Wrapping up 2021 - December Bird Report

This article and the accompanying images were provided courtesy of S. Grover.

When people speak of the environment and the species within it the words ‘common’ and ‘rare’ pop up time and again. Be warned… they are ‘dangerous’ words and should come with a warning. Why? Because they easily entrap and fool the unwary reader. Their meanings can vary, and change, depending upon the context in which they are used. I confess, I am as guilty as the next person in using them even though I try hard to avoid any confusion.

…But enough philosophising. On with the blog. 

Good numbers of Pale-breasted Brent Geese were present throughout the month. Depending on the state of the tide they could readily be seen at Soleburn, Bishop Burn and the Wig, or flying low across the water when commuting between these sites. At high tide they were usually observed grazing the grass fields bordering the Wig track. It was here that the month’s peak of 387 birds was logged on the 8th. The same day also hosted an adult Bewick’s Swan that was noticed flying in low over the bay and over the heads of the grazing Brents before settling close-by in the ‘Pool Field’. The sightings of both species were notable in their own way and even more so considering the clock had not yet struck nine in the morning and the rest of the day lay expectantly ahead!

Incoming! Low-flying Bewick's Swan.

It is amazing how the numbers of any given species can differ markedly between sites separated by just a few miles. Shelduck provide a good example of this. At the Wig the highest count of them was seven on the first three days of the month. At Piltanton, however, just a short hop away at Luce Bay, 144 birds were recorded during a Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) count on the 20th.

Pintail are always scarce birds on Loch Ryan so it was nice to find a pristine male at Bishop Burn on the 28th. Loch Connell hosted 140 Teal on the 5th and in excess of 336 on the 12th. Similar to Shelduck, Scaup display concentrated occurrence in favoured areas. On a much more local level: 15 was the highest count at the Wig whereas the southern end of Loch Ryan, off Bishop Burn, held 642 on the 28th. Velvet Scoters are always pleasing to come across; four sightings spread over the month was really quite exceptional and included a party of four birds on the 27th. Red-breasted Mergansers are highly mobile and wander frequently about the loch. Counting them with any accuracy therefore is typically a challenging task, even when the weather conditions are favourable for doing so: a high of 65 on the 2nd might have been an undercount or indeed a true representation of the number of birds. In recent years Goosanders have become regular visitors to Loch Connell during the winter but they are still scarce birds on Loch Ryan.  A male and female at Wig Bay from the 15th to at least the month’s end were, thus, a notable delight.

Of the species of diver that regularly frequent Loch Ryan the Red-throated is the most abundant and commonly encountered: 33 on the 2nd was the biggest tally of the month. Great Northern Divers were noted on three occasions with one on the 2nd and 9th and two on the 27th. Black-throated Diver is generally the scarcest of the regular trio: two were observed on the 16th and a singleton on the 27th. Excitement was generated when a bird showing the characteristics of a Pacific Diver was seen on the 17th and 31st. Perhaps it was the returning bird from last year.

Sketches demonstrating the features of the Pacific Diver.

Dabchicks, or Little Grebes, are occasional visitors on Loch Ryan. An unexpected find was one on the recreational pond at Agnew Park, by the sea-front in Stranraer, on the 23rd. Great Crested Grebes are generally concentrated at the southern end of the sea loch where they may readily be seen from the shore-line bordering the town; 23 at Wig Bay on the 2nd was thus unusual.  A single Red-necked Grebe was observed about the Wig on two consecutive days, the 12th and 13th - a disappointing showing compared to the same period last year. At the same place Slavonian Grebes were regular in small numbers: 38 on the 22nd was notable.

Visits from Little Egrets appear to becoming increasingly more frequent and, as yet, they still incite pleasure and astonishment in those of us lucky enough to see them. Singletons on the exposed flats at the Wig on the 2nd and 16th were very much appreciated. These sightings were, however, eclipsed by the presence of a Great White Egret (a species still very scarce in Dumfries and Galloway) found resting in the ‘Twite Fields’, on the morning of the 5th.

