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.

Monday 7th June

Visitor, Mark Warburton yesterday had 2 Black tailed Godwit and also 2 Wigeon boh seen from the South Hide at Gruinart.

Another set of returning visitors included Jeff Duncan who arrived  over on Saturday... 

"Not been over in the summer months for 8 years!

Had a chough, grasshopper warbler and a calling corncrake this morning at our accommodation just outside Port Charlotte. Then Snipe and sand martin at Machir Bay followed by a lovely male Hen Harrier over the road before Foreland House. 

Then took a drive down to Portnahaven on the back road via Kilchiaran. In the space of an hour added Curlew, whinchat, cuckoo, a hunting male Merlin and surprisingly a pair of Great skua bathing on the lochan at Claddach. Always something to see no matter the time of year!"

Other returning visitors, The Rochdale Birders who we have not seen for some time, are back here again, and were in touch to say that they had seen a male Hen Harrier trying to flush a Linnet out of a Whin/ Gorse bush, but no joy....

Sunday 11th October

Yesterday Peter Roberts had carried out a sea watch for an hour down at Frenchman's Rocks in the morning...

"191 Auk sp. 105 Kittiwake, very few Gannets, but 1 Black-throated Diver the best bird."

 Johnathan Alder had seen the following birds,

"Seen on 10th October - male Hen Harrier near Kilbride plus Snipe flyover.

Today 11th October - 2 juvenile Golden Eagle on the Oa, plus Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, male Hen Harrier, Raven and Kestrel. 4 Chough showing well near the monument, Twite, Whinchat."

Lesley Silcock was telling Margaret that she had seen a Yellow browed Warbler along the Woodland trail at Gruinart today.

First time visiting birders from Reading, David and Nancy Massie sent me a list birds seen by them yesterday...

"Road north from Port Askaig: flock of 15 Yellowhammers, 5 Mute Swans on sea, Buzzard, Goldcrest, Mistle and Song Thrushes

Bowmore flats:  thousands of Barnacles, 55 Brents, 12 Whoopers, 4 Wigeon, 1 Ringtail Hen Harrier, 2 Curlew

Loch Gorm: Greylags, Whitefronts, Barnacles, Pied Wagtails."

Returning birder and contributor on the blog, Richard Belter gave a list on the phone with his "top" birds seen today..

Down on Loch Indaal, he had a W t Eagle, 6 RTDs and also 50 P b Brent Geese. At Gruinart, he saw thousands of Barnies, 100 GWF, 6 Pintail, 14 Whooper Swans and also a ringtail Hen Harrier. He also saw a ringtail Hen Harrier at Gruinart as well as a Wood Sandpiper out from the North Hide there as well. Down on the Oa, Richard had seen a mixed flock of Twite and Linnets and another Ringtail.

Wednesday 17th June

Mary Redman e mailed through this morning....

"This week, the Corncrake at Claddach has been calling day and night, and on Monday I saw one near the calling Male, slip into the grass off the road.

Tuesday, a male Hen Harrier hunting near Wester Ellister.  Another yesterday just behind the village.

Snipe have been active drumming at Claddach Loch, but the Lapwing that were so active earlier in spring have disappeared.

And at the weekend, my mum had a close encounter with a Golden Eagle above a sheltered bay on the Croft!

Its dry as a bone here, the grass isn't so lush as last year at this time. This week has been thick fog, apart from blue skies on Sunday where we happily got our sheep sheared! Happy granny too."

Thanks Mary and great to hear from you...

Saturday 9th May

James was in touch by e mail..

"Probably 5 Corncrakes calling at Gruinart. Lots of whitethroats and whinchats about now and I had an Osprey fly over the loch on Thursday."

Mandy e mailed the following to me last night.. 
"Yesterday, I saw a Whitethroat, lots of Sedge Warblers and heard Groppers. This morning, I saw 2 Snipe drumming, and this evening I'm listening to 2 Cuckoos."

Sunday 19th April

Mandy sent through the following birds,

"Last night I went for a dusk walk at a slightly later time and heard a Grasshopper Warbler reeling away, down towards Loch Gorm, and had a drumming Snipe above me." 

Sunday 6th October

Yesterday, James had seen over 50 Redwing while over at the Lily Loch at Port Askaig and then shortly afterwards, he had a Golden Eagle in the air over at Dun Nosebridge. George E.  Jackson in the morning, before the weather closed in had 65 Ringed Plover, 2 Turnstone, 10 Oystercatcher and also 12 Barwits down on the shore at Uiskentuie. Along at Rockside, George had 6 Whoopers in the stubble fields, 3 adults and a small family group of another 2 adult plus their youngster.

