 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
a naturalist's diary | monthly bird news | wildlife watch
Previous Years: | CURRENT | 2005 | 2007 | Monthly Bird Information - 2006
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 address. All photographs in this section
are by John Bowler or Laurie Campbell - |
Corncrakes Nocturnal counts of the island were conducted during the few still nights in June. At the time of writing, a final section of the third recording round was yet to be completed but the total is already 305 calling male Corncrakes. This compares very favourably with the record count of 310 males in 2005 and suggests that the birds had another good breeding year. Birds were calling in high concentrations from all of their traditional sites, with densities in some areas exceeding 20 birds per square kilometre, making it hard to discern the calls of individual birds. Good numbers were also reported from other parts of Argyll such as Coll, Islay, Iona and Colonsay but Tiree remains the best place in Britain for Corncrakes, with more birds than any other island. This success is down to all the hard work put in over the years by the crofters and farmers of the island, who manage their land in a Corncrake-friendly way. Other Birds Tiree’s nationally important populations of breeding waders appeared to June is often a good month for records of unusual birds and this year was no exception. An all-white albino Starling at Salum (from 3rd) was a striking sight amongst its darker relatives, whilst a large pale falcon noted at several sites around west Tiree in the first half of the month proved to be a pale morph Gyrfalcon. This splendid bird bore the remains of falconer’s jesses and had presumably escaped from a collection on the mainland. Clear skies and easterly winds resulted in several other unusual records of birds of prey including a Red Kite over The Reef (10th), a Hobby at Balephuil (10th) and a Sea Eagle high over Barrapol (25th). Late migrants included a Long-tailed Skua at Traigh Bhagh (8th), a Knot at Loch a’ Phuill (11th), a Little Stint at Moss (6th), a Wood Sandpiper at Loch a’ Phuill (17th), 2 Black-tailed Godwits (21st-23rd), a handful of House Martins (until 12th), some 7 Swifts (8th-12th), three Spotted Flycatchers at Carnan Mor/Balephuil (3rd–4th), a lingering drake Garganey at Moss (until 7th) and the odd late Cuckoo. Unusual summering birds included at least eight Whooper Swans, a Greenland White-fronted Goose, a Golden Plover at Hough and a handful of Great Northern Divers. Storm Petrels returned offshore (from 17h) whilst some 24,000 Manx Shearwaters streamed west off Aird in one hour after dawn (22nd) following an overnight gale. Other sightings included a very large influx of Red Admiral and Painted Lady butterflies plus good numbers of Basking Sharks around the coast.
Corncrakes Corncrakes continued to call all over the island during the month and there were several reports of females with broods, including an obliging brood of five during a guided walk at The Reef (7th). The adult birds will start to moult their flight feathers in August in preparation for the long flight back to Africa and fingers crossed they will be joined by good numbers of young birds produced this year. Other birds The breeding season brought mixed results for Tiree’s important bird populations. The waders and gulls all produced reasonable numbers of young, but the terns and cliff-nesting seabirds fared rather poorly, presumably as a result of food shortages at sea. The Guillemots appeared to feed their chicks almost exclusively with small Herring and this suggested a lack of their favoured Sand-eel prey in July. Numbers of Guillemots on the breeding cliffs at Ceann a’ Mhara were high at 1694 birds on 12th and these had some 500 chicks, but these were very small for such a late date and many did not fledge. Similarly, some 623 Kittiwake nests were active on this date but only 370 of these had eggs/chicks and by early August, only some 27 chicks remained to fledge. Numbers of nesting Shags were 75% down on 2005 and these produced only a small number of fledglings. The Little Terns failed to fledge a single chick anywhere on the island, whilst some 300 pairs of Arctic Tern managed to produce a total of 32 fledglings – an increase on success in 2004 and 2005 but still much lower than typical breeding years in the 1990s. July is usually a quiet time for scarce migrant birds but this year was Large flocks of gulls, Lapwings and Starlings began to gather on the first cut silage fields and wader passage picked up during the month with 450 Dunlin and 360 Sanderling busy feeding at Gott Bay on 31st, plus a fine group of 15 Black-tailed Godwits at Whitehouse (31st). Early, or perhaps late migrants included a Curlew Sandpiper and a Whimbrel at Rubha Chriaginis (8th), 8 Knot and 6 Greenshank at Loch a’ Phuill (19th) and 115 Golden Plover at Hough pools (17th). Offshore, there were regular sightings of Storm Petrels, Bonxies and Arctic Skuas, together with good numbers of Basking Sharks.
