Dry with a light northerly breeze.
Thanks to Malcolm O. for keeping the blog going in my absence.
David Jardine was on the ferry from Kennacraig this morning and saw c.10 Storm Petrels. Rogan W. saw a Little Egret, a Wigeon and a few Black-tailed Godwits at the top of Loch Indaal and heard the Tawny Owls calling loudly at Port Askaig.
Thursday 20th August
A fine day with some sunshine but a cool northerly wind.
Jim Dickson started the day off with more news of the GPS-marked Knot, which arrived at Gruinart yesterday morning, to say that it had returned to North Uist which it had visited before coming to Islay. Speculation about this unusual movement centered round it possibly wanting to return to a larger flock, but that really is just speculation. Whatever the reason, there's no doubt that large gaps in our knowledge of bird migration are being filled by the use of GPS tags. What is also of interest is that Clive McK saw Knot moving south from Gruinart yesterday evening, but clearly not including this bird.
In the late afternoon. Clive saw 4 Arctic Skuas, including a superb pale adult, heading south low over his house above the west shore of Loch Gruinart. They climbed and circled as they headed towards Bushmill, then turned west high over Carnduncan, ignoring Loch Indaal and heading to Loch Gorm/Machir Bay. Clive has seen Arctic Skuas follow this line before, and thinks that they might have come from the east coast of Scotland, following the Great Glen to the west coast on the back of the NE and N winds.
And here is a photograph by the late Gordon Langsbury of a pale phase Arctic Skua.
Wednesday 19th August
A wet morning gradually dried up to a sunny afternoon, but with more rain during the night.
Clive McK once again supplied almost all the bird records for today, starting off at midday with 50 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Ruff, and 1 juvenile Marsh Harrier on or over the Gruinart Flats. During the afternoon, Jim Dickson, the Argyll Bird Recorder, reported the details of a Knot carrying a GPS tag which had arrived at Gruinart about 07.00. It is part of a Dutch study, with the bird ringed in the Netherlands back in February, presumed to have bred in East Greenland, and picked up in North Uist on its way south. The bird was colour ringed, but, although Clive went to look for it later in the day, it may well have moved on as he saw Knots leaving for the south in the late afternoon. However, a consolation for him was a Glossy Ibis on the Flats. There was a large influx of this species into Britain last September, with 2 spending some time in the Gruinart area.
Clive spent from 19.30 to 20.50 monitoring bird movements at Gruinart and noted the following, all moving south: 17 Oystercatchers, 1 Ringed Plover, 2 Whimbrel, 68 Redshanks, 22 Knots, 1 Ruff and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. He also counted 9 Common Snipe feeding in the fields.
Tuesday 18th August
Several showers during the day.
The only reports today came from Clive McK who was at Carnain in the early afternoon, where he found a juvenile Wood Sandpiper, while there were 400 Dunlin, 200 Ringed Plover, 30 Sanderling and 10 Knot on the Bridgend Flats. Wood Sandpipers, almost always single birds, turn up pretty much every year, though more in the spring than in late summer/autumn.
Clive also tried a seawatch at Portnahaven, but it was pretty quiet, though, in the morning, he saw a total of 12 Lesser Blackback Gulls migrating south over Gruinart. In the early evening, there were 4 Ruffs feeding on the Gruinart flats fields.
Monday 17th August
Rather a damp day, with rain most of the afternoon.
Bird of the month, possibly year, was an adult Mediterranean Gull, "loafing" at Gartbreck in the rain, according to Clive McK, who spotted this rare visitor. 'Birds of Islay and Jura" states that this is about the 13th record for the island since the first in 2010, and only the second adult. Sightings have been slowly increasing in recent years, with 3 last year, although those were the first since 2022.
The only other observation received came from Rogan W., who saw a Little Egret and a Greenshank while driving (!) between Bridgend and Bowmore.
Sunday 16th August
A quiet, mainly overcast day after overnight rain.
