Previous Years: | CURRENT | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |

Monthly Bird Information - 2008

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 Tom Marshall.

JANUARY 2008

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.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2008

The wet weather from January continued into February, with frequent bouts of heavy rain bringing much flooding across the island. March on the other hand was mostly drier, with some warmer days early on but it became colder, with northerly winds prevailing late in the month, stopping most signs of spring in their tracks. As a result, the few early breeding birds such as Lapwings lost their first clutches of eggs and there were very few spring migrants about by the end of the period.

The first Black-headed Gulls started returning in their full summer plumage from mid-February and Lesser Black-backed Gulls followed suit later in the month with good numbers of both species back by the end of March. The first signs of spring amongst our resident birds, included the singing of Skylarks once more on brighter days above the dunes and grasslands, the “chipping” and “drumming” sounds of Snipe emanating from the wet grasslands on the odd still evening, plus the more widespread displays of pairs of Lapwing and noisy groups of Oystercatchers. Other birds to return to the rich grasslands included big numbers of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits, the latter with their distinctive descending parachute song-flight. Other spring migrants were in very short supply in March, with just single Wheatears noted at Hynish and Baugh (25th), 3 White Wagtails at Traigh nan Gilean (27th) and a handful of Goldcrests (from 26th), although the best bird was a Great Tit which appeared on a garden peanut-feeder at Moss (17th). As a result of the cold northerly airflow, there were no Chiffchaffs, Linnets or passage Black-tailed Godwits, which would normally be expected in late March. The only obvious migration was that of the Whooper Swan, which passed through in larger numbers than normal this spring. Flocks of up to 75 birds were seen flying over the islands on several days in the second half of March, some dropping in to feed and rest at the lochs before struggling on against the headwind to reach the Uists before making the perilous crossing to Iceland.

Scarcer wintering birds included the long-staying female Surf Scoter, which remained with the flock of up to 26 Long-tailed Ducks at Hough Bay from January until 23rd March and more unexpectedly a smart male Black Redstart wintered near Scarinish Pier (2nd February-3rd March). Winter gulls included a scattering of up to 6 Glaucous Gulls and 3 different Iceland Gulls around the island but rarer still was a 1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull at Cornaig (28th-29th March) – just the second for the island if confirmed. Other unusual wintering birds included a Short-eared Owl in the Cornaigbeg-Kenovay area, a handful of Woodcock and some early skua records including a recently dead Great Skua at Hough Bay (13th February). Goose counts in the two months found up to 3,430 Barnacle Geese, 3,509 Greylags and 803 Greenland White-fronts, as well as 4 Pink-footed Geese at Middleton and 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Ruaig, whilst over 4,000 each of Golden Plover and Lapwing were present in February.

Corncrakes

After the rains in June, the Corncrakes will have benefited from the often warm and still conditions in July. Birds continued to call all over the island during the month, including from areas where they had been absent in June. The final count total this year for the island was 413 calling males, up on the total of 391 recorded in 2007, itself a record count, and pushes the Tiree population to around one third of the total UK population – a fitting testament to all the Corncrake-friendly measures employed by crofters and farmers on the island.

Other birds

Despite the dry conditions in May and the rather wetter ones in June. Most of our breeding birds appeared to have a good breeding season. Ducks did very well in the calm conditions, with large broods of Mallard, Shelduck, Red-breasted Merganser and Shoveler noted on several of the island’s wetlands, as well as Tufted Duck broods at Loch Bhasapol. Pintail fledglings were again noted and Gadwall raised at least one brood for the second year running, but best of all was a brood of Wigeon, the first ever proven breeding by this species on the island! The waders and gulls all produced good numbers of young, but the Arctic Terns and cliff-nesting seabirds fared badly once more, presumably as a result of food shortages at sea. Arctic Terns only managed to raise a handful of fledglings from over 300 nests around the island, whilst at Ceann a’ Mhara, the Kittiwakes suffered a complete breeding failure and the Fulmars, Razorbills and Guillemots raised only very small numbers of chicks. Shags however, had an excellent breeding season with a bumper 131 pairs raising dozens of fledglings.

