Monday 23rd August

 

Late news from last Friday was the WEBS count at Loch Gruinart carried out by Alex Mangan (a new RSPB residential volunteer) and Lauren Stewart. These are some of the highlights, with some impressive numbers of Ringed Plover and Dunlin.:

 579 Ringed Plover, 60 Knot, 76 Sanderling, 1519 Dunlin, 3 Bar tailed Godwits, 153 Curlew, 19 Redshank, 4 Turnstone, 7 Greenshank, 4 Whimbrel.

Today there were 3 White Wagtails seen by David Dinsley at Kintra and 3 Sparrowhawks together on thermals over Upper Killeyan. These sparked a debate on the Islay Birder’s WhatsApp group about whether they are migrating or merely dispersing – and brings into question whether there is a difference, or where dispersal might become migration? The Migration Atlas produced by the BTO back in 2002 does seem to indicate that British birds are very sedentary and talks of “dispersal” rather than migration, noting that it is the continental birds of Northern Europe that are more truly migratory. But they also note that birds in the NW of UK generally disperse greater distances than those in the south. Jim Dickson notes that he once saw no less than 10 fly in over the sea in Kintyre coming from the direction of Islay in an hour or so one early September, which he tactfully calls neither dispersal or migration, but a “distinct movement”.

Traditionally there would be a Bird Nerds meeting tomorrow, being the last Tuesday of the month. We haven’t quite got up to speed with organising and reconvening these yet since Ian Brooke passed away, but hope to do so in the near future. We’d like to hear your views on where and what you’d like these meetings to be. It is thought that perhaps any indoor get-togethers could include brief talks and discussion topics to give the meetings more of a focus. Let us know your thoughts and we’ll try and restart for the last Tuesday of next month.