Corncrakes Male Corncrakes continued to call late into the month at various places around the island and this may have involved some birds attempting to Other birds August is the month when migrating birds start passing though on their way south for the winter and this year these movements brought some exotic visitors to the island, in what turned out to be the best ever month for rare birds on Tiree. First up was an adult Ross’s Gull, which loitered off the point at Aird on the evening of 9th – this dainty gull from the high Arctic has only been recorded once before from Argyll – off Islay in August 1976! Next came a young Dotterel on the Greenhill machair (26th) and a young Barred Warbler at The Manse (28th). Both species were also seen around the same time in unusually high numbers on the east coast of Britain, but it is rare for them to penetrate so far west in autumn. The next day (29th) brought a trio of rare waders to Tiree including a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Loch a’ Phuill, an American Golden Plover at Greenhill and a Pacific Golden Plover at Balevullin – the first two from the tundra regions of North America and the third from Arctic Siberia! With some 2,000 European Golden Plovers already present, the occurrence of all three of the world’s golden plover species on this one island was a unique event. Rarest bird of all, however, was a pale sandy-brown warbler found by visiting birdwatcher Keith Gilllon feeding along the edges of cut-silage fields at Balephetrish (31st). This turned out to be a Booted Warbler, a species that breeds in the shrubby steppes of Kazakhstan and southern Russia, and which has only been recorded once before in Argyll – at Balemartine in September 1998. Other scarce visitors included a female Marsh Harrier at The Reef (11th), a young Sea Eagle off Hynish (13th), a Grey Wagtail at Traigh Bhagh (20th) and 2 Grey Phalaropes off Miodar (26th). More traditional migrants included large numbers of Lapwings and Golden Plovers on the cut-silage fields and in amongst them groups of up to 100 Curlew, 40 Black-tailed Godwits and 20 Whimbrel. Large groups of Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Turnstone and Dunlin passed through on the beaches, together with smaller numbers of Redshank, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover, whilst the lochs attracted small numbers of Greenshanks, increasing numbers of Mallard and Teal plus the first of the Wigeon. Smaller migrants in the gardens included a steady passage of young Willow Warblers, plus the first Robins (from 28th). The first Hen Harriers and Merlins of the autumn re-appeared during the month, together with a Kestrel at Ben Hynish (27th), plus single Pochard and Little Grebe at Loch Bhasapol (22nd). Offshore, odd Basking Sharks remained from the large groups that had been present earlier in the summer and there were also a few sightings of Harbour Porpoises.
