Tuesday 6th October

Very light WNW winds, dry and fairly sunny.

The change in wind direction and weather meant the start of the exodus of our Barnacle Geese that were staging in Iceland has begun - as predicted by Ed Burrell in the first post on the WhatsApp group this morning. It is always exciting to witness the arrival of the winter birds - especially on such a pleasant day as today.

There was a continuous buzz of reports from many of the resident and visiting birders of small groups and some larger flocks of both Barnacle Geese and Whooper Swans coming in to Islay throughout the day. Typically, they arrived in the NW, often around Gruinart. Some of the Whooper Swans were carrying on south, some stopping briefly and then continuing, others stopping longer. Whoopers were seen all the way from Gruinart, to Loch Gorm, The Oa and down to Claddach. Largest groups included flocks of 20 to over 70 and it is difficult to be exact about numbers, but Clive McK. has saved me the job of estimating what went through as he sifted through the data and messages and reckons c.125 birds. Barnacle Geese were less obvious to start with, but by the end of the day they built up a bit and Clive McK. estimates 458 individuals arrived along with our first 7 Greenland White-fronted Geese (James H. checked Gruinart in the evening and noted 300 Barnies settled there).

Other species noted today include the Great White Egret still at Gruinart. Rogan also saw 2 Glossy Ibis there this morning, but I couldn't find them in the afternoon. Rogan noted 6 Bullfinches at the RSPB car park at Gruinart and the first Slavonian Grebe of the winter at Blackrock. Clive recorded two Great Northern Divers at Gruinart, Mary Redman had 2 White-tailed Eagles coming off McKenzie Island where the seals are beginning to pup. I counted two flocks of Rock Doves: 80 on stubble at Sunderland and 110 on stubble at Ballinaby where there were also a loose association of 124 Skylarks and a flock of 23 Golden Plover. Greylags were gathered on Loch Gorm where I counted 1,900, with a further 240 at Craigens later. Jeff Duncan had another White-tailed Eagle at Port Charlotte and 2 Black-throated Divers off Blackrock in the evening.

Bob Humphreys was over on Jura today and had 15 Linnets at Lagg and took this great photo of a female Sparrowhawk at Craighouse.

The wind is supposed to swing round to southerly again by tomorrow afternoon so it will b e interesting to see if the influx of geese and swans continues................

Monday 5th October

The weather continued overcast and drizzly for much of the day, brightening a little by the afternoon. The winds moderate from the SW.

Thanks to Malcolm for blogging while I was away at SOC conference this weekend.

Rogan W. had a juvenile Moorhen on Loch Ballygrant and a male Hen Harrier near the Gaelic College, followed by a Chough at Loch Bharradail. Golden Plovers were counted - Jeff Duncan seeing 9 flying past Port Ban and Teresa Morris finding 38 at Tormisdale. Teresa was also at Currie Sands where she noted 6 Choughs, 2 Turnstones and Rock Pipits. Over on the other side of the island David D. had a Merlin near the Machrie.

Christine Menzies noted a "charm" of 12 Goldfinches on the High Road plus 2 Golden Eagles near Emerivale. Here at Bruichladdich the Starling roost on the pier persists, though only c.300 birds in attendance tonight.

With the winds turning slightly westerly, Clive McK. tried his luck with a 2 hour sea-watch from Frenchman's Rocks with some good results - 123 Brent Geese in seven flocks and single Leach's Petrel and Storm-Petrel plus Sparrowhawk and Peregrine seen on the nearby coast. He also connected with the Great White Egret on the Gruinart Floods and notes that the House Martin nest at Creag Mhor is still active - lets hope the weather brightens up for the adults to find enough food to feed their late brood.

Bob Humphreys is over on Jura for two weeks and sent in a whole bunch of records for his first week there - too numerous to list here, but very useful from an area where we receive so few records of even the most common species. He also sent in a few photos for us to enjoy.

Sunday 4th October

The word 'dreich' perfectly describes today: when it wasn't raining it was drizzling, and vice versa, all accompanied by a SW breeze.

Mary R. forgot to mention that she saw a Wheatear yesterday with a flock of 8 Pied Wagtails at Port Mor, then, this morning, Rogan W. spotted a Common Snipe feeding among a flock of Starlings on a roadside verge at Keills.

The only other observations came in the afternoon from Cathy Earle who saw a Black-throated Diver in Claggain Bay, while Teresa Morris went to the South Hide at RSPB Loch Gruinart from which she saw the Great White Egret feeding, a Curlew Sandpiper with Common Snipe and Lapwings on the edges of the scrape, and a female Merlin which flew past in front of the hide.

Saturday 3rd October 

A mainly southwest and quite strong breeze with the occasional heavy shower.

