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Monthly Bird Information - 2010

by John Bowler RSPB
01879 220748

Many thanks to those of you who keep me posted with your latest observations. If anyone would like to report unusual sightings of birds
or other wildlife on Tiree, please contact me at the above telephone number. All photographs in this section are by John Bowler.

January 2010

The extremely cold weather of late December continued into January, creating an extended spell of sub-zero temperatures, which left much of the island frozen for the first half of the month. Tiree missed out on the heavy prolonged snow cover elsewhere on the mainland but the unprecedented freezing conditions made things very tough for many of our wintering birds. The weather warmed up a little later in the month with some more typical wet and windy days, although further freezing occurred at the end of the month.

With the wet grasslands frozen for days on end, many of our wintering birds moved away from the island in the New Year and numbers of Lapwing, Golden Plover and Redwing were much reduced. Waterfowl huddled together around small holes of water on the main lochs, kept free of ice by the actions of feeding swans. Interestingly, the Mute Swans and Whooper Swans retained separate ice-free holes on Loch a’ Phuill, which made counting the two species on the International Whooper Swan count rather easier than normal. Normally elusive birds were tempted into gardens by the lure of easier feeding during the cold spell and these included regular Water Rails at Mannal, Balephuil and West Hynish, together with at least 15 Woodcock and larger numbers of Snipe.

Rarest bird was a Barn Owl, which frequented sheds at Heylipol at the end of the month and must have found easy pickings amongst the hundreds of roosting starlings there. This species is a very rare winter visitor to Tiree but has become a little more frequent in recent years, presumably wandering from breeding sites on Mull and mainland Argyll, where the species is currently doing well. Remaining rarities included the female Surf Scoter, which was still at Hough Bay early in the month, together with up to 19 Long-tailed Ducks and 3 Common Scoters, although it could not be found there after 11th. The two small vagrant “Lesser” Canada Geese remained with the Barnacle Geese and were seen at both Cornaigmore and Balephetrish, the European White-fronted Goose re-appeared at Balephuil (8th), whilst the wandering immature Sea Eagle was seen again at Sorobaidh Bay (11th). Other scarce winter birds included a Mistle Thrush at Balemmartine (6th), a Jackdaw at Balephuil (16th), a Jack Snipe at Milton (18th), 2 Rooks at Heylipol (21st), a Dunnock at Hynish (24th), 5 scattered Fieldfares, 5 Black-headed Gulls and up to 3 Pied Wagtails. Some 150 Redwings remained, whilst wintering finches included a high count of at least 23 Goldfinches, but only 2 Chaffinches and 4 Greenfinches, all making the most of food put out in island gardens during the cold weather.

The mid-January goose count (18th-19th) found 3,532 Barnacle Geese and 787 Greenland White-fronts, with Greylags a little down in numbers at 3,126 birds. The count also found 4 Pink-footed Geese and 5 Canada x Greylag Goose hybrids in West Tiree, plus the long-staying Pale-bellied Brent Goose at Ruaig. The January count produced a high island total of 139 Whooper Swans, but Golden Plovers had dropped to 645 and Lapwing to 1160, from 4,300 and 3,805 respectively in December. Scarce waterbirds included up to 5 Coot and 12 Pintail plus high counts of 160 Tufted Ducks and 49 Goldeneye at Loch a’ Phuill (31st). Hopeful signs of spring included the first Shelduck pairs appearing at inland sites and large numbers of Fulmars displaying noisily at their breeding colonies on calmer days.

February 2010

February saw a continuation of the very cold dry conditions that dominated in January, with little of the wet and windy weather that might normally be expected at this time of year. Tiree remained more or less snow-free throughout, although periods of heavy frost caused the lochs to freeze on several occasions and conditions remained tough for many of our wintering birds. One group that did not appear to suffer however were the seabirds. The weekend of 27th-28th February saw a hardy band of volunteers searching the beaches of Tiree for the bodies of dead or sick seabirds for the annual “Beached Bird Survey” which is part of a co-ordinated effort throughout the UK. This year, most beaches were found to have no dead birds on them and the few that were found, were predominantly land birds such as Lapwing and Oystercatcher, which would have found foraging difficult in the often frozen grasslands. The very low numbers of dead seabirds may have partly resulted from high spring tides bringing a heavy accumulation of sand and seaweed, which could have buried some bodies, although it probably also reflected the lack of winter storms, which may have resulted in lower levels of seabird mortality than in previous winters.