September started where August left off in terms of scarce migrant birds Small “drift” migrants were more numerous in the gardens this year as a result of the favourable conditions. These included 5 Garden Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, 7 Chiffchaffs, 8 Willow Warblers, 13 Sedge Warblers and a skulking Grasshopper Warbler at Heylipol, plus some 27 Goldcrests, a
Corncrakes The Corncrakes melted away as usual during September, as they set off south on their journey to Africa for the winter. The last bird was seen crossing the road at Cornaigbeg on 2nd. Other birds October was a mixed month, with settled spells and light winds early on, followed by periods of stronger winds and heavy rain, which brought extensive flooding. Predominantly southerly winds held up the migration of geese and swans from Iceland, so that when a window of clear skies and light northerlies developed on 19th, there was a huge movement involving thousands of geese through the Hebrides. These were mostly Barnacle Geese and some 1,400 were watched passing south down the Minch from the Barra-Tiree ferry that afternoon, whilst hundreds more flocked over Tiree. Smaller numbers of Greenland White-fronts and Pink-footed Geese were also involved, with groups of up to 43 of the latter scattered amongst the Greylag flocks until the month end. The first Whooper Swans returned on 9th but there were very few until 19th when large numbers arrived with the geese. By 20th there were some 341 Whoopers at Loch a’ Phuill – a record count for the loch. Many of the swans quickly moved on in the ideal conditions, only to be replaced by others later in the month. The first Redwing was at The Manse (2nd) with a Fieldfare at Heanish the same day. The main arrival of these winter thrushes did not occur however, until 19th, when hundreds of Redwings passed through with geese and some 2,000 were counted around West Tiree the following day. Fieldfares remained scarce however, with just a handful of birds seen by the month end. The start of the month saw a few more rarities, the best of which was a juvenile Red-backed Shrike at Milton (2nd) – the first record of this handsome species for the island (see picture). This was followed by an obliging Barred Warbler at Balephuil (3rd), which was accompanied by a Lesser Whitethroat. Other scarce birds included a long-staying Turtle Dove at Scarinish (3rd-9th), a Marsh Harrier at Balephuil (10th), a Short-eared Owl on Ben Hynish (20th), a Lapland Bunting at Heylipol (22nd) and a moribund Little Auk at Kilkenneth (27th). Smaller birds in the gardens included some 21 Goldcrests, 31 Blackcaps, 7 Chiffchaffs, 20 Goldfinches and 2 Dunnocks. At least 37 Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Ruff and 1 Knot remained all month at Loch a’ Phuill and were joined by two storm-driven Grey Phalaropes (26th). North-westerly gales at the end of the month (31st) produced some late seabirds including a Pomarine Skua, two Storm Petrels, a Grey Phalarope, a Little Auk, 25 Great Northern Divers and four Long-tailed Ducks.
November brought heavy rain and prolonged periods of strong winds, although there were also more settled spells at the start of the month and it remained rather mild for the time of year. All-island surveys of our wintering birds (21st-22nd) found high totals including 4,521 Golden Plovers, 2,430 Lapwings and 215 Whooper Swans, as well as 2,132 Barnacle Geese and 516 Greenland White-fronts – all birds benefiting from the generally mild and wet conditions. More unusual geese included no less than 30 Pink-footed Geese scattered in groups around the island, as well as 3 Canada Geese at Sandaig/Greenhill with another at Cornaigmore, plus 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Gott Bay with another amongst the Barnacle Geese at Ruaig. Up to 1,000 Redwings remained on the island from October and there were increased numbers of Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and Skylarks, although Fieldfares were again scarce with just 3 birds noted at Cornaigbeg (3rd). Greenfinches and Chaffinches were widespread across the island in small numbers, and there were up to 7 Goldfinches at Gott. Other typical winter migrants included a Snow Bunting at Loch a’ Phuill (17th), 3 Dunnocks, a Jack Snipe at Kilkenneth (21st), 2 Woodcocks at Balephuil (5th), a Grey Plover at Miodar (22nd), a young Rook at Balephuil (3rd) and a hybrid Carrion x Hooded Crow at Balephuil (4th). Less typical, was an influx of warblers at the start of the month, which included some 11 Chiffchaffs, 7 Blackcaps and 2 Goldcrests. These birds would again have benefited from the mild conditions and included at least three Chiffchaffs of the eastern tristis race from Siberia. A Short-eared Owl at The Reef (1st) was watched hunting and eating a Curlew, whilst late waders included a Knot at Loch a’ Phuill (1st) plus 3 Ruff and up to 27 Black-tailed Godwits there until 8th. Flocks of winter wildfowl steadily increased on the lochs and floods during the month and these brought with them a few surprises. A smart drake Goosander in eclipse plumage at An Fhaodhail (1st) was the first on the island since 1992! This fish-eating duck typically occurs on fast-flowing rivers on the mainland and was gone the next day. A Slavonian Grebe briefly joined up with the 4 wintering Little Grebes and lone Coot at Loch Bhasapol (17th), whilst a first-winter Lesser Scaup at Loch a’ Phuill (12th-16th) will be the first Tiree record of this rare North American duck if confirmed. Wildfowl peaks included 266 Mallard at The Reef (2nd), all-island counts of 361 Wigeon, 112 Tufted Ducks and 39 Goldeneyes (22nd), whilst scarcer wildfowl included a Long-tailed Duck, a Pintail, 3 Gadwall, 13 Shovelers, 3 Scaup, 5 Pochards and the first returning Shelducks (from 22nd). The incessant gales brought a storm-driven Little Auk to a garden at Milton (22nd), which was released successfully back to the sea, plus late Puffins off Gunna sound on 14th and 15th.
