Thursday 14th May

The cool northerly breeze continues along with predominantly dry sunny weather.

All the birding news today comes from Kath Butterworth who heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the woodland near Cluanach along with a male Hen Harrier nearby. Later she heard Corn Crakes at Portnahaven and Port Mor near Port Charlotte and finished the day with a great sighting of 2 Long-tailed Skuas flying north up Loch Indaal off Port Mor. If only I'd been looking out of my window here at Bruichladdich at the time I might have them to my "garden list"!

Wednesday 13th May

Some quite heavy, squally rain showers overnight and into the morning coming in on a continuing, quite brisk NW and westerly airstream producing cool but mostly sunny conditions.

Whimbrels are back on the menu, with 89 counted in a single field between Loch Gorm and Gruinart by James H. this morning. Mary R. counted 20 on her patch around Claddach and Paul Ward added another 25 early on around the Machrie golf course. 

Clive McK. had another sea-watch off Gartbreck in Loch Indaal this morning but didn't conjure up any more skuas. His best birds were a single Fulmar and good views of both Arctic and Common Terns. Steve & Lyn Rogers counted a raft of 60 Shags off Kilnaughton - quite a concentration of presumably feeding birds.

I noted the first couple of broods of small Greylag Goose goslings in the seaward side fields between Bruichladdich and Port Charlotte this afternoon and plenty of Gannets feeding in Loch Indaal.

Tuesday 12th May

The N or NW wind blew a little colder and stronger today, which remained dry, but cloudier until some short heavy rain showers in the evening.

Louise M. noted the first Redpoll seen in her garden at Craighouse on Jura.

Clive McK. keeping a watchful eye on weather, especially wind direction, to produce the right conditions for certain species to show up on migration, hit the jackpot this evening. He watched from Gartbreck on the east side of Loch Indaal this evening for 2.5 hours and connected with a flock of 7 Pomarine and two Long-tailed Skuas moving north up the Loch. This just about equals the best ever count of a single group of Pomarine Skuas on Islay, and all the previous higher counts have been from Frenchman's Rocks. The Long-tailed Skuas are the first since 2018.

Monday 11th May

A cool NW breeze, but still dry, bright and sunny.

Ed B. kicked things off to day saying he had been sent a video of a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming in Foreland Woods - very useful and the first record from there for a while. Phil Smith followed this up with a sighting of a summer plumaged Great Northern Diver at Port Ellen harbour, with Martin A. counting c.40 Whimbrel at Easter Ellister.

Then it was all about Corn Crakes - 5 in total at various locations: Louise M. had one at Rannoch Moor, near Bowmore, Fiona McG., and later Kath Butterworth, had one calling in a nettle-rich damp coastal stretch near Gleaners at Bruichladdich, Martin A. had another at Port Mor, Lauren S. had one at Kilchoman and Mary R. another at Portnahaven.

Sunday 10th May

Further bright sunny conditions with a moderate NW breeze, but clouding over towards the end of the day with a very brief sprinkle of rain.

I forgot to mention that I saw 2 Canada Geese on Nave Island yesterday.

Steve & Lyn Rogers were birding at Emerival/Kilnaughton Bay and finding 2 each of Common Sandpiper, Shelduck, Whimbrel and Oystercatcher there. Later there were a further 8 Whimbrel and a summery plumaged Great Northern Diver. At Ardnave, Paul Ward had a male and female Hen Harrier, small numbers of Ringed Plover and Dunlin and a Little Tern offshore. Kate Butterworth saw a Golden Eagle and male Hen Harrier at Lossit, while Martin A. had a flock of 13 Crossbills in woodland near Cluanach - that is quite a large count for this species on Islay and is in a location where Malcolm O. found them breeding in the 1990s.

Saturday 9th May

A dry, bright and sunny day with a moderate and cool breeze from the NW.

Not a great deal to report today: visitor Mandy Nogarede was pleased to find a couple of Choughs up at Sanaig. Val P. and I walked up to Ardnave point finding a flock of 35 Oystercatchers at Ardnave Loch then another flock of 55 towards the point. A Corn Crake was calling by the farm buildings at Ardnave and an adult White-tailed Eagle was watched at Gruinart slowly heading north. 

Thursday 7th & Friday 8th May

Winds still mostly light, but swinging round in all directions, but with continuing mostly bright and sunny weather throughout.

Yesterday Janice and Tim Scott  were at Saligo and Smaull where they counted 18 Whimbrels, had singing Whitethroat and Willow Warblers and heard 2 Corncrakes. David Shallcross found a Grey Wagtail at Bridgend and Kate Butterworth had a Grasshopper Warbler singing near Port Charlotte and a Golden Eagle on The Oa. I did a quick count of birds up on Loch Indaal finding 125 Bar-tailed Godwits at Gartnatra and a concentrated feeding group of 60 Red-breasted Mergansers just off Bowmore harbour.

Today, George Pike and David Shallcross noted sngle Whinchat, Hen Harrier and Golden Eagle on The Oa, while Clive McK. had 35 Whimbrel up towards Ardnave. James How gets the prize for "Bird of the Day" with a sighting of a Wood Sandpiper from the North Hide at RSPB Gruinart - a species far from an annual occurrence on Islay.