Monday 30th September

Well, the northerlies duly arrived, quite light ones accompanied by equally light rain for much of the day. If lots of geese have arrived either no-one seen them or if they have no-one has bothered to say so. On the other hand, perhaps they are still on the way. Over 500 Greylags on the mud at Bridgend seemed to be pleasing some visitors, though.

Among  the very few records to be posted was the summering Whooper Swan seen at Leorin again, by Martin, while Clive raised the total of Little Egrets at Gruinart to 9, which maybe the largest number seen there so far.

Jim Dickson, Argyll Bird Recorder, has suggested looking out for Yellow-browed Warblers, as there are 3 on Tiree, and late September into October is the peak time for them to appear.

Sunday 29th September

Mostly overcast with a strong easterly wind. Clive started things off this morning at Laggan Bay just off the airport when 3 Black-throated Divers flew in from the north, while 4 Red-throated Divers were already present there. Around lunchtime, Mary Redman had a party of 10+ Long-tailed Tits at Loch Skerrols. Linden was on Jura and saw a WTE, as well as 3 Turnstone at Craighouse, where he also heard a bullfinch calling. Later on, back at Gruinart, he saw a Merlin, while David D had another at Kinnabus. This time of year, these are more probably Icelandic birds rather than belonging to the very small number of breeding birds.

Right at the end of the day, Mandy H posted at 19.22 that a few hundred Barnacle Geese were flying in over Loch Gorm heading towards Gruinart. With the wind going back to northerly tomorrow and Tuesday, and an anticyclone between Iceland and here, I would be moderately confident that there will be more arrivals in the next 48 hours.

Saturday 28th September 2024

A bright day with quite a lot of sun. The wind has left the north, though it looks like only for a couple days, so we should see some more geese arrive at the beginning of next week. 

 Ed kicked the morning off with an interesting female Wigeon at Loch Cornabus which had white axilliaries and looked fairly grey-headed. As he hadn't time to examine it for longer, he invited others to come and check it out for him but, if anyone did, they have yet to report on it.

 

Visitor, John Strickland, got in touch to say he had just spent a week here. His counts of different species, including geese are on BirdTrack under the name of John S. but he offered the following highlights: 2 Golden eagle at Kilchoman Distillery on Tuesday 24th (flying overhead), 2 White tail eagles at Gruinart on Wednesday 25th (sitting on mudflats for 2.5hrs and 3 hen harriers also at Gruinart the same day (2 female and 1 male), as well as a flock of of 12 skylark on the Oa on Sunday. He also saw 3 Whooper Swans, a pair with one juvenile, at Gartmain, Loch Indaal, this morning. Thanks, John.

Lucky Hannah Stanger achieved a fine hat trick of the freshwater delights of the Sorn river this afternoon, a Dipper, 2 Grey Wagtails, and a Kingfisher.

Friday 27th September

 Mostly dry and sunny, but cool and breezy again from the north.

The northerly winds continue to bring in the first, fairly early arrival of geese to Islay, with 185 Barnacle Geese at Gruinart this morning c/o James How and Clive Mc. (who also notes that the Little Egret count for yesterday went up to 7 on Loch Gruinart).

The only other bird news was of a dark Arctic Skua seen by Clive Mc. as it flew over the head of Loch Gruinart towards Loch Gorm this afternoon.

Tuesday 24th, Wednesday 25th & Thursday 26th September

 Decent, warmish, sunny weather for Tuesday and Wednesday, deteriorating into grey and rainy for Thursday. Winds mainly from the north.

On Tuesday, with the wind from the north the Pink-footed Geese were on the move south. Clive Mc. had several groups moving through at Gruinart totalling 143, while over on the other side of the island, probably different flocks included 80 over the American Monument at the Oa and 28 at Kinnabus c/o David D. then 110 from Ed Burrell at Cornabus - so probably a minimum of 361?

