Tuesday 25th October

 A blustery, cloudy day, but mostly dry.

 Martin Armstrong saw a Barn Owl near to home at Glenegedale last night.

Dan Brown was on Jura for much of the day, finding lots of activity from 5 White-tailed Eagles, 3 Golden Eagles and 4 Hen Harriers. The Goldies apparently very aggressive towards an adult WTE and later a Common Buzzard. He also saw a Hen Harrier crossing from Jura to Islay. Plenty of Long-tailed Tits, Goldcrests, Treecreepers, thrushes, finches and pipits plus a single Brent Goose and feral Canada Goose on Jura.

Back on Islay, a group managed to get over by boat from N. Ireland. They struck lucky with a sighting of a Cackling Goose, while Malcolm O. saw a “smallish” Canada Goose, but not small enough to be a Cackling Goose at Leorin. There has been a lot of online discussion about the splitting and genetics of Canada Geese in the last couple of days and the conundrum over what is and isn’t identifiable never seems to be resolved. Less contentious was Ed Burrell's first Shoveler for his “Farm List” at Cornabus today! Jackie Wedd on her last day on Islay turned up Goldeneye on Loch Gorm and filled in a few other species gaps for her holiday list.

Non-avian interest included 12 Bottle-nosed Dolphins seen by Neil McMahon from Port Ellen as he and his group departed. On Jura Dan’s group had a tantalising view of a large Hawker-type dragonfly that they couldn’t get close enough to ID.

I spent a bit of time in the 2 RSPB hides at Gruinart in the afternoon. With nothing better to do I counted the ducks and came up with 230 Wigeon, 40 Shoveler, 45 Pintail, 55 Mallard, 425 Teal and 4 Gadwall. More exciting was a group of 10 Greenshank on the floods as the tide rose – the most I’ve ever seen together on Islay. Out on the loch itself were 4 Whooper Swans and a lone Brent Goose with the Barnies.

Owen & Glynis Roberts had also been watching on Gruinart and counted 500 Golden Plover and 10 Snipe. Earlier they’d marked up 25 Brents, 13 Whoopers and a Kingfisher on Loch Indaal up towards Bowmore.

Alan and Karami Ure were also enjoying the spectacle of Golden and White-tailed Eagles on their travels on the Mulindry road and on The Oa, where they saw plenty of Fieldfares and Redwings. Up at Kildalton in Knock Bay was a Red Deer stag out on one of the small islands that the deer seem to regularly swim out to.