July is normally a quiet month for scarce migrant birds but there were several birds of note. A brilliant yellow adult male Golden Oriole appeared briefly at Balephuil (5th), a Quail called from deep grass at Barrapol (16th), a Crane was reported from Vaul (13th), an all-white Iceland Gull visited Loch a’ Phuill (17th), whilst a fall of migrants in foggy conditions at Carnan Mor (27th) produced an unseasonal Lesser Whitethroat, as well as a Woodpigeon, a Lesser Redpoll, a Swift and no less than 6 juvenile Goldrcests – none of which breed on Tiree.  Waders began returning once more from their northern breeding grounds - mostly adults which, had failed to breed successfully. These included 9 Red Knot (from 22nd), 20 Black-tailed Godwits (26th), hundreds of Sanderling (from 14th), 2 Whimbrel (from 24th), 2 Common Sandpipers (from 18th) and up to 9 Greenshanks at Loch a’ Phuill. Large flocks of gulls, Lapwing, Curlew and Starlings began to gather once more on the first cut silage fields. Offshore, there were regular sightings of Storm Petrels, Bonxies and Arctic Skuas, together with very large numbers of Basking Sharks, regular pods of Common Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises and the odd Minke Whale, whilst 4 Killer Whales between Tiree and Coll (21st) were a nice surprise for some!

AUGUST 2008

Corncrakes

A few Corncrakes continued to call in the first week of the month at various places around the island, but then fell silent as usual my mid-month. There were several reports of adult birds and broods seen during the month suggesting that the Corncrakes have enjoyed another good breeding season on the island.

Other birds

August brought rather variable weather with the first of the autumn depressions bringing many days of low cloud and rain, although it remained warm throughout. Many birds were on the move once more as migrants breeding further north started filtering their way south. Oddly, however, the two rarest birds of the period came from southern Europe. First up was an adult Lesser Grey Shrike, which showed very well briefly on fence-lines and roadside wires at Balephuil (6th), before disappearing once more. This species breeds in southern and Eastern Europe and has only once before been recorded in Argyll, on Coll in October 1988. Even rarer however was a small elusive buffy-coloured bird found at The Reef (12th-28th), which proved to be a Short-toed Lark (see photo). This species had never been recorded from Argyll before and the warm russet tones of the bird’s crown and wing weathers suggest it was from the population that breeds in SW Europe.

More typical rare migrants for August included a Hobby chasing Swallows at Salum (18th), a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Loch a’ Phuill (26th) and a Balearic Shearwater off Aird (27th). A Black Redstart was an unusual visitor tyo Vaul (18th), whilst there was a Common Redstart at Carnan Mor (24th-28th). The low cloud brought in a influx of at least 12 Swifts on 18th, with high numbers of House Martins also logged in amongst the large post-breeding flocks of Swallows and Sand Martins. There was a very early return of Robins to the islands gardens (from 2nd) with most birds seen proving to be juveniles, suggesting that this species has a had a good breeding season, in common with most of the small birds on the island. A pair of Lesser Redpolls raised 4 young in the west of the island and these and other small birds suffered the attentions of the usual late summer influx of Merlins, Kestrels, Sparrowhawks and Hen Harriers, none of which breed on the island. Less easily seen, were the Short-eared Owls, which appeared at Cornaig and Heylipol, as they are mostly nocturnal at this time of year.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008

Despite being off the island on sabbatical for most of this period, the birdlife of Tiree was well monitored by island residents and visitors alike and it turned out to be a very interesting autumn. After a warm dry spell in August, the autumn weather quickly broke down and October in particular was very wet and windy. It is likely that these very unsettled conditions were instrumental in bringing some very unusual migrants to the island. Probably the most exciting find was a Red-eyed Vireo in a garden at Caoles (9th Oct) – this is a small woodland bird that breeds in North America and migrates to South America for the winter. Brought across the Atlantic by a storm, this was the first ever American passerine to have been recorded on Tiree, although the same species was recorded on Coll in October 1992. Sadly, this bird arrived on a typically wet and windy day and was in a rather bedraggled state.

