Sunday 31st December

The last day of the year continued generally wet, grey and windy, with occasional brighter spells.

A little bit of bird news came in from various folk doing their last birding of 2023:

Mary-Ann Featherstone noted Goldcrests at Kildalton amongst her usual Great, Coal and Blue Tits.

Visitor Calum Scott confirmed "Old Faithful" the 2Y Glaucous Gull was still in situ at Uiskentuie - a good bird to start your year list tomorrow! Calum also saw 6 Scaup (sadly almost as many as we ever see here now) and a few Slavonian Grebes and Great Northern Divers off Bowmore.

Clive McKay did a short watch at Loch Gruinart in the early afternoon, finding, amongst other things 39 Shelducks, 410 Bar-tailed Godwits, 450+ Dunlins. 2 Greenshanks, and 3 Little Egrets.

Phil Edwards made more of a day of it and his detailed report follows:

"The forecast had been promising a nice day which we had planned to use to walk out to Killinallan Point.  Sadly, said forecast changed at the last minute to rain which we duly got.  Not to be deterred, we started the car outside the cottage at Smaull at 09.00 and a male Hen Harrier flushed from the adjacent ditch, so a great start.  In the next 20 minutes as we drove along past Ballinaby and Carnduncan we had a male Sparrowhawk, an immature male Kestrel, and a Buzzard, then a ringtail Hen Harrier.  Gruinart Flats was pretty empty so we headed up the east side of Loch Gruinart where there was a range of common waders and waterfowl at high tide including one Great Northern Diver and a male Goldeneye.  By Bun-an-uillt there were 119 Oystercatchers feeding in a field.  It was raining hard at Killinallan, so since we had obtained permission to drive through the locked gate, we continued all the way to Gortantaoid.  Although pretty bird-less (12 Rock Doves and 20 Common Gull being about the sum of it) it was still interesting to get to see a new place on Islay after all these years.  We headed back down the loch where a Little Egret flew by and there were two Grey Wagtails opposite Craigens Farm while I searched through the Barnacles unsuccessfully for the Red-breasted Goose.  Given the wind had dropped we headed to Blackrock via Uiskentuie where a female Barn Owl was present by the junction.  Ahead of black skies and rainbows, most of the waterfowl were very distant from Blackrock, but I managed c.200 Common Scoter, 70+ Eider, four pairs of Red-breasted Mergansers, seven Great Northern Diver, two Red-throated Diver, nine diver sp., and three Slavonian Grebes.  With the deluge upon us, we beat a hasty retreat with a second unsuccessful search for the RbG on the Flats. That just leaves me to wish all Islay birders and those who read the blog a very Happy New Year"

Thanks to everyone who has helped write this blog in my absences during 2023. Thanks too to all who have read and contributed records and photos to the blog and the associated birding WhatsApp in 2023. Your records are invaluable, are added to the database of the Argyll Bird Club and form a useful  base-line data set.

Here is a splendid final photo c/o Phil Edwards - a lovely bird to finish the year with...

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a bird-filled 2024 - Peter Roberts

Saturday 30th December

Today was definitely a "game of two halves" with regard to the weather. Strong winds from the east  with driving rain in the morning, followed by a reprieve with lighter winds and a dry, almost sunny afternoon.

Our visiting stalwart, Phil Edwards can tell us more:

"Slim pickings today.  On a completely vile morning with the forecast set even worse for the afternoon, I set out to look for the Red-breasted Goose on Gruinart Flats only to find that there were effectively no geese at all on Gruinart Flats!  So up the relatively sheltered east side of Loch Gruinart only to find the tide was in and there were no birds there either!  Completely thwarted, I headed for the relatively sheltered part of Loch Indaal and at Gartnatra managed to find 29 Bar-tailed Godwits, 23 Knot, 91 Oystercatcher, 53 Wigeon, and 16 Mallard.  Further round between the power station and the edge of Bowmore there were two male and one female Long-tailed Duck (one quite close in) with five pairs of Red-breasted Mergansers, 230+ Common Scoter, two Great Northern Divers, and a female Goldeneye.  On the way back to Smaull through increasing torrents of rain, there were six light-bellied Brent Geese at Traigh Cill and Rubha.  While we were eating lunch, the rain suddenly stopped, the wind dropped, and the sun came out!  So an impromptu trip to Sanaigmore ensued where we flushed a Snipe on the way to the beach where there were 17 Oystercatcher, 24 Ringed Plover, one Redshank, one female Common Scoter, one Great Northern Diver, two Rock Pipits and 32 Chough."

