Tuesday 25th August

 Andrew Kelly sent this through to me earlier on today, bit of a shame that he is now back home as I felt that it was "refreshing" to get anther person's sightings and views of the island... 

"Last report, as we travelled home to Yorkshire yesterday.  The views

were fabulous, and the sea was the proverbial millpond - so easy to pick

out wildlife on and in it.

 No new sightings on the island itself, but the ferry from Port Ellen was

productive, starting with a single Razorbill in the harbour, followed by

a steady stream of Razorbills and Guillemots (my first of the trip),

several sightings of Dolphin, and one each of Black Guillemot and Manx

Shearwater (sat nicely on the water!).  Into Loch Tarbert: a flock of

around a dozen Sandwich Terns, a single Red-breasted Merganser, and

flock of c15 Eider Ducks.  We also saw a Golden Eagle driving up Loch Fyne!

 All in all, our species list (ferry to ferry) came to 75, with 73 on or

from the island itself.  I'm sure other, more assiduous, birders would

have clocked up a lot more, but for us that was a very satisfying list,

especially as it included several not seen for a while (especially the

eagles!), and represented a fascinating week's exploration.  It was

certainly a wonderful holiday, and we both can't wait to return to what

is already high on our list of favourite places.  Neither of us can get

over how much of the island we have yet to explore - barely scratched

the surface.  It would be fun to explore the seasons too."

So many thanks to you Andrew for your sightings, much appreciated...

Thursday 13th August

Some sightings in for us all to ogle at, mainly referring to yesterday....

Alistair Hart had been out on his bike, with the following comments through from himself..  "Cycled up to Lossit and back over the Octofad road. Highlight was an Islay experience of cycling alongside a hunting ringtail Hen Harrier from Cladville to Airigh Sgallaidh. Also juvenile Buzzard calling vociferously just before Wester Ellister on my way home to Portnahaven."

George E. Jackson e mailed some sightings through to me as well... "This morning down at Machir Bay, an imm. Peregrine sitting atop an eroded sand dune in the field across from the parking area, ignoring little birds flitting past and contemplating the world. This evening, about fifteen Swallows zooming round the house at Rockside, closely examining the artificial House Martin box (unused) and the rest of the roofline - perhaps looking for sites for next year?"

Christine Menzies had seen a White tailed Eagle when she was out along the High road yesterday. evening..

Peter had some birds through from Tuesday (11th) there was an Osprey fishing in Loch Gruinart and yesterday an hour watching off Frenchman's Rocks produced  a range of the usual seabirds - 50+ Manxies, and a lots of Gannets plus a few Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Razorbills and Guillemots.

Monday 3rd August

Alistair Hart had done a spot of sea watching this morning down at Frenchman's Rocks between 07.15 and 08.30.

Not too cold and windy.

Little bit over fazed with the cornucopia of bird life present, my counting skills largely deserted me.
Gannets lots, Manx Shearwaters around 60 passing per minute. Fulmars and Kittiwakes. 4 Great Skuas.

Skylark with young on way back to car. My first Wheatear of the year also on way back to car. 

Final highlight was close views of a raven on a gatepost on drive back to Portnahaven.

Thursday 15th August

Well late morning/ early afternoon I managed to cut the grass which is just as well as the weather has gone downhill since with a few showers of rain falling since then, and by the sound of the forecast, more heavy rain is coming in later on tonight and tomorrow...

Peter and Mike had spent a couple of hours doing a 2 hour stint of sea watching down at Frenchman's Rocks this morning. During a 30 minute spell, they had a passage of 70 Manx Shearwater going past.. They also had seen plenty of Gannets, with a smaller number of Kittiwakes and Fulmars on passage but no Auks were seen at all. Top birds were 2 Arctic Skuas (1 Dark and also a light phased bird) as well as a Great Skua.

Richard Williams had seen a Wheatear down at Kintra today, also seen was a Rock Pipit  and also a Buzzard on top of a fence post with many Greylags seen in the fields in the same area.

Sunday 11th August

Another day with weather similar to yesterday, dry and possibly not so windy.

Yesterday was Al Hart's last full day on Islay for this visit... His daughter, Eleanor had seen a Lizard as she was walking along to Claddach. Out past MacKenzie Island, Al reported on seeing a strong paasage of Gannets and also Manx Shearwaters. He also was saying that there appears to be a pair of Fulmars nesting on the island itself.

