Wednesday 9th April

Weather? "Same old" - warm, sunny, dry, very light breeze - glorious!

Birds being reported from all quarters today: This morning Chris Hind had a Greenshank at Ardnave and I counted 24 Red-throated divers off Port Charlotte - only 2-3 in breeding plumage. Clive McK. had a latish Redwing at Creag Mhor, Gruinart and David D. had a Cuckoo over at Kinnabus. Mary-Ann Featherstone watching at Kildalton had another Cuckoo, and singles of Tawny Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, White-tailed Eagle. Up at Port Askaig this afternoon David Jardine had another Great Spotted Woodpecker by the entrance to Dunlossit, with a couple of Crossbills at Lily Loch. (It is good to hear that the woodpeckers are being reported from all the previous nesting spots on the island and seem to be holding their own in the last 12+ years of colonisation).

David Jardine had been on Jura today and had some good sightings: A male Ring Ouzel at Inver House was the star find, with a pair of Yellowhammers there and another at Cnocbreac. There were 4 pairs of Canada Geese at Loch a Chnuic Bhric along with 7 pairs of Greylag Geese and 4 Goldeneye. There were a further 5 pairs of Canada Geese at Glas Eilean. Also on Jura, Louise M. had 3 Red-throated Divers off Craighouse this morning.

Tuesday 8th April

 Wall-to-wall sunshine today, and with the wind dropping, it was distinctly warm too.

Despite the fantastic weather there were precious few birds noted today, though a few good records:

Clive McK. had Islay's first House Martin of the year up at Creag Mhor, Gruinart, while Gary T. had an Osprey high over Finlaggan Loch where there was a Crossbill in the trees around Finlaggan House.

Monday 7th April

 The sunshine never ends!

There was a belated report of a female Black Redstart on the road between Gruinart and Ardnave yesterday, where Clive McK. found the Hoopoe again today. There has been a second large influx of Hoopoes into the UK, but we are assuming this is the same bird that has been in the same area intermittently for well over a week now, disappearing for days at a time. Another surprise reappearance today was of the Pied Crow seen by Mary R. back at Port Wemyss.

It is definitely summer as the Cuckoos have arrived! Mary-Ann Featherstone reported one near Lagavulin yesterday, with others seen today by Marc Eden at Loch Ballygrant and by Peter Gill at Loch Skerrols, where he also recorded Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warblers singing.

At Loch Gruinart, Clive McK. had a Great Skua fly over, disappearing towards Loch Indaal and  flushing all the birds in a panic as it passed by. He also enjoyed a lovely sunny afternoon/evening visit to the RSPB South Hide, full of nesting Redshanks and Lapwings - the latter giving the few Golden Plovers a hard time. Swallows were passing through and Sparrowhawks making hunting passes.

Sunday 6th April

These weather reports are becoming very repetitive! Yes - another dry, sunny day with a light to moderate breeze from the east.

Marc Eden started the day's recording with a fine Ring Ouzel down at Sanaigmore this morning. Marc was up at Killinallan later in the day finding 20+ Snipe and a Jack Snipe, but noting a dearth of Twite compared to Linnets in places where he'd seen more Twite in previous visits.

There were numerous notes coming in of Willow Warblers dotted about the island and on Jura, with other summer migrants such as 7 Sand Martins and a Swallow at Kinnabus from David D.  Mary Redman was unfortunately minus her optics when she saw what was probably an Osprey over Claddach this evening.

I ventured to the Gruinart hides this morning finding among all the regular species a single Little Egret, a total of 11 Whooper Swans. An odd Wigeon that stuck out like a sore thumb had me going for a while, thinking it might be a hybrid American x Eurasian. But on closer inspection of my photos once home, the green on the head was not a full crescentic eye-stripe, but more blotchy and broken. It looks more like one of these occasional males that has flashes of green on its head - apparently more common in Russian birds? Anyway, a cautionary tale about jumping to conclusions..............

Friday 4th & Saturday 5th April

Two more days of dry, sunny weather with a cool easterly breeze. However, there has been very little bird news to report. Yesterday Clive McK. reported on further movements of geese heading north - some small flocks well after dark, with seemingly few geese left today . Today Ed B. found 10 Black-tailed Godwits on his patch at Loch Cornabus. Clive McK. walked around the Ardnave area finding a Swallow, several Sand Martins, 2 White and sevral Pied Wagtails, 230 Bar-tailed Godwits, 40 Sanderling and a Sparrowhawk, with a Willow Warbler at home at Creag Mhor.

Thursday 3rd April

Continuing high pressure providing dry, sunny weather with a moderate SE wind - very pleasant weather indeed!

More conversations on the WhatsApp today about the Barnacle and White-fronted Geese gradually departing, though James H. reported 3,540 Barnacle Geese still on RSPB Gruinart present along with the leucistic individual that has been around for a while and 8 Black-tailed Godwits. 15 Canada Geese flying north at Gruinart today seemingly only got as far as Ardnave Loch where Clive McK. counted 21 later on. Other geese seen today were 3 Pink-footed Geese at Gruinart and a Brent Goose (plus 2 Sandwich Terns) at Bridgend seen by Andrew Whitehouse.

Valerie Wilson found the female Ring-necked Duck still present but difficult to see on Ballygrant Loch and David D. had 3 Willow Warblers at Ballychatrigan on The Oa. The only other summer migrant reported to day was a Swallow seen by James H. at Gruinart.

Wednesday 2nd April

Another splendid dry day of sunshine and light easterly winds.

A few more geese were noted heading away today, but there was more emphasis on other birds seen:

Ed B. is still seeing Woodcock flighting over the forestry at Cornabus. Valerie Wilson found 50 Golden Plovers and 3 Carrion Crows, then up at the old abattoir at Avenvogie had a Great Spotted Woodpecker,  4 Crossbills and 10 Redpolls.  This afternoon on the Ardnave road she found a Golden Eagle a Swallow and a couple of Hen Harriers and up at Craigens found a Brent Goose with the remaining Barnacle Geese.

Andrew Whitehouse had 6 Whooper Swans over Kilchoman this morning, then our first Blackcap of the summer at Loch Skerrols. It, like a Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff there, was in song. He finished the day's birding in style, finding a female Ring-necked Duck on Loch Ballygrant in amongst the Tufted Ducks.

Tuesday 1st April

A bright sunny and dry day with a strong SE breeze.

