Friday 17th April 2026

Nothing new about the weather with strong mainly southerly winds carrying squalls.

Clive McK reported that "their" Cuckoo was back on the powerlines behind their garden at Gruinart for its brief summer sojourn on Islay. Peter Gill found both Blackcap and Chiffchaff at Lily Loch/Loch Allan in the morning and heard a Tawny Owl calling around midday from the woodland above the Port Askaig Hotel. Ed B. flushed a Jack Snipe at Cornabus in the afternoon,  while James H. had another at Gruinart as well as a White Wagtail, 2 Cuckoos and still 19 Whooper Swans, 8 Barnacle and 6 White-fronted Geese, together with 58 Black-tailed Godwits. Towards the end of the day, Mary McR saw a Common Sandpiper at Claddach, while Clive McK watched an Osprey fly south over Loch Gruinart, while 8 Gannets flew up the loch and then back out again.

One of our local photographers, David Livingstone, sent in a photo of a female Hen Harrier hunting close to the Singing Sands, respectively. Thank you, David, for enlivening this blog.