Monday 21st September

The day started grey and drizzly, but cleared up to sunny, though with a persistent westerly/south-westerly wind.

Clive Mck reported that, yesterday, he counted 57 Choughs at Ardnave, the most he has seen there for some years. He also saw 2 Greenland Wheatears, while were 45 Linnets feeding on the weeds of Sea Sandwort. Also yesterday, he noted that there was a flock of c.300 Linnets on the headland overlooking Frenchman's Rocks.

At lunchtime, David D counted 35 Twite at the RSPB's Oa carpark, with a Grey Wagtail nearby, as well as, a little later, at Lower Killeyan, a Greenland Wheatear and a Kestrel. The final observation of the day was by Clive McK of 30 Light-bellied Brent Geese leaving Loch Gruinart and heading south.

Clive found himself reminiscing about the "best ever" seawatch at Frenchman's Rocks by him and Tristan ap Rheinallt, who carried out systematic seawatching there over several years in the 1990s and 2000s. This was on 21st September 2004, from 7am to 3.30pm, when they recorded 8 Sabine's Gulls, 143 Leach's Storm-petrels, 16 European Storm Petrels, 3 Grey Phalaropes, 76 Arctic Terns, 172 Red-throated Divers, 1,247 Light-bellied Brent Geese and 1 Pomarine Skua, plus large numbers of Kittiwakes, Manx Shearwaters and Gannets, all flying south in a WNW near-gale, with a grand total of  5,288 individual birds of 26 species. If you want to find out more about seawatching at Frenchman's Rocks, you'll find a detailed account, written by Tristan, in Peter Robert's book (details just to the right).