The wind is now favourable for our winter geese to head directly to Iceland en route to their breeding grounds in Greenland and there were several observations of exactly that, with confirmation from Steve Percival that the first Barnacle Geese had arrived in Iceland this evening. Clive McK. was videoing thousands of Barnacle Geese (5,000+) setting off early this morning with smaller numbers of White-fronted Geese and 4 Whooper Swans. However, not all the geese have yet departed, and still lingering are the two star attractions: Red-breasted Goose and Cackling Goose found by Marc Eden at Craigens and near the RSPB Visitor Centre, who, earlier, had also been watching the geese disappearing north fast at Sanaigmore along with a flock of 12 Whooper Swans, while a pair of our resident Peregrines were busy copulating!

Other bird news includes mating Wigeon at Cornabus reported by Ed B. That would be a great breeding record for Islay if it comes to anything. Gary Turnbull had a Kingfisher up at Bridgend Merse and a Barn Owl on the fence between Esknish and Eorrabus. Valerie Wilson counted 40 Sand Martins at Easter Ellister and 12 Whooper Swans flying NW over Kilchiaran this afternoon. Clive McK. had a Chiffchaff up at Creag Mhor this morning while Andrew Whitehouse found our first Willow Warbler at Gruinart this afternoon.

A search for the Pied Crow down at Portnahaven yesterday and today didn't find the bird - perhaps it has moved on or is lurking elsewhere on the island.

Monday 31st March

Fairly cloudy, but only light winds and no rain.

Lots of discussion on the WhatsApp group today about migrating Greenland White-fronted Geese as small groups were noted headed NW more or less into the wind. The discussion revolved around whether they'd be better off waiting for the wind to swing round in their favour, with tales of tracked groups going north before that had to just island-hop or return from whence they came when setting off with the wind against them.

Ed Burrell  noted Lapwings incubating eggs on nests, Pied Wagtails nest building and Grey Wagtails nest prospecting at Cornabus. Val Wilson spotted a Pink-footed Goose with White-fronts on the High Road and Mary R. had 20 Brent Geese at Blackrock and a pair of Bullfinches at Carnain.

Andrew Whitehouse was birding in various locations on the Rhinns with the following results:  Loch Gorm - 1 Slavonian Grebe (unusual to find this species on freshwater lochs on Islay), Loch Gruinart - 6 Black-tailed Godwits and single White-tailed Eagle and Little Grebe, Blackrock - 6 Slavonian Grebes, 7 Long-tailed Duck, 27 Red-breasted Mergansers, 5 Great Northern Divers, Bridgend - 4 Sandwich Terns, Loch Skerrols - 50 Sand Martins.

Sunday 30th March

A fine, dry, quite calm day, with more of the same in the offing, with a substantial high pressure system over the UK for much of the coming week.

There were 4 Pink-footed Geese at the top of Loch Indaal seen by Andrew Whitehouse and Valerie Wilson, both of whom noted 2-3 Sandwich Terns there. Later Valerie found the Hoopoe still with us up the Ardnave road north of RSPB Gruinart offices. Andrew later noted Great Spotted Woodpecker calling and Chiffchaff singing at Loch Skerrols and 2 White Wagtails at Ardilistry.

Mary R. down at Claddach scored Islay's first Swallow of summer - well done Mary!

Clive was out birding on a flat calm Loch Indaal this evening finding that a lot of the species more associated with winter are still with us: 52 Great Northern Divers, 41 Eider, 26 Long-tailed Ducks and 23 SDalvonian Grebe - many of the latter now in their lovely breeding plumage.

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Saturday 29th March

A quite cloudy, windy day, starting out dryish, but increasingly with squally rain showers blowing in.

There were several of us heading down to the Portnahaven area this morning to see the Pied Crow. Mary Redman was watching it early on, when it had moved over to Port Wemyss, where I found it a little later. Still very approachable, but being bothered at times by gulls and Hooded Crows. However, it was still managing to scavenge food from back gardens and was seen by others right through the day. Below are a couple of photos that I took on my visit.

Other than that, it has been a quiet day for bird sightings, with Andrew Whitehouse reporting 4 Sand Martins at Easter Ellister and 11 Manx shearwaters off Frenchman's Rocks this afternoon and a high count of 7-8 Siskins on Val P.'s feeders at Port Charlotte.

Friday 28th March

A quite cold day with blustery winds from the north-west and occasional sleety downpours between bright sunshine.

An extra record of 25+ Sand Martins over Loch Skerrols yesterday came in from Nigel Scriven who also noted the following for today: White-tailed Eagle adult Kildalton Chapel, Çlaggain Bay 2 Shelduck, 2 Great Northern Diver, Ardtalla Farm fields 33 Golden Plover, 17 Ringed Plover, plus uncountable mixed flock of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks.

Andrew Whitehouse saw the first White Wagtail for Islay o 2025 today at Machir Bay. 

Other than that, there were no sightings sent in today until the afternoon, so I was going to have to make do with mention of the 40 Goldfinches on my feeders supplemented by 20-25 at Malcolm O's further along in Bruichladdich and the 15 or so at Val Peacock's feeders in Port Charlotte.

Then a message came in this afternoon from Fiona McG. of a PIED CROW at Portnahaven that had been there apparently for a few days feeding on suet in people's back gardens! This is an odd record to say the least as Pied Crow is native to sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and some of the Indian Ocean islands and not on the British List. Outside of the species' native area there has been presumed genuine vagrancy in N. Africa and the Middle East, but most that have rarely been found in Europe have been considered escapees (quite a few are apparently kept in captivity) or ship-assisted birds. I think the first British record that wasn't traced back to being an escapee was in summer 2018, and that wandered widely across the UK - but that bird is still, I believe, "in limbo" as far as its status.

However, there has been a recent flurry of records in UK and elsewhere in Europe in 2025, with 2-3 still present over a long period of time in Ireland and the Scilly Isles, these individuals also wandering quite long distances with the latter thought to now be in Northern France.

Whatever the verdict (wild or escapee) on this and the current birds elsewhere in the UK, it is a fascinating record, a first for Argyll and I'll be on a twitch to Portnahaven tomorrow morning! Here are a couple of photos courtesy of Mary Redman:

Thursday 27th March

An overcast, cloudy and rainy sort of day, though winds still light.

The only bird news today was of 15 Fieldfares seen by Wendy & John Mattingley at Lyrabus. But there are further bird notes from yesterday.