Other sightings sent in from Linden included a White-tailed Eagle over Bowmore, with 2 chasing Greylags in Loch Indaal where a little group of 6 Barnacle Geese and 9 Brent Geese lurked. Over at Kildalton, Mary-Ann Featherstone noted 14 Red-breasted Mergansers.

Wednesday kicked off with Martin A. seeing 12 Brent Geese at Gartmain on Loch Indaal and David D. counting 3 Merlins on The Oa. Clive Mc. vis-migging at Gruinart had 19 Barnacle Geese flying up the Loch along with 2 Little Egrets. Later, Linden had 3 Great White Egrets over the woodlands at Gruinart - a small part of a big influx into Scotland at the moment. Clive Mc. also had a flock of 220 Golden Plovers and upped the Little Egret tally to 6, finishing with an interaction between a Hen Harrier with prey being buzzed by a female Peregrine. The Harrier managed to avoid giving up its lunch.

Today (Thursday) had Mary Redman spotting 3 Greenland-type Wheatears at Claddach and Louise Muir commenting on many Swallows feeding over the road at Gruinart flats after some unpleasant wet weather.

Barnacle Geese are beginning to arrive! Clive Mc. had 80 this morning at Gruinart along with groups of 50 and 13 Pink-footed Geese, followed by a further 180 Pinkies in the afternoon (242 total). By the evening James How had racked up 95 Barnacle Geese, 17 Brent Geese, 26 Black-tailed Godwits, 10 Pintail, 4 Little Egrets and single Peregrine and White-tailed Eagle on Gruinart. 

Elsewhere, David D. had another 3 Merlins at Bein Mhor, plus 9 Golden Plover and a Buzzard with a Hedgehog at Kinnabus. Linden had150 Golden Plovers at Gruinart, with another 14 at Laphroaig and the "summering" Whooper Swan on fields with Greylags at Leorin.

Saturday 21st, Sunday 22nd & Monday 23rd September

Glorious sunny, warm days and cool nights with clear skies and calm conditions. The weather just beginning to cloud over and go back to autumn towards the afternoon of Sunday, with a more overcast Monday. All in all, fantastic weather for Islay's annual Lagavulin Jazz Festival, which kept me from writing the blog each night.

One of the Jazz performances was at the RSPB Visitor Centre on Saturday, where Linden did a pre-concert bird walk for the Jazz-goers. No sooner had he set out, a couple of Great White Egrets were spotted on the floods which he called me over to see. This of course supports further, the extraordinary sight of 13 Egrets seen yesterday as being Great Whites too (apart from Clive Mc. being perfectly confident of his ID and an experienced observer having seen plenty of the species before). There have also been seemingly unprecedented numbers showing up elsewhere in UK, with a flock of 41 at Spurn, Yorkshire recently and 8 near Wick in the far north of mainland Scotland and 1 on Luing just north of us on Sunday. There have only been 9-10 previous Islay records, the first in 1986, all of single birds, so both these sightings are very noteworthy.

Other Saturday news was of Wheatears, quite likely migrants, popping up here and there, Mary Redman seeing one at Claddach and noting a flock of 50+ Meadow Pipits there on Sunday along with a Kestrel and 2 Hen Harriers.

Today there are notes from David Dinsley of the Moorhen still at Loch Cornabus along with 20 Wigeon and 94 Teal and from Mary R. at Claddach of Wheatears, Hen Harriers and a surprising lack of House Sparrows despite the barley harvest being in full swing and tractors by the dozen going back and forth with trailer loads of barley spilling onto the roads. I've noticed small groups of sparrows dotted along the road from Bridgend to Port Charlotte wherever there is a bend and the barley most likely to spill. Malcolm O. counted c.50 near in the road at Port Charlotte recently and Mary commented that the Collared Doves are feasting on spilt grain at the drying depot at Octofad.

Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th & Friday 20th September

 Further lovely sunny days with above average temperatures and light winds.