There was only one record of a Hen Harrier, a ‘ringtail’, observed leaving the edge of one of the Corsewall estate plantations at twilight on the 16th. An interesting observation of a Peregrine returns this species to the pages of the blog after a long absence. On the 30th, I was surveying the world from my house through my spotting scope, my eye fixed upon the ducks out in Wig Bay. In the background was the familiar chattering of House Sparrows.  Suddenly, all went quiet. The silence prompted me to cast my gaze toward the garden. Initially, nothing out of the ordinary drew my attention until my eyes refocussed on an object barely an arms length away from me.  There, perched on the roof of the house extension was a young male Peregrine. It voiced its disapproval of my appearance from behind my scope with a loud ‘kek-kek-kek-kek’ call, before promptlyflying away. The ‘conversation’ of the sparrows resumed almost immediately following its departure.

Water Rail are one of those species that go about their business unobtrusively. Exactly how many of them spend the winter on the estate marsh is anybody’s guess, but at least one betrayed its presence on the 17th by calling.

Although Greenshank are annual visitors in small numbers about Loch Ryan they are distinctly less common than their ubiquitous relatives, Redshank. There was just one at the Wig on the 28th, although three were noted at their more regular haunt of Piltanton, during a WeBS count on the 20th. Their red-legged cousins reached a maximum of nine birds at the Wig on the 2nd and 3rd compared to 56 birds at Bishop Burn on the 20th; this is another example of very local differences in bird populations and distribution. Woodcock, by way of their general nocturnal habits, are a typically under-recorded species; there were twilight observations of one on the 15th and 16th, two on the 17th, and another on the 24th.

Field sketches of the Wig's Greenshank.

Gulls often form sizeable flocks, especially when roosting or at loafing sites. Such a bewildering mass of often similar-looking birds can be a daunting prospect to many birdwatchers; consequently, large gatherings are infrequently counted or examined. I took the time to log 900 Common Gulls at the Scar, on the 17th; fading light precluded additional counting.  At the same site, but on the 9th, a Glaucous Gull in first-winter plumage was spied amongst a mass of Herring Gulls. An adult Mediterranean Gull was about the ‘Wig Fields’ on five occasions: the 4th, 12th, 13th, 20th and 23rd, whilst a second-winter bird was observed in the same general area on the 17th.

On the auk front, 31 was the highest count of Black Guillemots about Wig Bay on the 2nd, while an adult in full breeding dress was seen there on the 4th.

There are many species, which, for a variety of reasons are undoubtedly more abundant than the actual number of records of them might suggest. Nocturnal species such as the Tawny Owl is a good example in this category, with a calling bird noted on the evening of the 5th, 14th and 26th and two ‘hooting’ on the 17th. The diminutive Long-tailed Tit is another such species, with a single record of a party of nine on the 15th.

Grey Wagtails are generally scarcer in the countryside around here during the winter than they are, perhaps, within the warmth of the town of Stranraer. One at Loch Connell on the 5th was thus a nice find, as was one in Kirkcolm on the 14th. Pied Wagtails are more widespread and abundant than the preceding species, but once again, town dwelling birds significantly outnumber country-living birds at this time of year. A flock of 16 on the ‘Wig Fields’  on the 31st was most noteworthy. Also here, but on the 3rd, was flock of 38 Skylarks.

Blackcaps are typically summer visitors to our region but there was a handsome male in my garden on the 19th. Black Redstarts are rare here whatever the season. One on the harbour wall, beside Port Rodie, in Stranraer, was a delightful surprise in the rain shower that I found myself in on the 28th. Last, but not least, five Greenfinches along the Wig track on the 2nd was notable. This species was once common pretty much everywhere. It now appears on the ‘Red List (most threatened) of Birds of Conservation Concern’.

A Black Redstart brings a flash of colour to an otherwise grey day.