A late message for Christmas Day came from Steve & Lyn Rogers over at Port Ellen who report that the male Blackcap is still wintering in their garden and has now been joined by a female.
Today Steve Wignill was on the high road at Leorin and found a White-tailed Eagle and 2 Whooper Swans. Then on to The Oa where another White-tailed Eagle awaited. On the way at Cornabus was a neck-ringed Greenland White-fronted Goose CZC, which I think is one of the regular individuals that Malcolm reported on a week or so ago. Elsewhere Steve and his birding friend Pete Middleton notched up 4 Hen Harriers of different ages and sexes.
Phil Edwards conatced me with corrections to my blog yesterday (which I'm doing remotely at the moment from Orkney, which is proving a bit tricky). Corrections are: 1) Phil returned to Islay after a 20-year break last year – and had so much fun that he came back again this year. 2) the goose photo posted had a collar on it and I missed off the fact that it had a neck collar CSK 3) Phil also saw a couple of Hen Harriers at Smaull – the highlight of his Christmas Day.
Today Phil reports: "We saw a Golden Eagle from the cottage at Smaull this morning. Then a trip to Bunnahabhain produced a male Kestrel near Carnduncan; c1,800 Golden Plover, 200 Dunlin, 15 Lapwing and a Knot on the fields of Gruinart Flats; 2m1f Siskin (island tick for me) and a Coal Tit at the feeders at Islay Woollen Mill; and two Great Northern Divers in the snow at Bunnahabhain, 1 of which was calling".
Phil has also forwarded some great photos of some of the birds seen in the past couple of days which I'll be able to include in the next couple of blogs once I'm back on Islay (hopefully tomorrow, weather-permitting).
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