Yesterday, Richard Williams and his wife arived on Islay for a week's stay. Coming over on the ferry they had 2 groups of Manxies and also 12 Gannets as they sailed up the Sound of Islay.

Also yesterday, George E. Jackson had been out on the water around Texa, only birds seen were some Shags and a couple of Gannets. In the evening, down on Machir Bay, George had counted 16 Greylags and also 53 waders, which consisted of 4 Ringed Plover, 10 Sanderling, mostly in summer plumage, and the rest being Dunlin, these were mostly all adult birds again in summer plumage, but there were some juvenile birds along with them as well.

This morning, at around 7 o'clock I was lucky to see a couple of Peregrines out way above the crag, it was them calling which gave them away... Shortly afterwards, 2 Choughs flew past and landed on one of  the chimney stacks on the former manse, down below here.

Richard Williams had seen 8 Eider at the head of Loch Indaal this morning and then up at Bun an Uilt, he saw 12 Rock Doves and also a young Buzzard close by. In the afternoon, when up at Ardnave, he saw a Golden Eagle being harassed by some Greylag Geese, a Bonxie was present, 10 Choughs noted and also Wheatears, and some Stonechats were seen as well.

This evening, Distillery Dave saw a Peregrine and a Raven having a tussle together, high up  over the big crag here at home, good spotting by  Dave...

Friday 26th July

Coming over on the ferry today, Alistair Hart had seen Gannets, Manx Shearwaters, Tysties and a good number of Auks as well...

James had a quick scan on the estuary at Gruinart  today, seeing "at least 2,900 Dunlin", 100 Sanderling, 10 Barwits, a single Knot as well as  2 Peregrines.

Up here at home,  a Buzzard was flying along the top of the dunes, a single Wren was seen out in the garden, and after much searching, I saw a  Willow Warbler flitting between the seed heads.

Wednesday 3rd July

Returning visitors from the best part of 10 years since their last visit, Sian and Bob Horn had been over on Jura yesterday, where they saw 5 R Bb Merganser, several pairs of Mute Swans and also a Heron. Over at Gruinart they had seen a Shoveler.
Al Hart is over on Islay at present for a few days. Down on Mackenzie Island, off Portnahaven, he estimated there to be at least 24 pairs of Arctic Terns present with another 2 pair seen on neighbouring Orsay Island. Al also commented on seeing a continuous passage of Gannets and also Manx Shearwaters flying past as well. He has been hearing many Sedge Warblers down around  Portnahaven.

Thursday 20th June

Yesterday, Malcolm had found a dead adult Manx Shearwater around lunchtime on the strand close to the Foreland road end. It was not thin and unmarked. As Malcolm put it, "odd to find an adult at this time of year, most records are of young birds after storms in the Autumn. He also said that he has seen them feeding offshore in June, but not in Loch Indaal."

Yesterday afternoon, we had seen a  Golden Eagle soaring high above Borichil Mor, and then later on 2 cracking close views of male Hen Harriers, one was over at up at Bunnahabhain, the other was on the ground about 15 metres away from us over below Coull.

This morning, John Wilson had seen a Corncrake, as it flew across the road into some longer vegetation in the sand pit at Kilchoman.

James had seen some Marsh Fritillaries on the verge side on the road leading to Ardnave. On the reserve at Gruinart, he had an Adder, seen some Blackcaps, and back at Mill Cottage, he had counted 70 Pipistrelle Bats. This morning, James had a Sparrowhawk, out over the flats at Gruinart.

Wednesday 3rd April

Quite a bit of catching up with some sightings, so here we go, all seen yesterday

Alistair Hart had done a sea watch down at Frenchman's Rocks, a  "blisteringly cold watch".... A walk along Currie sands produced Skylarks singing with Mipits, some Linnets and a charm of Goldfinches noted there as well. Out to sea, the passage of Gannets was from South to North. Other birds seen included Fulmar, Kitiwake, a small groupof 4 Manx Shearwaters, Tysties, Guillemots and also Razorbills. On the rocks there, Alistair had a group of 20 Purple Sandpipers, a species usually seen at Bruichladdich. Another interesting piece of news was that he had sun, sleet and also a rainbow while he was out!!! In the afternoon, Al had a pair of Dippers and also a pair of GreyWagtatils onthe River Sorn in Bridgend Woods. Down at Buichladdich, he had 2 Ringed Plover and another 3 Purple Sandpipers.

