Weds 16 March

A gift of a day today, lovely sunshine and the welcome feeling of spring. At Claddach this morning a pair of pied wagtail near the shed were calling and feeding together.  More insects were visible as the sun grew stronger, a welcome feed for the wee birds about.  A pair of chough flew in late morning towards the coast for their share.  There was also a brown hare mooching about in the heather near where I feed the sheep, and an other 2 at Craigfad.  None were showing the 'mad-march hare' behaviour, but we're only half way through the month!

Steve has gotten in touch via email after a good day out and about.  A ring-tailed hen harrier seen off the high road near Bowmore, and a WTE flying over the low road to Port Ellen.  On their walk round the Oa they counted around 25 twite with skylark in the stubble fields.  In the bay near Ardbeg they counted 8 merganser.  Lastly near Cross Houses, a little egret.

James How has been in contact with a high count of 17 snipe in a flock in front of the south hide. 

Jeff reported his highlights as 7 fulmar around Islay's coastline, an adult WTE on the road to Port Ellen (same bird as Steve perhaps?), then at Gruinart Farm just after sunset, a woodcock.

Mark reported 6 WTE at RSPB Loch Gruinart today.  And, on a sadder note, 3 dead barnacle geese sent off to be tested have been confirmed as having bird flu.

Lastly, from my reliable photographer Billy who was at Ballygrant Loch where he saw both tufted and goldeneye, a little grebe, and a great tit pulling at moss from the trees nearby.

Thanks as ever to all who contributed today.

Sunday 5th January

Graeme Ruthven (from Aberdeen) sent another e mail through with the birds that he had seen on last Sunday and also some seen from the ferry on his way back over to Kennacraig last Monday.

There was an adult White Tailed Eagle near Lagavulin also a Little Grebe on the sea near there in the morning with a Great Northern Diver. A large flock of Common Scoter in Loch Indaal right out in the middle of the loch, there was a small flock of about 10 Scaup close in at Bowmore.
Later on, in the afternoon he went back to Ardnave point where he saw an immature Golden  Eagle, 2 possibly 3 White Tailed Eagles and 2 ringtail Hen Harriers just north of Loch Gruinart cottage, it was an amazing hour of birding....

On the return ferry crossing on Monday morning he had 9 Great Northern Divers, 3 Black Throated Divers, 3 Red Throated Divers and finally 2 Slavonian Grebes near Kennacraig.

Another "Islay convert", by the sounds of the emails which I got through from Graeme, many thanks for your sightings, most welcome as ever...

Thursday 19th December

Yesterday morning, Malcolm had seen the pair of Ruddy Shelduck at Cornabus, feeding close to, but not within, the large flock of Barnacle Geese present there.

Gary, today had seen an adult White tailed Eagle chasing the Whitefronted Geese over at Keills. Down on Loch Finlaggan, he had a Mute Swan, 8 Tufted Duck and also saw 3 Dabchicks.

Bob, today had been out in very windy conditions which made it rather difficult to count, let alone see the birds on Loch Indaal while counting his WeBs from Port Charlotte back round to Blackrock. His tally was as follows, 4 GND, 27 Pale bellied Brent Geese, 3 Mallard, 56 Curlew, 38 Oystercatcher, 7 Cormorant, 1 Shag and 22  Herring Gulls, with no small waders seen, must have been sheltering up, out of the wind somewhere!!!

Sunday 9th July

Been a bit of a pig of day here today, wall to wall dampness, or rain, coming to the best part of half an inch, but we will not that put us off.. Gary had been down at Ballygrant Loch where he saw 3 Little Grebes and 14 Tufted Duck on the water with Long tailed Tits present in the surrounding trees. Here at home, we have not ventured far but by watching out through the windows, we have had seen some "missing" birds..

The Sparrowhawk was on top of the empty drum which serves as a big feeder for the Pheasants, but not in use at present!!! Today, while I was out (in the rain!!) 2 Wrens were down dodging about, on some of the seed heads. Up nearer the house and we spotted 2 birds with BTO rings on, but could not read them. One was on a Starling, the other a male Chaffinch, wonder whether if they were some of the birds rung here by George E Jackson back in April???  Need the camera out to get some happy snaps of them, so we can look at their bling, another day...

Saturday 26th November

Yesterday, Gary had been out at Loch Ballygrant where he saw "loads of Blackbirds and Song Thrush" in the berry bushes as well as some Long tailed Tits in the trees. On the loch itself, Gary had  counted 8 Mute Swan, a Wigeon, 20 Tufted Duck, 11 Mallard and 9 Dabchick. Ciaran and Bex had 197 Whitefronts and a Crossbill at Laphroaig with 16 Redwing seen in the trees there as well. Along at Ardbeg, they saw 3 Grey Wagtail.

Before I forget, there is 2 part documentary about Fair Isle on BBC 1 on Monday at 9pm for the first episode.

