Tuesday 18 & Wednesday 19 January

Sorry folks, skipped yesterday due to a failed internet connection. Not to worry, all is back today and I have these stunning images to share with you from Morag Stirling who stumbled across these WTEs on the Big Strand today.

Breathtaking photos, I'm sure you'll all agree.

Yesterday Lauren had 3 little egrets in front of the South Hide, plus 2 male bullfinches on the Woodland Trail.  Later while she was digging nettles to create early corncrake cover, she was entertained by 2 WTE harassing the barnacle geese.   Gary, meanwhile, spotted 2 WTE at one of the regular haunts: the old wreck at the top of Loch Indaal.  Also a kestrel around the wood below Coullabus.

Today was a little quieter with the strong winds but Lauren still located a treecreeper in the woods despite the weather.  While at Claddach I saw a hen harrier in the wind along the coastal edges.

Morven over at Nature Scot sent through this months International Goose Count figures:

"The count was done on the 11^th and 12^th of January with figures of 35,196 barnacles, 6801 white-fronts and 1424 greylags."

Thanks to everyone contributing today.

Sunday 10th January

James was in touch with some birds seen over at Gruinart... 

Yesrerday, he had seen the Little Egret and then today James had a White tailed Eagle seen out on the wing over the reserve. In his garden he saw a couple of Long tailed Tits on his feeders and shortly afterwards he saw a Treecreeper on one of his trees in his garden.

Monday 30th November

 George E. Jackson sent me through this information on an e mail earlier on today...

"On Sunday morning, I saw a Treecreeper in Bridgend woods (Pat claims we [? she] saw one once before but I certainly don't remember it, so it's a new Islay tick for me)."

Ealier on this evening, when watching LANDWARD on the BBC channel, there was a feature about the grey seals down at St Abbs Head and who else was being interviewed but Ciaran Hatsell who previously worked on Fair Isle for a few years as an assistant to the warden at the Bird Obs there. Ciaran was over on Islay a few years ago on holiday, and we met up with him one day for some food down in the Port Charlotte Hotel along with Peter Roberts who once worked there, a good few years ago....

Friday 21st August

 Not much to report through from Islay tonight, mainly because of  the weather but Andrew Kelly had managed out yesterday..."Not much to report: went for easy walk round woods at Bridgend. Pretty noisy, so difficult to pick up bird sound, and not a lot to see. Best seen was Treecreeper! Thought I heard Redstart, but willing to be told I'm wrong - reading Birds of Islay Celebration in Photography, it says Redstart not bred for some years? Appreciate it's a 2006 book, so don't know if changed. All birds in Clachan Strip which we struggled through!"   I spoke to James relating to Andrew's comments regarding the Redstart, and James agreed that it could have been a bird on passage rather than a resident bird. So another good spot for Andrew...

Christine Menzies sent through an email saying that she had just seen a Sparrowhawk down close to Port Ellen, it was sitting on a roof close by, being mobbed by some rather irate Swallows!!!!

Friday 5th June

Alistair Hutchison e mailed through last night with some sightings seen by himself on the Sorn


"Have come upon pairs of Bullfinches or the same pair over the past couple or three months ( either side of the site of the former Dry Bridge, initially )

Yesterday a pair halfway between East Lodge and the bridge above the Woollen Mill ... but today, at least one parent with at least 2 fledglings .... below the White Bridge heading to the bend above the last Sorn weir.

One dead bird trackside in winter.



Have also seen many more Treecreepers than hitherto ...."


Many thanks to Alistair for your birds, keep them coming through.....

Thursday 13th February

Gary and Wendy had been out 

"The weather has been really lovely here today. Nice to have it so calm, but the wind quite cool. We kept warm walking from Bridgend up around Daill Farm and the ruined chapel. Their bird list was as follows;

Carnain: usual Barnies etc
Bridgend: Greenland Whitefronts, Meadow Pipit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Long tailed Tit, Robin,     Treecreeper and also 6 Song Thrush."

Please note that the weather forecast over the next few days is not so great, the ferry tomorrow morning is already being diverted to Port Askaig, all because of Storm Dennis coming this way...

