The last day of the year was another of unpleasant weather, but the New Year started brilliantly with, for much of the day, clear blue skies, dry and with light winds. But the wind had turned to a northerly, so it was decidedly colder than the previous couple of weeks.
The last bird records of 2024 were a male Hen Harrier seen by Pete Twist at Ballymeanach, a Greater Scaup still on Loch Skerrols noted by Ed B.. Mary R. saw 3 Gannets plus a few Kittiwakes off Frenchman's Rocks and a Peregrine nearby. I did a walk from the Woollen Mill to Daill House and found a flock of 16 Siskin and a scattering of 4 Bullfinches.
Other late 2024 news includes a photo from Ed B. taken on a thermal imager of no less than 8 Woodcock feeding in an open field at Cornabus after dark a couple of days ago - a further clear indication of how incredibly under-recorded this species is. Malcolm O. sent in a Facebook post from Billy Stitchell saying that his male Blackcap which had been present on his feeders now for a couple of weeks has moved on, but he does have two Greenfinches present along with the more common bird table species.
The first records from Islay for 2025 are from the RSPB Gruinart hides where James H. and I watched for a while this afternoon. I counted the usual group of 38 Whooper Swans, while James H. recorded 2 Golden Eagles, 1 White-tailed Eagle, 2 Hen Harriers, 95 Dunlin, 7 Snipe and 2 Woodcock. James also managed to find the Green-winged Teal for me!
Louise Muir sent the first note from Jura - a photo of a Ban Owl on a garden fence at Craighouse.
WISHING ALL BLOG READERS A HAPPY, HEALTHY BIRD-FILLED 2025
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