Wednesday 21st & Thursday 22nd August

There was plenty of rain on Wednesday, which finally dried up in the early morning of Thursday.

Yesterday Gary T. and Linden K. both watched an Osprey - presumably the same bird, at one time at Crosshouses on Loch Gruinart and another over Loch Gorm. Jim Dickson did a "pelagic" from Kennacraig to Islay and back again  to check out possible seabirds on the crossing. He found 2 Great Skuas near to Port Ellen and an Arctic Skua over Texa. The return produced another Arctic Skua, 2 European Storm Petrels, but no Manx Shearwaters.

With an improvement in the weather (still breezy from the SW, but dry and a little sunny) I foolishly became inspired to try a seawatch at Frenchman's Rocks this morning from 8-10am. There were 248 Manx Shearwaters in the first hour and 568 in the second. There was also a continual (uncounted) trickle of Kittiwakes and 70+ Gannets over the rocks, along with a few Fulmars. Best sightings were singles of Sooty Shearwater, Black-throated Diver and European Storm Petrel/ A few waders passed by - 22 Bar-tailed Godwits, 5 sanderling, 8 Whimbrel and 3 Dunlin. Surprisingly there were no auks seen.

After my return, Jim Dickson messaged to tell us of a fantastic seawatch off Malin Head, just across the water from us on the Irish coast. apart from Great & Cory's Shearwaters, Sabine's Gulls and Pomarine Skua there was an albatross - probably Black-browed. Simply not fair!

David d. was also seawatching off The Oa early this morning with even less to write home about than my effort. hundreds of Manxies, a single Arctic Skua, a couple of Puffins and a Sandwich Tern.