Thanks Phil for your notes and accompanying photos from your day's endeavours.

The only other reports on today's WhatsApp concerned Otters. Shona-Isla had seen one today at Kilnaughton, prompting Malcolm O. to note that he had been seeing a family (mother + two large cubs) in the sea in front of his house in Bruichladdich, while I saw one at Port Charlotte yesterday fishing close inshore in a very choppy sea.

Friday 29th December

The weather was a little kinder today - lighter winds, less rain and even patches of blue sky.

Phil Edwards was enjoying the slight reprieve from the gales and rain, supplying this account and some more of his photos to brighten the blog:

"Well what might not pass muster as a nice day under normal circumstances certainly did in the current run of torrid weather.  Light north-easterlies and sunny spells had us head to Jura.  A moderately quick scan through countless thousands (15K+?) of Barnacle Geese on Gruinart Flats on the way failed to reveal the Red-breasted Goose.  There were two Black Guillemots by the Feolin Ferry, and shortly after landing on Jura there was an Otter feeding not too far out in the Sound of Islay; worth the ferry fare alone.  Craighouse Bay had two Great Northern Divers close in by the jetty and half-a-dozen Red-breasted Mergansers, some males of which were displaying.  The rest of Jura was quiet with no raptors other than some Buzzards and two Sparrowhawks but we did spend about an hour at Tramiag Bay having lunch in the sun while watching another Otter fishing.  A gentle, yet lovely day"

Elsewhere on the island Mary-Ann Featherstone saw a wintering male Blackcap at her garden bird table over at Kildalton and Clive McKay saw a pair of Long-tailed Ducks off Kilnave on Loch Gruinart - not a usual site for the species.

Thursday 28th December

Yet another almost entirely foul day's weather - rain, cloud and mainly miserable with a few short dry spells to give you hope. The one difference being that the driving rain came from a more easterly direction today.

Phil Edwards sums it up:

"Well just when you thought the weather couldn’t possibly get any worse … but as you say, when on holiday needs must.  So the forecast showed the east coast to be the most sheltered today so we headed for Bunnahabhain via the centre of the island, but pickings were predictably thin.  A male Hen Harrier, a Grey Heron, and a Sparrowhawk were around Gruinart Flats.  When you could see more than 50m from the shore at Uiskentuie, a male Goldeneye was the only bird visible on Loch Indaal.  The Storakaig road produced a flock of c. 120 Rooks and c. 70 Jackdaws in a field near Cluanach, a flock of 150+ Chaffinches in a stubble field (the largest flock I have seen on Islay since c.700 at Coullabus on New Year’s Eve 1984), and a male Hen Harrier over the moorland.  Bunnahabhain was indeed sheltered but went from sunny with nice views of the Paps  to zero visibility and hail to back again at least twice within an hour.  Two Black Guillemots and two GNDs were the pick of a limited crop"

The post-Christmas desire for exercise got me out on a fairly fruitless mission to Cornabus, The Oa and Port Ellen. On the way, the standard adult White-tailed Eagle was seen sat out damp and forlorn on the little islands at the top of loch Indaal. At Port Ellen we met with visiting birder Calum Scott and saw an immature Glaucous Gull in a large flock of gulls in the bay by the Port Ellen distillery, which Calum had seen previously at Claggain Bay. This was a different bird to the currently resident bird at Uiskentuie. 

Wednesday 27th December

A truly foul day! We thought the weather of the past week was bad at times, but today surpassed all worst expectations with winds from the east, cold and at times torrential rain and flooding.

But if you're here on holiday you make the best of a bad job - so I pass the narrative over to the intrepid Phil Edwards:

"On a seriously foul day, we eventually decided to venture out in early afternoon, but only as far as the South Hide at Gruinart.  There were about 1,500 Barnacles on the fields at Smaull (the first we have seen here this trip) and another 500 or so were on the fields at Ballinaby along with c.800 Greenland Whitefronts, c.30 Fieldfare and c. 20 Redwing, and a Buzzard.  On the approach to the Hide we had an immature WTE glide over the Loch and Flats and later an adult do the same in the opposite direction which made the outing worthwhile.  Both landed out-of-sight on various banks.  Otherwise there were lots of Pintail and Teal, a few Shoveler and Mallard, 10 ad and 6 imm Whooper Swans, two Little Egrets, c. 40 Lapwing, 6 GWFs and a Moorhen.  Just as we left in yet another downpour, c.32 Chough flew over calling and heading north.  The poor light and heavy rain made photography virtually impossible.".

