Monday 3 July 2023

Monday 3rd July

Sunny for a while, then quite hefty rain showers seems to be the weather theme throughout the day.

No bird news today but one oddity and one tantalising possibility from yesterday.

Frank & Patrick Cavanagh saw a very convincing candidate for a Barolo (Little) Shearwater from the Kennacraig-Islay ferry yesterday alongside 50-100 Manx Shearwaters. 

That was the tantalising bit. The oddity is the photo below, taken by Fiona Doyle (not sure where, but presumably on a beach on Islay). 

It isn't some rare bird never seen on Islay before, nor is it some species escaped from a collection, but an odd, probably leucistic pipit - likely a Meadow Pipit. While albinism is a genetic mutation that causes complete lack of melanin pigment, leucism is only partial loss of pigment in various amounts - hence the dark eye.



No comments: