Tuesday 15 March

 

Couple of images of the residents of Loch Skerrols, taken today by Billy.

Nature Scot has been in touch with the last goose count of the season, carried out on the 8th and 9th March.  28,759 barnacles, 5435 white-fronts and 631 greylags.

James was in touch today with his highlights being a gadwall drake from the North Hide, Loch Gruinart, 2 bullfinch on the Woodland Trail and a siskin.  He noted the lesser black backed gulls have been slow to return this year but managed to find 5 at Machir Bay and 1 at Gruinart.  Mark also spotted one near Sanaig, plus a Canada goose.

Steve has been in touch via email. He too was at Gruinart and was treated to a nice view of a hunting ring-tailed hen harrier very close to the hide, and then on their drive back towards Bridgend, a WTE in flight.

Thank you to all for your contributions.

Not much more to add from down the Rhinns.  An other sign of spring with toads spotted out on the roads. A neighbour in Portnahaven even found one in her toilet this morning! It was obviously saved from the flush, but you can't help wondering how on earth it got there in the first place!  I haven't been out to look for wheatear yet, I always think St Patricks day is the day to start looking so hopefully I'll find one then.

Saturday 14th November

 Sightings through from James...  

"Out and about yesterday:

Greenshank at least 8 on reserve probably more, Gadwall, 2 on Floods

White tailed Eagles 3 great views, Peregrine a pale bird around the Loch, Merlin

Hen Harrier seen on many occasions through the day, all on the reserve...

Good numbers of Gannets and Kittiwakes feeding in the waves at the mouth of the Loch

2 Long tailed Ducks present on Ardnave Loch

Barn Owl seen in fields off the Ardnave road"

Saturday 31st October

 Well, the weather forecast is certainly proving correct, at one point earlier on, the wind speed on Dr Matt Jackson's weather station down at his house aptly called "Horizons" reached a mere 78mph at 9am... Some birds for you to read about, if the power does not go off again!!!

James sent through some birds last night,

Counted the white fronts 510. Also Golden plover 2005 altogether

Bullfinch , Greenshank as well as 3 White tailed eagle Juv. All on reserve at Gruinart

Jesse Wilkinson had spotted a imm  Little Gull  over the reserve as well

Dan Brown had seen the following birds yesterday

2 Yellow browed warblers, Todd's Canada goose, Gadwall, all seen on the reserve at Gruinart

And 2 Brambling in with the flock of Chaffinches over at Sunderland Farm

Hopefully I have got this image of the Black headed Bunting seen by Dan, be it very briefly on Wednesday morning... oops, no I cannot share it with you... another day possibly then!!!

Mike Bell had been out braving the elements as well yesterday...

Ardnave road: Merlin 1

Traigh Nostaig: good selection of birds including 42 Ringed Plover, 4 Grey Plover, 11 Sanderling, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 14 Turnstone.

Ardnave point: 1 Merlin, 29 Chough scattered and mobile so difficult to assess numbers.

Nave island: 2 ad WTE left SE towards Gruinart.

Loch Gruinart, wetland & fields: 1450 Teal today first thing, 1 imm WTE first thing, 1 Hen Harrier am & pm, 1 ad Peregrine, Ringed Plover 189, Golden Plover 1650, Lapwing 560, Sanderling 215, Dunlin 840, Barwit 238,  all good totals.

Craigens road junction: at least 4 Yellowhammer.

Bun an Uillt: 3 Goldeneye

Killinallan: 1 male Hen Harrier.

Tuesday 17th March

"Dave and Jean got out this morning before the rain and went to Gruinart for the 4^th time

to try and find the Green-winged Teal and this time tey did, from the South hide.

There was also a drake Gadwall from the same hide along with a Greenshank and 3 Snipe.

From the North hide they saw 3 White-tailed Eagles."

James today had a spell out of the office and his top birds included ...

"At Gruinart, 2 White tailed Eagles, a Golden Eagle and also a Hen harrier. He also had a Snow Bunting up at Ardnave."

Saturday 4th May

This morning, David Livingstone had counted over 60 Curlews on the 10th fairway down on the Machrie Golf course.
Today, James was in touch to say that the Coot as well as the Little Egret were both present, great to hear that they are both still around. James also had seen 5 Blackwits , a pair of Gadwall and also 2 Peregrines, all on the reserve at Gruinart.

