Previous Years: | CURRENT | 2005 | 2006 |

Monthly Bird Information - 2007

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,
RSPB-images.com or Laurie Campbell.

JANUARY 2007

The very wet and windy weather of December continued into January with no real respite until the end of the month when cooler clearer weather arrived from the north. The generally mild conditions suited the island’s internationally important assortment of wintering wildfowl and waders, and numbers of all species remained high.

More unusual records included no less than two fine drake Ring-necked Ducks together at Loch Riaghain (5th-10th), with one of the birds subsequently being seen at Ballyhough Loch on neighbouring Coll. These formerly rare visitors appear to be coming to the island more regularly in recent years with three other records of drakes on Tiree since 2001.

Rarer still was a splendid drake American Wigeon at Loch Bhasapol (18th). This boldly marked bird was present for just one day amongst the regular flock of European Wigeon on the loch but was not seen again. This bird and the Ring-necked ducks all turned up at a time when ice-storms were sweeping their way down the eastern seaboard of the United states and it is possible that these are what caused the birds to cross the Atlantic and arrive on our shores.

An all-white egret noted at Traigh Bhi (17th) might also have been part of this movement, but sadly, it did not stay around long enough to be specifically identified. Colder weather up north and a return to northerly winds are likely to be responsible for the large influx of white-winged gulls during the month with at least two first-winter Iceland Gulls noted and a minimum of 11 different Glaucous Gulls. One of the Iceland Gulls was very faithful to a small area at the east end of Balephetrish Bay and remained into February. This mid-sized all-white gull was outnumbered however, by its larger more brutish cousin – with some seven different first-winter Glaucous Gulls recorded plus four adult birds, including an impressive group of seven birds together at Hough Bay (24th).

The mild temperatures also allowed one of the late autumn Chiffchaffs to remain on the island, with a bird of the eastern tristis race noted feeding on the ground with Reed Buntings at Vaul (16th). Other unusual wintering birds included a Dunnock at Vaul, a Pied Wagtail at Sorobaidh Bay and the odd Black-headed Gull. The mild conditions meant that garden birds could find food throughout on the fields and shores and it is likely that numbers of birds recorded in gardens on the Big Garden Birdwatch (27th-28th) will be lower than in previous years. Even so, small numbers of Chaffinches were recorded coming to bird-tables including four together at the Tiree School, whilst a few Greenfinches were more wildly scattered and there were two Goldfinches at Vaul (16th). Up to 150 Redwings remained to feed on the island in scattered groups but Fieldfares were very scarce, the largest group noted was of just three birds at Cornaigmore (20th).

The January goose count found a high count (3,386) of Barnacle Geese and Greylags (3,286) but Greenland White-fronted Goose numbers (830) remained lower than normal. 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 the two apparently leucistic Greylag Geese at Ruaig. The same count found 102 Whooper Swans, as well as 3,640 Golden Plovers and 3,166 Lapwing. Other wildfowl included up to seven Long-tailed Ducks at Hough Bay, a Scaup at Loch Riaghain (5th-8th), 10 Pintail and 33 Shoveler, whilst dead Puffins were noted at Sorobaidh and Balephetrish Bays. With Fulmars returning to the cliffs en masse in the lengthening days at the end of the month, it feels that spring may be on its way…

FEBRUARY 2007

February began a little drier and calmer than much of the winter, giving the island a chance to dry out a little before the wind and rains returned at the end of the month. It remained mild however, with little in the way of frost or ice and the lengthening days at the end of the month gave a suggestion of spring. The first migrants to return to the island included Black-headed Gulls in their full breeding finery (from 18th) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls (from 19th) with good numbers of both back by the month-end. Of our resident birds, Skylarks began singing again on brighter days, there was widespread display by pairs of Lapwing and noisy groups of Oystercatchers, whilst the “chipping” sounds of Snipe began to emanate once more from the wet grasslands.

