Friday 23rd October

Light NW winds with overcast, showery and cold conditions to start the day, becoming drier with a bit of sunshine in the afternoon.

Nicky Betts was birding before leaving for home before the impending Storm Boelo. Birds found included Scaup at Blackrock and 7 Great Northern Divers in the Sound of Islay.

Nick Martin has been active today, firstly looking at Loch Indaal from near Bruichladdich finding 30 Common Scoter and 2 Scaup. He watched a young White-tailed Eagle take down a Greylag Goose on Loch Indaal, which the eagle then left as it couldn't get it out of the water. He had another young WTE, a Golden Eagle, Sparrowhawk and Grey Wagtail around Gruinart at the hides and car park then c.20 Fieldfares at Kilnave.

Neil McMahon and his Naturetrek group were on Jura and report the following: 2 adult WTE, 2 Grey Wagtails, 200 Fieldfares, 50 Chaffinch, and 3 Great Northern Divers in the Craighouse area. 6 Yellowhammer, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Siskin and adult WTE at Tarbert and a further 50 Chaffinch and 3 Bullfinch between the two locations (plus a couple of Otters which no doubt kept the group happy).

Rogan W. counted 243 Wood Pigeons at Cattadale this afternoon. There have been occasional flocks of over 200 before, but none since 1988, so this is unusual.

Clive McK. counted 55+ Snipe in front of the S. Hide Gruinart and 290 White-fronted Geese and 13 Little Egrets on the Gruinart floods.

Frank Cavanagh back on Islay found the Red-breasted Goose near Craigens this afternoon (photo below).

Other folks have commented on their being large numbers of thrushes - Fieldfares, Redwings and Blackbirds on Islay and Jura today.

Thursday 22nd October

A pleasant dry and sunny day with moderate winds - but possibly just "the calm before the storm" as some dire weather is forecast in the coming few days.

Neil McMahon with a Naturetrek group are on Islay and finding plenty of good birds starting this morning with Grey Wagtail and Kingfisher by the bridge over the River Sorn at Bridgend. Further round Loch Indaal towards Bowmore they saw 5 Pink-footed Geese and 2 White-tailed Eagles and a Buzzard feasting on Barnacle Geese. At the Gaelic centre one (or possibly two) feral Chinese Goose was noted plus groups of 9 & 12 Whooper Swans 40 Brent Geese and 4 Canada Geese. Further on they drove the High Road and connected with the Snow Goose at Leorin with Greylags. (Nick Martin noted that male Hen Harrier spooked the Snow Goode and Greylags later). At The Oa were Golden Eagle, Merlin and Twite at the feeders in the RSPB car park. At some point they were in the Ballygrant area too and found 2 more White-tailed Eagles, 10 Fieldfares, while off Blackrock were 3 Great Northern Divers, 4 Red-throated Divers and 8 Long-tailed Ducks.

Elsewhere other observers were birding. Nicky Betts counted 13 Common Scoter and 6 Twite at Blackrock and found one of the Snow Buntings at Carnain. Up at Ardnave Point she found 2 White-tailed Eagles, 55 Golden Plover and 2 ringtail Hen Harriers - several more being noted about the island today. Andy Howard was over on Jura and were surprised by a day-flying Barn Owl. Mark Whitcombe noted a Buzzard disturbing a substantial number of Choughs (45-50) at Ardnave Loch, and David D. had Peregrine hunting Rock Doves at The Oa RSPB car park. Wendy & John Mattingley counted birds offshore between Uiskentuie and Blackrock of note being 13 Slavonian Grebes. Gary Douglas clocked 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers on the High Road and Clive McK. had a Woodcock near Creag Mhor at Gruinart. 

A note on the Argyll Bird Club website mentions an unknown observer reporting elsewhere- perhaps on eBird or Birdtrack (either way, not very helpful towards other birders on Islay!) - that there were 2 Cackling Geese present today.

So, a lot of predator activity today in all corners of the island. Eclipsing this was the total of goose species seen - the star attraction being found by James How who confirms the return of the Red-breasted Goose by the RSPB Visitor Centre at Gruinart this afternoon. That makes a likely tally of 10 species of goose on Islay today - assuming that the Cackling Goose report is correct and you consider Chinese Goose valid!!

Wednesday 21st October

Strong WNW winds, overcast skies and lots of rain made it a fairly unpleasant day to be out.

