Following on from the note about Barn Owls on Islay in Monday's blog, John Miles made the following interesting comment:
"Thought your readers would be interested in our records in the North Pennines. For the first year ever we recorded a nil return for breeding in 2021. 2020 was a vole year with large numbers of young creating exceptional numbers of pairs in spring 2021.With the vole collapse and little else in the form of mice, rats or shrews, It seems the pairs just said 'not this year'!"
It would be interesting to know what percentage of our resident Barn Owl population on Islay have had a successful breeding season.
A day trip to Colonsay and Oronsay today produced a couple of dark phase Arctic Skuas flying along together between Islay and Jura as the ferry steamed north towards Colonsay. Is there a chance that there is still the occasional pair breeding on Jura? On Oronsay a pair of Great Skuas was seen wheeling around the island at various times.
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