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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I think Tuesday on coast between Spurn and East Anglia probably more likely than Shetland, just a slight deflection instead of a right angle turn! Good luck on Shetland 🤞

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026

Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Flight across on Wednesday found on Thursday when the wind subsides! 😉 Now will it be Gorie, Bressay or Lerwick?…

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Don’t worry, it happens a lot here with birders mistaking them for Ptarmigan. Effect especially noticeable when there’s snow on the ground and they are effectively being lit up from below!

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Not a Red Grouse?, they have white underwings…

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Neil Donaghy @neild1962.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This wholly unexpected Red-eyed Vireo was trapped and ringed at Kenfig Pool this morning and is the seocnd record for Glamorgan and the reserve recording area. I had the shock of my life when I saw it staring back at me from the net. Seen by 20+ observers upon release #birdingWales #UKbirding

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

You’ve got enough good seawatching in Cork without including half the Atlantic! 😉😂 Well if they get a biggy that will be him and Cahow Keogh wanting the IRBC list area extended!

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I didn’t realise that, so records outwith the 12 mile limit but within the EEZ don’t count towards the Irish list?. Does this mean I haven’t got Madeiran Petrel on my Ireland and France list from last years trip?! I thought I finally had one on McCloskey 😂

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Nige Jarman @nigej.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Some footage of just a fraction of the 20000+ House Martins moving down channel #Bockhill this morning.

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Good luck!, 🤞just remember not to eat too much at dinner tonight! 😂 Hope you slip into Irish waters again accidentally for the Irish contingent’s sake!

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Gary Allport @birdsandlife.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Steppe Whimbrel - remember this? The tracking data now part of an amazing collaborative study of all tracks of whimbrels globally, put together by Camilo Carniero just published in Ibis. Still a big data gap in Southern and Eastern Africa onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Migratory routes of tracked whimbrels with the breeding (triangles pointing downwards), wintering (triangles pointing upwards) and stopover sites (spring: circles; autumn: diamonds). Stopover symbol sizes represent duration in days. Each subspecies is represented by a distinct colour, with undetermined by grey symbols and dashed tracks. The coloured polygons at high northern latitudes illustrate the longitudinal ranges considered to assign subspecies with exception of N. p. alboaxillaris (see Table 2; note that presumed overlapping subspecies N. p. phaeopus– rogachevae and N. p. rogachevae– variegatus are not labelled). Repeated individual tracks are shown but not included in statistical analysis. The map is presented in an equal area projection, which retains the relative size of areas.

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

What a stunning graphic that is!

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Yep if it was easy we would have given up a long time ago! 😂

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Fantastic Graham, thanks for that!, didn’t even think that mine would be displaying to the Ringed Plovers and not the Ruff elsewhere on site.

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Yes I couldn’t see any mention of females doing that, there was a Ruff here also but I didn’t think it was nearby when the bird was wing-flashing. What a privilege to see that behaviour this side of the pond!

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I was amazed to see the Buff-breasted Sandpiper yesterday doing it's wing flashing display to some bemused Ringed Plovers! #highlandbirds 🪶

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liamfleming.bsky.social @liamfleming.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Delighted to see Ireland’s 2nd Blackburnian Warbler on Dursey Island, Cork today. Amazing find by Paul & Noel. #irishrarebirds

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Short video of the Morrich Mòr Buff-breasted Sandpiper from today in beautiful sunny, calm conditions. A world away from yesterdays perfect storm and monster tides! The tenth Highland record... #highlandbirds 🪶

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Are the Bridges of Ross not in Monaghan?

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Do you mean the bulge at the base?, think it's just deformed slightly, other side fine

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

that's a stunning illustration!!

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ourpower.bsky.social @ourpower.scot · 09/09/2026

“We have a once in a generation opportunity to establish a national fund for the future...and ensure that the financial benefits of big offshore wind stay within Scotland.” bit.ly/4yrSwta

thenational.scot

Campaigners call for Scandi-style wealth fund from ScotWind money

THE Scottish Government must move swiftly to set up a ScotWind wealth fund using the millions brought in from offshore wind farm leases, campaigners...