However, a few people were out and reported the following:

Nicky Betts saw 11 Brent Geese, the Long-tailed Duck still present and a Grey Wagtail around Craigens and The Oyster Shed. Andy Howard counted 6 Little Egrets, single Greenshank and White-tailed Eagle in the same general area. Jackie Wedd saw a Great Northern Diver as she left Port Askaig on the ferry at the end of her stay - thanks Jackie for all your records. Andy Howard and Wendy & John Mattingley watched 3 Black-tailed Godwits and a ringtail Hen Harrier harassing Teal at the RSPB North Hide (photos below), while Mark Whitcombe had a female Sparrowhawk doing the same at the RSPB South Hide with a Merlin hunting nearby. Theo and his Nature Scotland group also departed today, but not before tallying 7 Bullfinches,  160 Fieldfare and 20 Redwings  at Ardnahoe, 2 White-tailed Eagles, 7 Little Grebes and 10 Teal on Loch Finlaggan. As they departed up the Sound of Islay they found 15+ Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 2 more (adult) White-tailed Eagles, 8 Great Northern Divers and a substantial count of 45 Black Guillemots. (We look forward to Theo returning with another group in March 2027). Later in the day Andy Howard was up at Kilchoman and counted 50+ Whooper Swans remaining on the barley fields amidst the expected Greylags and Barnies. Finally (so far at 6.30pm!) David D. reports the first Woodcock of the autumn/winter period at Kinnabus.

Tuesday 20th October

 Much less pleasant weather today with grey skies and light rain by early afternoon coming in from continued light SSE winds.

Several of the recent rarities were noted again today: Great White Egret seen by Rogan W. close to the Visitor Centre at RSB Gruinart, the 2 Snow Buntings seen by Theo de Clermont still happily feeding on the beach at Carnain, the/a Red Kite seen by Wendy & John Mattingley flying north-east and the Cackling Goose showing well and photographed by Theo in the same area of the RSPB fields at Gruinart.

And there were plenty of birders reporting from the field from all over the island. Some of the highlights/most interesting stuff reported by Rogan W., Theo, Gary Douglas, Alex Rhodes, Nicky Betts, David D., Ed B., Mark Whitcombe, Andy Howard, Bettina von Haase, Clive McK., Fiona & Stuart Reid, include:

Pink-footed Goose: 1 in same field as the Cackling Goose & Gruinart

Brent Goose: 1 in same field as the Cackling Goose & Gruinart, 10 near Oyster Shed, Loch Gruinart, 19 & Carnain

Canada Goose: 2 on Gruniart flats

Pintail: 64+ Gruinart Floods

Shoveler: 46+ Gruinart Floods

Gadwall: 2 Gruinart Floods

Goldeneye: 2 on Loch Skerrols, 1 off the Gaelic College, Loch Indaal,

Scaup: 1 off Blackrock

Long-tailed Duck: 1 in Loch Gruinart & Oyster Shed (not too common in Loch Gruinart)

Great Northern Diver: 1 in full summer plumage & Claggain Bay

Lesser Black-backed Gull: 2 at Bowmore Harbour

Sparrowhawk: 1 at Loch Skerrols,

Hen Harrier: single ringtail Killinallan, 3 Ardnave point, 2 Gruinart 

White-tailed Eagle: 1 at Blackrock, 2 (immature & adult) at Ardnave, 2 chasing greylags at Leorin, 5 & Gruinart

Golden Eagle: 3 (2 adult & 1 immature) near Port Charlotte

Peregrine: 1 at Gruinart RSPB

Merlin: 1 at Port Ellen Lotts

Golden Plover: 32 at Killinallan

Grey Plover: single & Craigens

Ringed Plover: 32 on Bowmore Harbour wall

Black-tailed Godwit: 4 Gruinart

Fieldfare: 43 over Creag Mhor, Gruinart

Twite: 20 at Killinallan

Rogan W. reported a fascinating encounter at Gruinart with a Snipe being chased by and was hit by a Merlin, the Snipe landed in the road hotly pursued by the Merlin and a Hen Harrier and a Peregrine all at the same time. In the confusion the Snipe waddled off the road and escaped!

Finally, back to rarer birds and a very good photo sent in by Tom Watts of a Turtle Dove seen on the evening of 18th October at Kilchoman.

Monday 19th October

 Light s/SE winds, dry, sunny and quite cold - but generally good birding weather.

A couple of noteworthy sightings missed from yesterday are 26 Black Guillemots seen by Wendy & John Mattingley in the Sound of Islay, mostly near Glas Eilean and 3 separate Barn Owls seen after dark by Rogan W. at Cattadale, Barr and Storakaig.

