A damp day with moderate SW winds, some sunshine at times.
Clive McK. reports a Kestrel over Moine Mhor yesterday.
Steve & Lyn Rogers found Dippers in their usual places - two of them along the Sorn in Bridgend Woods.
Steve left the island after another "fabulous week" as he put it and left us with a few great photos of some of the birds seen including two of the three Ring-necked Ducks and the "old faithful" Red-breasted Goose..
A day of showers and sunshine with winds coming more from the SW making temperatures a bit milder.
An extra note for yesterday came in from Clive McK. of a Water Rail between Blackpark and Uiskentuie and his first Lesser Black-backed Gull of the year at the Bridgend gull roost.
Today there were notes of Golden Eagle at Port Wemyss from Mary R. and another at Lenavore, The Oa from Charlie Aspinwall. Clive McK. noted Mistle Thrush singing in the woodland at Gruinart this morning while Steve had the Red-breasted Goose on Gruinart flats towards Craigens and a lone Brent Goose at Bridgend. Steve Percival notes drumming Snipe at Gruinart this evening - further suggestions of spring at last!
From Jura come reports of 3 White-tailed Eagles, single Golden Eagle and Hen Harrier, 2 Kestrels, 28 Brent Geese and a flock of Canada Geese.
My news is that my book on the Birds of Islay and Jura has finally arrived - at least 100 advanced copies! This is in time for me to give a talk about the book at the Argyll Bird Club Spring Meeting on Seil Island on Saturday 7th March and another Talk/Book Launch here on Islay for the Islay Natural History Trust at Port Charlotte on Thursday 12th March.
It is the first complete account of the comparatively under-recorded bird life of Jura and gives the first detailed and complete account under one cover of these two island’s avifauna, using data gathered from historical records, earlier publications on the birds of Islay, plus a wealth of present day surveys and observations up to the end of 2025.
416 full-colour pages include brief descriptions for both islands on habitats, land use and geology and detailed text for each species giving historic and current status. Many graphs, charts and maps depict monthly and annual occurrence and population trends, breeding distribution details, breeding and peak counts for many species and protected areas on Islay and Jura. The book includes over 180 photographs, all taken on Islay and Jura, illustrating many species and habitats.
I will post details of how you can order your copy (£25 plus p&p) in the next day or two.
Two quite wet days with cooler winds from the SE.
Yesterday's reports c/o Mary Redman & Steve include a Russian White-fronted Goose at the Craigens turn off at Gruinart, a Lesser Black-backed Gull at Cornabus, Whooper Swan at Claddach Loch, Merlin at Craigens and an immature White-tailed Eagle and Hen Harrier at the RSPB Gruinart hides.
Today Richard Grimmett recorded a Greenland White-fronted Goose with neck collar CST near Sanaigmore. Malcolm confirms it as being ringed at Ballinaby in winter 2019/20, returning to the same area each winter up to 2023/24, but not seen in 2024/25. Richard also reports 25 Eider and 2 Great Northern Divers at Saligo Bay with 3 more Great Northerns at Sanaigmore and 2 Golden Eagles.
Steve confirms that a male and female Ring-necked Duck are still in residence at Loch nan Cadhan plus a Great Spotted Woodpecker in Bridgend Woods.
A bright and sunny day with light winds.
Thanks to Malcolm O. for writing the blog over the past two weeks while I've been away birding in Ecuador. It was an exciting trip with c.450 species seen including 70+ species of hummingbirds - but always good to be home.
Various reports in today focus largely on wildfowl: 4 Scaup, 12 Long-tailed Ducks, and "plenty" of Red-breasted Mergansers, Eiders, Common Scoters and Goldeneye along with 6 Slavonian Grebes and Great Northern & Red-throated Divers, plus odd Razorbills and Black Guillemots in Loch Indaal this morning under ideal, calm viewing conditions. Ed B. had the "small" Canada Goose at Cornabus and the Red-breasted Goose was again showing well at Craigens.
Clive McK. reports from Creag Mhor that there have been up to 80 Chaffinches regularly at his feeders - but virtually no other finches accompanying them. He also saw a Barn Owl there today, successfully hunting in daylight and immediately being hassled by a Hooded Crow.
Monday 16th February
Quite a bit of rain accompanied, if briefly, by a southwest wind, though it is now working its way back east again via north.
Plenty of observations today, starting with Steve R. finding only a female Ring-necked Duck on Loch nan Cadhan, but no sign of the pair on neighbouring Loch Ballygrant, where, though, he saw 12 Tufted Ducks. He flushed Woodcock from the woods around the lake, and then had a flock of several hundred Golden Plover along the High Road on his way back to Port Ellen. New visitor Richard Grimmett found the male Green-winged Teal in front of the south hide at RSPB Loch Gruinart at lunchtime, also seeing 2 White-tailed Eagles, as well as Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Merlin.