Rarer birds included the two drake Ring-necked Ducks, which re-appeared at Loch Riaghain on 19th and then put in appearances at the larger lochs around the island for the rest of the month. A Barn Owl seen and heard in the Balephuil area from 17th was the first on the island since 2004. Of the white-winged gulls, at least six Glaucous Gulls remained around the island from January, with another found dead at Sorobaidh Bay, whilst the lone Iceland Gull remained faithful to Balephetrish throughout the month. Other winter scarcities included Jack Snipes at Balephetrish Hill (17th) and Hough Bay (18th), a dead Puffin at Sandaig (14th), a female Scaup at Loch Riaghain (19th-21st), a Goldfinch at Balemartine (18th), a Fieldfare at Balemartine (12th), a Grey Plover at Sorobaidh Bay (18th) and wintering male Pied Wagtails at Hough Bay (18th) and Balephetrish Bay (21st). 12 Pink-footed Geese and a Light-bellied Brent Goose were identified on the all-island goose count (21st and 23rd), which also found high totals of 3,454 Barnacle Geese, 974 Greenland White-fronts, 3,937 Greylags and 2,990 Lapwing.

24th-25th February was the weekend of the annual “Beached Bird Survey” when a hardy band of volunteers searched the beaches of Tiree for the bodies of dead or sick seabirds as part of a co-ordinated effort throughout the UK. This year, very few dead birds were found, possibly as a result of some very high tides just before the count which may have washed some bodies out to sea, although this probably also reflected the mild winter weather, which may have resulted in lower levels of seabird mortality than in previous winters.

MARCH 2007

The first half of March was cool, wet and windy but conditions became warmer, drier and more settled later in the month. The warmer lengthening days encouraged our breeding birds to start to sing and display. Noisy groups of Oystercatchers returned to the beaches and machairs, Lapwings displayed on the short-grazed grasslands, whilst Snipe began their nocturnal “chipping” and eerie “drumming” at the start of the month. Many of our summer visitors returned during the month, with big numbers of Pied Wagtails, Black-headed Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls returning to their usual haunts, whilst the rich grasslands became alive once more with the sound of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks.

Other returning summer visitors included the first Wheatears at Balephuil (22nd) and Kilkenneth (25th), Chiffchaffs at Balephuil (24th) and Milton (31st), a Linnet at The Glebe (31st) and the first Manx Shearwater off Gunna Sound (27th). Passage migrants included several Goldcrests and a couple of Dunnocks in the gardens, 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Gott Bay (31st) and Goldfinches at Crossapol (7th) and Balemartine (26th), whilst Lapland Buntings appeared briefly at Gott (20th) and Kilkenneth (23rd).

The most surprising record was of Corncrake heard calling at Crossapol on the night of lunar eclipse (3rd). This was a full month earlier than expected and is likely to have been a bird, possibly injured, which had over-wintered on the island, rather than a very early migrant. The two drake Ring-necked Ducks remained at Loch Riaghain at the start of the month, with one of the birds then touring the island’s lochs before settling at Loch Bhasapol for the rest of the month. The Barn Owl was heard again at Balephuil (3rd), but rarer still was the American Herring Gull at Gott (20th). Very similar to our own Herring Gull, young American birds are darker below with an all-black tail. Other probable American Herring Gulls were at Balephuil (19th) and Sandaig (24th), and appear to have been part of an unprecedented influx to NW Scotland resulting from strong westerlies across the Atlantic at the start of the month.

The goose count on 22nd-23rd found a record island total of 4,323 Barnacle Geese, which presumably included additional birds from wintering sites further south such as Islay, stopping off on their way north. The count also found two Canada Geese plus two Canada x Greylag hybrids in west Tiree, two leucisitic (mostly a greyish-white) Greylags at Ruaig/Caoles and 18 Pink-footed Geese, as well as 3,640 Golden Plovers. Vast swirling flocks of the last species could be seen over the machairs at the end of the month as numbers built up once more prior to their departure to Iceland in late April.

APRIL 2007

April was largely settled and dry, with long periods of calm sunny weather creating an early spring. Many birds took advantage of the favourable conditions to breed early and there were some very early broods of Mallards at the start of the month. The first Lapwing chicks had appeared by the month’s end and the first Stonechat broods were seen at the start of May. The mild conditions coupled with southerly winds encouraged the Greenland geese to head north early as well, with most of the Greenland White-fronts disappearing in the first half of the month. A record 4,374 Barnacle Geese were counted on 3rd but these had all gone by mid-month. The Golden Plovers also passed through earlier than normal, with vast flocks scattered around the island numbering at least 6,000 by 19th but with most moving on northwards by the end of the month.