On Wednesday Clive Mc. counted a total of 22 Choughs up at Kilnave in the morning along with 26 Black-tailed Godwits at Gruinart. Over on Jura, Louise Muir and a flock of 12 Long-tailed Tits and a Barn Owl in Sanaig woods. Gary T/ had his usual couple of White-tailed Eagles up towards Bridgend on Loch Indaal and a Golden Eagle over the slopes of Knockdon. Mary Redman had a further 2 White-tailed Eagles at Portnahaven.

Thursday produced a flock of c.100 Twite for David D. at Upper Killeyan with a hunting Merlin and many Skylarks on the move (Skylarks also noted as numerous down at Portnahaven). Up at Finlaggan Gary t. had 4 Crossbills in the plantation forestry. Ed Burrell saw "his" Moorhen on loch cornabus again and James How noted a Water Rail at Gruinart.

Today there were reports of large Greenland-type Wheatears from David D. at Upper Killeyan, Cornabus from Ed Burrell and Clive Mc. & Linden at Gruinart, where there were 6 Little Egrets, 123 Shoveler and 10 Pintail. Gary T. watching on Loch Indaal  up at Bridgend, watched his 2 White-tailed Eagles annoying the Greylags along with 6 Barnacle Geese and 15 Brent Geese. On Gruinart Clive Mc. had 2 Canada Geese. 

In the afternoon up towards the west side of Ardnave, Clive saw a flock of 13 Egrets flying north out over the small skerries offshore, which he is convinced and sure were Great Whites, though Jim Dickson points out that there have been up to 14 Little Egrets at Kennacraig recently along with good numbers elsewhere, while there have only ever been 2 Great Whites together seen in Scotland before. The debate may go on for a while as Great White Egrets are an Argyll rarity, but whatever transpires it is by far the largest number of egrets ever seen at one go on Islay and a remarkable and fascinating record.

Monday 16th & Tuesday 17th September

A distinct improvement in the weather with light winds and high pressure producing a bit of an "Indian Summer" - particularly sunny and warm today.

Bird news yesterday included a Whimbrel, 4 White Wagtails and 16 Choughs at Kintra c/o David D. Gary T. saw his usual White-tailed Eagle at Finlaggan and 3 different groups of Buzzards: 3 over Achnaclach woodland, 6 over loch Finlaggan and 7 high up above Sgeir Bheinn. Linden had a Peregrine over Loch Gruinart and on the far side, Mary-Ann Featherstone counted a flock of 30 Long-tailed Tits at Kildalton.

Today, Ed Burrell was delighted to find a Moorhen on Loch Cornabus, while Gary T. had 2 White-tailed Eagles at Bridgend on Loch Indaal and 42 Brent Geese at Gartmain. Linden counted 4 Little Egrets on Loch Gruinart where Clive Mc. saw 23 Black-tailed Godwits, and Osprey and 2 Barnacle Geese. The latter prompted discussion on whether they were local/summering birds or fresh in from Iceland?

Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th September

Another two days of sunshine and heavy showers.

Yesterday's news: Ed B. confirmed that the Short-toed Lark was present at Cornabus (but no news today). Ed also found just fledged Snipe at Cornabus - a late brood indeed. There were 4 Little Egrets at Bun an Uillt, seen by Clive Mc., while Gary T. had 20 Brent Geese at Gartmain and Mary Redman saw a Chiffchaff at Port Wemyss.

Today there were two adult White-tailed Eagles noted by Gary T. up on their usual grassy island in the flats at the top of Loch Indaal. Clive Mc. had 19 Brent Geese flying up Loch Gruinart this morning, counted 234 Gannets at Frenchman's Rocks in the early afternoon, 9 Choughs at Lossit Bay then 8 Common Scoter in Loch Indaal off Bruichladdich a little later, finishing with 43 Golden Plover at Ballinaby. He also commented on several flocks of up to 100 Goldfinches and Linnets in various locations today.

In the last couple of days there have been up to 6 Pied and White Wagtails feeding on my lawn - freshly cut and providing lots of hapless crane flies as food.

Friday 13th September

More wind, sun and showers today, the wind now coming from a more southerly direction.

