Saturday 21st March

 A slightly cooler and cloudier day, but dry.

Harry & Denise Failey left today, but counted 140 Dunlin and 114 Bar-tailed Godwits at the top of Loch Indaal on their way to the ferry. James how was up at Ardnave where there were 3 White-tailed and a Golden Eagle, Merlin and 3 Purple Sandpipers, with another Golden Eagle, Hen Harriers sky-dancing, 3 Gadwall, a Sand Martin and 9 Black-tailed Godwits (some in summery plumage) at Gruinart.

I went down to Port Wemyss and around the southern part of the Rhinns with the hope of coming across yesterday's probable Crane, but had no luck. A flock of 60 Chaffinches at Gearach was the best I could muster.

An interesting report came in from Mary-Ann F. over at Kildalton of a Nuthatch identified by call on the Merlin app on her walk through the area. This would be Islay's second record of the species. Although the bird wasn't seen and we all know Merlin isn't infallible, it fits rather nicely with the recent sighting of Jura's second Nuthatch a week or so ago and the general spread of the species south into Argyll. So if anybody is over that way listen and look out for it to get a 100% confirmation.

Friday 20th March

Another glorious warm and sunny day.

It was last day of the trip for Nick Goddard and among his sightings were 5 Little Egrets at Gruinart where he saw a Golden Eagle heading off with what was probably a Barnacle goose as prey. Steven Murray saw another Golden Eagle at Loch Gorm plus a couple of Sand Martins - the latter also being clocked by Nick Bone along with a Wheatear at Ardnave, where he found a Merlin and both Golden and White-tailed Eagles annoying the geese. Ed B. saw another Wheatear at Lenavore, while over at Claggain Bay Mary-Ann F, had 6 Great Northern Divers and paired up Ringed Plovers, Oystercatchers, Pied Wagtail and Shelduck. She also reported a couple of Great spotted Woodpeckers at Kildalton.

Most intriguing today has been a late note from Mary R. of reports of a Crane down at Port Wemyss and McKenzie Island. We aren't sure who saw it, or how well it was seen, but given that one was seen well at Moine Mhor, Lochgilphead last night and this morning, it sounds a likely genuine sighting and something to search for tomorrow. There have only been four previous confirmed sightings of Crane on Islay.

Thursday 19th March

A glorious warm, calm and sunny day - summer is here at least for a day or two!

Nick Goddard was birding over on Jura today with the following results: 

Sound of Islay, from Feolin: 10 Common Eiders, 2 Shags, Cormorant 

A846 from Feolin to Lussa: Red Throated Diver, 2 Pink-footed Geese, c.85 Canada Geese at Craighouse, White-tailed Eagle (photo below) Achamore, 2 Grey Herons, 3 Buzzard, Raven & Stonechat.

On Islay there was a first small arrival of more summer migrants: a first Chiffchaff heard singing by Paul Miller at Aoradh, Gruinart, Wheatears at Kintra, Saligo and Claddach, with 3 Sand Martins at Kintra and 2 at Kinnabus seen by the David D & David W.

Morven Laurie from Nature Scot kindly forwarded the last of the winter's International Goose Count results for Islay carried out on 17th-18th March: 29,759 Barnacle Geese, 4,869 Greenland White-fronted Geese and 1,202 Greylag Geese.

Billy Stitchell has been out and about with his camera and sent in some photos very redolent of the change-over from winter to spring, with wintering Wigeon and Greenshank lingering along with paired-off Mallards and singing Robins.

Wednesday 18th March

At last - a lovely warm, sunny and spring-like day. Unsurprisingly, this produced the first of the summer migrants. Clive McK. had a Wheatear at Ardnave with Harry and Denise Failey finding another on The Oa, where they also noted 3 Golden Eagles (2 adults and an immature). Later, near the road down to The Machrie Hotel they found a/the Magpie. Down at Claddach, Mary R. found our first Sand Martin, plus a couple of White-tailed Eagles perched up at Claddach Loch plus 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. David D. had a White Wagtail at Kinnabus where he also noted the Long-tailed Duck still on loch Kinnabus and a lone Pink-footed Goose. Steven Murray was the only one reporting from Gruinart today where he saw a Golden Eagle from the South Hide. In the fine weather the Black Guillemots were much in evidence at their usual haunts of Port Askaig and Bruichladdich Pier.