Wendy & John Mattingley report "We had a group of 110 Common Scoter and another of 66 on Loch Indaal, also 4 Slavonian Grebe, with another at Kilnaughton Bay. A flock of 18 Ravens with 4 Buzzards near Mulindry Bridge and 17 Tufted Duck on Ballygrant Loch. At Loch Skerrols there was 1 Chiffchaff, but no Sand Martins. Highlights at Gruinart 4 Little Egrets, 2 Black-tailed Godwits going into summer plumage and 60 Pintail".

(They had also counted 20 Great Northern Divers in Kilnaughton Bay on Monday 24th).

Nigel Scriven (Chairman of Argyll Bird Club) was on the island on Monday 24th and sent in some notes from Ardnave: 75 Bar-tailed Godwits, 60 Sanderling a Wheatear and a flock of 17 Chough.

There has been no further definite indication of why so many small dead fish washed up at Port Ellen yesterday, though apparently two prawn boats were tied up in Port Ellen on Tuesday evening and it is thought that they might have been cleaning out their holds. Whether this is correct and is the source of the fish, and if so a legal thing to do is all uncertain. Lets hope that it wasn't a poisoning incident and that at least the gulls, corvids, and perhaps a White-tailed Eagle or two benefitted from it?

 

Tuesday 25th & Wednesday 26th March

 Two days of reasonable springlike weather - mostly, dry, sunny with light winds.

Not much of the news on the posts was very pleasant though!

Yesterday there was a report of a roadkill Buzzard that probably met its end while scavenging a roadkill Pheasant. There were also several reports of Wheatears arriving in ones and twos at Cornabus, Ardnave, Gruinart and Portnahaven.

Today, Martin Armstrong posted a note of large numbers of fish washed up dead on the beach at Port Ellen. I'm still unclear what caused this - it was suggested that it could be discards from trawlers as they were all small. If anyone knows of a definite answer, then do let me know,

Bird-wise, Louise M. had a Crossbill at Sanaig forest on Jura. David D. had 2 Wheatears at Lower Killeyan (plus a pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins off Glen Astle), while Andrew Whitehouse saw the Hoopoe again, still along the road north of Gruinart for a 6th day. Finally, Gary T. had a tern sp. off Blackrock.

Monday 24th March

The day started out fairly sunny and dry, but clouded over in the afternoon and began to rain, becoming quite persistent by evening with an increase in the wind from a westerly direction.

Some additional records for yesterday from Andrew Whitehouse included: 6 Sanderling, 8 Black Guillemots, 6 Great Northern Divers, 1 Redwing, 2 Stonechats at Machir Bay/Kilchoman. Up at Ardnave were 4 Wheatears, 4 Canada Geese, single Golden and White-tailed Eagles, a pair of Hen Harriers, 16 Choughs. Back at Gruinart he found 3 Little Egrets, 1 Greenshank, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 15 Whooper Swans, 4 Gadwall, 44 Pintail and single Little Grebe and Fieldfare. Another  Wheatear weas at Blackrock and a count on Loch Indaal from Blackrock to Bruichladdich produced 4 Slavonian Grebes (some coming into summer plumage), 20 Great Northern Divers, two Red-throated Divers, 17 Red-breasted Mergansers, 18 Common Scoters.

Over at Kilnaughton and Carraig Fhada Wendy & John Mattingley found a dead Kestrel plus adult and immature White-tailed Eagles, with a female Hen Harrier on The Oa.

Today was the first (quite late) record of Chiffchaff, found singing at Kinnabus by Hannah Stanger. Wendy & john Mattingley confirm that the Hoopoe is still with us, and still in much the same area - about a mile north of the Gruinart RSPB car park. Marc Eden had 4 Pink-footed Geese at Ard-Chruaidh/Gartnatra where a couple of Sandwich Terns were displaying to each other. Later at Loch Skerrols he found 20 Sand Martins hawking for insects over the loch.

This evening Clive McK. was up at Bridgend Merse looking at the gull roost and found a first winter Mediterranean Gull.

Sunday 23rd March

 Back to pleasant sunny weather with a light breeze again today.

John and Wendy Mattingley, over on Islay for another visit, found our first Sandwich Terns of the year - two this morning in Kilnaughton Bay.

Saturday 22nd March

Cloudier with a moderate northerly breeze and light rain a lot of the time from late morning onwards.

The Hoopoe was present again in the same area of the road between Gruinart and Ardnave - Martin Armstrong taking some better photos. The bird is still keenly feeding a lot of the time on the grass growing down the middle of the road - a dangerous thing to do, but apparently productive, with Clive McK. identifying Cranefly larvae and pupae in its diet.

Other news:

A total of 6 Coal Tits seen by Louise Muir at Craighouse on Jura this morning, apparently rallying round another that had flown against a window and was temporarily out of action. Clive McK. had a count of 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls at the Bridgend gull roost this evening, and arriving visitor Andrew Whitehouse had an impressive count of birds from the ferry this afternoon - most of them between Kennacraig and Gigha: Great Northern Divers 89, Red-throated Divers 17, Red-breasted Mergansers 33, Common Scoters 8 and a single Manx Shearwater.

Thursday 20th & Friday 21st March

The fine weather continued on Thursday - dry, sunny, light breeze from the SE. This continued into Friday morning, but, as predicted, the clouds came in, the wind increased and began turning to come from the NW and it became colder.

For yesterday there were two reports, both from Jura - a Wheatear seen by Louise M. and a flock of 45 Skylarks at Ardfin golf course noted by Malcolm O. On Islay, Billy Stitchell had a drumming Great spotted Woodpecker at Lily Loch up at Dunlossit - the site where breeding was first proven in 2013.

The first posting today was from Clive McK. in mid-morning who was alerted by his neighbour, Kate Hannet, to a Hoopoe in their garden, which obligingly popped into his garden too. I went up after lunch with Val P. David & Ruth Beaumont to try and find it. No luck for ages, checking form Clive's at Creag Mhor all the way to Ardnave. Back at Clive's we gave up and started driving down to Gruinart when it popped up on the road in front of us. It seemed fixated on feeding on the grass growing down the middle of the road, gave some fine views and only flew up when it dodged a passing Hen Harrier. Malcolm O. points out that this is Islay's 12th record, six of them being in spring with the previous earliest on 22nd April.

Other news comes from David W. of a Sand Martin at Kinnabus this morning, and "lots of divers" including 5 Black-throated seen by James H. as he returned on the ferry this afternoon.