Of our wintering rarities, the two small-race vagrant Canada Geese remained with the Barnacle Geese throughout, being observed at both Balephetrish and Cornaigmore, although the female Surf Scoter did not reappear in Hough Bay having apparently moved on in mid January. More unexpectedly, given the cold conditions, Tiree saw the arrival of two different Mediterranean Gulls with a ringed 2nd-winter bird at Sorobaidh Bay (7th) followed by an unringed bird of the same age at Gott Bay (22nd – see photo) – representing just the third and fourth island records of this attractive gull. Both birds probably wished they were somewhere warmer than Tiree, although the Mediterranean Gull has been spreading rapidly north in range in recent years, with small numbers of pairs now regularly breeding in Black-headed Gull colonies as close as Northern Ireland. With increasing numbers appearing regularly along the coast of mainland Argyll as well, it may be only a matter of time before this species starts nesting here. Other good birds included the Barn Owl still in cattle sheds at Heylipol at the start of the month, a couple of Dunnocks, an influx of around 20 Fieldfares mid-month, at least 7 Goldfinches and long-staying Water Rails in gardens at Mannal and Balephuil. Unusual ducks included a drake Pochard and a drake Gadwall at Loch a’ Phuill, both species have been very scarce here this winter.

The first obvious migrants to return to the island at the end of the month included up to 30 adult Black-headed Gulls with their full dark brown hoods and pinkish breasts plus increasing numbers of Pied Wagtails around the coast, although no Lesser Black-backed Gulls had returned by the start of March. Other signs of spring included Skylarks
song-flighting on brighter days, plus widespread display by pairs of Lapwing and noisy groups of Oystercatchers on the wet grasslands and machairs. Otters also became more noticeable with records from various parts of the island including several family groups consisting of mothers with up to three almost full-grown cubs. The all-island goose count (16th-17th) found a high total of 3,729 Barnacle Geese, plus 2,768 Greylags, 769 Greenland White-fronts, 5 Pink-footed Geese and a Light-bellied Brent Goose, together with 156 Whooper Swans. Numbers of Lapwing and Golden Plover increased to 2,510 and 975 respectively following the exodus in January’s freezing spell.

April 2010

The Icelandic volcano dust caused me to be stuck for an extra two weeks in Syria, where I had been conducting bird survey work in a new Protected Area in the northeast of the country. The delay gave me a chance to work in additional sites in Western Syria, but meant that I missed most of the month on Tiree. However, bird records still came through from many islanders and visitors, for which I am very grateful and which enabled me to piece together the avian events of the month. The predominant cool northerly winds which brought the volcanic dust over Britain, also held back migration this year, and spring was generally two weeks later than normal over most of the country. Some smaller migratory birds made it through to Tiree, despite the headwinds. The first Corncrake was reported from Balemartine (11th), a typical arrival date and some 30 birds had been reported by the end of the month at widely scattered sites across the island. Co-ordinated night time counts of calling male Corncrakes will start later in May to see how numbers compare to last year. Fingers crossed we will see an upturn in numbers across Scotland after a small drop in 2009. Other spring arrivals were later than normal but by the end of the month, most of the regular breeding migrants were back, albeit in small numbers so far, including Willow Warbler (from 14th), Swallow and Sand Martin (from 21st), Arctic Tern (from 28th), Sedge Warbler (from 28th), Little Tern (from 29th), and Grasshopper Warbler (from 30th).

The most marked event of the month was the arrival of hundreds of Pale-bellied Brent Geese around the coast. Normally, these birds pass over the island very quickly in spring as they head from their Irish wintering grounds to breeding sites in Arctic Canada. However, this year unprecedented numbers were grounded on Tiree with reports of flocks of up to 450 birds from 14th, reaching a peak around the third week of April but with smaller flocks still present at the month-end. A few colour-ringed birds were noted in the flocks and it will be interesting to see where these birds had been ringed. There was also a good passage of Black-tailed Godwits in their brick-red breeding plumage feeding around the loch-sides from mid-month as they staged on the island before moving on up to Iceland. Golden Plover numbers built up on their traditional staging area at The Reef to at least 3,500 birds mid-month, but most of these had moved on to Iceland by the month-end. Most of the Greenland geese also departed during April, although there were still 25 Barnacle Geese at Balephetrish (28th) and two late Greenland White-fronts there (30th).

April rarities included a Gull-billed Tern, which hawked for insects along roadsides near Heylipol Church (25th) – this was the second record in as many years of this rare tern for Tiree, following a long-staying bird at Crossapol in October 2008. Another surprise visitor was a Hoopoe, which was first spotted at Hough Dunes (24th) and which re-appeared at Loch an Eilein (30th). This exotic-looking bird with its salmon-buff plumage and erectile crest is normally found in Mediterranean olive groves but must have overshot on migration – fingers crossed it finds its way back to warmer climes. Other good birds included a Sandwich Tern at Hynish (28th), a fine male Ruff at Sandaig (29th-30th) and a pair of Lesser Redpolls at Cornaigbeg (30th), plus a handful of scarcer migrants such as Blackcaps, House Martins and Chiffchaffs. A few Lapwing chicks were observed on The Reef at the month-end, together with the first Mallard broods, indicating that summer was not so far away, despite the cool temperatures.