December was remarkably wet and windy, with heavy rain causing widespread flooding across the island, although it remained very mild for the time of year. In the absence of freezing conditions, our wintering birds prospered and large flocks of waders graced the islands grasslands and beaches, whilst wildfowl thronged the lochs and floods. The island’s rich grasslands are an important home for wintering waders, including some 4,500 Golden Plovers and 2,500 Lapwings, which were present throughout the month. These in turn attracted the attentions of birds of prey, which included up to three Hen Harriers, two Peregrines, six Merlin, two Sparrowhawks, a Kestrel and some 15 Buzzards. The mild conditions encourage two Ruff to stay with the Redshanks at Loch a’ Phuill until at least 7th – the latest date ever recorded for this species on Tiree. Other scarce waders included a Knot in with 215 Dunlin at Gott Bay (5th), Grey Plovers at Balephetrish Bay (18th) and Clachan (24th), and most unusually, an immature Grey Phalarope at Hough Bay (17th) – presumably blown in by the constant SW gales. Unusual gulls included a young Glaucous Gull in the Gott Bay area which fed on the remains of a dead White-sided Dolphin, whilst the all-white albino Common Gull remained on the island being seen at various locations around the west of the island from Barrapol and Sandaig to The Green. The rarest bird of the period was a drake Ring-necked Duck, which appeared at Loch Bhasapol (6th). This rare North American diving duck has only appeared twice before on Tiree. It was gone the next day and seemed to have moved on, although most surprisingly, there were two drake Ring-necked Ducks together at Loch Riaghain in the New Year. Some 92 Whooper Swans remained on 18th and other wildfowl included 5 Pochard at Loch a’ Phuill all month, a Scaup at Loch Bhasapol (7th) and 15 Long-tailed Ducks at Hough Bay (17th). Grebes did well with a high count of 5 Little Grebes at Loch Bhasapol (7th) plus a rare Slavonian Grebe there (1st), whilst the Loch Bhasapol Coot flock numbered just three birds. The goose count found 3,441 Greylags, 2,427 Barnacle Geese and 702 Greenland White-fronted Geese, all similar totals to those recorded in November. A Pale-bellied Brent Goose remained with the Barnacle Geese at Ruaig whilst at least 6 Pink-footed Geese remained from the autumn influx, plus 4 large-race Canada Geese and two apparently leucistic Greylag Geese – showing lots of white in their plumage - at Ruaig. Garden feeding stations are at their busiest during the mid-winter period and a regular supply of food can tempt in more wary visitors to join the regular Starlings, House Sparrows and thrushes. Greenfinches and Chaffinches were reported in small numbers from gardens across the island during the month, whilst there was a long-staying Dunnock at Vaul, plus Fieldfares at Crossapol and The Glebe. The Big Garden Birdwatch event on 27-28 January will provide the opportunity to chart the continuing fortunes of birds in gardens across Scotland.
|