In the early afternoon, David W. counted 115 Lapwings at Kinnabus and Steve Percival found a Cackling Goose at Starchmill in a flock of Barnacle Geese. At about the same time, David Jardine was photographing 3 Russian White-fronted Geese at Gleannagaoidh on the Rhinns. Later in the afternoon, on the ferry to Jura, he spotted 31 Brents beside the small island of Glas Eilean. Having watched an adult and an immature White-tailed Eagles flushing the Cackling Goose and the Barnacles at Starchmill, Steve R. moved to Gruinart and found the wintering Red-breasted Goose on the flats looking from Craigens.
And here's David Jardine's long lens photo of the 3 Russian Whitefronts. Their black belly markings are heavier than is perhaps usual, as one thinks of Greenland Whitefronts having more obvious bars, but the larger white foreheads and pinkish bills are very obvious.
Sunday 15th February
A wet morning was followed by a slightly brighter afternoon, but the major weather news is that the wind was from the west!
David Jardine reported a Carrion Crow with Hoodies at Ardnave yesterday. This species is more or less annual here, usually in ones or twos, very occasionally more, with distinct autumn and late winter peaks. Mary McR. reported a largish gathering of 34 Oystercatchers by her Port Wemyss house this morning, while David checked out the three Ring-necked Ducks still on Loch nan Cadhan.
Saturday 14th February
The morning started well with blue skies and sunshine, but all too quickly it clouded over with the wind getting up and the rain arriving later in the day.
Visitor Gill filed a late report of 4 Golden Eagles in the air at Ardnave yesterday, along with ringtail and male Hen Harriers, also 2 males seen near Cornabus, a Barn Owl the previous day at Ardnave, and a Greenshank near Bowmore.
Jim Wells was over on the rib from Ballycastle with members of the Northern Ireland Ornithologists Club and, despite having to leave earlier than planned because of the deteriorating weather, reported seeing no less than 5 White-tailed Eagles, 3 on Nave Island and 2 by the Gruinart hides. They also saw plenty of Choughs, a couple of Hen Harriers and several Roe Deer.
Thursday 12th and Friday 13th February
Thursday's weather continued the run of easterlies with some rain, but Friday saw an abrupt and very welcome change to a glorious sunny day after a very slight frost, with a light north to northeast breeze.
Owls dominate the sightings, with Clive Mck. seeing 2 roadside Barn Owls on Wednesday evening, 1 in the shelter of Eresaid wood, the other on the fence outside the RSPB office at Gruinart, while David Jardine saw another Barn Owl at Blackrock at 2.20am on Thursday morning; I'm unsure whether David was out very late or very early. On Thursday evening, Mary McR. spotted a Tawny owl with prey at Ellister, then a Barn Owl just outside Portnahaven.
During the day on Thursday, Clive McK. was out and about, finding 1 Merlin, 85 Skylark in a flock, a possibly influx, and 12 Reed Buntings at Craigens, as well as 30+ Ravens and 2 White-tailed Eagles at Gearach.
Wednesday 11th February
See yesterday's forecast, but with more rain in the morning.
Today's sightings were all of wildfowl, which makes a change from raptors! Nick Parsons found the 3 Ring-necked Ducks on Loch nan Cadhan again and also saw what was presumably the same adult Light-bellied Brent as yesterday, this time in a Barnacle Goose flock just outside Bridgend, beside the Ballygrant road. At lunchtime, Fiona McG. reported a flock of 10 Pink-footed Geese at Sunderland, while later on Nick Parsons saw 4 in a flock of Greenland White-fronted Geese at Kintra. While ones and twos of Pinkfeet are regular among the wintering goose flocks, small flocks like this are usually only seen in autumn and spring, so these seem likely to be fairly recent arrivals. Perhaps the persistent east winds had something to do with it. Finally, David Jardine found the Chinese Goose in a flock of Greylags at Port Charlotte. It was present in the autumn, disappeared for a while, and then turned up again a week or two ago. One wonders in which farmyard it presumably lives in between its flights out to feed with its friends.
Craig Calladine took this long-distance photograph of the 3 Ring-necked Ducks on Loch nan Cadhan, a pair plus a second female.
Tuesday 10th February
Weather shouldn't be boring, but with the umpteenth day with easterly winds and some rain it it beginning to feel that way.
Ed B. reported a redhead Goosander on the Cornabus Burn in the morning, followed after lunch by a Lesser Black-backed Gull, his first migrant of the spring! A second one was seen around the same time by David Jardine just north of Bruichladdich. A single Pale-bellied Brent as seen by Nick Parsons in the Barnacle roost at Loch Indaal in the late afternoon, and visitors Arash Marashi and Craig Calladine reported that the 3 Ring-necked Ducks first seen on Loch Ballygrant in December were still present, though this time on the adjacent Loch nan Cadhan.
