Friday 3rd May

Sunny to start with, then a bit of cloud and rain in the afternoon, but still a fairly pleasant day.

More sightings of summer migrants across the island today. Cuckoos and Grasshopper Warblers here and there Sedge Warbler at Carnduncan a Whitethroat singing at Gruinart and a Corn Crake calling at Port Wemyss. Thanks to you all for sending in these records.

There was an impressive gathering of 55+ Eiders off Bruichladdich on a flat calm Loch Indaal this afternoon. and a count of 60 Bar-tailed Godwits at Gartnatra, Loch Indaal.

More impressive was a sighting of an Osprey by Gary T. up at the top of Loch Indaal near Bridgend. More impressive still was a count made by Linden of at least 147 Whimbrel at Rock Mountain. Typically spring passage involves much bigger numbers of birds than in autumn and numbers have been steadily increasing over the past 20 years. While it is difficult to assess true numbers passing through in any single day, as birds in smaller flocks move through and may all be different, this is the highest single count ever - the previous highest was 126 on Loch Indaal in 2017.