Monday 29th April

Some birds through from James seen when out of the office...

On the Flats this morning: 1 Grasshopper warbler, 1 Merlin, 1 Hen Harrier & 8 Canada geese 

On the Floods this afternoon: 1 Coot , 2 Gadwall, 2 Blackwit  & 3 Canada geese 

Gary sent through his top birds  from yesterday afternoon's tour.

7 Great Northern Divers, 11 Red throated Diver, 10 Common Guillemot, 21 Razorbill, 20 Red breasted Merganser at Claggain Bay. White tailed and Golden Eagle flying over coast line below Kildalton Cross.

George E. Jackson added to Distillery Dave's (yesterday) Rockside records as folows: a Whinchat on the garden fence, a mipit nest with 4 eggs near the parking area. Then driving down the High road towards Pt Ellen, Pat and son Matthew had a Water Rail cross the road in front of them.

Distillery Dave reported in to say that the Geese are still at Rockside, but now in a different field!!! He had a count of 70 Golden Plover present as well

Sunday 30th September

Just as well that some of the farmers took the option yesterday and got some combining done, as today the weather was not so good, especially as the wind has picked up again...say no more..

Today, Distillery Dave had headed over Gruinart for a spot of birding.. On his way there, he had seen 3 Golden Plover round at Ballinaby, a Hen Harrier, a Merlin, a Sparrowhawk and also a Snipe. He met in with Bob, and out from the South hide they saw a good number of Barnacle Geese in and more arriving, 10 Pintail (all in eclipse plumage), 2 Drake Gadwall, a  single Greenland white fronted Goose,  3 Curlew and a ringtail Hen Harrier and the best part of 800 Teal. Bob, on his way home has a Sparrowhawk as he approached his house up behind Port Charlotte. This afternoon James had counted 685 Barnies on the reserve at Gruinart, 125 Golden Plover, 7 Blackwit, 8 Pale bellied Brent and a Pink footed Goose there as well.

Forgot to mention last night that on our way back from Gruinart yesterday afternoon, Distillery Dave and myself had seen 6 Redwing just as we approached the Hedges below Sunderland, and this afternoon , Margaret spotted a single Redwing on top of one of the headstones next door in the cemetery.

Saturday 24th March

Earlier on this week on Thursday, visitors Dave and Jean Killick had seen a Glaucous Gull down at Machir Bay. Yesterday, Mike Peacock saw an Iceland Gull on a dead Seal, also on Machir Bay....  Yesterday, also was the Horwich birders last full day for this stay... From the South hide (old hide) they saw an excellent mix of waders and ducks.. Pintail, Shoveler, Teal, Wigeon and Mallard were noted along with a Snipe, a flock of around 200 Golden Plover, 4 Greenshank, Redshank, Lapwing, Mute Swan and Whooper Swan. A female Hen Harrier was seen out quartering her patch. A hen Merlin then shot past. On the path leading through the woods, they saw Treecreeper, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and also Coal Tit. Up, out in front of the new hide a drake Gadwall was present.. Over at Bun an Uillt, they saw a male and also a female Hen Harrier. Out on Loch Gruinart, 3 GNDs were seen on the water. Many thanks to our visitors and their sightings...

This afternoon, we saw a male Hen Harrier, at close range, as it flew across the road down at Foreland.

Wednesday 13th September

Mary Redman yesterday had seen a ringtail Hen Harrier close to Claddach Loch and also a Dabchick on the water itself. Today, JD has put in another days' birding...  At Frenchnan's Rocks, Jim did a sea watch for almost 1.5 hours seeing 930 Manx Shearwater, 127 Kittiwake, 11 Fulmar, 2,100 large Auk, and an Arctic Tern, he also saw 2 Ruff and 2 Golden Plover in off the sea. Later on, he had a Grey Wagtail at Kilchiaran with 6 Red Knot and a Wheatear at Carnain. Off Bruichladdich, 5 Arctic Tern and a Sandwich Tern present, with a female Greater Scaup noted at Blackrock. A Sand Martin was present at Gruinart with 7 Gadwall seen on Loch Gorm.