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Had a nice little influx of Sabine's Gull into Highland waters last couple of days, this juvenile was still hanging on this morning and gave a brief flyby through the largely unimpressed gull roost at Embo! #highlandbirds

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The @aba.org missed a real trick during the recent renaming of species not to change from Common Loon to Swivel-eyed Loon! #highlandbirds

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Stunned to come across this full summer plumage Great Northern Diver a couple of metres off Embo Pier this morning! #highlandbirds 🪶

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

even more, but it will happen sooner rather than later. If the wind hadn’t stayed west it would have been a very different result with this fire!

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

That’s the big issue, we need a dedicated separate unit of helicopters that aren’t commercial so there are no potential commercial conflicts during a fire. We have been lucky so far with the Dava and Ryvoan fires that there weren’t any other wildfires going on at the same time to stretch resources

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Reviewing Golden Eagle records in Highland and came across this stunning individual photographed by Wesley Rich, never seen the like of it!. Look at the white flecking through the underwing and upper breast! 🪶 #ornithology macaulaylibrary.org/asset/655166...

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Colin Davies @coldav1.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Pacific diver ad win still Caolas beag, Big Sand, Gairloch, loosely associating with 17 summer plumage black-throated. Note, there is also an ad win black-throated with them for added confusion but also good comparison. #BirdingScotland #UKrarebirds

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Glad you got photos of the vent strap Colin so we don’t have to rely on my written description of seeing it in flight! 😂 Would it be ok to add that photo to Zsombor’s submission?

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Peter Santema @petersantema.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

New #ornithology paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org! We show that female dotterels can move across large distances within a single breeding season in search of mating opportunities, visiting up to five different sites (median: 3) and travelling up to 1000 km between sites (median: 71 km). 1/n

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

A Minke Whale in Gairloch bay, always amazes me how close they come into shore!, taken from Hebridean Whale Cruises boat

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

They certainly aren’t!, but would be an unusual location and time for one

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

In terms of the quality of the sound that is a good match, really scratchy, no musical quality, length of call similar. The sonogram doesn’t match up as well as Crane though, also it was middle of the day

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Maybe one with some vocal issues!

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

quickly it was moving and the angles. But other than gulls and terns there wasn’t anything in the sky at all. Did wonder whether it could be a Caspian Tern or a weird Med Gull call but nothing seems to fit. The sonogram as Alan shows is pretty much bang on for Crane it just didn’t sound like one! 😂

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Thanks Jonathan!, that’s an awesome sound!!. I wondered if there was anything between those peeping juv calls and the proper adult trumpet, can’t find anything on Xeno that fits. It’s a bit confusing to say the least, it was a Bluesky day, call felt like it was about 100m above me based on how

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Sugar and alcohol, all the staples!

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Thought it might be a good day to upload a video of Band-rumped Storm Petrels from the Challenger 4 expedition to the Dangaard and Explorer Canyons last year. The flight style is just incredible, more shearwater than storm petrel #ornithology 🪶 macaulaylibrary.org/asset/664007...

macaulaylibrary.org

Making sure you're not a bot!

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I had 9 Black-throats, four of which were close to the Pacific and then 7 Red-throats

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Well done Colin!, same spot it has been previous?

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Thanks Alan, the structure of the call is very similar but the quality of the sound was different to my ear. It wasn't musical in anyway, no harmonics, it was slightly higher pitched and v croaky. Can fledged juveniles sound like that?

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Anybody able to ID this call made from Dornoch Point, two calls one at 2-3 seconds and another at 8 seconds. It was flying high and steady not seen as I was looking into sun, it was a series of calls all exactly the same as that maybe 10 in a row #birdingScotland

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Peter Stronach @macstronach.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Hi Colin, you can only park at the Caravan site so walk down to the burn mouth and scan from there. If no sign just walk west along the shore and scan as you go. It was loosely with Black-throats when I found it then they attacked it, it flew off and joined a feeding Shag flock, good luck!

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Highlands & Islands Greens @hi-greens.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy · 26/08/2026

Not to be missed. Is there a screening near you? You can check on this website: www.nebriefing.org/screening-map

People’s Emergency Briefing

On the climate and nature crisis

‘The climate we live in today is the least extreme climate we will experience in our lifetimes!
What we need to know. What we need to do.

Film screening (50 mins) and discussion
Green Screen at Ullapool Ferry Terminal
Wednesday 26th August 2026
Doors open at 7, film at 7.30
FREE ENTRY | ALL WELCOME
www.nebriefing.org

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