Thurs 30th April

There were several of this new sub species of Oystercatcher on the shoreline on the East side of Loch Gruinart this morning, standing about on one leg in the rain, and they were not too keen to get their photos taken. Needless to say they did show their other leg off proir to flying away!

Later on, just below Craigens Farm there was a Sedge Warbler singing away in the reeds at the roadside, it was quite difficult to locate and I tried to get some images of it but it was almost impossible to focus on the bird rather than on the reeds round about. There were some good close sightings of a pair of Stonechats later on and finally on the platform above the hide, was a Song Thrush nearby on a branch of a tree. Looking over the salt marsh and there were still a few Barnacle Geese still present, mixed through a group of around 60 Shelduck.

Wed 29th April

This morning, first thing at breakfast time, there was a male Siskin on the nut feeder out on the front lawn. There has been no sign of the woodpecker for a few days now, so possibly she has moved off, having said that she had been hereabouts for the best part of 5 months.

Another visiting birder reported this evening to say there had been 30 Whimbrel feeding in a field at Coultorsay down at Bruichladdich. He had also seen a pair of Adders up at Ardnave!

Over at RSPB Loch Gruinart reserve, James had seen a Water rail this morning and heard a further 2 calling. There was also a male Ruff in full summer plumage on the floods, along with 4 pairs of Shoveler. James also had 5 separate Grasshopper warbler singing today. He also commented on seeing more "skydancing" being done by the Hen Harriers. JRH

Another comment being passed on, is that there appear to more sightings of pairs of Short eared Owls round Islay this year. There have been a few more reports of calling Corncrakes being heard.

Tues 28th April

On Sunday, while most of us were watching our "American Visitors", there was no sign of Michal. Yes, he was busy with his camera again, getting this image of a House Sparrow on a lichen covered branch.

Today at home there has been an increase in the numbers of Swallows around, several of them looking at the old nest sites, such as in the garage, in the dog shed, in the sheep shed, all the favorite old sites from previous years. There were also a few pairs of House Martins around too, the first here this year. At breakfast time, the Cuckoo was calling away, and then all of a sudden it flew off being pursued by 4 Jackdaws! The stubble field down at the roadend now has several Lapwings on it, and tonight there were between 50 - 60 Golden Plover on it too.

Mon 27th April

Almost forgot, another senior moment, Tracey e mailed me the final Goose counts figures from earlier on this month, and I had forgotten to pass them on. Here goes then, Barnies tallied up to 39,204 and the Whitefront tally was 5,521. Many thanks for the figures through the winter for all the counts folks. It is interesting to note, that there are still a few Whitefronts to be seen while out and about.

A friend along the road had a male Bullfinch in his garden the other day, in full breeding plumage, a sight not to be missed.

Sun 26th April

A phone call from Michal, alerted us to a "twitch" over at the RSPB reserve at Loch Gruinart this morning. Not just one bird, but at the end it turned out to be a twitch of 4 different species. The initial call was for a Lesser Yellowlegs and a Long billed Dowitcher, and these were easily found after prompting from James, as they were quite close to a Shoveler, but skulking around the rushes in the floods in front of the hide. The next shout was for the Green winged Teal, and more was to come, in the sense that at one point, all three birds were in the same field of view in the 'scope at once, at 60x magnification! They were seen by quite a wide range of folk, as the Argyll Bird Club were over on Islay for a weekend meet, and several of their members were fortunate to be there. Some visiting birders also saw the birds and equally impressed. The other species that James had seen briefly was a Spotted Redshank which he saw briefly around 6am. JRH

Back to our usual birds, and Margaret and myself had seen several Golden Plover, some Ringed Plover and a few Dunlin in a ploughed field over at Ballinaby yesterday evening. Whilst over at Gruinart this morning, we noticed 54 Shelduck and 44 Barnacle Geese mixed in with some Gulls on the salt marsh below Craigens Farm. Back here at home, before breakfast, the Cuckoo was in full song. Later on I had another first, and I had to double check, a Wheatear on a bough of a tree. I have seen them often on the ground, on a rock or on a dyke, even a fence post but never before on a tree!

Sat 25th April

This male Blackcap was caught in camera by Michal today, it had been there for a few days, but his perseverance paid dividends!

A phone message from Louise on Jura earlier on saying that there have been 43 Pale bellied Brent Geese in the bay at Craighouse, just below the shop. Another piece of news was that a dead Golden Eagle had been found in Pig Bay right up at the top of the Northern tip of Jura. It had a ring on its leg, and turned out to be have been rung back in 1987, so probably had died of old age rather than anything else. LG

James reported in to say that he had seen 52 Black tailed Godwits this morning on the floods, while at Bruichladdich he had an Arctic Tern. Coming home this afternoon, he commented that the salt marsh at the head of Loch Gruinart was covered with numerous Golden Plover, Ringed Plover and Dunlin, but was unable to get an accurate count as he did not have his 'scope with him at the time. He had been told this afternoon that there had been 4 Dotterel seen in a ploughed field over at Upper Killeyan on the Oa yesterday. JRH

Another visiting birder, over for a few days, left a message to say that he had seen his first Common Sandpiper of the year at Port Charlotte today, and had heard a Grasshopper Warbler over at Loch Tallant, while at the top of Loch Indaal there were 53 Black tailed Godwits. Were these possibly the same birds that James had seen too?

Fri 24th April

Remember the Twite that James saw last weekend with coloured rings on it's left leg? Well, as predicted by James, the bird had been rung in Lancashire, back in early 2003 at a site at Cant Clough, this latter piece of the jigsaw came through from Chris and Tony Johnson who regularly visit Islay and contribute to the blog when they are here. Thanks for your info folks.

Back here at home, today on the feeders, and a new tick for the year, a male Siskin! There were 3 House Martin swooping over the pools down at Carnain this afternoon. James had heard his first Corncrake of the year over at Gruinart this morning. George had seen a Grey seal trying to eat a fish about 14" long, in Loch Indaal, again this morning, it did succeed in the end. He also had seen an Otter out in the Loch too, while on the pier at Bruichladdich there were 6 Razorbill. IKB, JRH & GJ