Thursday 9th October

Much the same weather as yesterday, westerly but with fewer showers.

David D was at Gruinart mid-morning and found a (the) Glossy Ibis in the small field below the Visitor Centre, the first time one has been seen away from the field at Craigens. Visitor Tom G. was at Ardnave Point watching three "Goldies" which I am interpreting as Eagles rather than Plovers (!), while Gary T. was at Port Ellen finding 42 Ringed Plovers and 7 Pied Wagtails on the beach in front of the White Hart, plus an Otter just offshore of the distillery warehouses. He later moved to the Big Strand where there were 2 Purple Sandpipers at Knockangle Point and 30 Golden Plovers and 20 Sanderlings just north of there.

At 11.25, Clive McK. reported a fresh arrival of Barnacles at Loch Gruinart with c. 309 arriving in the previous 30 minutes while, by 12.50, he was up to 1,300+ and still arriving. The high pressure that's building over us is extending to southern Iceland giving light to moderate westerlies for the whole route.

At 13.50, Teresa Morris was at Rockmountain, close to Loch Gorm, and counted 29 Whooper Swans, 56 Greylags, 29 Greenland Whitefronts and 4 Barnacles in a stubble field, with a further 152 Greylags in a nearby rushy pasture. A little later on, there were 39 Whitefronts swimming on Loch Gorm on the south side while the stubbles at Coull held about 360 Barnacles and 59 Greylags and those at Ballinby another 57 Barnacles. Nearly completing her circuit of the loch, she had a male Hen Harrier at Culbuie.

Clive continued to count arriving Barnacles and reached a grand total of 2,002 Barnacles arriving in 90 flocks up to 14.25. He confessed that the total was actually an exact 2,000, which is every counter's nightmare, as such a nice round figure is going to damage one's reputation of being known to produce very accurate counts. So, he added another couple for good measure! I have been faced with that dilemma more times than I care to confess. While also counting geese, Clive noted a small movement through his garden of 4 Coal Tits, 3 Blue Tits and 2 male House Sparrows, which he classed as "mega rarities" for that location.

Teresa Morris, at Gruinart around 16.00, watched a flock of 110 Bar-tailed Godwits below Kilnave and then, at Tayovullin, counted 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 Redshanks, 1 Grey Heron, 4 Choughs, 4 Oystercatchers and 1 each of Black-headed Gull and Meadow Pipit.

Mike Taylor visited Claggain Bay in the afternoon and found 5-7 Great Northern Divers, 1 Red-throated Diver, 4 Black Guillemots, 2 Razorbills and 1 Wheatear.

Here's another Billy Stitchell photograph. One gull is saying to the other: "We're safe up here, as it can't see us."