Here at home, many thanks to the Electricity Boys as we lost power through the night, the long and the short was that they laid a complete new cable to allow us power again, so once again thanks to Rop, Shimy, Ross and Ant..

Saturday 29th April

The wind may have veered round from the North, but it still feels rather cold.... 

Bob yesterday evening had been over at Gruinart for some birding. He had counted 600 Barnies,  also present were 7 Whitefronts and a Pink footed Goose. On the flats, he had 58 Blackwits. Out from the South hide, he had a further 90 Blackwits, 30 Redshank, 20 Snipe, the drake Green winged Teal and also 14 Whoopers. While he was there Bob reckons that around half the Barnies flew off North, straight up Loch Gruinart....James yesterday had seen/ heard a Cornrake along the flats, saw the Pinkie too, counted 9 White Wagtails, counted 72 Pale bellied Brent at Blackrock and saw 4 Gadwall on the floods. Today, James had a Chiffchaff in his garden and heard another Corncrake on the reserve. This afternoon, we counted at least 180 Golden Plover at Ballinaby. Also seen there were 15 Greylags, 2 large Canada Geese, 3 Shelduck and 2 pairs of Stonechats.

Tuesday 26th April

Yesterday, Jack Fleming had seen a Corncrake along the flats at Gruinart. James had seen 2 Red Grouse out on the moor and then a Little Grebe as well as 6 Gadwall out on the floods. Also yesterday, returning birder Susan Miller had seen a Sparrowhawk, several Buzzards, Wheatear and some Song Thrushes on the Glen road, mostly seen close to Ballygrant, rather than the Mulindry end! Other highlights included seeing a pair of Peregrines out on the wing round Loch Gorm. The Leigh birders had been out about yesterday, seeing a group of around 15 Sand Martins at Bridge House/ Island Farm on the Low road out of Bowmore to Port Ellen with a few Hen Harriers seen on their travels and then a lesser Whitethroat heard up past Torra and then a male Whinchat along at Red Lodge. They had counted over 100 Ringed Plover at Rubha Ban at the top of Loch Indaal, past smelly corner. Further along Loch Indaal, a few "comic" terns were seen along with some Sandwich Terns there as well.

Wednesday 13th April

Yesterday James saw a gadwall outside the hide at Gruinart. There were dozens of displaying waders in Ardnave today - lapwings and redshanks, several drumming snipe and a flock of 14 golden plover. Couple wheatears were seen at Kilnave. At Gruinart several willow warblers were heard, rooks in the rookery are busy feeding young and a sedge warbler was heard calling briefly.

Tuesday 16th February

Bob Young and his wife had been over at the weekend, staying up in their cottage up the top end of Gruinart, towards Ardnave. Their highlights including good sightings of an Otter, Merlin and down on the reserve at Gruinart, out in front of the new hide, a Gadwall was spotted amongst the Teal and geese. Oriole Birding led by Ashley Saunders arrived yesterday for their first trip to Islay. Coming over on the ferry they had seen 70 GND in total, a BTD, 6 Slavonian Grebe with a Golden Eagle and a white tailed Eagle seen flying over Jura. Late afternoon, came in at the head of Loch Indaal, they had a distant Glaucous Gull, 150 Barwits and 20 Pale bellied Brent Geese. Finally, down close to Port Ellen, they had a count of 50 Fieldfare, a Redwing and 2 Reed Bunting, close to where they are staying. Bob yesterday had a Golden Eagle over Bolsay Moor and a Pinkfoot fly over his house along with some other geese. The weather has not been too nice today, a complete contrast to yesterday, with low cloud and swirling mist... the ferry is meant to be coming over this evening for the first time today, at least it is coming...

Tuesday 7th July

Sorry this entry is a bit late but been out at friends this evening, a good time enjoyed by all present, I hasten to add!!! Becky "the vol" at Gruinart had seen a Gadwall out in front of the new hide. While she was there, Becky saw 2 Great Skuas taking down a fully grown Shelduck and drown it and then they started to pluck it where it lay. Nature can be cruel sometimes... There was more rain last night when there was a further half inch on top of the inch of rain we had during the really heavy showers back on Saturday. I believe that there was quite a bit of damage to phones etc due to lightening strikes then too, say no more.