Today, Iain and Fiona had been over at the South hide at Gruinart with their top birds seen included a ringtail Hen Harrier, a female Peregrine, 4 Barnies, 2 Buzzard, 15 Redwing, 2 Snipe, 100 Pinkies flew overhead, 75 Teal, 30 Wigeon and over 20 Lapwing. Also today, James had seen 14 Whoopers at Sunderland with a further 10 along at Rockside. Up here at home, George E. Jackson came round and set up his mist nets. Boy, the birds did not oblige with only 3 Stonechats and a Linnet being caught and fitted with BTO rings. There were certainly more Linnets seen but when they took off, they fly away at 45 degrees and not fly along following the ground contours, so avoiding being caught...

Overnight, we had around 35 mm of rain, not a lot compared to other places....

Wednesday 19th June

I was speaking with my old chum, Ken Reeves on the phone this morning, and he told me that he had seen a couple of Minke Whales from the ferry, just off Gigha, as his family returned home from their recent visit to Islay.

The other day, Armin had seen 2 Whooper Swans along the flats at Gruinart. Immediately after seeing the swans, a male Hen Harrier flew across the road in front of him, it swooped down on the ground, only to be chased off by an agitated hen Pheasant trying to protect her brood of chicks. From the hide at Gruinart, Armin had seen and heard Snipe drumming, seen 2 Mute Swans with 5 cygnets with  a Hare really close at hand as well.

John Wilson had seen a pair of Dippers feeding their brood of youngsters at the side of the River Sorn over at The Woollen Mill. Today, when over on Jura,  John had a great viewing of a White tailed Eagle, "closer and much better" (John's words, not mine..) than ever seen by him on Mull!!  He also had seen a good, close sighting of a male Hen Harrier.  Further on, they had seen a Grey Wagtail

Monday 8th April

Some sightings in from various sources, mainly through from yesterday.. Mandy on Saturday evening had heard a Snipe calling up at her house at Carnduncan. Later on , Mandy had heard more than one Snipe drumming away. She also comented on hearing some Great Tits and also several Blackbirds singing away in her garden with great gusto...
Yesterday, visitor Iain Matthews from St Andrews had seen a Little Egret down in one of the many wee creeks at the head of Loch Indaal at Bridgend. James on his way home yesterday afternoon had seen a Merlin and a Hen Harrier as he drove across the flats at Gruinart both present over the reserve.

Saturday 5th January

Forgot last night to mention that I had a Snipe take off down in our garden.... Another thing that should have been mentioned was that we too have got snowdrops in flower, sorry James!!!

Today, another day and the Barn Owl was out and about at the back of 6 am... Lesley came up for a cuppa late morning, and we had a couple of Kestrel out on the wing over the bird crop, and then when I was checking up on something else, Lesley saw a Linnet just beyond the bird table... That was in the morning...Mid afternoon, and Mandy came for a welcome catch up... She had just seen a ringtail Hen Harrier over at Saligo, on her way to here. Better was still to come with a cracking view of a male Hen Harrier following the fence line round the edge of the garden.. To finish off Mandy's visit, there was a Sparrowhawk sitting down below the Pheasant feeder... Margaret saw a Merlin crash into the kitchen window,  it flew away none the worse for wear!!

Monday 26th March

Back on Saturday, Peter had been over on Jura along with some visiting friends. They witnessed a "good showing of Hen Harriers" with 2 different males displaying to a total of 3 females.. They also saw 4 Canada Geese,  just out of Craighouse. Up past Lealt, at the end of the public road on Jura, a Yellowhammer was spotted. Back on Islay, they had a count of 18 Tysties at Port Askaig. Yesterday they walked round Ardnave Point with impressive numbers of Lapwing and Skylark displaying and calling away. They also had 2 Wheatear and a total of 8 Snipe. Back at Bruichladdich, they saw 2 Razorbill at the pier.

Visitor Richard had seen an Iceland Gull on Machir Bay this morning, and commented on seeing several Chough there as well. Down on the Oa, Richard had a mixed flock of Linnet and Twite. He also had Raven, a few Chough and also Fulmars. Down at Kilnaughton Bay, 2 Rock Pipits were seen with some Eider and a GND present out on the water. Over at the "Singing Sands" he saw a Stonechat. Over past Ardbeg, on Claggain Bay, he had a RTD and  2 GND. Other visitors, Andy and Graham along with their wives had seen 2 Yellowhammers and also a small mixed flock of Linnet and Twite close to their cottage at Kilchoman.

Tomorrow night, at  the Islay bird nerds will be meeting at 7pm in the Gaelic College for our monthly catch up, so if you are over on Islay at present, you will be made most wlcome. There will be a small charge to help pay for the rom hire, so hopefully see some new/ old faces along...