I stopped off at Blackrock in the afternoon sunshine to look over the calm waters of Loch Indaal. Nicholas Watts had previously seen 6 Brent Geese here, and I added 83 Common Scoters, 41 Red-breasted Mergansers, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, 6 Slavonian Grebes, 14 Red-throated and 11 Great Northern Divers. (Coincidentally, David Jardine was counting just across the water at the Sound of Gigha and added a further 172 Common Scoters, 22 Long-tailed Ducks and 27 Slavonian Grebes, and suggested that the combined total probably represents a substantial proportion of the Argyll total for these species).

Clive McK. sent in a note about finding a total of 6 Great northern Divers washed up dead on the big Strand (Laggan Bay) earlier in the week. It is a v ery long beach, so may mean nothing, but  always sad to see and worrying that it might be a few of a much larger number  that have died due to bad weather, disease or who knows what?

Tuesday 17th March

Weather today was basically "more of the same" - mild, but breezy from the south with odd bits of sunshine between rain.

Nick Goddard was out and about reporting birds on wet fields between Ballinaby and Saligo: 2 Choughs (one colour-ringed on the left leg with Grey-blue above yellow) also 19 Ringed Plovers, c5 Turnstones and 5 Redshanks. In the afternoon he noted a male Hen Harrier on the moor by Octofad.

Harry and Denise Failey saw a couple of Grey Wagtails at the Woollen Mill then scored with the three Ring-necked Ducks (a male with 2 females) still loitering on Loch Ballygrant.

Here at Bruichladdich there were 2 Siskins on the feeders.

Sunday 15th & Monday 16th March

More rain with sunny spells between. Slightly milder on Monday as winds came more directly from the south.

Yesterday Nick Goddard had 100+ Golden Plovers, mixed with Lapwings in fields near the RSPB Visitor Centre at Loch Gruinart, where I counted 13 Whooper Swans and  had 4 Black-tailed Godwits and a couple of pairs of Gadwall viewable from the hides. Harry & Denise Failey saw a Black-throated Diver on Loch Indaal early in the day.

At Bruicladdich Nick noted a Cormorant fishing near the pier.

Today at the South Hide Nick counted  8 Curlew amidst Lapwings, Pintail, Wigeon, Shoveler and Teal. He also provided this photo of a couple of displaying pairs of Red Breasted Mergansers. Steven Murray had a ring-tailed Hen Harrier near Crosshouses. Harry & Denise Failey noted 40 Twite near Kilchoman and saw the Bruichladdich Cormorant again.

Friday 13th & Saturday 14th March

A couple more days of turbulent and changeable weather - sunny at times in between cold squally showers.

Yesterday's main news was a sighting of a Nuthatch at Craighouse, found by Theo's Nature Scotland group and photographed by Tim Wilson. There has been just one previous record on Jura of a single bird logged during the BTO 2007-11 Winter Atlas, with a likely date of 10th December 2008. Similarly, there is only one Islay record of a bird at Bunnhabhain on 2nd June 2020. The species is spreading fast into Argyll, so it has long been anticipated that more records and possible future breeding will occur here and on Jura.

Another minor rarity yesterday was a Magpie at Laggan Bay Distillery near the airport, first seen by Clive McK, who also had a large count of 130 Wood Pigeons at Loch Tallant. 

Steve & Lyn Rogers noted a Cormorant off the Gaelic College and today watched two adult White-tailed Eagles perched up near their home at Emerivale.

Harry & Denise Failey returned for another week of birding today and sent a good count of 150 Skylarks along the Ardnave road. David Dinsley was delighted to be able to get a proper photo of a Red Grouse today on The Oa - they are usually flying away at speed seconds after being seen!

