Sunday 20th and Monday 21st July 2025

The weather continues to be a bit on and off with sunny spells and some showers, though the heavy rain forecast for Monday afternoon failed to materialise.

On Sunday, Clive McK visited the Big Strand near the airport and found 8 Dunlin (2 juvs), 25 Sanderling, and 15 Ringed Plover, as well as Ringed Plover with newly hatched chicks on the old runways. The constant wave action on the Big Strand prevents the sand from holding significant amounts of wader food, but, as this shows, it is always worth a visit. Clive also saw 2 Greenshank at Bridgend Merse.

On Monday, Gary T reported a skua on the sand at Loch Gruinart which was identified as a juvenile dark phase Arctic Skua and produced the interesting speculation that it might have been reared locally. This species used to breed regularly on Jura, with about 50 pairs reported in the 1980s but only 12 pairs in 2000. Since then, there seem to have been no records of confirmed breeding, but, given the size of the island and the remoteness of some of the nesting areas, their continued presence cannot be ruled out.

Here's what Gary saw through his camera, and also what Gordon Langsbury saw through his a few years ago.