Visiting birder Andrew Kelly writes:
“I was very sorry to read of Ian's sudden
passing: we made our first trip to Islay last August when I sent in some
contributions, and Ian was so friendly and helpful. As a naive visitor, the
blog has proved invaluable. I was looking forward to exchanging info again during
this year’s visit, and was shocked to go on to the blog and read the news. My
heartfelt commiserations.
At the time we left home, the blog was in
suspension, and have only just caught up with its revival - great news.”
Some records from his visit this week (seeing
69 species so far) include:
Sunday Aug 1st: Great Skua flying
north near Kilchoman Bay
Monday Aug 2nd: Flock of 12 Bar-tailed
Godwit near Bowmore and 3 Red-throated Divers, 12 Dunlin, 6 Sanderling and
“masses” of Ringed Plovers at Laggan Bay
Tuesday Aug 3rd: Ardnave - 2 female Tufted
Duck with 4 and 2 young respectively on the loch.
Another noteworthy record from yesterday is from
Mary Ann Featherstone with a count of 7 Spotted Flycatchers in her garden at
Kildalton. Spotted Flycatchers typically arrive late into UK from African
wintering grounds and depart early – so these are likely to be the first
migrants heading south. Once a common bird of gardens, orchards and parkland in
the UK it is now Red-listed with a breeding population decline of 89% between
1967 and 2010.
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