Northerly winds mid-month caused a number of migrating birds to stop off on the island in unusually large numbers. A record flock of 420 Pale-bellied Brent Geese spent the morning of 19th at Sorobaidh Bay and they included no less than 12 colour-ringed birds, including seven that had been ringed on their wintering grounds in Northern Ireland and five at passage sites in SW Iceland. A further 146 Brent Geese appeared at Gott Bay on 27th. More spectacular still were the large flocks of Black-tailed Godwits in their brick-red breeding dress that suddenly appeared around the loch shores mid-month. A record 550 godwits were counted around the island on 25th, of which at least four were colour-ringed, including two birds that had been ringed in Iceland, one from Brittany and another from the Wash in East Anglia. The godwits were joined by small groups of Whimbrel from 20th. These small, dark curlews often make curious whinnying calls as they pass over and included up to 40 birds at the Reef.

Returning spring migrants included Willow Warbler (7th), Sand Martin (8th), Swallow (9th), Little Tern (18th), Common Sandpiper (19th), Whimbrel (20th), Grasshopper Warbler (21st), House Martin (22nd), Arctic Skua (25th), Blackcap (25th) and Sedge Warbler (27th), together with increasing numbers of Wheatears and passage White Wagtails, plus a further 23 migrant Goldcrests. A very early Corncrake was reported from Ruaig (12th), with more widespread reports from 22nd, and there were at least 50 calling males back by the month-end.  Great Northern Divers gathered in the bays with many moulting into fine breeding dress and these included at least 19 birds together in Hynish Bay (18th).

With migration in full swing in April, there is always the chance of something more unusual appearing. Rare visitors this month included the long-staying Ring-necked Duck at Loch Bhasapol (until 23rd), two pairs of Gadwall at Loch a’ Phuill (from 10th), a smart male Lapland Bunting in full breeding dress at Balephetrish (20th), three Dunnocks (1st–23rd) plus a dozen Goldfinches (25th-26th) including one feeding on peanuts at Mannal, as well as the odd Iceland and Glaucous Gull that lingered on from the influx in January.

MAY 2007

May was generally rather dry and on the cool side, with predominantly northerly winds, although spells of southerlies mid-month brought rain that kept the machairs green. As always, the month proved to be a very busy one for both breeding and migrant birds.

Corncrakes

Corncrakes were widely reported from sites all over the island by the start of May and early indications are of similar, or slightly higher numbers than last year. The annual night-time census rounds started at the end of the month and we will have to wait until June to see how final numbers compare this year with the record count in 2006.

Other birds

The warm conditions in April, encouraged many birds to breed earlier than normal and there were some very early broods of Stonechats, Blackbirds and Mallards, plus the first Shelduck and Mute Swan broods. There were large numbers of young Lapwings all over the island by the month-end, together with smaller numbers of Ringed Plovers, Redhanks and Snipe. Most Oystercatchers were still on eggs at the month-end whilst the very first of the annual mass emergence of young Starlings appeared on 31st.

Should anyone out walking find themselves being mobbed by waders or crowds of terns and gulls, please bid a hasty retreat. The eggs and young broods are very vulnerable to attack by gulls and crows, which can sneak in while the parent birds are busy trying to drive you away,

As usual, May proved to be an exciting month for more unusual birds caught up in spring migration, with many turning up after spells of wet weather, which grounds them as they tried to head north. 30th May was a red-letter day, when two North American waders were found: a Pectoral Sandpiper near Scarinish and a Baird’s Sandpiper near Loch a’ Phuill, neither had been recorded in spring before from the island and indeed this was the first ever record of the smaller Baird’s Sandpiper from Tiree. The American theme continued with American Herring Gulls at Balephuil (7th) and Loch Bhasapol (25th), whilst exciting visiting raptors included four Sea Eagles briefly at Ben Hynish (4th) and a splendid male Marsh Harrier at Balinoe (22nd). More regular spring fare included a Woodpigeon at Carnan Mor (4th), a drake Garganey in the west of the island (9th-12th) and a first-summer Little Gull at Loch a’ Phuill (14th). Smaller birds included 3 House Martins (10th-25th), 4 White Wagtails (until 7th), odd Greenland Wheatears, a Whitethroat at Carnan Mor (5th-6th), a Blackcap at Balephuil (17th), a Spotted Flycatcher at Balinoe (27th) and 3 Goldfinches, plus news of a Great Tit at Mannal in late April. Cuckoos were again scarce this year. With birds heard calling only at Carnan Mor and Balephetrish Hill, although in ciontrast there were at least five different reeling Grashopper Warblers at Balephuil, Cornaigbeg and The Scarinish Manse.