Ed reports that the Short-toed Lark is still in situ at Cornabus. This waif from southern climes is in stark contrast to a sighting by James How of an early Iceland Gull (a juv/1Y) at Saligo this morning - the first of winter. Elsewhere Clive Mc. saw a total of 10 Greenshanks below Creag Mhor, Gruinart this morning - a quite high count for the species.

Thursday 12th September

The weather continued in much the same vein - showery, cool, blustery from the west and sunny in between.

Gary T. and Ed Burrell both reported that the Short-toed Lark was present again in the same field at Cornabus. Gary also reported a Merlin after Meadow Pipits near Ballygrant and David Dinsley noted a 3CY White-tailed Eagle over the Oa RSPB car park.

Other news concerned migrant Pink-footed Geese, with Linden K. noting a flock of 48 on the flats at Gruinart, with possibly two flocks of c.40 each going over. Clive Mc. saw another flock of 55 going over Gruinart this evening, so a possible tally of c.183 birds.

Wednesday 11th September

Another day of breezy conditions from the NW with sunshine and heavy rain showers.

Despite the iffy weather, there was great excitement when Ed Burrell reported an "odd" lark down at Cornabus at lunchtime on a field he had cut for silage and was now taking off the bales. It was quickly suggested it could be a Short-toed Lark and various of the resident birders made their way there to take a look. Luckily the bird was, although quite flighty, also very faithful to this one field and I believe everyone who went to Cornabus came away successfully having seen the bird in question. It has some odd pale wing markings, but otherwise has good features for a Short-toed Lark. If accepted it will be only the 4th Argyll record and a first for Islay. The previous records were 2 on Tiree and the last in 2011 on Oronsay. When Val Peacock and I arrived, David D. was already there helpfully taking record shots of the bird which he shares with us here.

Other news for the day comes from Clive Mc. spotting 2 Arctic Skuas flying south down Loch Gruinart and seemingly overland towards Loch Indaal, while Janette Mc. had our first migrant Pink-footed Geese of the autumn this evening - an impressive flock of 200 over their house and then landing in loch Gruinart.

Tuesday 10th September

Blustery winds from the WNW bringing patches of sunshine between short, heavy showers of rain. 

Clive Mc. hinted yesterday that a seawatch at Frenchman's Rocks might be worthwhile this morning, given the wind direction. He duly went there this morning watching from 7.50am to 10.30am - a good long period to once again show that Islay is a very poor second-best to Tiree! Among the more interesting birds seen, he counted 74 Brent Geese, single Wigeon, Pintail, Arctic Skua, Bonxie, plus 27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and 5 Red-throated Divers. Numbers of commonly encountered seabirds noted were low - just 30 Kittiwakes, 52 Razorbill/Guillemots and 25 Manx Shearwaters. Jim Dickson later sent us the tally for a one hour seawatch from Tiree this morning that included over 28,000 Manxies and 3 Sooty Shearwaters.

Other than the above, Linden saw a Sparrowhawk on Gruinart Flats.

Sunday 8th & Monday 9th September

The previous three days of "summer" turned into grey, breezy and drizzly on Sunday, with more rain and breezier from the NW on Monday.

Yesterday Martin A. had a Dipper on the River Sorn and a Little Egret and 2 White-tailed Eagles on Bridgend Merse. Clive Mc. witnessed the unusual sight of a couple of dark-phase Arctic Skuas  close by Carnain in Loch Indaal in the evening.

Today Clive weas busy recording near his house at Loch Gruinart with a substantial tally of the first southerly passage of Brent Geese this autumn - 168 passing through and a further 86 staging on the loch in the evening. Along with them were 54 Lesser Black-backed Gulls moving south and 26 Black-tailed Godwits newly arrived with 10 Knot. Over at Cornabus Ed Burrell had 4 Whimbrel on the move.

Thursday , Friday and Saturday 5th, 6th & 7th September

Summer is finally here, with three days of bright sunshine and temperatures in the 20s.

