Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th October

Saturday started out pleasant enough, with a bit of dry and sunshine with light winds, but deteriorated into cloud and rain in the afternoon. Sunday was overcast and breezy, with heavy rain from late morning onwards - not nice at all!

A later note from Friday regarding numbers of Whooper Swans increased the likely minimum for the day to c.400.

Clive Mc. sent in details of one of the radio-tagged Whooper Swans that has passed through Islay from Iceland on its way to wintering grounds on the Ouse Washes.

Gary T. started the day's notes with a great sighting of a Kingfisher at the mouth of the River Sorn at Bridgend. I counted c.50 Whooper Swans and c.320 Wigeon in Loch Indaal from Gartmain a little later in the morning. Ed Burrell at Cornabus confirmed a further arrival of Greenland White-fronted Geese on his patch, while David Dinsley and Hannah Stanger at nearby Kinnabus noted "hundreds" of Redwings moving through in the early morning, plus a single Merlin. Frances Cole was up at Ardnave and found, amongst other things, 32 Curlew and 10 Bar-tailed Godwits there. George Jackson was delighted to watch a Shot-eared Owl quartering the fields at Uiskentuie in late morning.

Over at Crackaig on Jura, Louise Muir found a Snow Bunting.

Having given the blog over to Islay's first record of a particular Crane Fly recently, it seems appropriate to go "non-avian" again, with another invertebrate first. Mary-Ann Featherstone caught a Blair's Mocha moth over at Kildalton, which is a first for Islay and only the second for Scotland.

Today's appaling weather has meant fewer sightings, but a few visitors were undeterred and making the best of a bad job, Mike Bell reporting 5 Hen Harriers: 2 at Coull/Kilchoman, 1 male at Coullabus and 2 at Gruinart. 2 adult White-tailed Eagles and 3 Goldeneye were seen at Loch Gorm, 14 Brent Geese at Loch Gruinart, while at Gartnatra on Loch Indaal there were 25 Whooper Swans, 65 Brent and 6 Canada Geese, 540 Wigeon and a good total of 232 Bar-tailed Godwit. 

To inspire the newly arrived visitors, here is a photo taken last week by Neil Mcmahon of the Red-breasted Goose, which is probably still out there somewhere waiting for you to find when the sun shines again!