Thursday 12th March

A blustery, windy and cold day with sunshine and squally rain - more rain than sun!

The only bird news comes from Theo and his Nature Scotland group who found the Green-winged Teal from the South Hide at RSPB Gruinart.

Wednesday 11th March

Quite strong SW winds, cool, with intermittent squally rain between sunnier spells for much of the day.

David D. started the records off today with a count of 61 Golden Plovers feeding on in-bye land at Kinnabus, and Mary-Ann F. noting 30+ Lapwings and 200 Starlings north of Port Ellen this morning. Marcus Covell at the Woollen Mill saw the usual Grey Wagtail on the sorn and a Golden Eagle overhead.

Other records came from Theo with his Nature Scotland group, finding 7 Great Northern Divers, 24 Eider, 3 female Common Scoter, 4 Kittiwake, 6 Choughs and a Gannet at Sanaigmore. Later, the Red-breasted Goose showed up on the flats at Gruinart (photo below), along with an adult Russian White-fronted Goose and Brent Goose near Craigens. Up at Ardnave were 3 more Great Northern Divers and a Greenshank, with 2 more of the latter at Bridgend and a female Merlin at Uiskentuie. For "the goose fans" as Theo puts it, he sent in a photo of a strikingly pale White-fronted Goose (photo below) near Kilchoman Distillery.

Tuesday 10th March

The day slowly developed into an overcast, rainy and windy affair with winds strong enough to cancel the evening ferry.

Theo of Nature Scotland was out and about relocating two of the previously three Ring-necked Ducks (an adult male and adult female) on Loch Ballygrant where there were  also 31 Tufted Ducks and a Little Grebe. Later, at Ballinaby he noted 2 Choughs plus 8 Fieldfare, then a Slavonian Grebe at Port Ellen, and a semi-leucistic Starling at Lagavulin. At each location he recorded a small number (2-5) of "normal" (aka feral) Canada Geese. Over on Jura, Louise Muir noted a count of 130 "normal" Canada Geese - one of the larger counts of late.

Steve  & Lyn Rogers counted 10 Eider at Port Ellen marina and David D. kindly sent in some excellent photos taken recently on Islay. I'll include a couple tonight to brighten up the blog!

Sunday 8th & Monday 9th March

Two further basically dry, sunny days with a moderate breeze.

Thanks to Malcom O. for blogging while I was away giving a talk to the Argyll Bird Club about the new Birds of Islay and Jura book.

Yesterday Billy Stitchell  had a couple of fine Grey Wagtails on the Sorn by the Woollen Mill (photos below) and a Great Spotted Woodpecker at East Lodge. Today he heard another Great Spotted Woodpecker at Lily loch.

Other news for today is of a Mallard with a clutch of 15 eggs at Cornabus and a Greenland White-fronted Goose at Corsapol that had been ringed by Ed B. at Ballinaby in 2012. Hannah D. found a Slavonian Grebe in Lagavulin Bay while David d. had the Long-tailed duck on Loch Kinnabus - again associating with Tufted Ducks.

Theo De Clermont of Nature Scotland is back on Islay and already finding some much less common species: a Red-necked Grebe and 2 Velvet Scoters off Blackrock. He also had a count of 29 Brent Geese between Islay and Jura and a Hen Harrier crossing to Islay from Jura. On Loch Skerrols were 27 Tufted Ducks and 7 Goldeneye, while at Blackrock there were totals of 10 Long-tailed Ducks, 15+ Slavonian Grebes and 80 Common Scoter. finally over at Machir Bay he tallied 13 Chough and 5 Ringed Plover.

Saturday 7th March

A second dry sunny day in succession, though with a stronger SE breeze. 

 
The only records received were from Bob Brown who saw 30 Fieldfares at Kilchoman and from visitor, Ella, who reported 2 Dippers at the mouth of Loch an t-Siob on Jura.