Large numbers of passage wader were held up by northerly winds at the end of the month. In amongst the passage of thousands of Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and Sanderling, were 4 Little Stints, 3 Curlew Sandpipers, 2 Common Sandpipers, groups of up to 37 Whimbrel, 16 Black-tailed Godwits and a handful of Knot, whilst groups of up to 18 Great Northern Divers gathered in the bays. Up to 9 Whooper Swans remained from the winter as did a Pink-footed Goose at Loch Eilein, a Barnacle Goose at Salum and a Greenland White-fronted Goose at Baugh. More unusually, an all-white Glaucous Gull remained in the Salum area until the month-end, whilst an Iceland Gull did the same at Balpehetrish, with another later bird visiting Loch a’ Phuill mid-month.

JUNE 2007

Corncrakes

Three complete nocturnal counts of calling male Corncrakes around the island were conducted during the month. These revealed a massive total of 391 calling male Corncrakes. This was well up on the record count of 315 males in 2006 and suggests that the birds had another excellent breeding year. Birds were calling in high concentrations from all of their traditional sites, and in the denser areas, it is becoming increasingly hard to make out the calls of individual birds. Good numbers were also reported from other parts of Argyll such as Coll, but Tiree has become by far the best place island for Corncrakes, and now holds nearly a third of all the Corncrakes in Britain. 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

The generally warm and still conditions proved to be conducive for Tiree’s nationally important populations of breeding birds, with large numbers of young fledging all over the island. Large numbers of young Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Snipe were noted around the island, with flocks of fledged Redshanks and Lapwings at the loch-sides and coasts by the end of the month. Most encouragingly, the Little Terns had their best breeding season in years with some 60 chicks fledging from two main sites. Their larger cousins, the Arctic Terns were still feeding chicks at the end of the month, but crucially the supply of sand-eels has remained good to date. The seabirds at Ceann a’ Mhara have had a mixed season, with large numbers of Shags producing fledglings in June, whereas the auks and Kittiwakes appeared to nest late this year and were still feeding small chicks at the end of the month. The Black-headed and Common Gulls also managed to raise good numbers of fledged chicks from their scattered breeding colonies. Numbers of Sand Martins increased further this year with some 50-60 pairs breeding in sandy banks around the west end of the island, whilst even better was a pair of Robins, which raised two young at Cornaigbeg, the first successful nesting on the island for at least 15 years. Hidden amidst the nightly chorus of Corncrakes were the buzzing songs of up to 5 Grasshopper Warblers at Balephuil, Mannal and the Scarinish Manse whist a Quail sang briefly at Cornaigbeg.

Rarest bird of the month was a Marsh Warbler, which sang from gardens at Balephuil (8th-10th) and is the first record of this European species from Argyll. The Marsh Warbler is a classic “small brown bird” but its distinctive song is full of mimicry of the songs of Blackbird, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Nightingale and a host of other birds that do not breed on Tiree. Other scarcities included the American Herring Gull again at Loch Bhasapol (7th), a lingering Marsh Harrier at Balinoe, a Little Gull at Loch a’ Phuill (19th), a Great Tit at Heylipol Church (8th) and a Crossbill at Balemartine (11th-14th). The northerly passage of waders continued well into the month and included no less than 7 Curlew Sandpipers, 5 Little Stints, a Ruff and a Greenshank, whilst tardy winter visitors included an Iceland Gull, a Glaucous Gull, at least 2 Whooper Swans and a Barnacle Goose.

Other sightings included a large influx of Red Admiral and Painted Lady butterflies plus a few Peacock Butterflies, which managed to breed in some places, as well as unusually large numbers of Basking Sharks around the coast.