Morven Laurie from NatureScot kindly sent in the last goose count of the winter, carried out on 18th & 19th March. Totals were:

31,566 Barnacle Geese; 4,268 Greater White-fronted Geese; 1,364 Greylag Geese.

 

 

Tuesday 18th & Wednesday 19th March

 Another two days of dry, sunny weather with light winds and cool temperatures.

Just two notes from yesterday: Clive McK. watched a White-tailed Eagle that had an Adder in its talons, and David Killick watched a Dipper nest-building on the Sorn near the Woollen Mill along with a couple of Grey Wagtails.

Today there were three reports of summer migrants: Shona Isla had a Wheatear at Portnahaven and Dave Killick had another at Kilchiaran. Ed B. found Islay's first sand Martin of 2025 at Cornabus.

Other good news was of a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming in the woods at Laphroaig, heard by Steve & Lyn Rogers.

Sunday 16th & Monday 17th March

 Two further fairly pleasant if cold days with plenty of sunshine on Sunday, a but less on Monday, but dry and quite calm.

Yesterday Ed B. had a flock of 33 Whooper Swans heading north through Cornabus and commented on the start of nesting for Redshank and Lapwing on his patch.

At Gruinart James H. had a further 43 Whoopers and noted the Barnacle Geese gathering more on the reserve - further suggestion that the winter birds are thinking of heading up to their arctic breeding grounds. James also saw the Red-breasted Goose, a flock of 100 Skylarks and 2 Black-tailed Godwits on the floods.

David D. found one of the Great Crested Grebes still at  Loch an t-Sailean, while George Jackson had a pair of Dippers upstream on the Sorn from the Woollen Mill. Steve & Lyn Rogers watched a pair of Golden Eagles over Beinn Mhor at The Oa where 22 Twite were on the feeders at the car park.

Today, apart from a Kingfisher seen by Gary T. on the Sorn at Bridgend, all the talk was of feral Canada Geese after Louise Muir reported a count of 69 in front of the Manse on Jura - a substantial flock. 

Saturday 15th March

Continuing lovely sunny weather today with clear skies and calm seas.

Reports of other wildlife include a Red Admiral seen yesterday afternoon by George Jackson, and fish jumping in Loch Indaal.

Steve & Lyn Rogers did a WeBS count at Loch an t-Sailean, near Ardbeg today, finding a good variety of the regular species with a high count of 160 Dunlin along with a report of 2 Great Crested Grebes - the latter quite rarity for Islay.

Jim Wells was over on a day trip by boat from N. Ireland with birding friends and managed to find the Red-breasted Goose up at Gruinart and had a high total count of 8 White-tailed Eagles.

Both he, and Nick Webb yesterday noted the absence of Hen Harriers on their visits - presumably a good number of our breeding birds head south in winter?

Over on Jura Louise Muir was pleased to find Yellowhammers back in her garden along with a Great Spotted Woodpecker as a first for her garden list in Craighouse.

Thursday 13th & Friday 14th March

Very little to report over the past two days other than the lovely weather - bright, cool, clear sunny and dry.

Nick Webb has kept us going with reports yesterday of a couple of Red-throated Divers (one in winter plumage, the other in breeding plumage) at Bowmore, followed by a Dipper on the River Corran on Jura.

Today Nick counted 70 Fieldfares near Loch Gorm.

There must be some summer migrants on their way soon....................?

Tuesday 11th & Wednesday 12th March

Two days of bright, sunny, mostly dry weather, but with a cold nip from the light to moderate northerly winds.

Nick Webb enjoyed a good day out yesterday in the decent weather up at Ardnave and Gruinart. He doubled the Wheatear tally from one on 10th March to two birds up around Craigens. At Ardnave were the usual Whooper Swans on the loch, a flock of 14 Choughs milling about and a group of 5 eagles that looked to be 3-4 White-tailed in aerial display joined/investigated by 1-2 Golden Eagles. Later he was delighted to watch a Kingfisher fishing in the shallows at Bowmore.

Dave & Jean Killick reported a flock of 100 Fieldfares at Ballinaby. Mary-Ann Featherstone noted "noisy" Canada Geese at Ardilistry and Ed B. had a small flock of Lesser Redpolls at Cornabus.

Today, Fiona McG. was up at Ardnave and saw 5 White-tailed Eagles towards the Point, and a Peregrine with prey at Bun-an-Uillt. 

Nick Webb had another White-tailed Eagle scattering the geese down at Nerabus and a flock of 30 Fieldfares at Cultoon, a further 20 near Gruinart and over 100 Skylarks in the fields around Kilnave chapel. David D. over on The Oa flushed a pair of Red Grouse and a Jack Snipe.

For the lepidopterists among us, Mary-Ann Featherstone confirms after consultation, that the Oak Beauty seen on 10th was indeed a first for Islay.

Monday 10th March

The day started out fine and sunny, but by the afternoon had clouded over and become a bit breezier and colder, with winds going round towards the north - but no rain at all.

The only bird news came from Nick Webb who was pleased to see plenty of Twite at the feeders in the RSPB The Oa car park, and from newly returning visitors Dave & Jean Killick who found the Red-breasted Goose near Craigens and our first summer migrant of 2025 - a Wheatear just a bit further north.

Clive McK. saw a group of 5 Whooper Swans heading resolutely north over Gruinart this evening

Sunday 9th March

A fine, warm and sunny day with very light winds. It certainly feels more like spring with lots of birds singing, but no summer migrants yet.

Despite the fine weather, there were no birds reported on the WhatsApp today, though visitor Nick Webb was out enjoying the day and seeing some of the more regular species including an adult White-tailed Eagle up at Gruinart. Mary-Ann Featherstone did use the WhatsApp to show us a fine looking moth that she'd found last night -an Oak Beauty, which may be a first for Islay.

Saturday 8th March

The weather didn't seem quite as good as forecast, but it was mainly dry, with only a light wind. Cloudy to start, with brighter spells during the day.

Not many birds being reported today: Malcolm O. reports a probable first for his garden feeders with a Redpoll showing up along with a Siskin again. Ed Burrell heard three, possibly four,  male Tawny Owls calling in woodland around Cornabus, plus his first drumming Snipe of the spring.

Thursday 6th & Friday 7th March

Yesterday was grey, cool and rainy. Today was calm, bright and sunny - at least until late afternoon when it clouded up and drizzled at times.

