The last post proclaimed it was Spring and here we are well into autumn - apologies to those that follow this site, hopefully there are still some of you left!
The last few weeks has seen migration build up with birds moving south both into and out of the country. When this happens, surprises follow.
Firstly, we had two Whitethroats in our garden on 22 August 2022. Whitethroats are summer visitors that migrate south to spend the winter in Africa, and hopefully they will make it.
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| Whitethroat - 22 August 2022 |
In addition to smaller birds, we also are lucky to get a variety of wading birds on passage. This year Balgray Reservoir, Frankfield Loch and even Hogganfield Loch have had good records over the past few weeks. Birds such as Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank and even Pectoral Sandpiper (a north American species) have all been recorded.
A few of my record shots follow:
Frankfield Loch
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| Black-tailed Godwit with 2 Lapwing - 17 August 2022 |
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| Ruff - 31 August 2022 |
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| Ruff - 2 September 2022 |
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| Pectoral Sandpiper - 5 September 2022 |
Hogganfield Loch
My first ever Ruff at the loch and for once bright sunshine!
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| Ruff - 5 September 2022 |
Autumn is also a good time to look out for unusual gulls, terns and wildfowl. Cardwell Bay in Gourock is a good spot for gulls and terns. I saw this Mediterranean Gull on 22 August 2022 and noted it had a colour ring. The bird was ringed in Poland in 2017 and remarkably I first saw it in the same location on 22 August 2018, exactly 4 years ago to the day!
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| This photo allows comparison with the similar Black-headed Gull on the right |
On the same day there were two Sandwich Terns also in the bay.
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| Sandwich Terns (top two birds) |
And finally, unusual wildfowl can be found within the City at Hogganfield Loch and Frankfield Loch with species such as Shoveler, Pintail and Wigeon all recently seen, as these record shots show.
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| Shoveler - Frankfield Loch - 2 September 2022 |
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| Pintail - Hogganfield Loch - 5 September 2022 |
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| Wigeon - 5 September 2022 |
So, get ready for the unexpected as we all look forward to even more surprises over the next month or so.