JULY 2007

Corncrakes

Corncrakes continued to call all over the island during the month and there were several reports of females with broods. The final record total this year for the island was revised to 391 calling males, once all the calling locations had been entered onto the computer – an increasingly lengthy task! The adult birds will be moulting their flight feathers in August in preparation for the long flight back to Africa and hopefully they will be joined by good numbers of young birds produced this year.

Other birds

The island largely missed-out on the heavy rain and flooding that dominated the mainland and many of our breeding birds had a bumper breeding season. Ducks did especially well in the calm conditions, with large broods of Mallard and Shoveler noted on several of the island’s wetlands, and there were healthy broods of Tufted Ducks at Loch Bhasapol and Loch an Eilein. At least one brood of 5 Pintail fledglings was also seen, but best of all were the two broods of Gadwalls at Loch Bhasapol, comprising a total of 12 fledged ducklings, the first recorded successful breeding of this species on Tiree since 1989! The waders and gulls all produced reasonable numbers of young, but the Arctic Terns and cliff-nesting seabirds fared rather poorly, presumably as a result of food shortages at sea during the month. Although there were plenty of young Arctic Terns at the end of June, conditions appeared to worsen for this species and all but a handful of the colonies failed completely. Birds nesting on islets in Gunna Sound and off Milton were more successful however and some 50 young were raised in total around the island. Numbers of Guillemots on the breeding cliffs at Ceann a’ Mhara were very high at 2,328 birds on 11th but these had only some 200 chicks, which were very small for such a late date and many did not fledge. Similarly, some 554 Kittiwake nests were active on this date but only 185 of these had eggs/ small chicks and by August these had all failed. The number of nesting Shags however, was well up on 2006 at 96 pairs and these produced large numbers of fledglings.

July is usually a quiet month for scarce migrant birds but there were a few birds of note. A smart all-white 1st-summer Iceland Gull remained at Loch a’ Phuill and there was a Sandwich Tern at Sorobiadh Bay (26th) plus a late Lesser Redpoll at Balephuil (8th). Waders began returning once more from their northern breeding grounds and included 6 smart red Knot with a Ruff at Loch a’ Phuill (25th), 20 Black-tailed Godwits at Kilmoluaig (25th) and at least 7 Greenshanks. Large flocks of gulls, Lapwings, Golden Plovers, Curlews and Starlings began to gather on the first cut silage fields, whilst strong NW winds at the end of the month brought the first Sooty Shearwaters into the Minch. Offshore, there were also regular sightings of Storm Petrels, Bonxies and Arctic Skuas, together with large numbers of Basking Sharks.

AUGUST 2007

Corncrakes

A few Corncrakes continued to call at the start of the month at various places around the island and this may have involved birds attempting to mate for a third time. There were several reports of adult birds and broods seen during hay and silage cutting and all the indications are of a good breeding season.

Other birds

August brought variable weather with several days of low cloud and rain, as well as finer drier days with a predominantly northwesterly wind. Flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers began to build-up once more on the cut-silage fields. A full count at the end of the month found some 2,150 Lapwings and 1,075 Golden Plovers around the island. In amongst these were groups of up to 160 Curlew, 90 Black-tailed Godwits, 10 Ruff and the odd Whimbrel, whilst the cut arable silage fields attracted flocks of up to 200 House Sparrows and 900 Starlings. Large groups of Sanderlings returned to frequent the sandy beaches, with smaller numbers of Ringed Plover, Turnstone and Dunlin. This year saw higher than normal numbers of Knot, with widespread groups of up to 35 peach-coloured juveniles on the beaches and loch shores. It seems likely that the high numbers of Knot and Sanderling, which come to us from Greenland and the Canadian Arctic, resulted from the predominance of west and northwest winds. In contrast, there was a lack of birds that pass through from more easterly Scandinavian and Russian breeding grounds, such as Grey Plover, Greenshank Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew Sandpiper. Scarcer waders included an adult Little Stint at Loch a’ Phuill (7th), with a juvenile Wood Sandpiper there (20th).