Wednesday 11th March

The wind has dropped now with ferry travel resuming returning to "normal" at lunchtime...Yesterday on the reserve at Gruinart, James noted plenty of frogspawn around, on the bird front he had seen 3 Greenshank, 3 Gadwall and a couple of Mistle Thrushes. Rob and his friends had headed over for a visit to Jura yesterday... Going over on the ferry on the Sound of Islay they had Black Guillemot along with 2 small rafts of 5 Eiders. Just past Feolin on Jura, as they headed towards Craighouse, 2 GND and a pr of Wigeon were out on the water. On Small Isles Bay at Craighouse, 3 GND and a possible distant RTD were seen. Then a pair of Red breasted Merganser flew in. Further up the road and a pair of Stonechats were present. Finally, back down at Feolin while waiting on the ferry to come over from Port Askaig, a distant Golden Eagle was seen out above Coal Ils Distillery.

Sunday 21st April

Today, Peter and Pia had been over at Loch Allan and had seen an Osprey fishing there. There were also around 20 Swallows in flight there too. They also heard 5 Willow Warblers as well as a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the woods. Today James had 17 Barwits over at Loch Grinart with "lots of Swallows and Sand Martins" present there as well. Here at home, the Siskins were busy on the feeders again, with the Willow Warblers out in the back garden. Yesterday, Carl had a White Wagtail at Gortan and reported in to say that he had "lots of Willow Warblers in Bridgend woods and also more along at Springbank". On Thursday James had carried out a count on the floods at Gruinart with the tally as follows, 321 Teal, 4 Moorhen, 38 Mallard, 21 Wigeon, 7 Heron, 9 Pintail, 27 Redshank, 90 Lapwing, 3 Curlew, 2 Whooper  Swan, 10 Mute Swan, 3 Red breasted Merganser and 7 Gadwall. 

Sunday 18th November

There is still plenty of birds migrating through. I was feeding cows this morning - but noticed 10 whoopers on Loch Gruinart, later another 17 came through honking loudly.
I had a quick look at the floods later and noticed 5 gadwall and a peregrine.

Saturday 28th April

The Argyll birder had been out armed with his camera again yesterday and caught this Sandwich Tern down at Bruichladdich, he saw 2 down there, at Craigfad on the road to Portnahaven he counted 37 Whimbrel and up at Ardnave he had 8 Black tailed Godwit. Malcolm yesterday had 17 Whimbrel at Gortan. Today on the reserve at Gruinart, James had 4 big Canada Geese, 3 male Gadwall , 4 Pintail & 4 Whoopers. At Gortan today Carl counted 28 Whimbrel, another 4 at Briabruich and a few round at Saligo. A Common Sandpiper was at Gortan and another seen at Shorefield. A Redpoll was also at Shorefield while a Reed Bunting was at Briabruich. At Saligo some Redshank were seen too. This evening round Loch Gorm, there were 4 different groups of over 12 Greylags, one at Rockside and the others round at Ballinaby. On the piece of moorland, on the edge of the reserve at Gruinart that was burnt earlier this month, we saw a pair of Stonechats carrying food back to their fledglings and here at home the Swallows were back in the shed this afternoon with another pair back at the nest in the garage.

Friday 18th November

Rather a miserable day out here folks, but it is the time of year for it, whether we like it or not! Today, James had carried a count on the "floods" at Gruinart, with the scores on the doors tallying as follows, 1135 Teal, 2 Little Grebes, 12 Gadwall, 64 Shoveler, 55 Pintail, 77 Mallard, 177 Wigeon, 1 Pochard, 4 Greenshank, 3 heron, 1 Black tailed Godwit, 2 Mute Swans, 20 Lapwing, 8 Whooper Swans, 1 male Hen Harrier and a Sparrowhawk. Coming home the other evening, at Erasiad on the edge of the reserve, James had a Tawny Owl.

Sun 13th November 2011

Had a trip to Loch Skerrols today, great weather and lots of birds- no American wigeon, 3 pochard and 4 gadwall. At Loch Gruinart a golden eagle flew over the reserve at lunch time.