Thursday 9th June

Another good day with the weather again, wall to wall sunshine and hardly a cloud in the sky, although it is overcast this evening, and I believe, the planes should have come in today, no bother... Earlier this week Louise had seen 2 Red throated Divers on the Sound of Islay, probably a failed pair she thought. Earlier the same morning, Louise had seen a single RTD North of Craighouse on Jura. This morning, on our way over to Gruinart, we saw a male Hen Harrier between Ballinaby and the track leading up to Leek, further on, almost at Grainel road end a ringtail was spotted. Later on we saw another male Hen Harrier, this time between Lyrabus and Blackpark.  Gary today had heard a Little Grebe over at Loch Tallant, between Bowmore and Red Lodge on the high road.

Friday 18th March

Another dry day, although the temperature has dropped quite a bit, I even had to go and look the jersey out, lucky it was not in the washing machine... Some highlights through from Peter and his group. Yesterday they had seen a Dipper and a pair of Grey Wagtail at The Woollen Mill with at least 8 GND off  Bunnahabhain, the Glaucous Gull was present at Machir Bay while round at Saligo/ Ballinaby, a Dabchick was on one of the flooded "ponds". Malcolm and Bob had been over on Jura  yesterday and had 25 Whitefronts at Inver and a further 4 up at Lowlandman's Bay, the best figures there this winter. They also saw the same flock of Brents as seen by Louise, but commented that they are not that common on Jura. They also saw 26 large Canada Geese and a total of 45 Greylag between Craighouse and Lowlandman's Bay. No Wheatears were seen on their travels but an Otter was at Feolin as they were waiting for the ferry back over to Islay!!! Earlier on this week, the "vols" at RSPB Gruinart had carried out the WeBS counts... The tally on Loch Gruinart was 126 Shelduck, 187 Wigeon, 271 Oystercatcher, 117 Dunlin, 109 Barwits, 91 Redshank, 17 Turnstone, 109 Golden Plover, 51 BH Gull, 194 C Gull, 2 GND, 122 Lapwing, 127 Teal, 9 Shoveler, 34 Pintail, 7 Mute Swan and 2 Whooper Swan. The tally for Ardnave was 15 Tufted Duck, 9 Goldeneye, 5 Mute, 9 Whooper, 2 Pochard and 35 Whitefronts.

Thursday 14th January

The other day, Izzy Baker had seen a flock of 32 Long tailed Tits along with 4 Goldcrest in the trees round Loch Allan. Some highlights through from Mike when he was carrying out his NEWS sectors... 46 Common Scoter displaying in small groups on Loch Indaal. Between Bruichladdich and Traigh an Luig, Mike had 5 Purple Sandpiper, 11 Turnstone, 17 Ringed Plover, 14 Lapwing, 25 Oystercatcher, 3 Heron, 1 Grey Wagtail, 6 GND, 10 Cormorant & 9 Pale bellied Brent Geese all seen on Monday. Yesterday, Mike carried on towards Bridgend along the top of Loch Indaal to Rubha Ban with birds noted included 85 Oystercatcher, 11 Turnstone, 14 Ringed Plover, 19 Dunlin, 19 Common Scoter, 61 Scaup, 8 Ravens feeding on a the remains of a sheep on the tide's edge and also a Kestrel. Mandy had covered the Machir Bay yesterday counting 44 Ringed Plover, 1 Sanderling, 45 Twite, 20 Chough, 4 Tufted Duck, 1 Dabchick and the Glaucous Gull. Last Friday, while on the local Goose count at Easter Carrabus, Mandy had a Sparrowhawk and also a Kestrel, and then shortly afterwards a Juv. Golden Eagle over Cnoc Donn. Today, Gary had seen 5 GND, 4 Cormorant and 6 Shag with a Buzzard flying above a Golden Eagle which in turn was above a White tailed Eagle just along the coast! A great sight to see Gary!

Sunday 22nd December

Computer and internet are up and running at Grainel again so I can up date you all with some Islay bird records. On Friday Mary had a trip around Ardnave- 9 Mallards, 1 Little Grebe, 20 Whooper Swans, 3 Mute Swans, 5 Wigeon, 126 Teal and 5 Goldeneye as well as 12 Choughs and 11 Reed Buntings at Garraeallabus. Mary has also been seeing a Barn Owl most Mornings in Portnahaven near the old primary school. On the reserve at Gruinart Hen Harriers have been frequent with 2 ring tails hunting today.

Saturday 1st October

Bob had a little grebe and 2 pectoral sandpipers feeding amongst a flock of 16 ruffs on the reserve just in front of the hide. Female hen harrier was also spotted hunting right in front of the hide. On Loch Indaal he also saw 280 bar-tailed godwits, about 500 oystercatchers, 375 greylags and 50 teal. Back home at Port Charlotte he had a merlin. On the flats at Loch Gruinart there was 8 different ruffs feeding amongst a flock of 128 lapwings. Elsewhere on the reserve there was a mixed flock of 130 linnets and 50 twite and little flock of about 30 goldfinches. Rooks and jackdaws that roost in big numbers in trees at Aoradh seem to discover a new feeding ground on the Floods as the water levels are being raised gradually pushing all invertebrates closer to the surface. George saw a flock of 16 swallows heading south.