There were no bird sightings reported yesterday, but it has been quite busy today. "Great minds think alike" - well, at least Theo's and mine did as we both took a look at the flat calm waters of Loch Indaal and decided to check out the ducks and divers in such perfect conditions. I did a count from Bowmore right around to the south of Port Charlotte, while Theo concentrated on looking from Blackrock. We arrived at some extremely similar counts, which is always reassuring!

Our combined totals, provided the following:

Red-throated Diver 65, Great Northern Diver 22, Black-throated Diver 1, Cormorant 40, Slavonian Grebe 36, Eider 108, Red-breasted Merganser 72, Common Scoter 189, Long-tailed Duck 34 (one of the highest counts for the species on Islay), Goldeneye 6, Razorbill 2.

The Common Scoter were divided almost equally with c.90 well up into the loch around Blackrock, and another 90 far out into the loch off Port Charlotte. The latter group, after prolonged scrutiny, proved to have a drake Surf Scoter in their midst.

(There was also a pair of White-tailed Eagles on the shore at Crosshouses, feeding on something washed up on the tideline).

Elsewhere, Steve & Lyn Rogers had Red-throated Diver in Port Ellen Bay. Ed B. had a pair of Bullfinches at Cornabus - an unusual sighting for him there, Clive McK. had his first Goldfinches (5) in his garden at Creag Mhor since last autumn, plus 6 White-tailed Eagles over the garden.

Theo went over to Jura later in the day and reports 45 Canada Geese, 15 Great Northern and 2 Red-throated Divers in the bay at Craighouse. NW of Ardfin in the conifers were 3 Crossbills and a Kestrel. On the east side of the island he found 3 Golden Eagles, 2 2CY White-tailed Eagles and 3 Hen Harriers. At Feolin were 25 Brent Geese.

Here at Bruichladdich, I seem to add a single extra Siskin on my feeders each day - there were 3 today!

Wednesday 5th March

 A cool, dry, but mostly cloudy sort of day - the winds moderate, from the SW, but not as strong as predicted?

Gary T. was up at Kilchoman and Machir Bay this morning watching 2 White-tailed Eagles riding the wind and finding 2 Snow Buntings on the beach along with a "white-winged gull" that flew off with the main gull flock before he could get close enough for a definite ID.

Theo, from Nature Scotland was out and about, firstly finding 30 Choughs at Sanaigmore with a further 4 at Coull. He had both the Red-breasted and Cackling Goose in the field closest to the RSPB Visitor Centre, then Peregrine, Black-tailed Godwit and 5 Gadwall from the RSPB hides.

Malcolm O. messaged in to give the details of the neck-collared Greenland White-fronted Geese seen yesterday. One of them was ringed on Islay at Ballinaby in winter 2019/20 and has shown up each winter since, in much the same area of the island. The other is a little more interesting, having been ringed at Loch Ken, Dumfries and Galloway in winter 2008/09, wintering there the following year, but moving to Islay in the winter of 2010/11, where it has returned every winter since. It has also been seen on migration in south Iceland in autumn 2010 and 2016, and in spring migration in 2022 and 2023.

Monday 3rd March & Tuesday 4th March

 Monday's weather started fair - dry, light breezes and patchy sunshine, but clouded up and drizzled a little towards the end of the day. Today was dry, but dull with light cloud cover and with a moderate SW breeze, though it turned quite rainy by early evening.

There were no birds recorded on Monday. Today, Theo arrived with a group and sent in a good list of sightings. Up at Ardnave, around the point, Nave Island and the loch they found 3 Purple Sandpipers, 40 Sanderling, a juvenile Golden Eagle, 2 Tufted Duck, 5 Whooper Swans, 5 large Canada Geese 120 Golden Plovers and 70 Bar-tailed Godwits.

Up at Ballinaby were 30 Skylarks, 20 Ringed Plover and 10 Turnstone, while at Carnduncan they found two Greenland White-fronted Geese bearing neck collars: CZK and V3C - anybody know who these are??

Finally at Craigens,  a Russian White-fronted Goose was photographed.

Here in Bruichladdich there were 2 Greenfinches on my bird feeders - such a shame that they are so scarce nowadays. Val Peacock had 2 Siskins on her feeders at Port Charlotte and saw the usual 2 White-tailed Eagles up at the top of Loch Indaal at Bridgend.

David Wood tells us that the two colour-ringed Twite seen a few days ago at The Oa were both ringed there - one in November 2023, the other in November 2024.

Clive McK. reminds us that he will be giving a talk at the Islay Natural History Trust AGM on this coming Thursday - do try and be there if you can.

Sunday 2nd March

Another day of reasonable weather - dry, light breezes and cool with at least some sunshine at times.

Kathy Evans was up at Bunnahabhain this morning finding 12 Black Guillemots at the pier, plus 6 Great Northern Divers offshore and a White-tailed Eagle to the north. Then, down at loch Skerrols she found 4 Lesser black-backed Gulls a Sparrowhawk and several Crossbills. This afternoon Kathy relocated the Red-breasted Goose in the usual fields at Gruinart, mentioning that it called, described by her as a "funny repeated squeak".

Other than her welcome records, David D. reports Merlin and Peregrine at Kinnabus, while Mary-Ann Featherstone sent in a couple of lovely photos of Bullfinch and Coal Tit gracing her garden this week.

Saturday 1st March

 A dry and fairly calm day with more sunshine than cloud.

I missed out a record from Clive McK. yesterday of 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls at the Bridgend gull roost - the largest count so far this spring.

Today was very spring-like, with Curlews singing on territories heard up at Gruinart by Clive McK. 

Kathy Evans found the Red-breasted Goose on the flats near the RSPB Visitor Centre this morning and David Wood made the most of the calm sea conditions to make a good count of birds on Loch Indaal. He found 85 Common Scoter, 32 Slavonian Grebes, 11 Long-tailed Ducks, 21 Great Northern, 8 Red-throated and 1 Black-throated Diver, 64 Red-breasted Mergansers, 56 Eider, 6 Goldeneye and 2 Cormorants - some of these totals being the highest of the winter.

Gary observed a Merlin at Uiskentuie and the usual 2 White-tailed Eagles out on the sand flats at Bridgend.

Ed B. supplied some information on the colour-marked Greenland White-fronted Geese seen a couple of days ago by David Astins. He tells us they were caught as adults at Cornabus this time last year and have been one of very few pairs to have successfully bred this past summer, returning with 6 young this winter.

Friday 28th February

 Light southerly winds and sunshine.