White Wagtails were mentioned for Thursday - David D. seeing 3 at Kinnabus and James H. with 17 at Gruinart where he also had Peregrine and a Carrion Crow.

Friday produced a Brent Goose between Port Charlotte and Bruichladdich, temporarily associating with Greylags in a field. 

Also in the news was a confusing duck posted by Jim Dickson from his recent visit, looking very much like a hybrid Mallard x Pacific Black Duck. Who knows where this one came from? There was a report last year from Dan Brown on 3rd November of Pacific Black Duck hybrids at Port Ellen, though today's correspondence from Dan suggests that the sighting was of a hybrid and a pure Pacific Black Duck. Either way, these are the only records of this presumed feral/escaped species.

Today Clive Mc. reported continuing high numbers of Sanderling in Loch Gruinart, while he and Gary T. noted good numbers of Dunlin (270) and Ringed Plover (30) around Smelly Corner on Loch Indaal along with 30 Knot, 185 Oystercatchers and 150 Bar-tailed Godwits. I counted 70 Ringed Plover on the beach at Machir Bay.

Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th September

 

Jim Dickson sent in details of birds seen on his brief visit:

1st September: 2 Storm Petrel on crossing near Islay; 4 Shoveler & 24 Wigeon at Gartnatra; 110 Woodpigeon at Coullabus Plantation, 1 Sparrowhawk; 2 juv Whinchat at Craigens; 4 Goosander, 6 Greenshank, 2 WTE, imm Peregrine, 1 Arctic Tern, 2 juv Black-tailed Godwits at Loch Gruinart; 2 White-tailed Eagle, fem Hen Harrier, 4 Tufted Duck, 2 Little Grebe at Ardnave

2nd September 120 Goldfinch at Portnahaven, 5 Chough at Easter Ellister; 120 Swallow, 75 House Martin, 5 Sand Martin, 1 Wheatear at Craigens; 2 White-tailed Eagle, 21 juv Black-tailed Godwits, 2 juv Little Stint, imm Peregrine, 26 Red-breasted Mergansers off Bridgend/Carnain; m Hen Harrier NW of Bowmore

3rd September: 4 juv Little Stint, 42 Knot off Carnain; male Hen Harrier S of Bowmore; 44 Ringed Plover, Sparrowhawk at Loch Leodamais, Port Ellen.

Other records for yesterday, 3rd, were 3 White-tailed Eagles at Whin Park, Loch Indaal and a Red Kite between Portnahaven and Port Charlotte seen by Gary T. Linden had a count of 25 Whimbrel around the mouth of the River Sorn at Bridgend.

Today, the weather improved from the grey, drizzle of yesterday into a mostly bright and sunny day. David D. had a good count of 32 Ravens over Ben Mhor in the morning. I was at the RSPB Oa reserve where 2-3 Golden Eagles were seen far in the distance, while another and 2 White-tailed Eagles were noted at Cornabus. On the return, the lone Whooper Swan was still present in Port Ellen bay, cosying up to a couple of Mute Swans.

Saturday 31st August, Sunday and Monday 1st & 2nd September

 Pleasant enough weather on Saturday and Sunday, but greyer and drizzly on Monday morning.

On Saturday 2 White-tailed Eagles were again in situ c/o Gary T. up at the Bridgend area of Loch Indaal, with another at Easter Ellister seen by Emily McGarva. Linden reported a Whooper Swan at Port Ellen while Clive Mc.  had 2 Storm Petrels on the crossing back to Islay.

Billy Stitchell sent in a photo of a lovely red, male Crossbill seen on Saturday up at the Bunnahabhain forestry.

Gary T. upped the game on Sunday with an Osprey on the shoreline at Bridgend, upsetting the gulls then heading towards Gruinart where Linden report adult and juv White-tailed Eagle. 

No sightings reported today, other than 2 Little Stints at Carnain this evening seen by Jim Dickson, over on a short visit and 2 Bonxies flying up Loch Indaal while I was out in the boat on my first fishing trip of the summer - an indication of what a rotten summer it has been!