Sunday 3rd May

A greyer, cooler but dry day with light winds from a more northerly direction.

Late news from yesterday came from Clive McK. who revised his Whimbrel total down to 114 from from 122 and added a sighting of a pale phase Arctic Skua at Loch Gruinart that flushed 162 Bar-tailed Godwits and where there were 300 Dunlin and a Brent Goose.

Today Clive had a much higher count of Dunlin on Loch Gruinart - 900 in total along with 78 Shelduck, 60 Ringed Plover, 10 Whimbrel, and a Curlew Sandpiper (the latter not at all common as a spring migrant on Islay). There were 3 Little Terns doing courtship feeding at Gruinart in a site where they do try to breed but which is prone to flooding at high tides. 

Also birding at Gruinart was Kath Butterworth who noted 12 Black-tailed Godwits, 130 Whimbrel and later at Ard Chruaidh (Gartnatra) on Loch Indaal found a further 85 Whimbrel, 8 Knot and 140 Bar-tailed Godwits.

I took a look at Gruinart from the two hides this morning and noted a Whooper Swan that seemed to be lacking any primary feathers, but which was trying to pair up with a Mute Swan. I also counted 11 Great Northrn Divers, a Red-throated Diver and 16 Red-breasted Mergansers off Blackrock in Loch Indaal. Visitors David Shallcross and George Pike took a look at Blackrock later in the day finding a passing White-tailed Eagle and a flock of 17 Eiders. Up at Gruinart David found 42 Whimbrel and a Little Egret and Martin Hughes was at Ardnave Farm and heard a Corn Crake calling in adjacent rushy fields

Away from the Rhinns, David D. had a male Bullfinch and 3 Spotted Flycatchers at Cairnmore Woods on the edge of Kilnaughton Bay and a Corn Crake at Upper Killeyan.