Tuesday 8th October

A dry sunny day, starting with breezy weather from a slightly more NE direction, then calming further into a pleasant afternoon.

Gary T. started the day with 2 adult White-tailed Eagles up on the flats at Bridgend and around Gartmain where 100 Bar-tailed Godwits, 9 Turnstone, 18 Knot, 3 Little Egrets and 29 Brent Geese were noted. One of the Brents had colour rings that he was keen to read and we await any results of this bird's origin. In the same area Patrick Styles had a group of 12 Pink-footed Geese a little later.

Up at Gruinart Clive Mc. had a larger group of 90 Pink-footed Geese in from the west along with a steady trickle of Barnacle Geese. On The Oa David Wood had further flocks of 23 Pink-footed Geese going north and noted a single House Martin.

I took a look around loch gorm, Ballinaby and then up to the RSPB Gruinart hides in the afternoon and made a few counts: Up in the small lochans at the west end of Loch Gorm were 1,400 Greylags with 670 Barnacle and 14 Pink-footed Geese and 22 Whooper Swans. Further along towards Kilchoman a further 70 Whoopers were sat in the barley stubbles. On the other side at the stubbles around Ballinaby were 270 Rock Doves and 11 more Whooper Swans. Down at the hides it was evident that there had been a big arrival of Barnacle Geese, which I didn't count but estimated at "several thousand" ( Clive Mc. was more diligent than I, and did, later, count the Barnies - giving a total of 3,760), along with some smaller groups of the first Greenland White-fronted Geese and a lone Brent Goose. These were scattered out on the fields and across Gruinart Bay where two adult White-tailed Eagles lurked. Here too were a further 22 Whooper Swans (one with a white colour-ring) and 25 more Pink-footed Geese Clive Mc. was more diligent than I, and did count the Barnies - giving a total of 3,760).

Mary Redman photographed a flock of c.70 Pink-footed Geese from the Jura ferry.

Thus a likely total of  234 Pink-footed Geese and 125 Whooper Swans. (It was noticeable that there were only 2-3 young Whoopers in the various flocks seen - a poor breeding season for them perhaps?).