The first Hen Harriers, Merlins and Short-eared Owls of the autumn re-appeared during the month, together with a Little Grebe at Loch a’ Phuill (11th). Numbers of Mallard and Teal increased steadily on the lochs where they were joined by up to 20 Shoveler, 8 Gadwall and the first of the Wigeon, whilst Red-throated Divers re-appeared in the bays from 20th. There was a steady passage of young Willow Warblers through the gardens, plus the first Robins at the very end of the month. The lack of easterly winds meant that there was few of the scarce Continental migrants that dominated last August. Scarcer small migrants included one each of Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and Chiffchaff, a Goldfinch at Balephuil (13th) and a Grey Wagtail over Balemartine (29th), but the best bird was a Lesser Whitethroat at Hynish (23rd-25th) – just the seventh record of this species for Tiree.

Sea-watching revealed small numbers of Sooty Shearwaters, Storm Petrels and Great Skuas in amongst larger movements of Manx Shearwaters and Gannets. Offshore, a few Basking Sharks remained from the large groups that had been present earlier in the summer and there were also a few sightings of Ocean Sunfish and a possible turtle off Baugh.

SEPTEMBER 2007

September proved as always to be an exciting month on Tiree, as its reputation for producing scarce migrant birds continues to grow. With increased numbers of visiting birdwatchers on the island, greater coverage was achieved and there were some very interesting records. With predominantly westerly and northwesterly winds for most of the month, much of the attention focussed on seawatching and on migrant waders from Greenland and North America. The strong westerlies resulted in unprecedented numbers of Buff-breasted Sandpipers ending up on Tiree, having been blown off-course from their long journey south from the Canadian Arctic to their wintering sites in South America. The first three Buff-breasted Sandpipers arrived at Loch a’ Phuill on 9th, with four there the following day. This was surprising enough and a record count for Argyll, but on 19th, this group had been joined by two more birds, whilst there were two further birds at the same time on the Balevullin machair making eight in total! The previous record count of this species in Scotland was of five birds on South Uist in September 2005, and it will be interesting to see how long the new Tiree record holds. There was a continued influx of Knot from their breeding grounds in Greenland around the coast and on lochs and these were joined by groups of up to 10 Ruff, 3 Grey Plovers, two Greenshanks and a rare Spotted Redshank at Loch a’ Phuill (6th). Big flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers built up on the machairs and cut silage fields, and attracted groups of up to 124 Black-tailed Godwits to join them, including two young birds that has been colour-ringed at their nests in Iceland earlier in the summer,

The same westerly winds also brought a large variety of scarce seabirds off the north coast of Tiree as they funnelled down out of the Minch each morning following overnight blows. In common with many Scottish sites, Tiree saw record numbers of Great Shearwaters this month with 5 noted on 10th and 2 on 14th. These large shearwaters usually keep to deeper water offshore and are only brought inshore by constant strong winds. Other unusual seabirds included 2 juvenile Sabine’s Gulls which hung around off The Green on 14th, a Long-tailed Skua (14th) and a Grey Phalarope (10th), together with some 41 Sooty Shearwaters, 4 Leach’s Petrls and 12 Pomarine Skuas. More regular fare, included passage of up to 15 Great Skuas, 30 Storm Petrels and 500 Manx Shearwaters passing offshore each hour.

Corncrakes continued to be seen throughout the month, including reports of families observed crossing roads, whilst Water Rails began calling from the marshes once more from mid-month. The first two Coots returned to their regular wintering haunt on Loch Bhasapol from 17th and they were joined by 2 Little Grebes from 27th. Other interesting wildfowl included up to 7 Gadwall at Loch a’ Phuill, together with over 250 Mallard, 180 Teal and up to 100 Wigeon. Migrant geese included a confiding group of six Pale-bellied Brent at Sorobaidh Bay (28th) and a small influx of Pink-footed Geese on 17th. Wintering raptors retuned in force with up to 5 Merlins, 3 Hen Harriers, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels and 3 Peregrines joining up with the resident 20+ Buzzards.