Friday 8th November

MB had been out and about again yesterday, which in his own words, the weather was "dull, and at times gloomy sort of a day". First thing yesterday, he had seen 2 White tailed Eagles at Kilchoman, along at Coull, MB saw  a male Hen Harrier. Round at Sunderland Farm, a Golden Eagle was seen flying along towards Rockside Farm. Along at Uiskentuie/ Blackrock he had 11 Slavonian Grebes, 5 L t Ducks (4M + 1F), 33 Common Scoter and he counted 135 R b Merganser all together in one raft. In Bridgend Wood/ Claggain Strip, MB saw 4 Goldcrest and also 5 Treecreeper and along at Islay House, 35 Fieldfare were present while at Bridgend, 2 drake Goosanders, 5 Goldeneye and 2 Dippers were seen. Along at Mulreesh he had counted 51 Redwing. In at Finlaggan, he watched a W T Eagle flush 52 Mallard 103 Teal and 5 Tufted Duck out from their cover... coming back over the Glen road, in around Beinn Dubh/ Storakaig, MB had 2 Golden Eagles and also a Peregrine present, he also counted at least 90 Hooded Crows and also 18 Raven in the same area.

Saturday 19th October

Nothing much on the bird front today folks... the lady from the Dower House this morning had a Treecreeper with James noting another on the reserve at Gruinart and also a Sparrowhawk present there as well.

Possibly there was another reason for not so many sightings today, as Bob and Pat got married up at Kilnave with the reception being held in the Visitor Centre at Gruinart. The weather remained dry and sunny although there was an edge to the cool northerly wind, the actual ceremony went well and the spread of food on offer was a fitting end to the day.... So many thanks to Bob and Pat for inviting us to come and witness their happy day...

Saturday 10th August

Through the day out here it has surpisingly kept dry, but now early evening, the wind has picked up quite a bit, bit still remaining dry...

George E. Jackson is back over visiting for another Islay fix. Yesterday, in Bowmore he saw a Sparrowhawk fly over the distillery, it then proceeded to fly out along the village, much to the annoyance of the Swallows, before causing havoc with the Starlings. In the afternoon, up at Killinallan, he had several Dunlin in summer plumage, and he also saw a few Ringed Plover. Up close to the locked gate, a juv. Stonechat was seen.

Early this morning, I saw that pesky Sparrowhawk flying through the Linnet flock, it flew up the top beside our house, resting up on the fence for a few moments and it then flew away... Later on, I saw a Grey Wagtail

This afternoon, Sheila Sim had walked down to the Lily Loch up behind Port Askaig. She had seen the following birds ... Raven, Twite, Siskin, Treecreeper, Wren, Coal Tit, Spotted Flycatcher, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, Pied Wagtail, Swallow, Osprey, Hen Harrier and a Robin. A great selection , well done Sheila.

Saturday 20th April

Another day finished and despite some valiant attempts, no e mails as of yet..

It started of a misty sort of a morning, with mist lifting and then shortly afterwards dropping again, the only good thing about was that there was no wind, so I pressed ahead and got the wild flowers sown which needs to be sown when there is no wind, so for once I was pleased with the sort of dreich conditions, as some other places,the temperature has been a lot warmer...

Peter Gill from Sunderland came over for another visit to Islay, arriving yesterday. Where they were staying last night at Lyrabus, once it was dark, they saw a Barn Owl perched on a fence post along the road. Today at Gruinart, on the flats they counted 15 Whitefronts. On the Woodland trail, they heard several Blackcaps calling and they also saw a couple of Treecreepers there as well. From the North Hide, they had a Golden Eagle which was then joined and mobbed by a Raven as well as a Peregrine. Up on Ardnave Loch,  60 Barnies were counted with 10 Whimbrel seen on the shoreline they headed down to Bruichladdich.
Mike had counted 91 Pale bellied Brent as well as 147 Common Scoter flying North up Loch Indaal. Today, up here at home there was a Collared Dove present, with Mandy hearing a lot of Willow Warblers singing down below at Kilchoman House.

Sunday 10th February

Visiting birdrs Richard & Hilary Pickard have sent me another e mail through with some more of their sightings...Yesterday, at Crosshouses/ Carnain they had a flock of Dunlin and some Ringed Plover and Turnstone in with them. Between the Gaelic centre and back to Bowmore, they saw Scaup, Slavonian Grebe, GND, Pale bellied Brent Geese, Goldeneye and Common Scoter. Up towards Mulindry, they had seen some Reed Buntings and in at Finlaggan, Golden Eagle & Peregrine were noted. Bunahabhain held GND and also Tysties. In at The Woollen Mill, a Dipper was seen on the River Sorn. Forgot to mention that we had a Kestrel sitting on top of the electric pole again, out in the garden, late yesterday afternoon.. A few birds in from Ashley from yesterday afternoon, before leaving Islay.. They saw the Todd's Canada Goose at Leorin again,and along past Ardbeg, 3 Bullfinches and a Treecreper were seen.. 

This morning around 9 am, the pesky Sparrowhawk came flying looking around for a meal, no joy as all the numerous wee birds must have learned to avoid being caught....Mike P had 2 Dippers already paired up while he was out for a walk along te River Sorn. Mike also had a Peregrine out displaying/ caling away over the trees/ woodlands there as well. The wee birds today have ben busy on the feeders with the wind having dropped a lot, so did the temperature!!!