Plenty of people out birding again today with a good variety of species recorded. Rogan W. was birding fairly widely across the island, finding 2 male and 1 female/ringtail Hen Harrier at Laggan Bay to start the day. At Bridgend flats he noted 5 White-tailed Eagles a Grey Plover, 34 Turnstones, 3 Greenshank and found the 2 Snow Buntings still present between Blackrock and Carnain, where they remained and were seen by several others including myself with birding friends and Alex Rhodes and his group during the day. He also noted one of the drake Pochards still on Loch Gorm and 2 Yellowhammers near Saligo Bay.

On The Oa David D. recorded a large flock of 100 Fieldfares with 20 seen by Theo de Clermont at Ardtalla along with 300+ Redwings. Theo and his group also relocated the Snow Goose in much the same area at Leorin, the Richardson's type Cackling Goose plus a European White-fronted Goose at Gruinart. Gary Douglas recorded two different Kestrels near Cragabus on The Oa and found the biggest count of Scaup so far this autumn/winter at 7 birds on Loch Indaal. Wendy & John Mattingley had 60 Golden Plovers at Saligo and a Merlin near Kilchoman where their tally of Whooper Swans produced the largest count of the day at 81 on uncut barley fields close to the distillery.

Up at Ardnave where Andy Howard photographed Chough this morning, Nicky Betts saw male Hen Harrier, White-tailed Eagle and a Little Grebe on the loch. Later, Nicky was over on The Oa seeing 2 Golden Eagles, Peregrine, Merlin and 25 Twite on the feeders at the RSPB car park. Clive McK. had a count of 7 Canada Geese at the Gaelic College, with  further 13 noted by Theo in the fields where the Snow Goose mingled with the Greylags at Leorin. John Miles had 11 Brent Geese, 36 Turnstone, 20 Ringed Plover and a latish Sandwich Tern near Bruichladdich.

I was out with young visiting birder Stuart and his parents in the morning; some of the more interesting finds being 10 Little Egrets from the S. Hide, 4 White-tailed Eagles on Gruinart flats, Golden Eagle at Ardnave, several Hen Harriers, Sparrowhawk female at Loch Gorm and Red Kite circling high over Uiskentuie - presumably the same bird as first seen yesterday by Alex Rhodes.

Billy Stitchell sent in this photo of one of 20+ Redwings at Lily Loch at Sunrise.

Sunday 18th October

Another very pleasant day with light south to SSE winds, clear, sunny and dry.

A few additions to yesterday's good haul of birds came in after I wrote the blog too early yesterday evening:

Rogan W. added single Gadwall, Ruff, 5 Greenshank, 3 Blacko-tailed Godwits and 18 Pintail at RSPB Gruinart. Theo with his Nature Scotland group saw Redwing, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Barn Owl at Foreland and had 21 Brent Geese, 2 Greenshank, 15 Knot, 7 Long-tailed Duck, 3 Tufted Duck and a Little Egret on Loch Indaal. John Miles was also watching on Loch Indaal during the day and noted a Whimbrel, 21 Slavonian Grebes, 6 Great Northern Divers, 20+ Red-throated Divers, 10 Long-tailed Duck, 34 Common Scoter, 26 Turnstone and 50+ Ringed Plover.

Today continued the good birding, kicking off with a report for late yesterday from an unknown observer, presumably here but not on the WhatsApp group of a juvenile Snow Goose at Leorin. Rogan was quick off the mark and found it (plus a Merlin, Yellowhammer, 2 Grey Wagtails and a White-tailed Eagle), sending in the photo below. 2019 was the last time this species was recorded on Islay, and this one, a juvenile bird arriving with the big influx of Barnacle Geese would suggest a genuine wild vagrant rather than a feral bird. The other good, but sort of expected rarity was later in the day when Theo's group located a Richardson's type Cackling Goose up on the fields close to the RSPB Visitor Centre. We seem to get 1-2 of these each year, but this one is quick off the mark!

Other Stuff: Mary R. noticed an unusually large gathering of c.200 Jackdaws near Claddach this morning. Jim Dickson saw similar numbers at Machir Bay yesterday and it is interesting that there was an arrival of 450 on Bardsey Island in the Irish Sea yesterday where they used to breed but no longer do so. Theo increased the Pochard count on Loch Gorm to 3 drakes, along with c.50 Tufted Ducks and a White-tailed Eagle. On The Oa David D. recorded a Chiffchaff today (and a Willow Warbler yesterday) with Redwings heard flying over last night. Teresa Morris was at Saligo finding 11 Twite and Andy Howard found 2 Little Egrets up at Killinallan on Loch Gruinart. Rogan had the Whimbrel again off the Gaelic College, where the Scaup were still present, as were the 2 Snow Buntings at Carnain. Mike Whitcombe witnessed the inevitable preying on Barnacle Geese by a couple of White-tailed Eagles at Gruinart this afternoon and finally James H. noted our first Fieldfare of the autumn at Gruinart along with a very high count of 85 Snipe from the S. Hide.