Mon 5th April

The ever present Little Egret was seen out in front of the hide at Gruinart as was a Little Grebe. On the way over to Gruinart this evening, there were 15 Red Deer close to the roadside, and they did not move off as we slowed down to look at them, further on was a Roe Deer.

This evening was the first Visitor Welcome Evening of the year, which was well attended by 42 visitors.

Sun 6th Dec

An image of a group of 25 Pale bellied Brent Geese, sent in by Malcolm Ogilvie. Malcolm took it this morning. This evening, the wind is up, the ferry has been diverted to Port Askaig from Port Ellen, at least it has come and not simply cancelled! Come to think of it, back on Friday I did see a Fulmar flying past the crag (honest)!

Yesterday, James had a Woodcock on the reserve at Gruinart and 13 Whooper swans came in from the sea. Today, the Little Egret was up at the reserve (it was there yesterday too) along with 2 Little Grebe. On his way out this afternoon, James had a Merlin at Lyrabus.

Thurs 3rd Sept

An image through today from James of the juv. Spotted Redshank which he had seen the other day over on the estuary at Gruinart.

This morning, James had a Little Grebe on Ardnave Loch, last night/ late evening he had a Barn Owl out hunting over the flats, and in the afternoon, while he was working on the sluices, he was surprised at the large numbers of eels to be seen, many up to 60cm in size. Little wonder there are often Herons seen down there regularly!

Coming back from Gruinart this afternoon, and we had a really close sighting of a male Hen Harrier close to Donald "Lairds" house, and then further on, nearer to Loch Gorm was a Ringtail Hen Harrier. This morning, there was a Peregrine perched on the crag, perhaps waiting around for another Rock Dove!

Sun 3rd May

With April now past, the rainfall for the month was just short of 5" in total, a lot wetter than April last year, infact some of the fields may still not be sown yet.

Back to birds, and James had a Little Grebe down in front of the hide this morning, and he also saw 5 Greenland Whitefronts there too. Earlier on in the week, James had seen a pair of Short eared Owls, as well as a Whinchat.

One of our visiting birders, Gordon Yates has gone home, so thanks to Gordon and Pauline for their input. Another visitor from the Lothians had seen 99 species whilst over for the week, perhaps he got lucky on the ferry to round it up to 100!

Down at the Coastguard Houses, the other day we were fortunate to see a Greenland Wheatear in full plumage, and I have been receiving reports of several more Corncrakes being heard.

Fri 2nd Jan

A Happy New Year to everyone, better late than never! The total rainfall here for the year was just over 49.5 " , only over last year's tally by an inch. Certainly for the last 10 days or so there has been very little rain at all, and at one point when coming home last night the outside temperature was registering at -3 degrees Centigrade, which is low for Islay.

Back on the bird front, and James had been over at Loch Ballygrant where he had seen 2 Little Grebe, 2 Woodcock and a male Hen Harrier. Back here at home we had a Peregrine flying overhead, but relatively close to the ground, certainly no more than 20 feet above us.

Mon 20th Oct

Another entry from one of our visitors,
"Another very windy day with heavy showers, encouraged us to take to the woodlands. As we were leaving Kilchoman, a Raven was feeding on a dead Pheasant on the roadside, and a single Fieldfare was blown overhead.
Down on the River Sorn, 8 Long tailed Tits were along with Blue, Great and Coal Tits with a Heron close by.
Later at Ballygrant, 3 Little Grebe and 5 Mute Swans were on the Loch. On our way home, we stopped at a woodland where lichen encrusted hawthorns were full of ripe berries. We were rewarded with views of Chiffchaff, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, a pair of Stonechat, and many other common birds".
Another visitor had the good fortune to see an Otter eating its prey over at Lagavullin, and then later on watching 2 separate male Hen Harriers battling against the wind. They were also fortunate to observe a Kestrel as well as 2 different Sparrowhawks.

Mon 25th Feb

The weather has not relented with strong winds and blustery showers common today. The 4 Snow Bunting were to the fore up at Ardnave, whilst down at Loch Skerrols, there was a Little Grebe along with 51 Goldeneye, with the 14 drakes displaying to the others. GDY

There was also today, before the weather really deteriorated, a pair of Buzzard were displaying, the male initially carrying a large twig/ small branch in its talons and doing a fly past, several times, before eventually coming to land down beside the female. AJ

On Saturday night, we saw a total of 28 Frogs in the cars lights whilst out and about, one or two had already been struck by previous motorists. The other surviving frogs appeared to be dazzled in the headlights and did not hop off...