Mike e mailed his sightings through to say that the Bait fish were back in Loch Indaal with Kittiwakes, Herring Gulls and Common Gulls all feeding on the surface. They were joined by 64 Razorbills, 91 Common Scoters, 6 RTD, 3 GND and also 27 R b Mergansers. Along at Foreland , Mike had seen a Peacock butterfly out on the wing.

Gill Gooch was in touch to remind me that her husband is Martin, not Graham of "The Goodies" fame....Oops, sorry another howler from me AGAIN!!! They had spent a very productive day in at Finlaggan, especially as this was their first visit when the visitor centre was open, enjoying much appreciated cups of coffee and gleaned a lot of information from the helpful, friendly staff there as well.... Birds seen included 2 White tailed Eagles soaring together, a Golden Eagle, Merlin, a ringtail Hen Harrier, a Sparrowhawk, numerous Buzzards, a lovely Grey Wagtail and then they saw a House Martin, and  also a pair of displaying Ravens. Later on, they had watched a  male Hen Harrier out quartering its patch over beside the Airport.

Phill, down on the RSPB reserve on the Oa, had seen 4 Chough and a Carrion Crow. David Wood saw a Blackcap on the track leading up to Kinnabus.

Think that will do for tonight folks...

Friday 21st September

The other day, Ron McNab had a count of 50 Manx Shearwater while spending some time doing a sea watch down at Frenchman's Rocks. He also saw 2 Sooty Shearwater and then 2 Arctic Skuas harassing some Kittiwakes. Over at Gruinart, Ron had seen 2 Whooper Swans, possibly the Swans that did not fly away in the Spring. Coming over the hill from Gruinart, Ron had a White tailed Eagle and then a Kestrel while he was driving around Loch Gorm.

Yesterday, as we watched out the windows the Sparrowhawk flew through and over the crop spoofing all the wee birds up, but to no avail, maybe they are all too fat for it...

Today, Gary had seen large numbers of Goldfinch and Redpolls flocking while he was down on the Oa, with a pesky Merlin hunting through the flock. Later on, Gary had seen 2 White tailed Eagles siting on the skerries out from the Dower House.

Monday 21st May

A miserable sort of a day with a steady amount of rain falling until the middle of the afternoon.. not a lot but possibly al our sown crops will jump with the rain and some heat forecast over the next few days, better not get too excited... This evening the burn leading down to Machir Bay is not up much, a sure sign that the rain has gone into the ground, rather than a torrential downpour!!!!

This morning, Derbyshire Bob had been woken at 5am by a Corncrake calling away, down at Port Wemyss, he saw a solitary Eider Drake and then 3 different Cuckoos seen as he drove up from Port Wemyss.

The Bowland birders had not broken camp until 3 pm. ..They drove from Port Charlotte down to Port Wemyss, seeing Arctic Terns, Gannets, Tysties, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Shag, Rock Pipits and also 15 Manx Shearwaters. Round at Kilchiaran they saw some Sand Martins down towards the old Kirk there. Close to the Gearach they had seen a pair of Stonechats. Late afternoon, we had over 30 Sand Martins skimming around at Smelly corner, it was certainly living up to its' name as drove along, not  too pleasant a smell!!!

Thursday 31st August

Many thanks to James for putting the entries on the blog in may absence.. Quite a few entries this evening for you to drool over in envy. Last Saturday, Gary had been out with clients and saw an Osprey out over the Sound of Islay at Bunnahabhain, a Peregrine was present at Kilchoman with good numbers of Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Sanderling  seen down on Machir Bay. Mike Peacock yesterday saw over 200 Dunlin, 150 Ringed Plover, a Greenshank, 4 Red Knot, 41 Barwit, 70 Curlew and 2 Shelduck. David Wood this afternoon had a count of over 400 Manx Shearwater loafing around out from Lower Killeyan on the Oa. Also seen were 2 Sooty Shearwater, 11 Chough and a Sparrowhawk. David Formby had seen a mixed flock of over 50 Linnet and Goldfinch on the game crop at Kilchoman along with a couple of  Stonechats. Good numbers of Swallows and the Starling flock seems to increase every day.... A male Hen Harrier was quartering  over the lochans below Rockside.