Some later news in this evening:

Theo and his group added several good records including a Carrion Crow with Hoodies at Loch Gorm where there were also 2 Sparrowhawks. 45 Ringed Plovers were counted at Machir Bay. At Ardnave they saw a Greenshank, a Merlin that had taken a Rock Pipit as prey, 1 White-tailed Eagle, 20 Sanderling and 2 ring-tail Hen Harriers.  Finally, at Gruinart were Peregrine, 4 different Golden Eagles, 2 adult and 1 immature White-tailed Eagle, Kestrel, male Hen Harrier and Grey Wagtail, 10 Grey Plover, 6 Greenshank, 10 Brent Geese and a heard Water Rail.

Rogan was still out birding this afternoon and clocked an adult Bonaparte's Gull (photo below) flying past the Gaelic College - there have only been 4 previous records on Islay - a great find!

There was a report on Ebird from an unknown observer (possibly a Heatherlea group?) of a Red Kite between Loch Gorm and Gruinart this afternoon. 

Saturday 17th October

Very light winds, dry with sunshine all day - glorious - a day with plenty of birds and plenty of birders enjoying them.

Nicky Betts started the ball rolling with this sunrise photo indicating what a pleasant day it was going to be. Jim Dickson came over for the day and joined ranks with Rogan W. to test out a possible route for a possible future Bird Race Day. They zoomed about all over the island with Rogan notching up 94 species at the last count. He started with Redpoll and Great Spotted woodpecker at his home at Dunlossit, while Jim saw aa Kingfisher as he arrived at Port Askaig. I bumped into them while birding at the top of Loch Indaal in the morning where species seen from the Gaelic College included 12 Red-throated Divers, 1 Great Northern Diver, 6 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Scaup, 2 Slavonian Grebes, 12 Common Scoter 7 Canada Geese and a Greenshank. Further round at Carnain we noted the Great White Egret and 2 Snow Buntings - photo below - (Theo de Clermont with his group finding 3 there later on). These were amidst vast numbers of Barnacle Geese resting on the low tide flats. Jim made the effort to count them and estimated 9,000. Here and at BlackRock we noted another Great Scaup, 150 Golden Plovers, single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and White-tailed Eagle. 

I did a count on a flat calm sea of birds in Loch Indaal from Bruichladdich: 53 Common Scoter, 83 Eider, 23 Red-throated, one Black-throated and 4 Great Northern Divers, 2 Black Guillemots and single Common Guillemot.

Rogan and Jim continued their journey to Loch Gorm: 5 Pink-footed Geese, 2 Little Grebe, 978 Barnacle Geese, 5 Whooper Swans, 169 White-fronted Geese, At Loch Skerrols they found 2 Goldeneye and the first Pochard of autumn/winter -  single drake. 56 Whoopers (21 juvs included) were still on the fields at Rockside. Up at Gruinart they found 4 Little Egrets at the S. hide and a Merlin at the N. Hide. Returning via BlackRock another look produced 17 Slavonian Grebes and 2 Goldeneye. Finishing up at Loch Lossit Rogan reports a juv Golden Eagle and a Coot with 50 Redwings close to Lily Loch.

Other birders had all sorts of other sightings without the dashing about. Clive McK. and Teresa Morris amongst others were stationed again up at Gruinart noting continuing small groups of incoming Whooper Swans, but nowhere near as many as yesterday. Clive had 700 Golden Plovers at Gruinart, Teresa counted 32 Ringed Plovers at Killinallan, plus 29 Chough and 7 Twite. As the day unfolded, more White-tailed Eagles centred on Gruinart, presumably attracted by the large numbers of geese. Reports came in intermittently from Clive, Teresa and Nicky Betts of 3, then 5 then 6 and finally a tally of 11 White-tailed Eagles all hanging out together up and down the loch!!

Elsewhere on Islay, David D, had 3 Redwings and 96 Barnies straying over to Loch Kinnabus and 11 Great Northern Divers and a juv Arctic Tern at Claggain Bay.

A neck-collared White-fronted Goose seen at Loch Gorm was a bird ringed on Islay in the winter of 2019/20 and which has been seen in the same area of Loch Gorm/Carnduncan every winter since.