Monday 13th February

Yesterday, Bob and Martin set out from Bowmore along to Gartbreck, but although completing their walk, the weather, or rather the thick mist caused them to abandon actually carrying out a total count while they were out. But, they did manage some birds. At Gartbreck they had 1 Purple Sandpiper, 23 Bar tailed Godwit and 120 Curlew. Up at the top of Loch Indaal they had 22 Goldeneye, 27 Scaup, 67 Common Scoter, 7 Slavonian Grebe, 32 Knot, 87 Dunlin, & 185 Bar tailed Godwit. Up at Loch Tallant there were 3 Mallard and 34 Teal. They also had 2 Iceland Gulls and a Glaucous Gull at Gartbreck and 4 more Glaucous, 1 at Uiskentuie, 1 up at Cruach and 2 on the "high road". Paul Chapman who left this morning had seen an Iceland Gull at Kintra and counted 20 Pale bellied Brents in Loch Indaal just out from Bowmore Distillery yesterday! Dave, yesterday down on the Oa had 1 Golden Eagle, 1 Kestrel, 1 female Hen Harrier, 2 Chough, 75 Rock Dove and 60 Twite. He had also counted 50 Fulmars on the ledges on the cliffs there too... A visiting birder, who I was speaking with this afternoon, had seen 6 Goldeneye in Bowmore Harbour earlier on today.