Sunday 14th May

Yesterday Steve and Mandy  from Rossendale arrived here on Islay, their first visit and are staying over at Kintra, Port Ellen while they are here, so here goes their sightings from yesterday.. On the beach, they saw 40 Oystercatcher, 8 Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plover and 3 Pied Wagtail. They also heard a Cuckoo, and spotted 3 Sand Martin nest sites in use. Other birds included 6 Arctic Terns, 2 GND, Hooded Crow, Jackdaw, a Buzzard and 6 Swallow. Today, they walked in behind Kintra, out to Tokmal noting a male Hen Harrier out quartering, a Buzzard, pr of Stonechat, and a Cuckoo calling, other birds seen/ heard during their walk included a Robin, plenty of Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, many Skylarks, along the coast, they had 6 Fulmar and 3 Tysties and back at base at Kintra, 39 Oystercatcher, 2 Wheatear, 8 Lesser Redpoll, 7 Sand Martin, 2 Ringed Plover, 4 Dunlin and a Sanderling. The Bowland birders had watched a passage of 100+ Manx Shearwaters pass Port Wemyss.. They also had similar numbers of Gannets, Awks mainly Guillemots, Arctic Tern and Fulmar. Further on along the coast they saw 12 Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper while in the fields behind them, a pair of Golden Plover in summer plumage. Finally round at Claddach Loch, they had a male Whinchat. The weather held good for us this morning so Bob, Lesley, Distillery Dave ad myself did the WeBS  count from Bowmore down to Gartbreck.. the birds were as follows: 1 Grey Heron, 1 Cormorant, 3 Shag, 3 Lbb Gull, 2 Gbb Gull, 2 BH Gull, 30 Common Gull, 20 Herring Gull, 4 Mallard, 2 Rb Merganser, 73 Eider, 9 Shelduck, 9 Curlew, 6 Whimbrel, 91 Ringed Plover, 3 Knot, 187 Dunlin, 65 Barwits, 74 Oystercatcher, 2 Turnstone, 1 Sanderling, 9 Lapwing, 1 Grey Plover and 2 Redshank. Other birds seen included a White Wagtail, 2 Sand Martin, 3 Sedge Warbler, 2 Wheatear and several Rock Pipits.

Monday 1st May

Well, I was correct in predicting no more rain in April last  night with the tally coming through at a mere 1.4 inches, around 6 inches less for the year  than we had at the same time in 2016, but early days yet and we could have some wet weather to come before the year ends....

On his way back to the mainland on the ferry on Saturday morning, Peter Gill had a Bonxie and also saw 2 Manx Shearwater just after the ferry left Port Ellen. The Rochdale birders are back and had seen the flock of Golden Plover round at Ballinaby yesterday evening, I had been looking the other side of the road from where they saw them... Also yesterday they had a Kestrel at Bunnahabhain, at least 20 Tysties perched up on the pier at Caol Ila and 100 Whimbrel seen at Uiskentuie. Also yesterday, David Barr had seen a Peregrine on the shore at Gartmain. Mandy had heard a Cuckoo calling over at Carduncan early this afternoon. Here at home, there has been one calling away for the past few hours, hope it shuts up before I go to bed! This evening, we headed round to Ballinaby and located the flock of Golden Plover, now only around 90 in total, resting up in a ploughed field this time!!

Friday 9th September

Rather a blustery day with strong winds blowing this evening. Gary this morning had seen 2 Pale bellied Brent Geese over at Port Ellen, along with a mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover. Along at the pontoons, Gary counted 3 GGB Gulls and also 45 Herring Gulls resting up. Returning from Port Ellen along the low road, Gary had several small flights of Snipe over the road. Jim Dickson arrived over today for his "Islay September stayover". On the ferry coming over Jim had a Pomarine Skua and saw the Brents when he arrived at Port Ellen. Over the sewage/ water treatment works on the edge of Bowmore, Jim counted 15 Sand Martins and also lots of Swallows. At "smelly corner",  Jim had 2 Arctic Terns, 4 White Wagtails and 6 Knot. Along at Uiskentuie, close in to the shore, he had a Manx Shearwater. Up at Gruinart, he counted 29 Blackwits, 8 Barwits, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank and 53 Pale bellied Brent as well as, at least 15 Greenland Wheatear. Finally, Jim had seen 60 Goldfinch at the Coull farm road end and then a female Sparrowhawk over the wee wood at Kilchoman. This afternoon, Bob had spent some time in the new hide at Gruinart where he saw 2 drake Pintail in eclipse plumage, 10 Wigeon, 3 Shoveler and 80 Teal.

