Saturday 19th September

Still quite a strong westerly for most of the day, but with only a few showers.

Clive McK carried out a marathon seawatch at Frenchman's Rocks, starting at 07.30 and carrying on to 14.30. He was rewarded with high counts of 74 Red-throated Divers and 9 Leach's Petrels, as well as 2 Grey Phalaropes, 2 Storm Petrels, 2 Arctic Skuas, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits and 28 Light-bellied Brent Geese, plus good movements of Kittiwakes, auks, Manx Shearwaters and Gannets. 

The only other records were of a Merlin at Kinnabus (seen by David D), 62 Brent Geese at Loch Gruinart (James H), a dark-phase adult Arctic Skua flying south up Loch Gruinart in the afternoon (Clive McK), and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls moving south down the Sound of Islay (Rogs). 

I can't resist adding one of my own photographs of a Grey Phalatope, though taken in Svalbard, not on Islay. There was one nearly as colourful as this one at Ballinaby in June 1986, demonstrating that the species was, of course, named when in its grey winter plumage.