Not much to report today. David D watched a White-tailed eagle flying below the American Monument and also saw 2 Chough on the cliffs below, while Rogan W posted this photograph of a House Sparrow with a beakful of food which he reckons includes both a spider and a caterpillar. It's important to offer one's offspring a nicely varied diet.
Saturday 15th August
Another fine day with light winds.
Rogan W. spotted a pure white goose among a flock of Greylags on Loch na Cachie, which lies between Kilchoman Distillery and Loch Gorm. It is either a leucistic or an albino Greylag, but a closer look is needed, the former retaining normal coloured eyes, bill and legs, whereas in the latter those would be pink/red.
Clive McKay had a late afternoon walk around Ardnave, seeing 5 Sandwich Terns and 15 Common Terns at Ardnave Point, as well as 20 Choughs, 2 Whimbrel flying south, and the usual mix of waders on Traigh Nostaig beach, including 47 Ringed Plovers and a Greenshank. He also had a high count of 440 Grey Seals hauled out on the Loch Gruinart sandbanks. In the evening a Barn Owl was hunting near the RSPB office, while he noted an evening wader emigration from Loch Griunart of 21 Black-tailed Godwits, 68 Oystercatchers and 8 Sandwich Terns.
Friday 14th August
A dry day with light winds and mainly overcast skies. Yesterday evening, cloud obscured most of the sky, preventing more than very partial views (glimpses) of the eclipse of the sun and almost nothing of the Perseid meteor shower.
Only two bird records received for today. Louise M had a lone Curlew in Small Isles Bay, while Rog W continues his exploration of the northeast of the island, noting 8 Grey Herons, including juveniles, perched on trees at Lily Loch. This is the site of one of the several small heronries on Islay. It survived the felling of some of the nesting trees a few years ago as they had become dangerous, but there were plenty of alternative trees, including at adjacent Loch Allan. Peter Roberts, in his book 'Birds of Islay and Jura', lists no less than 18 heronries that have been noted in the last nearly 100 years since the very first National Heronry Survey of 1928, but attendance at several of them seems to be intermittent, while a number are definitely extinct. Peter estimates up to 30 breeding pairs on the island, of which 8-9 were at Lily Loch in 2023, the last time they were counted, making it one of the largest heronries that year.
This makes a perfect cue for one of the late Gordon Langsbury's photographs.
Apart from a short sharp rain shower this morning it was a hot sunny day with light southerly winds for the annual Islay and Jura Show.
Ed Burrell sent in a map lotting the recent movements of one of his tagged Greylag Geese, wandering up and down the island over the past couple of weeks.
Otherwise, Rogan W. watched his fledged Buzzard attempting to hunt at Dunlossit and witnessed another/the same as a few days ago, White-tailed Eagle journeying from Islay to Jura this morning.
A warm sunny start with only the slightest attempt of rain, but clouding sufficiently to make the eclipse of the sun this evening somewhat underwhelming.
Mary R. reports a Kestrel at Claddach yesterday. Today Rogan W. confirms the Buzzard breeding on his home patch at Dunlossit with sightings of adult and juvenile flying about.
A fine sunny day!
Rogan W. confirms that the Bullfinch pair in the gardens at Dunlossit have fledged two young. He also had a Crossbill flying over.
Up at Kilinallan this afternoon I had a young White-tailed Eagle being harassed by a Buzzard and Hen Harrier. Also a couple of Greenshanks and the Little Egret present.
A pleasant, fairly calm, warm, dry and sunny day for a change.
Some further reports for yesterday from Rogan W. include a Sparrowhawk at the airport.
Today, Rogan saw another Sparrowhawk - probably a nesting bird - in woodland near Port Askaig. Clive McK. counted 25 Black-tailed Godwits at the head of Loch Gruinart. I saw a Whooper Swan on Loch Gorm (presumably different to the seemingly resident/damaged bird at Gruinart?) and counted 530 Greylags on Loch Gorm with further 60 on the shoreline at Bruichladdich - the autumn build-up of the species begins!
