Saturday 7th March

A second dry sunny day in succession, though with a stronger SE breeze. 

 
The only records received were from Bob Brown who saw 30 Fieldfares at Kilchoman and from visitor, Ella, who reported 2 Dippers at the mouth of Loch an t-Siob on Jura.

 
There are some disturbing signs that bird flu might be back among the geese, though not with the devastating effect that was experienced in winter 2022/23 when c.5000 Barnacles are thought to have died. A very few geese, including this time Greenland Whitefronts and Greylags, have been seen with possible symptoms, sitting at the edges of flocks, showing uncordinated head/neck movements, and being unusually tame. Please keep an eye open for anything similar and let us know.

Thursday 5th and Friday 6th March

Thursday was quite a wet day,  with variable winds, but on Friday we were blessed with wall-to-wall sunshine and a south-east breeze.

No records were submitted on Thursday, but Friday was busier, with Mary McR. seeing a pair of adult White-tailed Eagles and a male Hen Harrier at Claddach in the morning and then, in the early afterrnoon, 5 Whooper Swans flew over heading NW, having presumably come from Ireland. Peter R. spotted 4 pairs of Black Guillemot by Bruichladdich Pier, a regular breeding site, and Mary-Ann F. saw a Treecreeper at the Battery, above the High School, where there are plenty of small trees, though few larger ones, nor for some distance around. Redwing are on the move, as 40+ were reported from near Coullabus, while I saw 6-10 at Kintour.

Morven Laurie (NatureScot) has kindly sent the results of the latest island-wide goose count, held on 24th/25th February, revealing totals of 29,461 Barnacle Geese, 4,950 Greenland Whitefronts, and 1078 Greylags. Thank you, Morven. 

Wednesday 4th March

Rain overnight continued into an overcast and wet morning, gradually giving way to sunnier spells with a moderate southerly breeze.

Caroline Goodman was out birding today and noted 10 Eiders at Port Ellen and, as she put it, "the usual White-tailed Eagle passing, 2 maybe more" - how good to be living somewhere where WTE is commonplace and passe'!

Clive McK. counted gulls going to roost up at the top of Loch Indaal this evening and clocked up 1,410 Common Gulls, 75 Black-headed Gulls and 16 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Billy Stitchell sent the photo below of a Redwing in his garden to brighten up the blog.

Tuesday 3rd March

A cool, but sunny spring-like day with light winds.

 After a count of 6 White-tailed Eagles in the Lossit area on Saturday, there was a count of 7 in the air together over Port Ellen area yesterday.

Mary-Ann F. reports a male Bullfinch at Kildalton today.

Monday 2nd March

The day started off quite pleasantly with sunshine, but gradually clouded over with sporadic light showers as the wind picked up a little from the south.

David D. found a Magpie on The Oa this morning - still a very uncommon species here. It was Kathy Evans' last day on Islay today and she reported 6 Yellowhammers at pheasant feeders near Kildalton. Mary-Ann Featherstone and her friend Bob Brown were over at Sanaigmore where they found Peregrine, male Hen Harrier and over at Machir Bay a count of 100+ Jackdaws.

I took delivery of my book The Birds of Islay and Jura today, so am now able to start the process of distributing them to anyone interested in purchasing a copy. I've created another page on this blog that you can click on where you can find the various ways of obtaining one. You can find it towards the top right titled Birds of Islay and Jura.

Saturday 28th February & Sunday 1st March

Saturday was bright, dry and sunny with light winds. Sunday was a contrast with overcast skies, rain and strengthening winds from the south. Unsurprisingly, all the bird news came in from yesterday:

Ed B. reported good, close-in views on fairly calm waters at Blackrock, Loch Indaal of Long-tailed Ducks and 13 Common Scoters - 11 of them males. Mary-Ann Featherstone noted Dipper, Grey Wagtail and 30 Chaffinches at the Woollen Mill on the River Sorn - also seen by Kathy Evans who also noted a Hen Harrier on the Glen Road and a total of 6 White-tailed Eagles (5 adult, 1 immature) in the Lossit area of the Rinns.

Further news came in about the electrocuted Golden Eagle: it was a ringed bird and had been fledged on Mull in 2024.

There were a couple of notes in that perhaps need further corroboration as they involve odd dates and numbers: 2 Swallows apparently photographed by Nicol McKinnon on Islay on Thursday and a record of Lapland Buntings and Skylarks at Ardfin on Jura, but unclear as to numbers of each.

Thursday 26th & Friday 27th February

Two more days of mild, mostly sunny weather with light winds and a few showers.

The only report for Thursday was from David D. of a long-tailed duck on Loch Kinnabus - not a usual location for the species.

Today Caroline Goodman reported rings from a Chough seen at Kildnaughton Bay. It was a bird fledged from RSPB The Oa in 2025. After David W.'s excellent talk at the INHT AGM last night, which included some dismal notes about how few young were surviving after fledging, it is good to know that at least this one has made it thus far. Much more sad news was Steve Percival reporting an immature Golden Eagle electrocuted on power lines up towards Ardnave - a mercifully rare occurrence.

Kathy Evans noted 2 Little Egrets and the Red-breasted Goose up around Killinallan and Craigens. while David d. had the first report of an Adder sun-basking at Kinnabus.