Tuesday 7th June

The RSPB did a survey by fast boat setting out from Port Askaig (courtesy of Gus Newman at Islay Seaventures) of breeding seabirds along the cliffs from Saligo to Smaull this morning There were plenty of Razorbills, Guillemots, Shags and Fulmars but no Kittiwakes. Whether the numbers counted reflect an increase, decrease or status quo we wait to find out once numbers are fully tallied (though the total lack of Kittiwakes is a definite decrease as the former small colony there has completely gone now). Other birds noted on the journey were Golden Eagle and Peregrine plus a Great Northern Diver at sea between Islay and Colonsay. On Nave Island it was a surprise to see a flock of 60 Bar-tailed Godwits and 15 Knot.

Back on land the Great Egret was showing well from the North Hide at Gruinart this afternoon (another digi-scoped image below) and there were 2 Swifts seen by Mark Shields over Ballinaby.

Monday 6th June

Dry again today, but cooler with more cloud.

There was a belated report of an immature/male Marsh Harrier over the reed-bed at Machir Bay on Saturday seen by a visiting birder.

James how reported the Great Egret  on the Flats at Gruinart this morning. I popped in to the North hide at Gruinart this afternoon seeing the same male Ruff that has been present for a couple of days now. Also present was a drake Gadwall, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, and the usual lame Barnacle Goose accompanied by the drake Wigeon. Plenty of young birds about too - chicks of Oystercatcher, Redshank, Lapwing, Teal,  Mallard, Mute Swan and Black-headed Gull.

Down on The Oa, David Dinsley spotted two Spotted Flycatchers at Kinnabus.

 

Sunday 5th June

Bright and sunny again today with a little more cloud and breeze at times, but still very much like summer.

Not much to report on the bird front. David Dinsley had been up to Ardnave and saw a pair of Great Skuas on Nave Island and a couple of Little Terns close to shore at Ardnave.

I checked the hides at Gruinart in the afternoon and found the male Ruff still present. The sub-adult White-tailed Eagle passed by causing the usual upset and I saw my first Teal ducklings of the season.

Saturday 4th June

Superb weather again today – barely a cloud in the sky, warm, sunny and a light breeze at times – but still possibly the hottest day this year?

Up at Kilchoman Margaret Brooke sent in a note of some fascinating Chough behaviour she witnessed today: “Just had a great encounter with 2 Chough chasing a stoat between the house and church wall. The Chough who were very cross landed on the ground just outside my door. As the top half of the door was open I went to see why they were on the ground and saw the stoat hiding under my post box. When it ran out they chased it along the path out to the road”

There was a sub-adult White-tailed Eagle sat on the sand at the top of Loch Gruinart at lunchtime, which eventually flew off in the direction of Gortantaoid where a Golden Eagle was circling high.

At the North Hide this afternoon a white-ruffed male Ruff was new in and a pleasant surprise. The slowly drying out floods there are exposing more mud and presumably providing lots of worms and wigglies for the ever-present Dunlin and Ringed Plovers to feed on: There were 124 Dunlin and 66 Ringed Plover today.

The “mystery egret” of yesterday was relocated at the South hide in the late afternoon and is a mystery no more. After a long period of sitting with its head tucked under its wings, it showed good views of the head and bill colour, stretched an enormously long neck and flew off showing its legs at last – definitely a Great Egret in breeding plumage and possibly the same bird that was reported on Mull two days ago. Below is a truly awful digi-scoped attempt of a photo: not much good but “better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick”.

Friday 3rd June

A splendid day today – the weather was bright, warm, sunny and dry and there were 1-2 interesting birds seen.

Mary Redman had a Swift over her house at Port Wemyss this morning – that is the first seen on Islay this year.

Over at Cornabus Ed Burrell saw a Stock Dove on some reseed grass – again the first of 2022.

The 9 Black-tailed Godwits are still feeding in exactly the same little pool by the north Hide today from where I saw my first Black-headed Gull chicks of the season.

Out from the South hide viewpoint was an egret. It was a long way off in a heat haze, thigh deep in vegetation so I couldn’t see its legs. There was nothing anywhere near to gain a size comparison. One minute it looked large with a heavy bill and I was turning it into a Great Egret. Next it turned its head and looked quite slim, so I went back to Little Egret! I watched it for an hour and it barely moved! Nothing was right for either species: it had lots of fine body plumes like a breeding Great but not a trace of the characteristic head plumes of a breeding Little Egret. The bill was “wrong” for both species - dark grey above, a bit paler (yellowish?) on the lower mandible at the base. At times the bill looked heavy and with a “jowl” - but it was a long way off.. As is so often the case,, eve n with an ID as simple as this, the literature leaves you scratching your head in bewilderment! Do Little Egrets have such a lot of body plumes as this bird – especially without showing a trace of the head plumes? Nothing online could tell me. Information about bill colour is all over the place – the emphasis being on the very obvious that we all know - "Little Egrets have black bills and Great Egrets have yellow bills" – but of course it is not that simple and the variations not adequately explained. Look out for it tomorrow and hope it is A) half a mile closer; B) shows its legs and feet and C) is standing next to something to work out what its true size is.

Thursday 2nd June

Another fine, sunny, dry day with just a light breeze.

Fiona McGillivray reported a Barnacle Goose yesterday evening on the sea by the Old school at Gortan. So that makes two Barnies not making it home to Greenland this summer as the other one still lingers off RSPB Gruinart’s North Hide.

Other late news from yesterday was an Osprey observed by visiting birders out on Loch Gruinart which was seen again today by Lucy from RSPB whilst walking the Moorland Trail.

Today up at Kilchoman, Margaret Brooke notes a Cuckoo calling up behind Kilchoman and a female Hen Harrier seen at Culbuie on her way to supply RSPB Gruinart with their regular Thursday fix of homemade cakes and biscuits.

I did my usual check of the two hides at Gruinart this afternoon. New in were a group of 9 Black-tailed Godwits from the North Hide where there was much activity from about 95 Dunlin and 35 Ringed Plover. Despite a low tide exposing vast acres of mud and sand across Loch Gruinart, there must be rich pickings on the floods as the water level drops to attract these birds in. Here too were Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Redshank chicks and my first sightings of Shoveler ducklings for this year. A female Bullfinch was seen along the Woodland Trail.

Wednesday 1st June

A gorgeous day’s weather - sunny, warm and calm – a great start to June. But James How sent in the measurements from his rainfall gauge indicating a wet May with a reading of 90mm this year compared to 40mm last year.

 James had seen a Golden Eagle this morning at Gruinart being mobbed by 2 Hen Harriers.

 I did a walk at Loch Skerrols this afternoon and again failed to come across any sign of Great Spotted Woodpeckers – they don’t seem to be so obvious this year and I’ve not had many reports at all of birds in the usual places where they’ve been cropping up and breeding in recent years. Let me know if you’ve been seeing them……….

 A later look at the hides at Gruinart confirms we are approaching the quiet midsummer period. A couple of Black-tailed Godwits are still at the North Hide and the lame duo of Whooper Swan and Barnacle Goose still survive.

 George Jackson sent in a note concerning a new interactive Eurasian/African Migration Atlas from the BTO. It is all good and exciting stuff – take a look at it: Eurasian-African Migration Atlas . However, Islay seems to appear briefly, but rapidly disappears off the face of the earth as you zoom into to the interactive species maps. Jura remains to the east and Colonsay to the north but Islay sinks into the Atlantic!