 
There are some disturbing signs that bird flu might be back among the geese, though not with the devastating effect that was experienced in winter 2022/23 when c.5000 Barnacles are thought to have died. A very few geese, including this time Greenland Whitefronts and Greylags, have been seen with possible symptoms, sitting at the edges of flocks, showing uncordinated head/neck movements, and being unusually tame. Please keep an eye open for anything similar and let us know.

Thursday 5th and Friday 6th March

Thursday was quite a wet day,  with variable winds, but on Friday we were blessed with wall-to-wall sunshine and a south-east breeze.

No records were submitted on Thursday, but Friday was busier, with Mary McR. seeing a pair of adult White-tailed Eagles and a male Hen Harrier at Claddach in the morning and then, in the early afterrnoon, 5 Whooper Swans flew over heading NW, having presumably come from Ireland. Peter R. spotted 4 pairs of Black Guillemot by Bruichladdich Pier, a regular breeding site, and Mary-Ann F. saw a Treecreeper at the Battery, above the High School, where there are plenty of small trees, though few larger ones, nor for some distance around. Redwing are on the move, as 40+ were reported from near Coullabus, while I saw 6-10 at Kintour.

Morven Laurie (NatureScot) has kindly sent the results of the latest island-wide goose count, held on 24th/25th February, revealing totals of 29,461 Barnacle Geese, 4,950 Greenland Whitefronts, and 1078 Greylags. Thank you, Morven. 

Wednesday 4th March

Rain overnight continued into an overcast and wet morning, gradually giving way to sunnier spells with a moderate southerly breeze.

Caroline Goodman was out birding today and noted 10 Eiders at Port Ellen and, as she put it, "the usual White-tailed Eagle passing, 2 maybe more" - how good to be living somewhere where WTE is commonplace and passe'!

Clive McK. counted gulls going to roost up at the top of Loch Indaal this evening and clocked up 1,410 Common Gulls, 75 Black-headed Gulls and 16 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Billy Stitchell sent the photo below of a Redwing in his garden to brighten up the blog.

Tuesday 3rd March

A cool, but sunny spring-like day with light winds.

 After a count of 6 White-tailed Eagles in the Lossit area on Saturday, there was a count of 7 in the air together over Port Ellen area yesterday.

Mary-Ann F. reports a male Bullfinch at Kildalton today.

Monday 2nd March

The day started off quite pleasantly with sunshine, but gradually clouded over with sporadic light showers as the wind picked up a little from the south.

David D. found a Magpie on The Oa this morning - still a very uncommon species here. It was Kathy Evans' last day on Islay today and she reported 6 Yellowhammers at pheasant feeders near Kildalton. Mary-Ann Featherstone and her friend Bob Brown were over at Sanaigmore where they found Peregrine, male Hen Harrier and over at Machir Bay a count of 100+ Jackdaws.

I took delivery of my book The Birds of Islay and Jura today, so am now able to start the process of distributing them to anyone interested in purchasing a copy. I've created another page on this blog that you can click on where you can find the various ways of obtaining one. You can find it towards the top right titled Birds of Islay and Jura.

Saturday 28th February & Sunday 1st March

Saturday was bright, dry and sunny with light winds. Sunday was a contrast with overcast skies, rain and strengthening winds from the south. Unsurprisingly, all the bird news came in from yesterday:

Ed B. reported good, close-in views on fairly calm waters at Blackrock, Loch Indaal of Long-tailed Ducks and 13 Common Scoters - 11 of them males. Mary-Ann Featherstone noted Dipper, Grey Wagtail and 30 Chaffinches at the Woollen Mill on the River Sorn - also seen by Kathy Evans who also noted a Hen Harrier on the Glen Road and a total of 6 White-tailed Eagles (5 adult, 1 immature) in the Lossit area of the Rinns.

Further news came in about the electrocuted Golden Eagle: it was a ringed bird and had been fledged on Mull in 2024.

There were a couple of notes in that perhaps need further corroboration as they involve odd dates and numbers: 2 Swallows apparently photographed by Nicol McKinnon on Islay on Thursday and a record of Lapland Buntings and Skylarks at Ardfin on Jura, but unclear as to numbers of each.