Small “drift” migrants, which come to us from mainland Europe were less numerous in the gardens this year as a result of the westerly winds, but a brief spell of easterlies towards the end of the month brought a rush of scarcer birds. Best of these was a showy juvenile Red-backed Shrike at Vaul (17th-22nd), just the second record of this species for the island, but almost as rare was a Scarlet Rosefinch at Hynish (7th) and a juvenile Barred Warbler at Balephuil (30th). More regular migrants included 4 Garden Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, 7 Chiffchaffs, 14 Willow Warblers and 2 Goldcrests, as well as 6 Goldfinches at Balephuil, 7 Lesser Redpolls there together with 6 Common Redpolls of the North-western form, which emanate from Iceland/Greenland. Tied in with this rush was a very early Fieldfare at Carnan Mor (30th) and some 29 early Redwings in the Balephuil area (from 28th). Robins also returned in good numbers and their song could be heard on still sunny days from many parts of the island. Other winter visitors to the island’s gardens included the first Bramblings and Chaffinches (from 28th) and the first Greenfinches (from 12th).  Island oddities included a small green Parakeet in the Baugh area, which had presumably recently escaped from a cage somewhere and an all-white Linnet in the Cornaigmore area. Even more unusual was a large Loggerhead Turtle that was observed feeding close inshore from Baugh on 30th August!

OCTOBER 2007

Corncrake

The Corncrakes headed south as usual during September with the last few birds noted in the first half of October including a showy individual at Barrapol on 3rd.

Other birds

October was a mixed month, with settled spells and light winds early on, followed by spells of stronger southerly winds later on. It remained relatively mild and dry until the end of the month. Clear skies and light northerly winds on 7th permitted an early start to goose passage with hundreds of geese passing over the island that day, with Pink-footed Geese predominating in the morning, followed by waves of Barnacle Geese in the afternoon and smaller numbers of Greenland White-fronted Geese towards dusk. The first Whooper Swans returned on 2nd and there was a steady passage throughout the month culminating in a count of 199 birds on 25th. More unusual wildfowl included up to 3 Scaup at Loch a’ Phuill all month, a Slavonian Grebe off Sandaig (1st),
2 Long-tailed Ducks at Hough Bay (14th), up to 8 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Balephetrish Bay (5th-8th), the first Goldeneyes (from 1st) and at least 6 Gadwall.

The first Redwings and Fieldfares arrived early at the end of September and there were small influxes of both species throughout the month, with higher numbers of Fieldfares than in previous years but lower numbers of Redwings so far. Tied in with the influxes of winter thrushes was an unprecedented arrival of over 100 Siskins. Prior to this autumn, there had been just six records of this small attractive yellow and green finch from Tiree, but in common with many of the Western Isles, there was an invasion of this species with record numbers in many places. The first were two birds at Balephuil on 12th, increasing to 7 there on 15th and then to 20 on 21st. Additional records of groups of up to 12 birds came from widely scattered parts of the island including Balinoe, Balemartine, Mannal, Sandaig, Kilmoluaig, Crossapol, Scarinish, Gott, Salum and even on the windswept islet of Fadamull, with birds mostly feeding on thistle and knapweed seeds although others visited garden feeders as well. Numbers peaked in the third week of the month with just odd birds remaining at the month-end.

Scarcer migrants continued to arrive in the light winds, and from all points of the compass. The rarest was a Little Bunting at Milton (23rd) – the first record of this small Scandinavian/Russian bunting for the island. This bird fed on grain put out for House Sparrows and seemed quite settled but had gone by the next day. Almost as rare were the Yellow-browed Warblers that appeared at Balephuil during the month. These small brightly coloured warblers breed in Siberia and normally winter on forested mountains in SE Asia, but each year a small number head off in the opposite direction and end up in Britain. There had been just two previous confirmed records of this rare warbler from Tiree, but this year no less than 4 different birds appeared in the same garden between 2nd and 27th October. Other scarce migrants included Lesser Whitethroats at Baugh (1st) and Balephuil (13th), Lapland Buntings at Balephetrish (13th) and The Reef (19th), up to 6 Greenlandic/Icelandic Common Redpolls at Balephuil/Carnan Mor (1st-20th), up to 3 continental Mealy Redpolls at Balephuil (22nd-29th), 7 Lesser Redpolls at Balephuil (1st-12th), 2 Snow Buntings at Balephetrish Hill (23rd) and a Brambling at Balephuil (27th). Meanwhile, two rare North American waders appeared during periods of westerly winds early in the month. These included a fine adult American Golden Plover amongst the Golden Plovers at Sandaig (5th-6th) and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on the machair west of Loch a’ Phuill (7th). Other interesting waders included at least 2 Curlew Sandpipers at Gott Bay (1st-19th), 2 juvenile Little Stints at Loch a’ Phuill (5th-10th), 4 Woodcocks (from 6th) and a trio of late Ruff (until 28th), as well as 9 Grey Plovers and up to 30 Black-tailed Godwits. Strong NW winds on 16th-17th produced a juvenile Sabine’s Gull off Aird (17th), 6 Grey Phalaropes, a Pomarine Skua, 3 Arctic Skuas and a late Arctic Tern (16th), as well as movements of up to 17 Great Northern Divers per hour.