Rogan W was out early, finding 13 Light-bellied Brent on Loch Indaal between Bridgend and Bowmore, with 183 Wigeons, 3 Turnstones, 2 Knots, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit and 2 Cormorants in front of the Gaelic College, as well as a White-tailed Eagle having its breakfast out on the flats. On his way round the head of the loch, he found a flock of 27 Goldfinches at Carnain, with a Red-throated Diver offshore, and 12 Common Scoter at Blackrock, just 2 of which were female. On the way to Gruinart, he saw a ringtail Hen Harrier and 7 snipe, before reaching his target, the Great White Egret, which was still present, along with 6 Shovelers, 2 Pintails and a Little Grebe, plus the Glossy Ibis, a male Hen Harrier and 2 Moorhens. 

Around midday, Cathy Earle saw the resident Whooper Swan, which has a wing condition and has been at Gruinart for some years now. Visitor Jeff was happy to find the Great White Egret later in the day, and also watched a Peregrine hunting Lapwing, an Osprey flying low over the reserve as well as a sparrowhawk. Earlier in the day he had seen a Merlin near Carnduncan and a Kestrel at Saligo, then on the east side of Loch Gruinart he saw another Merlin, as well as Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwits and 2 Little Egrets, and, finally, a Red-throated Diver at Uiskentuie and a Swallow west of Port Charlotte.

The Great White Egret obliged Rogan by posing for this photo. 

 

 

Friday 2nd October

A strong southerly wind with quite a lot of rain in the middle of the day.

Quite a busy day on the birding front, starting with Louise M seeing 10 Ravens sitting on and flying around the telecoms mast at Craighouse, Jura. Then, still in the morning, David D reported 7 Whooper Swans on Loch Kinnabus, clearly newly arrived migrants, while he also noted a Corncrake still present on the farm. About 2 hours later, Ed B saw 7 Whooper Swans dropping in at Ballivicar, clearly the same birds now needing to feed. In between, Rogs had a Common Sandpiper at Loch Ballygrant.

Billy Stitchell's garden at Caol Ila this morning held 4 BlueTits, 2 Lesser Redpolls, a Robin, 6 Great Tits, several House Sparrows and a Grey Wagtail 

Bird of the day was undoubtedly the Great White Egret spotted by Cathy Earle from the South Hide at RSPB Loch Gruinart around the middle of the day. She didn't have her camera with her but managed the photo below showing the Egret beside a Grey Heron. In the late afternoon, it was joined by two Little Egrets.

Elsewhere, Mary R saw 25 Golden Plovers at Claddach, Rogs saw a female Hen Harrier at Loch Lossit, Teresa Morris reported a White-tailed Eagle near Craigens Cottage, Gruinart, while Clive McK counted 23 Greenshanks on Loch Gruinart, one short of the Islay record, as well as noting a sudden increase in Red-breasted Mergansers, up from the usual 8-9 to 22. He also saw 7 Little Egrets.

Here's Cathy's photo of the Great White Egret. It may not be of the standard we usually try and post here, but the bird is unmistakable. Note the Grey Heron just to its left.

 

 

Thursday 1st October

Weather very similar to yesterday, but basically drier, with light to moderate winds from a generally southerly direction.

Cathy Earle  and Rogan W. both noted male Hen Harriers as they birded across the island today - one between Portnahaven and Kilchiaran, the other near the airport. Mary R. saw a Grey Wagtail at Gleann near Octofad then a couple of White-tailed Eagles at Uiskentuie. Clive McK. up at Gruinart  confirms the late nesting House Martin still with a single fledgling plus 4 Mistle Thrushes and 8 Brent Geese out on the flats. Ed B. saw a further 3 Brent Geese at Port Ellen and in the evening Rogan counted 22 Turnstone, 9 Knot and 8 Red-breasted Mergansers from the Gaelic College.

However, James H. scored the best birds of the day up at RSPB Gruinart from the North Hide where he saw either another or the same lingering Glossy Ibis, and a strong supporting cast of 3 Ruff, 5 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Gadwall, 150 Wigeon, 21 Shoveler, 40 Pintail and 1000+ Teal. Clearly the RSPB Floods and hides are back on form again after the earlier autumn period when they have to be drained to cut back emergent vegetation and get them prepared for the winter arrival of wildfowl.

Wednesday 30th September

The strong winds reduced to a moderate southerly and the sun shined a bit more, though there were a few sporadic showers of rain.

David D. noticed a record on Facebook of a Turtle Dove reported at Kilchoman Distillery yesterday - quite a good run of records of this species on Islay this autumn.

Today Rogan W. had the pleasure of getting 2 White-tiled Eagles on his "garden list" at Dunlossit this morning, followed by 3 Cormorants, a pair of Tufted Ducks and a family party of 4 Little Grebes on Loch Ballygrant. Visiting birder Frank Cavanagh returned to the island this morning seeing a Leach's Petrel from the ferry. Cathy Earle saw a Golden Eagle at the NW end of Loch Indaal and Clive McK. counted 22 Greenshanks in Loch Gruinart this afternoon which is one of the 4 highest tallies ever for the species here.

Thanks to Billy Stitchell who sent in some photos of birds putting Rowan berries to good use to brighten the blog -