Monday 16th February

Quite a bit of rain accompanied, if briefly, by a southwest wind, though it is now working its way back east again via north.

Plenty of observations today, starting with Steve R. finding only a female Ring-necked Duck on Loch nan Cadhan, but no sign of the pair on neighbouring Loch Ballygrant, where, though, he saw 12 Tufted Ducks. He flushed Woodcock from the woods around the lake, and then had a flock of several hundred Golden Plover along the High Road on his way back to Port Ellen. New visitor Richard Grimmett found the male Green-winged Teal in front of the south hide at RSPB Loch Gruinart at lunchtime, also seeing 2 White-tailed Eagles, as well as Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Merlin.

In the early afternoon, David W. counted 115 Lapwings at Kinnabus and Steve Percival found a Cackling Goose at Starchmill in a flock of Barnacle Geese. At about the same time, David Jardine was photographing 3 Russian White-fronted Geese at Gleannagaoidh on the Rhinns. Later in the afternoon, on the ferry to Jura, he spotted 31 Brents beside the small island of Glas Eilean. Having watched an adult and an immature White-tailed Eagles flushing the Cackling Goose and the Barnacles at Starchmill, Steve R. moved to Gruinart and found the wintering Red-breasted Goose on the flats looking from Craigens.

And here's David Jardine's long lens photo of the 3 Russian Whitefronts. Their black belly markings are heavier than is perhaps usual, as one thinks of Greenland Whitefronts having more obvious bars, but the larger white foreheads and pinkish bills are very obvious.