Gary T. was up at Garbh Breac, north of Bunnahabhain this morning notching up a number of raptors: 5 Buzzards, 2 Golden Eagles and 1 White-tailed Eagle, with 2 Sparrowhawks at Staoisha plantation.

Kathy & John Evans returned to Islay  for another birding visit and were out on the Rhinns gaining great views of a pair of sub-adult White-tailed Eagles near Cladville and both immature and adult Golden Eagles SW of Beinn Tart a Mhill.

Clive McK. was watching from Creag Mhor and Gruinart where 7 Little Egrets were seen this evening, while in the morning he had a count of 29 Skylarks feeding on RSPB wild bird cover crops then going up on to territories on the adjacent hills.

Thursday 27th February

 Mainly dry and sunny with a few squally showers in the afternoon.

David Astins had the/a Cackling Goose in a field at Blackrock this morning (photo below). Steve Percival noted the Red-breasted Goose in the "usual field" beside Gruinart house shortly afterwards, with David Astin finding it still there at lunchtime when he had a good count of 5 White-tailed Eagles on the east side of Loch Gruinart.

Bob Davison and I went that way in the afternoon but had no luck locating any of the above. however, it was a pleasant afternoon with mostly bright sunny conditions making the commoner ducks and Lapwings look very spiffy. There were 170+ Shelduck on Loch Gruinart, 15 Whooper Swans from the S. Hide with a further 4 up at Ardnave Loch along with 8 Goldeneye.

Several people commented today on the Lapwings beginning to display across the island - at Gruinart, on The Oa at Kinnabus and down at Portnahaven, where Mary Redman counted 50 Fieldfare at Ballameanach and saw a couple of Buzzards at Claddach, one with an Adder in its talons.

David Astins had read a few marked birds yesterday on his travels: a couple of Twite at the car park at RSPB The Oa, and 3 Greenland White-fronted Geese near Cornabus - photos below. I've sent emails with photos to the relevant Twite ringers regarding the Twite and will report back, but anticipate that others reading this blog will be able to tell us more, and sooner, about the GWF Geese?

Wednesday 26th February

 A greyer, drizzly day with light winds that brightened up with patches of sunshine in the afternoon.

Ken Reeves watched a replay of mating White-tailed Eagles in Loch Gruinart, plus 3 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Red-throated and a single Great Northern Diver. Up at Loch Skerrols he found single Moorhen, Tufted Duck plus Bullfinch, Treecreeper, Coal Tit  and a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the woodland.

David Astins managed to find the Red-breasted Goose again on the east side of Loch Gruinart and checked the geese around Loch Gorm in case a second RBG was lurking there, but found nothing except a regular Canada Goose.

Tuesday 25th February

Similar weather again today with a breeze from the west bringing fairly mild but changeable conditions of sunshine and showers.

White-tailed Eagles were in the news again today, Mary Redman reporting an adult at Claddach yesterday and Ken Reeves being treated to a pair mating out on Bridgend Merse this morning.

Otherwise the Red-breasted Goose was seen  at Gruinart on the road towards Craigens by David Astins, prompting Malcolm O. to speculate if there might be more than one present, as they and the Barnacle Geese that they associate with are thought to be very site faithful (not even venturing from one side of Loch Gruinart to the other!) yet the RBG has been seen on both sides of the loch and further afield towards Loch Gorm and Sunderland.

Monday 24th February

A moderate breeze from the west in a mostly sunny, dry day.

Reports of birds reflect the changing seasons, with David D. noting many singing Skylarks on The Oa, and visitor Keith Tinworth counting 80 Fieldfares at Sunderland and Gary noticing more at Finlaggan.

Ken Reeves is here for another visit and also mentioned plenty of Skylarks around Loch Gorm - but these may have been migrants? He also made a substantial count of 123 Twite at Coullabus.

Following on from the recent reports of day-time hunting and bedraggled Barn Owls looking as if they are having a ahrd time surviving in the recent poor weather, Ed B. found a dead Barn Owl at Cornabus. However, Fiona McG. noted a Barn Owl alive and actively hunting at Portnahaven.

Over at Kildalton, Mary-Ann Featherstone had 3 Bullfinches feeding on emerging willow buds, plus all the usual woodland species.

Sunday 23rd February

 Back to strong winds and rain overnight and into the morning, turning sunnier and drier by the afternoon.

The Cackling Goose was seen today by Ed B. down at Cornabus, otherwise it weas fairly quiet: 

Michael & Elspeth Anderson noted a flock of 60+ Chaffinches on the Kilchiaran to Port Charlotte road late morning and, later, out in the open,  a Ringtail Hen Harrier, and two Mistle Thrushes.

Christine Menzies sent in this photo of a Treecreeper seen at Cnoc Bay over at Kildalton:

Craig McKay sent in this photo of yesterday's Red-breasted Goose:

Malcolm O. recorded a single Siskin on his feeders - never a common species for us here in Bruichladdich.

Saturday 22nd February

 A brighter day, dry with lighter winds and lots of sunshine.

Ed B. reported the Cackling Goose still over at Cornabus yesterday, while Clive McK. had the Red-breasted Goose again today up at Gruinart. Later Clive found an adult Mediterranean Gull over at Octovulin (near to Skerrols) amongst large numbers of Common Gulls (Craig McKay taking the photo below).

I went to look for the Med, Gull in the afternoon, but the gulls had all dispersed. In adjacent stubble fields were plenty of Fieldfares (c.25) and a flock of 65 Skylarks. Loch Skerrols was fairly empty of anything of interest other than a lone male Goldeneye. Other Fieldfares were noted in mixed flocks with Redwings and Starlings at Gruinart (c.40) and Ballinaby (c.55).

Steve Williams relocated the Cackling Goose at Cornabus today and noted 2 White-tailed Eagles near The Machrie.

Michael & Elspeth Anderson had c.20 Twite on feeders at The Oa RSPB car park.  the Oa car park there were 20 (+/-1) Twite on the feeders, but no raptors in sight. Down at Port Ellen Bay they had good views of two Great Northern and one Red-throated Diver. On the Mulindry road, they had brilliant views of a hovering Buzzard and a Golden Eagle being harassed by Hooded Crows, and then further north a Male Hen Harrier.

Thursday 20th & Friday 21st February

Two days of fairly unpleasant weather - breezy, mostly overcast or cloudy with a lot of rain and just a few drier, sunnier patches at times.