I did try to get out, and went up to Ardnave but the intense rain meant I saw 12 Whooper Swans on the loch and never got out of the car - truly horrible weather!

Fiona McGillivray saw a Barn Owl out hunting at 10 this morning at Portnahaven - in this weather I imagine many species are finding feeding and shelter tricky?

Tuesday 26th December - Boxing Day

A fine change in the weather to bright, mostly dry, with calm and sunny conditions. This allowed the traditional sight of local folk getting out for a leg-stretch after eating too much yesterday - which is exactly what I did. First call was Machir Bay where a flock of 35 Ringed Plovers cavorted on the beach with numerous dog and toddler walkers. We then went on to Gruinart spending much of the rest of the day diligently searching amongst umpteen thousand Barnacle Geese for the Red-breasted Goose seen there yesterday (reported too late for yesterday's blog). We didn't find the goose, but it was a delight to be out in the sunshine amidst the usual Barnie spectacle. We finished at Blackrock ticking off a few Long-tailed Ducks and Slavonian Grebes on a flat calm loch Indaal.

Phil Edwards had been out too and sent in some omre lovely photos and this report:

"Today the weather relented and we walked around Ardnave enjoying the views that make Islay so special.  On Ardnave Loch were 6 ad and 8 imm Whooper Swans (yet when we returned 5 hours later there were 12 ad and 3 imm so clearly they move around a bit) plus seven male and one female Goldeneye and two Golden Eagles overhead.  A walk along the beach on the east side of Ardnave, around the Point and back along the west produced 11 Great Northern Divers, 2m 1f Red-breasted Mergansers, 1m 1 imm m and 5f Eiders, 1 Greenshank (east), 11 Purple Sandpipers, 113 Sanderling (photo count), 19 Bar-tailed Godwit (all last three on west coast), 22 Curlew, 14 Oystercatcher, 10 Turnstone, 4 Ringed Plover, 3 Redshank, 1 Golden Eagle, 2 Buzzard, c.20 Shag, 16 Cormorant (roosting on Nave Island), c.30 Common Gull, 1 GBBG, a few Herring Gulls, 2 Rock Pipits, 14 Meadow Pipits, 1 Raven, 6 Rock Dove, 7 Reed Bunting, c.10 Chaffinch, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Blackbird, 1 Dunnock, c.100 Starling.  There were 2 Chough on the beach by the old fish-farm, 2 by Ardnave Farm, and then a flock of 44 over the car park as we arrived back with a flock of 32 Twite also there to cap things off.  Great day!!"

Monday 25th December - Christmas Day

Slightly better weather again today - lighter winds, but still grey and rainy at times between sunny spells.

Phil Edwards was out birding and reported thus: "despite the dire forecast, we forayed into the wilds of Islay in search of birds … but sadly found very little. We drove from Smaull to Loch Indaal via Sunderland Farm where the highlight of the day was a flock of c. 50 Skylarks (haven’t seen so many in one place in years) feeding in a stubble field along with c. 50 Chaffinches, 30 Fieldfare, 10 Redwing and two Buzzards.  Then, outside of Loch Gorm House we stumbled upon five Turnstone, three Rock Pipits, six Oystercatchers and a Pied Wagtail.  We then drove the Rhinns anti-clockwise but chanced upon only a Kestrel (pretty much the first time we have missed hen harrier here) but there were 24 Teal,14 Wigeon, and a pair of Mallard on Loch Conailbhe.  A couple of Grey Seals were in Portnahaven Harbour but by then the increasing frequency and intensity of the showers forced us home – and anyway we needed to go and start Christmas lunch – but there were c. 60 Fieldfares and c.60 Redwings at Ballinaby on the way back".

Thanks t Phil for today's photos...............

I too ventured out this morning - just up to the RSPB hides at Gruinart. We too, saw nothing out of the ordinary, but there were impressive numbers of Lapwing and Golden Plover in their many hundreds, plus plenty of the usual wildfowl including 14 Whooper Swans. 3 Black-tailed Godwits popped in amongst the small flocks of Curlew and Hen Harrier and Buzzard were in evidence.