Birding the Western Isles

Remember to click on the photos to create a slide show and enhanced viewing

On Monday, last week, we travelled up to Benbecula to join six others on a Western Isles Wildlife holiday. Steve Duffield, our guide, has lived in the islands since 2005 so was well placed to find us all the specialities and he didn't disappoint.

Steve is obviously an excellent birder and it is fair to say that we all got to see the key species. 

I took loads of photos, so here are a few to give you a flavour of what we saw:

Red-necked Phalarope

White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle

Corncrake

Ruff (breeding plumage)

Purple Heron

Golden Eagle

During the 6 days we visited Berneray, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay and Barra and in doing so I personally saw 100 birds, which included two Scottish ticks. 

The Guest House where we stayed was excellent and the holiday ran smoothly. 

Finally, a big thank you to Alan who generously offered everyone the use of his 'scope throughout the holiday which allowed us some stunning views of the birds, otters and seals.

Nest Box Monitoring and more

It has been a busy 10 days since my last post with checking on the biohavens at Hogganfield Park; monitoring nest boxes at both Hogganfield Park and Dawsholm Park LNRs; preparing for the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs (Friends) AGM;  and joining the RSPB Glasgow Local Group for a trip to RSPB Loch Lomond.

Hogganfield Park LNR - two visits,10 May 2019 and 17 May 2019 
One pair of Great Crested Grebes have nested on one of the Friends 'biohavens' (floating islands) whilst two other pairs are using the islands installed by the Seven Lochs Project. A pair of Canada Geese have got 5 goslings and there are still a few Mallard ducklings around. A 'summering' Whooper Swan is still present and used another of the 'Friends' biohavens to preen. All five 'Friends' tit boxes are occupied by tit species and summer migrants now include Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, House Martin, Swift and Swallow.

Pair 1- Great Crested Grebe  - 10/5/19

Pair 2 - Great Crested Grebe -17/5/19

Pair 3 - Great Crested Grebe - 17/5/19

Whooper Swan  - 10/5/19

Whitethroat  - 10/5/19

Dawsholm Park LNR - 12 May 2019
An early start to monitor the use of the 'Friends' 18 nest boxes and as expected, based on previous years, less than half (6) were being used. However, I would hope that c14 would be occupied by the end of the month. The important news is that one is being used by Nuthatches, probably the first nesting attempt by this species at Dawsholm.

Nuthatch - 12/5/19

RSPB Loch Lomond & Gartocharn - 15/5/19

Thanks to Judith and Mike we headed off to Loch Lomond/Endrick Mouth along with 12 others from the RSPB Glasgow Group. We were blessed by superb weather, low water levels and a good range of species including Spotted Flycatcher, Garden Warbler, White Wagtail and Osprey

Loch Lomond  - 15/5/19

Osprey - Endrick Mouth - 15/5/19

Endrick Mouth - 15/5/19

Over this period I saw 70 different species with my year Scottish list now standing at a modest 128.

Finally, thanks to everyone that came along to the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs AGM. If you want to know more about the Group see Friends of Glasgow's LNRs

More Summer Migrants Seen

Since my last post I've seen quite a few summer migrants but not all in the Glasgow or Clyde area; in fact most were seen in Ibiza!

However, the first to be seen was down at the RSPB Lochwinnoch Reserve (Aird Meadow) where I managed to photograph the drake Garganey which was still present yesterday ..

Garganey - Aird Meadow - 22/4/19

Shortly after seeing the Garganey, we were off to Ibiza for a wonderful 5 days of folk music. However, we managed to fit in some birdwatching and saw 38 species within walking distance of our hotel complex. These included 'rarities' such as Audouin's Gull, Blue Rock Thrush, Woodchat Shrike and Stone Curlew. However, we also got sightings of some of the summer visitors that are familiar to us from in and around Loch Lomond…….

Pied Flycatcher - Ibiza - 26/4/19

Wood Warbler - Ibiza - 27/4/19

Whinchat - Ibiza - 30/4/19

Talking of Loch Lomond, we travelled there yesterday and got a nice range of species despite the occasional rain and cold! This Black-throated Diver was a nice surprise 

Black-throated Diver - 6/5/19

Despite the weather, we managed at least 42 species including Scottish year ticks such Cuckoo, Whinchat, Redstart, Wood Warbler, Tree Pipit, House Martin and Green Woodpecker.

All we need now is a spell of weather similar to what we encountered in Ibiza and we'll all be happy!