Tuesday 29th January

Well, a latish kind of an entry tonight, the reason being that I was at the Bird nerds post Christmas meal which was held down inthe Lochside Hotel inBowmore with 11 folk in attendance. Mind you the weather has not been that great today with quite a few dirty wintery showers moving around .. The roads comeing home this evening were not that clever... Needless to say we all had a good night out...good to see you all folks!!!

Some birds gleaned from the meeting tonight were as follows... Bob had a Jack Snipe down at Carnain. Sam, Gary's wife had a White tailed Eagle out from her new job at Ardnahoe Distillery, Gary himself saw a male Hen Harrier over close to Torabus. James had a Sparrowhawk as well as a Treecreeper at Mill cottage. Here at home , the wee birds have been busy tucking in the the food on offer, just as well more food was delivered in today!!!  Mid aftrnoon, there was a really big thud on one of the windows, Margaret went and loked out to find a rather stunned Sparrowhawk on the ground, but by the time I got my camera to hand it had flown away. Later on, another thump on another window, this time,  a dazed Chaffinch but it too recovered fine..

Tuesday 13th November

Bob and Lesley had carried out WeBS count from Blackrock along to Port Charlotte, the scores on the doors coming to... 29 Cormorant, 4 Shag, 13 GND, 4 RTD, 3 Eider, 9 R b Merganser, 21 Oystercatcher, 10 Snipe, 3 Turnstone, 20 Herring Gull and a Gbb Gull. Returning visiting birders with whom I met in with last night had seen 4 Merlin on their travels around Islay as well as 5 Hen Harriers. They were well pleased seeing the Hen Harriers especially as they are not seen very often where they live on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors...Their previous visit to Islay was 15 years ago....Armin is back on Islay for his Autumn fix and also the Islay sessions, a trad music weekend held mainly in Port Charlotte. The other morning, he had seen 10 Oystercatchers and also 100 Herring Gulls down on Machir Bay and then a Buzzard down at the Coastguards. Yesterday afternoon, down on the merse at Bridgend, Armin was armed with his camera, hoping to get some images of the geese on the mudflats , but the tide was in , net result, not many, if any images were taken. By the time he got over to Gruinart, the light was poor... Just as the light was starting to fade, at home we counted 25 Chough going in to the roost....
Today, Mike Peacock had seen 39 Tufted Duck , 149 Teal and 4 Whoopers on Loch Gorm along with a Merlin close by. Val, his wife had been taking a walk down through the trees below Foreland and seen a Greater spotted Woodpecker , a Treecreeper and a Woodcock.

Thursday 16th November

Another dry day out here again, a bit on the cold side, but for time of the year, certainly not that bad a day.. This afternoon, out in the garden I manage to get some more bushes planted as well as a few daffodils too..

The Bowland birders, yesterday had gone round Loch Gorm seeing Skylarks, Dunnocks, Wood Pigeons, Mistle Thrush, 4 Chough down close to Machir Bay, with 25 Ringed Plover seen there too. The Cackling goose was present amongst Barnies at Rockside along with a flock of around 80 Chaffinches. Back at Octomore, Reed Bunting was added to their list for the week. Today at Octomore, they saw a Grey Wagtail. At Bun an Uisge, where Islay Farmers used to trade from, they saw 6 Pale belied Brents. At the top of the merse at Bridgend, 12 Pintail, and a male Goldeneye were seen. Loch Skerrols held Mute Swans, Whooper Swans, Tufted Duck, Wigeon and Teal. Round at Newton, on the stubbles there, a Brambling was amongst the large flock of Chaffinches. A walk from the Woollen Mill produced Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, 7 Goldcrest and a Treecreeper.

Friday 24th March

Another great day with the weather and to end it all, a beautiful sunset.... Martin Gooch, the winner of the free holiday draw at the Bird Fair, courtesy of Islay cottages, has had a tremendous stay here this week. On Wednesday, he had seen a male Hen Harrier out quartering his patch along at Rockside. Shortly afterwards he saw a Golden Eagle being chased off by a determined Raven. Over at The Woollen Mill, a walk along the River Sorn produced a Dipper, and also a Grey Wagtail. In the trees, a Bullfinch and a Treecreeper spotted. Yesterday, they saw 2 White tailed Eagles up past Ballygrant and then a ringtail Hen Harrier out on the wing. This morning they saw 9 Pale bellied Brent Geese on Loch Indaal. Bob, today had a Gannet up at Ardnave. Also seen there by Bob were 4 Wheatears,12 Barwits, 15 Sanderling a few Redshank and some Snipe as well.