Wednesday 29th June

Couple days ago Peter Donaldson saw about 20 Manx shearwaters during his ferry crossing to Islay. Yesterday he saw dozen choughs in Ardnave and a single golden plover near the loch. David Barr saw a white-tailed eagle at Keils. Down on the Oa Phill saw two pairs of hen harriers and a golden eagle. Kevin Hand from ACE Foundation sent us few birds that he and his group saw on Islay and Jura last week. These included a swift at Bridgend, white-tailed eagle at Kildalton and black-throated diver on Loch Indaal.

Sunday 22nd May

A better day again, it has to be with Bruichladdich Distillery having their open day today, and usually they manage to get a good day with the weather, today was no exception...

Andy and Jane, the Bowland birders left yesterday, but kindly sent their sightings seen from the ferry. At Port Ellen, they saw Arctic Terns. On passage, 7 Turnstone were seen flying towards Islay, 2 Manx Shearwater, 6 Kittiwake, Razorbills, Guilliemots, Gannets and GND. In West Loch Tarbert, some Common Terns were seen. A total of 110 species were seen during their visit. Many thanks to you both for sharing your sightings with and look forward to seeing you in the Autumn...

Today, the Rochdale birders had seen a Peregrine carrying prey over close to Coal Ila and later on they saw a Swift flying North at Foreland.

Friday 7th August

Back on Tuesday, a visitor reported through to Mandy at the visitor centre at Gruinart to say that they had seen an Osprey fishing on Loch Gorm. Last night, while we were outside watching the International Space Station pass by, we were fortunate to heart a Corncrake calling away! Bob at lunchtime yesterday had been in at Loch Skerrols where he had a Bullfinch, a female Sparrowhawk, 15 Mute Swans, 9 Tufted Ducks, a Dabchick, and also a juv Great spotted Woodpecker. Bob also pointed out a typo from me the other day, relating to him seeing Godwits at Gartmain, it should have read 13 Blackwits and 59 Barwits, not the way I had it, oops... This morning, down at Loch Gorm there were 2 groups of Greylags gathering, one on the lochans, the other on the heather on the edge of the Loch itself, with at least 30 in each group. This afternoon, Dave saw 2 Arctic Skuas, 3 Bonxies and over 400 Manx Shearwaters offshore going past the Oa

Sunday 14th June

Yesterday morning while starting back home on the ferry, Mark and Sally had seen 7 Manx Shearwater as they sailed over to Kennacraig. Alistair Hutchison heard a Great spotted Woodpecker in the trees over close to Kildalton. Today, visitor Tom Garner from Cumbria had heard a Corncrake down at Portnahaven, later on up past Bunnahabhain, he had heard a Cuckoo, and then saw 2 Golden Eagles. This morning, I helped Bob with his Webs count from Bowmore down to Gartbreck with the tally coming being as follows, 5 Shag, 12 Greylag, 34 Shelduck and a brood of ducklings, 24 Eider, 12 H Gull, 2 C Gull, 3 BH Gull, 8 GBB Gull, 52 Oystercatcher, 7 Curlew, 22 Dunlin, 4 Redshank, 6 Lapwing, 20 Ringed Plover and a Turnstone. Earlier on, Bob had a GND on Loch Indaal with 4 Teal seen at "smelly corner". This evening, there was a Corncrake calling down at the Coastguard's. Just past Coull were 2 Reed Buntings and further on, a Barn Owl was out!

Saturday 23rd May

Yesterday was the Bowland birders final full day here on Islay, before heading home this morning.. Yesterday, they managed a spot of sea watching at Frenchman's Rocks. Birds seen were Bonxie, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Black Guillemot, Razorbill, Guillemot, Arctic Tern, Common Gull, Pied Wagtail, Manx Shearwater, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Rock Pipit and Gannet. Over their stay, Andrew and Jane had recorded 120 species, but there might be more as they went over on the ferry... Many thanks for your input, most welcome as ever. This afternoon, we saw 2 Cuckoos being pursued by some LBJs at Gartloist between Bridgend and Bowmore, coming home we had a male Hen Harrier close to the road near to Foreland House. This evening, the weather is not too good with a damp, wet, smurry dampness, not a lot, but enough to lay the dust, and possibly help the plants that we put in yesterday afternoon...save me watering them!!!