Other rare visitors from North America, included some 3-4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers at Middleton, Loch a’ Phuill, Vaul and Ruaig (1 Sep-5 Oct), a record 4 different American Golden Plovers at Greenhill, Balevullin, Sandaig and Loch a’ Phuill (5 Sep–8 Oct) and 2 Pectoral Sandpipers at Middleton (5 Oct) and Loch an Eilein (8 Oct). A rare Pacific Golden Plover at Barrapol (8 Oct) had presumably come from Siberia rather than via North America. A Gull-billed Tern that frequented Crossapol and Sorobaidh Bays (29 Sep-3 Oct) was an extremely unusual autumn record for western Scotland and it is possible that this bird also originated from North America rather than from continental Europe. Rare visitors from Europe included a Red-necked Grebe at Gott Bay (4-7 Sep), which was the first on the island since 1996, whilst a Great-crested Grebe at Loch a’ Phuill (8 Oct) was the first since 1952! A large all-dark bird of prey being mobbed by Buzzards at Carnan Mor (6 Sep) proved to be Tiree’s first ever Honey Buzzard and was part of an invasion noted mostly down the east coast of Britain of these large raptors from Scandinavia. Almost as rare was a long-staying Hobby in the Salum/Vaul area at the start of September.

Scarcer garden birds included Yellow-browed Warblers at Hynish and Balemartine (2-3 Oct), a Pied Flycatcher at Balephuil (17 Sep, following another there on 31 Aug), Spotted Flycatchers at Kilkenneth and Vaul (23 Sep-11 Oct), a Lesser Whitethroat at Balemartine (2-3 Oct), a Whitethroat at Kilkenneth (16 Sep), a Common Redpoll at Balephuil (20 Sep), a Mistle Thrush at Mannal (8 Oct), Coal Tits at Vaul (8 Oct) and Gott (11 Oct) and a Grey Wagtail at Balephuil (10 Oct). All these unusual visitors were recorded amongst big arrivals of commoner species such as Redwings (from 1 Oct), Fieldfares, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Blackcaps, Wrens, Robins and Chiffchaffs, which were reported widely around the island. Autumn appeared to come an abrupt stop in the last week of October with a unusually early cold snap which brought a rare sprinkling of snow, but high pressure at the very end of the month brought calmer weather once more and the arrival of 3 Long-tailed Tits to Balephuil plus the first Waxwings of the winter. Whooper Swans returned from their Icelandic breeding grounds from 1 Oct, Barnacle Geese from 4 Oct and Greenland White-fronted Geese from 5 Oct (with an odd bird at Barrapol on 17 Sep), whilst the first Pale–bellied Brent Goose was at Sorobaidh Bay (21 Sep) with a big passage of this species noted at Cornaig on 27 Sep, leaving odd birds scattered around the island into October.

The last Corncrakes were reported from Balevullin and Cornaig in early September, the latter record was a bird with a family of six small chicks watched crossing the road. Fingers crossed that they have a good winter in Africa and return in big numbers once more next year.

DECEMBER 2008

December was unusually still and dry with long spells of cold calm weather, although the island escaped the hard frosts and snow of the mainland. 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 other wetlands. Some 3,500 Golden Plovers and 4,500 Lapwings wintered on the islands rich grasslands, together with thousands of Starlings. High counts of shorebirds included 180 Ringed Plovers at Balephetrish Bay (16th), 240 Sanderling at Hough Bay (30th) and 85 Purple Sandpipers at Hough Bay (30th). A goose count found 3,046 Greylags, 2,907 Barnacle Geese and 674 Greenland White-fronted Geese, together with 138 Whooper Swans. All these birds in turn attracted the attentions of birds of prey, which included up to four Hen Harriers, two Peregrines, six Merlin, two Sparrowhawks, three Kestrels and some 15 Buzzards.

Rare birds seen during the month included the wintering drake Ring-necked Duck at Loch Bhasapol and the wintering female Surf Scoter at Hough Bay, both of which remained from November. Even rarer for the time of year was a Little Stint, which turned up with the Dunlin at Gott Bay (16th). This tiny Arctic-nesting wader is seen annually in small numbers on the island during spring and autumn passage but this was the first confirmed winter record of the species, not only for Tiree but for the while of Argyll! Other winter scarcities included an Iceland Gull at The Reef (15th), plus a Woodcock and a Dunnock at Balemartine (15th). There was a late Blackcap at Balephuil (3rd), a Short-eared Owl at Moss (5th), a wintering Pied Wagtail at Gott Tip (16th) and up to 8 Goldfinches scattered around the island. A lone Pale-bellied Brent Goose remained with the Barnacle Geese at Ruaig, whilst 5 Pink-footed Geese were in the Heylipol area.