Thursday 11th April

Well! I have to say that I'm very disappointed. Not a single bird record was posted to WhatsApp today, nor has there been a single e-mail reporting something of interest. Indeed, the only post was from Hannah who saw a pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins heading towards Texa. Now, I know that dolphins can "fly", after a fashion, but they aren't really birds. So, despite a much nicer day than yesterday, with even a little bit of sun, it appears that birding round the island was at a very low ebb. I will therefore add an observation from my garden, of a pair of Collared Doves which decided that the ideal place to mate was on my bird table. Good for them. I feed a lot during the winter, up to 40 around Christmas and the New Year, and am rewarded by two or three pairs nesting in the garden, together with their exceptionally boring (to me) song droning on for hour after hour, week after week, month after month.

It seems appropriate to post a photograph of a Collared Dove taken on Islay by my late and lamented friend, Gordon Langsbury. He and I collaborated on a photographic book of Islay birds back in 2006 and he generously said his photographs could be used as I felt fit.