Friday 2nd March

Back on Tuesday, George E. Jackson had seen a male Pheasant nosing about in the sea weed down at the water's edge along past Ardbeg. He also said there were some Oystercatchers in the same location too. Yesterday, Phill had 12 Ringed Plover down in the bay at Port Ellen. He also saw 12 Oystercatcher and 2 Common Gulls there as well. Distillery Dave saw a Merlin zip across the road in front of him on his way home from Kilchoman.  Today, Gary had a count of 11 Snipe and also 7 Snow Bunting down at Carnain. Gary on his way home had a male Hen Harrier  fly across the road at Keppols just out of Ballygrant. George E Jackson had a count of 24 Whitefronts out towards the War Graves cemetery at Kilchoman with 15 Chaffinch and 8 Goldfinch in at the feeders ..Pat and Angie had seen a ringtail Hen Harrier down towards Gartbreck

Thursday 21st September

James and Mark yesterday had seen 25 Snipe as well as 2 Hen Harriers up on the moor on the reserve at Gruinart and this morning, James had counted 12 Snipe in the same location. This afternoon while out for a short run down the "Glen road", on the moorland at the entrance to Avonvogie, we saw several family groups of Stonechats out and about. Here at home just after lunch, there were a pair of Buzzards flying high up on thermals above the crag.

Wednesday 6th September

A similar sort of a day today with the weather, but we will not be beat, got all my jobs done, just fine, a happy bunny again.. Forgot to mention on the blog last night that I had a Snipe down below the pond, in the rushy area.. Gary had seen an Otter up at Bunnahabhain, and reported that both Song Thrushes and Mistle Thrushes are starting to flock up over beside here he lives.

Today, Mike and Peter had carried out a sea watch at Frenchman's Rocks. I was also glad to hear that Bob had been out with them too, no excuse now Bob, another few weeks and you will be driving again. Their birds were as follows, 997 Manx Shearwater, 23 Fulmar, 4 Shag, 1 Cormorant, 29 Auk sp., 3 Tysties, 1 Arctic/ Common Tern, 10 Gbb Gull, 339 Gannets with another 150 feeding around the Rocks, 7 Great Skua, 12 Sanderling, a Whimbrel and a Storm Petrel. Today, Phill was leading the guided walk down on the Oa where he had a pair of Golden Eagle displaying well, 4 Chough close to the American monument and also a Kestrel nearby. Here at home, on the game crop the Linnets have been joined by some Twite, possibly the ones that Mike had down at the Machir Bay the other day...

Saturday 17th June

Armin sent this image of a Snipe drumming, taken yesterday evening over at Gruinant..

Armin's image clearly shows the tail feathers out which cause the drumming sound, good one Armin.

Returning visiting birder, John Wilson is back again for another Islay fix. John popped in for a catch up this afternoon and told me of seeing Reed Buntings and Sedge Warblers down at the reed bed leading to Machir Bay. Later on, we watched our "local" Chough pair trying to coax their 3 youngsters out from the nest. It  took them a week last year, so we will see how long it takes this year.

Monday 14th December

A different day again, no ice on puddles and it did feel a bit warmer than yesterday! Forgot to mention that Bob had seen 5 Bullfinches up on Bolsay Moor on Saturday. Yesterday, Mike had carried out his WeBS count on Outer Loch Indaal, basically from Port Charlotte down towards Portnahaven. Mike's birds were as follows, 58 GND, 25 RTD, 36 Common Scoter, 2 Eider, 10 Shag, 11 RB Merganser, 59 Common Gull and 6 Guillemot. Val, Mike's wife had seen 4 Bullfinches and a male Hen Harrier while out walking at The Gearach. Today, we had a ringtail Hen Harrier coming off the south side of Loch Gorm and flying away over the moorland. Mary, today carried out her WeBs Counts as well. Before coming to work this morning, while she was walking her dogs, she saw a Barn Owl down at Portnahaven. Her WeBS counts were as follows, Ardnave Loch held 21 Wigeon, 31 Teal, 2 Mallard, 7 Goldeneye, 90 Lapwing, 2 Herring Gul,8 Mute, 8 Whoopers, 3 Pochard and 2 Tufted Duck. The tally for Loch Gruinart was 3 GND, 1 Shag, 13 Heron, 43 Shelduck, 84 Wigeon, 37 Mallard, 5 Goldeneye,11 RBM, 127 Oystercatcher, 13 Ringed Plover,350 Golden Plover, 230 Dunlin, 55 Barwits, 94 Curlew, 59 Redshank, 60 Turnstone, 6 C Gull, 39 H Gull, 7 GBB Gull, 2 Snipe and 4 Greenshank. There was also a Kestrel present at the head of Loch Gruinart.

