Islay Birds

 Thursday 24th April 2025

Another lovely sunny day though with an increasing SE wind, and only really warm in sheltered spots.

There's very little to report, although Clive reminded us that, on this day in 1988, he spotted Britain's first-ever Brown-headed Cowbird at Ardnave, a Starling-sized bird blown across the Atlantic from North America, where it is not much loved because it is parasitic on some of their warblers. There have been a mere handful of records in Britain since. There's no photograph of the bird Clive saw, and I was about to find one on the internet when David Livingstone sent this splendid photo of a visitor to his garden in Port Ellen yesterday. I know the saying goes "One for sorrow", but this bird looks entirely content to be here on Islay.