Before I forget, on Tuesday evening, the bird nerds will be meeting at 6 pm at the old hide at Gruinart, so if you are around, see you there.

Friday 17th March

A right miserable sort of a day out here today, wet and windy with the mist swirling around the crag for most of the day... Luckily, I have some sightings seen by David and Jenny from yesterday... In Bridgend woods they saw a Treecreeper, 7 Lbb Gulls were present on the ploughing at Skerrols, and over on the Sound of Islay they counted 30 Kittiwakes. Late afternoon, back over at Machir Bay they had 15 Whoopers flying inland..

From the Argyll Bird Club's web page latest sightings, some other birds are back, on Tuesday, a Chiffchaff was on Tiree, Wednesday, a House Martin was on Coll with an Osprey present close to Campbeltown yesterday....

Saturday 11th February

Another great day, what a tremendous view wasseen of the moon last night and this evening, a wee cracker of a sunset to finish the day off... Yesterday Michal and the "vols" had carried out the WeBs count on the Floods and also out on Loch Gruinart itself. The tally for the "floods" was 304 Lapwing, 77 Mallard, 336 Teal, 12 Mute Swan, 42 Pintail, 6 Shoveler, with the count out on the Loch being 121 Shelduck, 40 Mallard, 10 Rb Merganser, 193 Wigeon, 219 Oystercatcher, 82 Ringed Plover, 60 Lapwing, 72 Sanderling, 91 Dunlin, 142 Barwits, 117 Curlew, 53 Redshank, 30 Turnstone and 30 Common Gull. Yesterday afternoon while  coming over on the ferry, in the Sound of Islay visitor Kevin McCormick had a white winged Gull, but too far to make a positive id. This morning, Martin Armstrong had been down in the woods below Bridgend  where he saw a pr of Bullfinches and a Treecreeper as well as a Kingfisher at the mouth of the River Sorn. Today, visitor Kevin had 4 Goldeneye, a raft of 24 Eider with 12 Wigeon close to the shore as he came out of Bowmore. Along past the Gaelic College, he had 6 Shelduck, lots of Barnies out resting up, more Wigeon, some Mallard, some Oystercatcher and 8 Curlew. A distant male Hen Harrier was seen over Bridgend and another seen back at Glenegedale where Kevin is staying. here at home, late afternoon, there was a Blue Tit on the nut feeder which had only been erected, a bird that is not that common to us.

Sunday 15th January

Yesterday, James had seen the drake Green winged Teal on the reserve at Gruinart.  Also yesterday, I helped Bob and David Barr with the WeBS count from Bowmore down to Gartbreck, so here is the list of birds seen...3 GND, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 5 Heron, 3 Cormorant, 11 Shag, 1,450 Barnies, 82 Whitefronts, 39 Pbb Geese, 3 Eider, 20 R b Merganser, 45 Mallard, 95 Teal, 90 Wigeon, 8 Shelduck, 2 Goldeneye, 90 Oystercatcher, 5 Redshank, 19 Barwits, 57 Curlew, 1 Snipe, 40 Lapwing, 2 Ringed Plover, 11 Grey Plover, 3 Turnstone, 2 Gbb Gull, 60 H. Gull and 20 C. Gull.  At the very end, while walking back tour wheels, there was a group of 12 Skylark sitting on the ground, in the sun...

This afternoon, over at James and Sally's, we saw a Treecreeper on one of the trees beside the burn in their garden. In the field, in front of their cottage, some Barnies were present, oblivious to us watching them. What a show of snowdrops in the garden too... On the downside, later on in the afternoon, the mist has returned, so the plane did not come in, just as well the ferry is sailing!!!

Thursday 30th June

Peter Donaldson reported hearing a corncrake at Portnahaven, later at Machair Bay he had couple ringed plovers and a common sandpiper. Gary had a loads of willow warblers in the wood at Lilly Loch, also wrens, treecreepers, robin, bullfinch and young heron.

Monday 6th June

Another wee cracker of a day, but tomorrow is another day, with heavy rain forecast some areas late afternoon, we could with some, but it might not stop... One of the nosey Choughs touched down on the garage roof this morning and shortly afterwards, there was a Collared Dove in the garden. The male Greenfinch was at the feeders by himself today. Margaret saw a Common Blue Damselfly down at the pond this afternoon. This evening, there 25 Chough in a flypast.  Later tonight, it is the second run of the Corncrake count, so fingers crossed that we hear a few more than last time, we can't use the excuse that it is too cold tonight! Viv Coy and her husband from Washington, Tyne and Wear had seen a Treecreeper and heard a Whitethroat while walking through the "Woodland Trail" at Gruinart this afternoon