Yesterday, Steve Percival reported the Red-breasted Goose still present up at Ballinaby, while James How noted his first singing Skylarks of spring. Mary Redman reported a Barn Owl out and about at 5pm near Portnahaven.

Today, Mary confirmed Skylarks singing in the rain and possibly the Barn Owl she saw yesterday seen in the same area this morning by Mark Whitcombe. He commented that it looked very wet and bedraggled and various folk suggested that the awful weather was taking its toll on feeding opportunities for them.

Steve Williams counted 27 Brent Geese at Blackrock, 25 Chough up at Ardnave and a Sparrowhawk down towards Gruinart.

Recently arrived birders Michael and Elspeth Anderson sent in the following account of their day's activities: "In spite of the weather we had a great day. First we went to Kilchoman and down to Machir Bay. In the last field on the right was a quite large flock of Fieldfares. I started counting and got to the mid-40s, but the whole flock then rose up and flew away, including many that had been hidden behind vegetation/a slope - so, certainly 60, very likely 80 to more.

We then drove on, and just before Ballinaby we were surprised to find a flooded field beside the road, with at least a dozen Turnstone, at least 20 Ringed Plovers, 2 Golden Plovers (one in full summer plumage), and a Knot, all feeding furiously amid the vegetation in the pouring rain. 

At Ardnave we saw 2 Tufted Ducks on the loch, and 6 Choughs flew by calling as they passed. Finally, once the rain stopped, we went to the hides at Loch Gruinart. 3 Little Egrets, at least 15 Shoveler and at least 20 Pintail, several hundred Golden Plovers, at least 100 Knot, a big flock of Lapwing, and good numbers of other ducks, waders, etc. not as many geese about there today.

Wednesday 19th February

A grey, coldish, day that became increasingly unpleasant with an increase in the wind and the rain that accompanied it.

Understandably much less bird news today with the deteriorating weather and several of our visiting birders heading off-island: thanks to you all for your valuable contributions of data while here.

Steve Percival reports the Cackling Goose on stubble near Sunderland Farm, while David Dinsley reported it earlier this morning at Kinnabus. It seems more likely that two birds are involved?

The only other report comes from Steve Williams who found yesterday's 1Y Mediterranean Gull plus two Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Bridgend merse this afternoon.

Tuesday 18th February

 Cold, cloudy and windy again today, but at least there was no rain.

First report of the day came from David Dinsley finding an early returning Lesser Black-backed Gull down at Kinnabus. A first portend of spring perhaps along with Ed Burrell noting that the Song Thrushes were in song at Cornabus and that there were 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Kintra. 

John Matthews reported a number of raptors sightings during the day: Sparrowhawk at Alwynds, single Golden Eagle at Kintour and 2 at Gruinart, 4 Buzzards at Fairy Hill, male Hen Harrier and a pair of White-tailed Eagles at Lyrabus with another (female) Harrier and a Merlin at Gruinart. Further raptor sightings came from Steve Williams with 4 White-tailed Eagles up at Killinallan. Mary Redman also found a couple of Golden Eagles down at Port Charlotte.

The Red-breasted Goose was seen again today - firstly by Steve Percival up at Sunderland then in the same location a little later by Steve Williams. Ed Burrell had a/the Russian White-fronted Goose at Corsapol.

Clive McKay turned his attentions to gulls and  counted 1,450 Common Gulls roosting at Bridgend Merse - a substantial number, and with them a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull.

Monday 17th February

A cold, blustery, cloudy and, towards the evening, a rainy day.

Despite some fairly unpleasant weather all of our visiting birders were active. The Red-breasted Goose was seen by Steve Percival in fields near Gruinart House where it remained long enough for Steve Williams to find it. John Matthews was at Bowmore harbour this morning finding a Slavonian Grebe, Red-throated Diver, Goldeneye, Eider, Rock Pipit and Greenshank. Later he found a female Hen Harrier at Loch Gorm, White-tailed Eagle at Gortan, and then at Finlaggan in the afternoon 2 pairs of Crossbills, a Woodcock, Buzzard, Golden and White-tailed Eagle and Goldcrest with another Hen Harrier on the high Road.

Steve Williams had another Hen Harrier near The Machrie and was up at Gruinart in the afternoon finding a further White-tailed Eagle, 250 Fieldfares and a Barn Owl between Bridgend and Bowmore. Mark Whitcombe upped the White-tailed Eagle tally to 3 immatures in the Gruinart area.

Our resident birders also chipped in with Shona Isla noting 2 Barn Owls at the woods near Laphroaig. Ed Burrell recording Crossbills coming to drink at Cornabus from the plantation forestry over the past few days, with 3 seen this morning and David Dinsley scoring the Cackling Goose, still at Kinnabus with the Barnacle Geese - photo below............

Sunday 16th February

 Another day with a light to moderate breeze, with rain coming in towards the late afternoon evening.

A note came in today from Mary-Ann Featherstone of a Great Spotted Woodpecker over at Kildalton on 7th February - always good to have records of this species to try and assess if the small population that has fairly recently colonised Islay is still holding its own.

Fiona McG. reports 36 Brent Geese over on Jura yesterday at Glas Eilean.

Olivier and Edgar Joly were up at Loch Gruinart this morning, first finding Peregrine near the Visitor centre then the Red-breasted Goose further north up the loch, with an adult and young White-tailed Eagle flushing the Barnacle Geese. A little later they had a Brent Goose north of Bruichladdich and 2 White-tailed Eagles over Loch Skerrols.

Steve Percival is back on the island and found a Russian White-fronted Goose at the end of the Corsapol track.

John Matthews over at Bowmore had both Red-throated and Black-throated Divers, then a male and 2 female Goosanders on Loch Skerrols. Later they found a male Hen Harrier at Sanaigmore and female Sparrowhawk between Gruinart and Loch Gorm.

Steve Williams found 2 immature White-tailed Eagles and an immature Golden Eagle towards Ardnave and a Greenshank at Bowmore.

I saw two immature White-tailed Eagles making their way down the coast from Bruichladdich to Port Charlotte at lunch time, making it quite likely that a total of 6 were seen today.

Saturday 15th February

Winds still from the east, but dry and not quite so cold today.

Clive McK. sent in a video clip of a very white winged Barn Owl hunting at Eresaid yesterday afternoon.

Olivier Joly was watching 11 Choughs up beyond Ardnave this morning while Chris Mills was at Machair Bay with 12 Gannets, 6 Kittiwakes, 3 Red-throated Divers and 8 Black Guillemots offshore, plus a further 2 Choughs in the dunes and a young White-tailed Eagle in the area.