Visitor Rudolf has just posted a sequence of stunning photographs of a Sparrowhawk attacking a Hooded Crow which he took on January 20th. Here are three of them.
Sunday 10th February
Quite a damp day, with the wind still in the east.
Two visiting birders reported single Pink-footed Geese: Gill found one with Barnacles at Finlaggan in the early afternoon, while, in the late afternoon, Nick Parsons saw one in a Barnacle Goose flock just east of Bridgend Woods. They both agreed that they were different birds.
Gill did well with raptors during the day, with, in the morning, a Merlin along the Glen road, and a young White-tailed Eagle and adult Golden Eagle at Bunnahabhain, while she had the same combination along the Glen road in the afternoon.
Here's Gill's Pink-footed Goose, an adult from the neat parallel barring on the wing coverts.
Friday 6th, Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th February
The easterly winds on Friday and Saturday relented a little on Sunday, while there were light showers or drizzle on all three days.
No observations were received on Friday or Saturday, but birders were obviously out on Sunday morning, starting with Martin A. who saw 4 male Goldeneye on Loch Indaal opposite Killarow, Bowmore, quickly followed by Mary McR. who had 3 Chough at Claddach first thing, a male Hen Harrier at Octofad, and a first-winter White-tailed Eagle sitting on the rocks at Carn, Port Charlotte. In the afternoon, Clive McK. spotted 5 Black-tailed Godwits in the field pool south of the north hide on the RSPB L. Gruinart reserve.
I'm grateful to birder and wildlife guide, Theo de Clermont, who is based on Mull, for spotting a list of birds seen on Sunday by visitor Craig Calladine and posted on the online eBird. The location was just given as "Loch Indaal", while, of the 29 species in the list, only 4 had information on numbers, which were 3 Pink-footed Geese, 5 Red-throated Divers, 27 Slavonian Grebes and 1 Iceland Gull. This last, the first reported this winter, follows closely on the first Glaucous Gull seen on 30th January. More information, in particular its age and exact location, are being sought.
Thursday 5th February
The wind, still from the east, increased to near-gale force throughout the day, stopping the afternoon and evening ferries, but it remained dry, which was some sort of blessing.
Mary McR. continued with her eagle spotting this morning, seeing a young White-tailed Eagle "scraping the rooftops" in Port Charlotte, and, a minute later, as she travelled south there was a young Golden Eagle over Carn, just outside the village. Clive McK. posted a lovely bit of video to the Islay Birds WhatsApp page of a sub-adult White-tailed Eagle gliding over Loch Gruinart, which I'm going to try and add here, though I'm unsure of the maximum size allowed.
Around midday, Martin A. saw a Little Egret at the head of Loch Indaal and Ed B. reported a Merlin flying through Cornabus.
Here's the video. Thanks, Clive.
Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th February
The easterly wind continues and it's been more or less dry.
No records were received on Tuesday, but, on Wednesday, Mary McR reported that there was a male Hen Harrier by her house in Port Wemyss earlier, and that a White-tailed Eagle was active between there and Octofad daily. She also said that there was a single noisy Oystercatcher hanging about between the field and the shire, which she hoped would soon find a pal! One wonders if it has perhaps recently lost a pal, hence all the noise trying to attract a replacement.
Monday 2nd February
As forecast, the east to south-east wind quickly returned, though so far only of moderate strength, plus one or two light showers.
The only records came from Gary T., who will definitely be missed when he leaves the island. In the morning, he watched a murmuration of 100+ Starlings at Finlaggan, and saw 4 Golden Plover flying down the loch, as well as a Barn Owl quartering the ground west of the visitor centre. On returning home, he added to the recent Yellowhammer records by having 4 visit his bird table.
Saturday 31st January & Sunday 1st February
The easterly wind blew all day Saturday and finally relented on Sunday when it was actually almost calm during the afternoon, though the relief was short-lived and the easterlies are set to return.
First, a Friday observation which I overlooked of the first Glaucous Gull of the winter, a juvenile among the gulls at the Gartbreck tip, seen by Gary T.
No records were submitted on Saturday, but, on Sunday morning, Dave W. saw 4 Bullfinches at Lenavore on The Oa, quite a long way from what one would regard as typical habitat for this species. Then, in the afternoon, Clive McK. photographed a very pale White-tailed Eagle which was sat waiting for a Barnacle Goose that it had hit in mid-air to reappear from the rushes into which it tumbled. His highlights of the day were a very unexpected flock of 45 Meadow Pipits in a field below his house at Craig Mhor, and a brief burst of song from a Mistle Thrush in Gruinart Wood, perhaps celebrating the (temporary) disappearance of the wind.
Also on Sunday, following Friday's report of about 6 Yellowhammers just outside Bowmore, Billy S. had 4 in his garden at Caol Ila, 3 of which are shown below.
