Rob Hughes
Birder | Caithness | Conservation Scientist
#BirdingScotland
- Third juvenile Iceland Gull from our house in two days. Today’s was a particularly dark individual #PWC2026 #CaithnessBirds
- Was watching two Humpback Whales cruise up the coast from our house, when a pod of Orca went through between the Whales and land this morning @ninaohanlon.bsky.social
- Juv Iceland Gull and three Little Gulls in Freswick Bay at lunchtime today #PWC2026 #CaithnessBirds
- After an absence last year, White-tailed Eagle flying past our house was a welcome #PWC2026 tick #CaithnessBirds with @ninaohanlon.bsky.social
- Lovely to see the Bufflehead at Foryd Bay this morning whilst back for the holidays. Great company and nice to catch up with a few N.Wales birders #birdingWales
- The Taiga Bean Goose at Loch Heilen was ringed in E. Finland in July 2020. Usually wintering in S. Sweden, it was sighted in Norway (26th Sept) before Caithness. Full details can be found here submit.cr-birding.org/animals/1417... #CaithnessBirds
- 16 Taiga Bean Geese at Loch Heilen on my @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count today. One of which looks to have been neck collared in Finland! Will share its history when it comes through #CaithnessBirds
- 16 Taiga Bean Geese at Loch Heilen on my @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count today. One of which looks to have been neck collared in Finland! Will share its history when it comes through #CaithnessBirds
- Spotted a fin whilst making a cup of tea from our house this afternoon. They made a kill too! @ninaohanlon.bsky.social
- Reposted by Rob HughesAnother brilliant Flow Country Research Conference. Big 🏆 for Roxane and team at UHI Thurso. Great to see @rob-hughes-birder.bsky.social's PhD crammed into 30 mins. Loved the Icelandic word for Meadow Pipit and check out those German bog restoration lagoons. @theflowcountry.bsky.social
- Reposted by Rob HughesGorgeous Firecrest at John O'Groats this morning 🧡 🔥 #CaithnessBirds 📸 @rob-hughes-birder.bsky.social
- This Treecreeper at John O’Groats this morning was #PWC2025 #patchgold Looked a bit frosty in the dull light #CaithnessBirds
- Nicely marked Ring Ouzel at John O’Groats football pitch this morning. Also Hawfinch, 2 Yellow-browed Warblers, 2 Siberian Chiffchaffs, Woodcock and 3 Crossbills. Quite a few commoner migrants too #CaithnessBirds #PWC2025
- Three Bonaparte’s Gulls still in Dunnet Bay today, also a new Ring-necked Duck on Wester Loch #CaithnessBirds
- We had three Bonaparte’s Gulls (ad and two 1st w’s) in Dunnet Bay this morning!!! Also a Juv Sabine’s Gull, Juv Little Gull, 1st w Mediterranean Gull and a Curlew Sandpiper with @ninaohanlon.bsky.social #CaithnessBirds
- Woodpigeon and its chick managed to cling on through Storm Amy, in Wick #CaithnessBirds
- Red-breasted Flycatcher still around, near John O’Groats this morning #CaithnessBirds
- Red-flanked Bluetail, Red-breasted Flycatcher, 2 Yellow-browed Warbler and a Long-eared Owl from a quick run around JOG this morning, though nothing at Freswick or Noss #CaithnessBirds
- Glossy Ibis flew down the Wick river this morning and landed near the just outside town. 10th record for Caithness. Also prob American Wigeon, Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper on the river #CaithnessBirds
- Coal Tit in John O’Groats quarry is a good sign of birds being on the move. Fresh in this morning, occasionally sticking its crest up #CaithnessBirds
- Leach’s Petrel and Black Tern still in Dunnet Bay this morning #CaithnessBirds
- Terrible photo of a Wryneck at John O’Groats this morning but a useful #PWC2025 tick with @ninaohanlon.bsky.social #CaithnessBirds
- Back from a relaxing 9 days on Shetland Mainland (and Mousa) with @ninaohanlon.bsky.social Nice bumping into the odd scarce migrant as well as quite a few Pied Flycatchers and Garden Warblers ebird.org/tripreport/4...
- Reposted by Rob HughesWhoop 🎉 @rob-hughes-birder.bsky.social submitting his PhD thesis after 3.5 years 🦆 Much more chilled than I was, and he has already published most of it 🌟
- Amazing views of the hawking Black-winged Pratincole at Brawlbin this afternoon. Great find by @anguscroudace.bsky.social #CaithnessBirds
- Juv Curlew Sandpiper on Freswick beach this morning #CaithnessBirds
- That’s Fea’s type Petrel, Barolo type Shearwater and Cory’s Shearwater past our house in the last 7 days. All from the same archipelago perhaps? Madeira or Azores maybe. #CaithnessBirds #PWC2025
- Fea’s type Petrel flew north past Nybster at 17:50, just three days after a Barolo’s type Shearwater went through, with @ninaohanlon.bsky.social #CaithnessBirds #PWC2025
- Reposted by Rob HughesRestoring peatland to capture carbon and provide breeding habitat for Dunlin and Golden Plover. When do the waders return and how can you speed things up? WaderTales blog #149, based on paper by @rob-hughes-birder.bsky.social and Chris Bingham: wadertales.wordpress.com/2025/08/16/p... #ornithology
- Cracking ‘blue’ Fulmar off Nybster this evening #CaithnessBirds
- Reposted by Rob HughesIts #BogDay! Let's celebrate by getting BOGged down in some papers 😉 Peatlands are key to carbon storage and flood management, but in the UK, many are in poor condition Read on to hear about the nature benefits of bog restoration in Scotland’s Flow Country 🧪 🌍 📷 Ben Andrew
- Nice to see a migrant Red Kite whilst birding today along Sinclair’s Bay this morning #PWC2025 #CaithnessBirds
- Reposted by Rob HughesLong-term experiments in Scotland’s Flow Country show enhanced forest-to-bog restoration boosts early peatland recovery - vital for climate & biodiversity 🧪🌏 @rob-hughes-birder.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social 🔗
- Had this 1st summer Golden Oriole singing when I put out the food waste this morning at Nybster. Song in the link #BirdingScotland xeno-canto.org/1002006
- Reposted by Rob HughesBack from a fantastic holiday birding the east coast & mountains of Corsica - such stunning scenery & birds plus some cool lizards, butterflies & flowers 💙 eBird Trip Report - ebird.org/tripreport/3... with @rob-hughes-birder.bsky.social #EuropeanBirds #BirdingEurope