John Matthews was finding plenty of eagles - 2 Golden at Tynacoille and another at Kilchoman, with a White-tailed at Loch Gorm. He also had a male Hen Harrier near the RSPB Visitor Centre in the afternoon. Up at Ardnave in the later afternoon he found the flock of Choughs - 30 in all, plus 5 whooper Swans, 6 Goldeneye and 6 Tufted Ducks on the loch.

Steve Williams also had 2 White-tailed Eagles up at Gruinart, another Hen Harrier by Eresaid then 3 Bullfinch and a Dipper in Bridgend Woods, finishing with a Barn Owl between Bridgend and Bowmore this evening.

I took a walk around Loch Skerrols in the afternoon finding it completely free of Tufted Ducks, but with 2 female-type Goosanders and a drake Goldeneye in residence.

Friday 14th February

A cold, blustery wind from the SE and rainy at times.

All today's records came from our valued visiting birders. John Matthews had a Golden Eagle at Finlaggan and 4 White-tailed Eagles at Bunnahabhain. Chris Mills noted plenty of waders on Loch Indaal including 2 Greenshank, 300 Bar-tailed Godwits, 200 Knot and his first (6) Sanderling of his week-long visit. There was also a Brent Goose with the Barnacle Geese. Newly arrived Olivier Joly had a variety of birds up at Gruinart - further Greenshank and 2 White-tailed Eagles included.

Thursday 13th February

 A light, but cold breeze on a dry slightly cloudy day.

Many thanks to Malcolm O. for keeping the blog going these last three weeks when there has been a lot of activity and bird news to report. Today there were only a couple of messages: 2 large canadensis type Canada Geese in the bay at Port Ellen this morning seen by Nick Parsons and a note from Chris Mills from Finlaggan of 4 Crossbills (including a perched male), 2 Redpolls, 2 White-tailed Eagles and a Golden Eagle.

Wednesday 12th February 2025

Still a bit cold and overcast with a persistent easterly wind. The day started with yet more geese, with 13 Pale-bellied Brents (just 1 first-winter) seen at Blackrock by Nick Parsons, quickly followed by him spotting 2 Russian White-fronted Geese at Gruinart. These turn up fairly regularly having strayed north from the flocks that winter in southern England. Chris Mills was back at Ardnave watching 2 White-tailed Eagles  and an immature Golden Eagle showing well just short of Ardnave Loch, while, at Ardnave Point, he saw 2 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Grey Plovers and  3 Choughs, with a further 14 Choughs in the dunes.

Some collared Greenland Whitefronts were reported from different places, including one ringed at Loch Ken, Wigtonshire, back in 2008-9, which turned up here two years later and has been regularly wintering on Islay ever since.

Clive McK had a count of 177 Shelduck on Gruinart estuary in good counting light, while Henry Wyn-Jones saw what he described as the smaller of the two Cackling Geese at Kinnabus, and Chris Mills had a male Merlin on the south side of Loch Gorm, as well as 20 Skylarks and 12 Reed Buntings on barley stubble, later passing on a sighting by someone else of 100+ Skylarks on the Gruinart flats. The sighting of two Greenfinches in Port Ellen by Tony Parsons is sadly of an increasingly rare bird here. Finally, a Barn Owl was seen on The Oa by Nick Parsons and another between Bridgend and Bowmore by Chris Mills. Our best estimate is that there are about 25 pairs on the island, which have been helped over the years by the number of of ruined cottages and farm buildings.

Today's cracking photo is of a Russian White-fronted Goose seen and photographed by Joe Graham at Killinallan on 9th February and quite probably different from the two at Gruinart this morning.

 

Tuesday 11th February 2025

 Another dry but cold overcast day, with the easterly wind keeping the temperature at or below 6 Celcius. Bird records are well down on recent days, but a pair of Goosanders seen by Chris Mills on Loch Skerrols is quite unusual, while at the same time a pair of White-tailed Eagles were feeding on a carcase on the far shore. My apologies to Chris for spelling his name wrong yesterday. He later saw 2 immature Golden Eagles and 2 ring-tailed Hen Harriers at Ardnave, a male Gadwall on the east shore of Loch Gruinart, and, earlier, a Dipper on the River Sorn at the Woollen Mill.

Nick Parsons found a Cackling Goose on the sandflats at Bridgend among sleeping Barnacle Geese, a sure sign they've been night-feeding under the moon. Later on, the flock woke up and headed north towards Ballygrant.

Finally, Clive McK had a substantial flock of 800+ Lapwings flying around over the Gruinart flats.

Here is the latest Cackling Goose, with apologies to anyone who is bored with them.

 

 

 

Monday 10th February 2025

Another fairly cold but often sunny day with an east wind. Lance Degnan sent in some records from yesterday, of 13 Long-tailed duck off Blackrock area plus 2 White-tailed Eagles, 12 Chough at Sanaigmore, plus 4 or 5 round Loch Gorm, and, at Gruinart, 5 Little Egrets  and a Carrion Crow, the first for quite a while.

First thing this morning, regular visitor, Chris Mills, spotted 2 White-tailed Eagles sitting on the the Loch Indaal shoreline opposite the entrance to Whin Park, and, a little later, the Red-breasted Goose was seen again, by Henry Wyn-Jones, this time behind Loch Gruinart House. 

The afternoon was mostly taken up with discussion of Canada Geese and Canada Goose X Barnacle Goose hybrids! This was started by Dave W seeing a Cackling Goose at Kinnabus, while, at almost the same, Chris Mills found a hutchinsi type among the Barnacles at Gruinart. Will Scott responded to my question yesterday asking whether there were two Canada X Barnacle hybrids by helpfully pointing out differences between the one seen yesterday at Pennycraig and the one he saw and photographed at Gruinart.

Finally, Chris Mills sent in some nice records of other birds seen during the day, with, at the head of Indaal, 20 Long-tailed Ducks, 12 Slavonian Grebes, 60 Common Scoters, 60 Eiders, and 10 Great Northern and 3 Red-throated Divers. At Gruinart, he saw a male Hen Harrier, no less than 5 White-tailed Eagles perched on the flats and the Red-Breasted Goose, while, at Sanaigmore, there were 3 Golden Eagle, 2 adults and an immature, and 12 Choughs. 

Here's the hutchinsi type Canada Goose.