Wednesday 8th July

A better day again with the weather... A few sightings in from yesterday for you. Bob had taken a couple from Texas before breakfast and then again, late afternoon/ early evening. Over the 5 hour stint (in total) 63 species were seen with their highlights included seeing many Hen Harriers, 20 Snipe drumming between Blackrock and Gruinart, a count of 18 Chough at Kilchoman, on the River Sorn they saw the Dippers , at the top of Loch Indall, a Barwit was present. Through their time out birding they saw many family groups, especially Stonechats! Martin yesterday evening had taken a walk round Loch nan Gabhar close to the Golf course. Martin had 3 pr of Wigeon, 11 GBB Gulls, Common Sandpiper, Lapwing, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Sedge Warbler, a ringtail Hen Harrier and then at the end of his walk, his last bird was a Short eared Owl! Paul Graham was in touch to say that the Corncrake is still calling down behind where he lives in Bruichladdich, Some of us were a wee bit worried that the farmer might have destroyed its' habitat the other day when cutting the grass. Paul also heard a further 3 Corncrakes calling, while he was out walking his dog last night, in the field behind the large Distillery warehouse as one goes out of Bruichladdich up the hill towards Conisby. Today Maggie Birtwell had an Arctic Skua while she was waiting for the ferry at Feolin on Jura. This afternoon, Bob had 3 families of Whinchats on Bolsay Moor, also there were 2 Hooded Crows pursuing a Cuckoo.

Saturday 20th June

Just in from being out for some grub with friends, so apologies for running late.. Here goes then... Back on Thursday, George E Jackson had a couple of arctic Terns and a Common Tern over Kilnaughton Bay. Where the Cragabus Bay enters the bay, 2 Dunlins were seen , both in full summer plumage. Also there, was a Mistle Thrush before it flew off. On their way home, on the low road, just North of the airport, 2 Snipe flew out of the peats and shortly afterwards, a male Hen Harrier was seen quartering its' patch. On Friday, they had walked out round Loch Skerrols, past East Lodge and through Bridgend Woods back to their car. On Loch Skerrols, they counted 23 Mute Swan, 5 Tufted Duck and a Cormorant, on the farmland they had a flock of 22 Lapwing and also 11 Greylag. In the woods, in the scrub, a family of Stonechats were noted with a Spotted Flycatcher seen beside the River Sorn. Yesterday, Maggie Birtwell, had watched an Osprey fishing at Loch Lossit, and around the Storakaig area had seen Redpoll, Whinchats and Skylarks. She also saw a male Hen Harrier out on the wing. Alistair Hutchieson yesterday, had a pair of Bullfinch in at Loch Skerrols, as well as 2 Common Sandpipers. On his way in to Loch Skerrols, Alistair had seen a Buzzard being mobbed by some crows in one of the forest rides, a real "dog fight"...

Sunday 1st December

Yep, another month in, with the tally for the rain coming through at 4.25", another "relatively" dry month, better keep quiet until the end of December to get the overall picture for 2013!!! Speaking to Ed yesterday about his current work here on Islay with the Greenland Whitefronted Geese. The team have maanaged to catch and put collars on 3 geese. 2 were caught at Gruinart and fitted with GPS collars, numbers 21 & 22 with respective darvic rings on their legs being LL and SOY. The neck collars are blue while the rings on the legs are white. They have also managed catch another goose down close to Eollabus near to Bridgend with the neck collar fitted readin S1Y and the darvic leg ring 25, so if you manage to see any of these geese, let me know and I will pass on your sightings to Ed. Yesterday James had a group of over 40 Snipe flying over the reserve. Here at home, I think the Brambling has moved on, but I had a "close sighting" of a male Hen Harrier as it flew down over the wee hill behind the house before it circled up to above the big crag, same old story, right place, right time

Monday 25th November

Whilst gathering sheep on the hills of the Oa today we saw 2 Golden Eagles, 3 Woodcock, 5 Snipe, and a female type Hen Harrier. Some counts from the Oa from last Friday included 427 Twite, 51 Chaffinch, 54 Golden Plover and a Grey Wagtail.
Today, Pete had seen a Water Rail well when flushed from a ditch at Bolsa Track near Port Charlotte. The saga in his garden continues with a very bold rook flying off with the food he put out for the Blackcap yesterday. Undaunted he has crushed another one of his fat balls and put that in a more sheltered spot in the garden in the hope that smaller birds may find it more accessible......