrong turn when fledging the night before! Safely collected and released onto the sea at dusk for another attempt. Best of luck little guy 🤞🤞

This lovely Green Sandpiper was a nice surprise catch Fair Isle Bird Obs - beautiful things to see up close, with an oily green sheen across the upperparts that field views never reveal

A brilliant wader session Fair Isle Bird Obs last night, with 6 Sanderling, 6 Dunlin, 3 Turnstone, 7 Knot, 4 Ringed Plover and 6 Redshank ringed. A trio of retrap Storm Petrels and a Black-headed Gull added some further variety

It's now two years since #HPAI caused significant mortality in the Gannets Fair Isle Bird Obs, but reminders are clear in the colonies, with lots of dark-eyed individuals present. Fortunately, the birds have bounced back, and breeding numbers in 2024 are at their highest ever!

Two pairs of Raven breed Fair Isle Bird Obs - this one was in a playful mood today, following me for a chunk of my census and chatting away, giving a huge range of croaking, squealing and chuntering vocalisations. Few birds come close to these for character and personality

Citrine Wagtail hanging on in the SW breeze Fair Isle Bird Obs today - a lovely vocal individual and our second of the autumn. Present today alongside two Barred Warblers and a scattering of common migrants. With SE winds coming up, hopes are high for the next few days...

Still two Barred Warblers present Fair Isle Bird Obs today, this one showing unusually well, albeit briefly, at Vailas Trees. Always a treat to see these brutes crashing through the bushes!

Greenish Warbler showing beautifully Fair Isle Bird Obs today, finding lots to eat amongst the Angelica and thistles

Nightjar flypast Fair Isle Bird Obs yesterday evening. A record-breaking year of occurrence for this species here, with this being the fourth individual of the year

A couple of pals hanging out Fair Isle Bird Obs... Nightjar relocated by Luke Marriner at Vailas Trees today, which it shared with a Barred Warbler, Red-backed Shrike and a few common migrants including this rather curious Willow Warbler