The day started out cloudy with drizzle but brightened to sunny and dry with a moderate westerly breeze.
George Jackson sent in some notes for the previous two days: on Friday a juvenile Grey Wagtail at Coultorsay and 60 Ringed Plovers and c.20 Dunlin at Crosshouses. (over half these in summer plumage). On Saturday at Gartbreck 5 adult Mute Swans and a Ringtail Hen Harrier.
Val Peacock saw a Little Egret flying up Loch Indaal at Port Charlotte. Jo Rosser-Owen recorded Willow Warbler in Bridgend Woods and Steve & Lyn Rogers had 2 young Spotted Flycatchers in their garden at Kilnaughton Bay this morning. James H. noted an increase in waders in Loch Gruinart with 40 Redshank, 20 Black-tailed Godwits, and 16 Canada Geese. Clive McK. checked further on the waders there a counted 120 Dunlin, 180 Ringed Plover, 2 Sanderlings and a flock of 66 Oystercatchers passing through. He also noted a Barn Owl hunting in the fields near Mill Cottage. Here at Bruichladdich there was a juvenile Sandwich Tern sat on the rocks for a while. Crystal Maw and friends were up at the RSPB hides in the morning and had, amongst other birds, a White-tailed Eagle, H2 Hen Harriers and a Peregrine.
Still a very strong contrast here to the drought and heatwaves of southern England and Wales! Winds swinging about and cloud coming and going, bringing increasing amounts of light rain with it - especially on Saturday.
Clive McK. sent in a record for Thursday of a Red-throated Diver feeding on Loch Finlaggan then taking off into the hills, returning 30 minutes later - an obvious sign of feeding young on one of the higher moorland lochs nearby.
Yesterday Rogan W. was birding his patch at Dunlossit and sent in some useful breeding records of Mute Swan with cygnets on Loch Ballygrant, where he also noted a Little Grebe and young Goldcrests.
Today he had Tawny Owls calling overnight, a Buzzard nesting along the Sound of Islay near Port Askaig, where a family of Spotted Flycatchers was photographed.
A slightly better day with no rain, winds dropping and sunshine increasing as the day progressed - until the evening when cloud and showers resumed.
Clive was also down at Port Askaig and noted good numbers of butterflies - 14 Red Admirals, 3 Peacocks, 2 Small Tortoiseshells and this Painted Lady.
Mary-Ann F. also reported lots of butterflies from her Kildalton garden - 20+ Peacocks, a few Painted Ladies, Red Admirals, Small Tortoiseshells and Whites. There was also a Hummingbird Hawk Moth on Buddleia.
Three days of changeable weather - generally changing for the worse! Winds going round to an easterly direction and increasingly strong by Wednesday, more cloud and increasing amounts of rain.
Further sightings from Sunday include 2 Little Egrets, a juvenile Peregrine, 2 Sandwich and 5 Common Terns noted by Clive McK.
Records for Monday come from Clive McK. and Mark Livingston who found a family of Tufted Ducks (8 well-grown ducklings with parent) on Ardnave Loch where there was also a family of Mute Swans with 4 cygnets. They also had a Greenshank on the west side of Ardnave and a juvenile Cuckoo by the Loch
On Tuesday Rogan Wolhuter watched 42+ Guillemots in the Sound of Islay by Port Askaig and Mark Livingston counted 200 Dunlin on Loch Indaal by the Gaelic College.
No sightings for Wednesday so far.
Two further days of light westerly winds, mostly sunny.
Yesterday Rogan W. was up at Bunnahabhain finding a pair of Grey Wagtails with 2 young with a dark-phase Arctic Skua passing by. Today he was at Machir Bay in the afternoon where there were counts of 23 Ringed Plovers, 2 Dunlin, 13 Sanderling and two Wheatears - a couple of photos below.