NOVEMBER 2007 - JANUARY 2008

The winter weather was rather mixed as always with milder drier conditions in November and December but colder wetter weather in January. Severe gales were mercifully few and the island enjoyed a good number of “pet” days, with bright sunny conditions and little wind. A scattering of snow landed one morning, but was soon gone and frosts were few and far between. The rather mild conditions suited the island’s nationally important assemblage of wintering wildfowl and waders, and numbers of all species were high.

Rarest bird of the period was a 1st-winter female Surf Scoter, which appeared at Hough Bay (6th Jan) and then remained for the rest of the month in the company of up to 25 Long-tailed Ducks. This was just the third record for Tiree of this North American sea duck. Other scarce winter visitors included 1st-winter Iceland Gulls at Sandaig (13th Nov) and Loch a’ Phuill (19th Jan) and 1st-winter Glaucous Gulls at Aird (7th Dec) and Loch an Eilein (5th Jan). Both of these “white-winged” gulls hail from the Arctic and visit us annually in winter as conditions worsen further north. An all-white albino Common Gull that frequented Loch a’ Phuill throughout January, was probably the same bird that has been on Tiree since summer 2006.

The first half of November saw a continuation of the late autumn passage of smaller migrants through the gardens, included 7 Blackcaps, 5 Chiffchaffs and 3 Mealy Redpolls, whilst a dozen Siskins remained from the October invasion, with the last at Balephuil on 17th. A juvenile Arctic Tern at Traigh Bhi (4th) was the latest ever recorded on the island and NW winds also brought late records to the north coast of Great Skua (5th) and two Pomarine Skuas (8th), as well as two Little Auks. The mild temperatures in December allowed some of the late autumn Chiffchaffs to remain on the island, with one bird at Balephuil (7th) and another of the eastern tristis race at Cornaigbeg (10th). Other unusual wintering birds included a Dunnock at Scarinish, Short-eared Owls at Cornaigbeg and Balephetrish, plus the odd Black-headed Gull. The colder conditions in January meant that garden birds were forced to search harder for food and it is likely that numbers of birds recorded in gardens on the Big Garden Birdwatch (26th-27th) will be higher than in previous years. Numbers of finches for example, increased in the New Year with peaks of 7 Goldfinches at West Hynish, 8 Greenfinches at Meningie and 6 Chaffinches at Balephuil. Up to 300 Redwings remained in January to feed on the island in scattered groups but Fieldfares were very scarce, and none were seen after 3 at Cornaigbeg on18th December.

The mid-January goose count (14th-15th) found a high count (3,439) of Barnacle Geese, whilst Greylags dropped to 3,376 from a high count of 3,995 in December but Greenland White-fronted Goose numbers (752) remained lower than normal. Two Pale-bellied Brent Goose wintered with the Barnacle Geese at Ruaig and Caoles, whilst 3 Pink-footed Geese remained at Barrapol, plus a lone Canada Goose paired to a Greylag with two hybrid offspring at Greenhill/Kilkenneth. The January count also found high island totals of 135 Whooper Swans, 4,180 Golden Plovers and 4,406 Lapwing –all benefiting from the largely
frost-free conditions. Other wildfowl included up to 4 Scaup on the lochs throughout, 2 Pochard, 4 Pintail and 23 Shoveler, whilst a dead Puffin was noted at Sorobaidh Bay. Shelducks returned to the coast and lochs from late December and Fulmars started busying themselves at their breeding colonies once more.

In common with the rest of Argyll, Tiree saw an influx of unusual fish turning up on its shores in December with dead Trigger Fish noted at Traigh Bhi and Traigh Bhagh, a dead Conger Eel at Traigh Bhi and a presumed Portuguese Man o’War in Balephuil Bay – all brought to the island on the Gulf Stream aided by a steady SW airflow.