A Christmas Gift - December 2022 Bird Report

Thanks to E, Jeni and Benjamin Grover for providing additional records of sightings used in this report, which was provided by courtesy of the author, S. Grover, along with artwork/photos.

Birdwatchers can be an amusing bunch (to me, anyway), with their own euphemisms, just like any other enthusiast.  Often when I am out and about on my local patch, I am approached by other persons carrying the paraphernalia that characterises a fellow birder.  A usual remark that greets my ears upon our meeting is: “Much about?”, or “Anything interesting?”  What they really mean, of course, is: “Are there any rare birds?” for them to see.  Should you be like me, everything is of interest, whether it be commonplace, a local rarity, or indeed a mega-rarity.  Who am I, to discern what others might consider interesting, or rare? After all, I have no way of knowing what their level of birding expertise is, what their expectations are from their trip, or what birds would differ from those found on the local patch they left to visit Loch Ryan. I do my best to answer, but probably fail to meet their expectations! Or amuse them, who knows?!

At a time when doom and gloom seems to hang over much of our wildlife, I take comfort from the annual increase of Pale-bellied Brent Geese wintering on Loch Ryan.  A count of 423 birds at the Scar and the Wig on the 9th was an impressive tally; weighed against this, and somewhat disconcerting, was that out of a good sized flock of 322 birds seen on the 26th, not a single juvenile was amongst them.

Only 17 adult Mute Swans were logged on the sea-loch during the month.  They were present up to and including the 10th, with none thereafter.  Two were at Loch Connell on the 4th, along with a couple of Whooper Swans.  Shelducks were scarce on Loch Ryan, with one at the Wig on the 5th and 10th, and four at Bishop Burn on the 8th.  They were considerably more plentiful at the Piltanton Estuary, with 147 logged there during a Wetlands Bird Survey count on the 12th.

It is not often that Loch Connell has a covering of ice but on the 11th I found it to be eighty percent frozen; thus, the few wildfowl that were present congregated on either the small patches of open water or at their icy margins.  Four Pintails were a notable find here; two males and two females were huddled together on the ice, their heads arched over their backs and bills tucked into their mantle feathers for comfort and warmth.  Beside them was a flock of 93 Wigeon, with feathers all fluffed up and the birds adopting the same stance as the Pintails.

Pintails gathering on the ice edge

For most of the month I was registering counts of 50, or less, Common Scoters on Loch Ryan, visible from the comfort of my house; but that changed on the 22nd when I noted 140 birds.  Numbers of Eiders fluctuated seemingly as often as did the weather, but a high of 304 were observed, also on the 22nd.  Goldeneye are small ducks that do not often form large flocks, unlike Scaup or Wigeon, for instance.  I was thus happy to register a total of 31 birds, again on the 22nd.  With this date cropping up time and again it is clear that conditions were in my favour that day.

Following on from last month’s report Goosanders were again at the Wig, with a male present on the 3rd and 4th.  Just up the road, at Loch Connell, 14 (seven males and seven redheads) were observed.  Of particular note was a female at the Piltanton Estuary, observed during a Wetlands Bird Survey count on the 12th; this constitutes my first site record for the species during ten years of WeBS recording.  My monthly maxima of Long-tailed Ducks at the Wig came on the 4th, when a party of 12 birds busied themselves and, seemingly, made the water boil with their frenzied activity.  The lack of Scaup at the Wig is normal; fortunately, I was able to reacquaint myself with the species when I stopped off at Bishop Burn, on the 8th.  Here I spied 254 birds, mostly close inshore.  I guessed there were many more that I didn’t see … but that, as they say, is the nature of sea-watching.

The Black-necked Grebe reported on last month continued to be seen about the Wig up until at least the 10th.  Here also, on the 27th, I saw a Great Crested Grebe that was already adorned in full breeding plumage.  Little Grebes numbered ten at Loch Connell on the 4th.  On the sea loch, Red-necked Grebes were seen sporadically across the month, with two together on the 7th and 10th.  The same loch hosted 47 Slavonian grebes on the 22nd.  Just a single record of a Black-throated Diver this month: one at the Wig on the 27th.  There were two Great Northern Divers on the 17th, with singletons on the 22nd and 26th.

Bar-tailed Godwits were noted on four occasions at the Wig, with a maximum of two birds on the 26th.  Dunlins were scarce at this location but faired better at Piltanton, when 63 were logged during a Wetlands Bird Survey count on the 12th.  Golden Plovers at the Scar peaked at 403 on the 8th, whereas the maximum number of Grey Plovers here was three, on the 13th.  The same site held 12 Lapwings on the 8th - a most unusual  and rare occurrence these days; as indeed was a high count of 114 birds at Loch Connell on the 24th.  The Wig regularly supported parties of Ringed Plovers, with a flock of 72 birds on the 23rd.  Groups of Turnstones were equally widespread along the shoreline of Loch Ryan, with 27 being the highest count of birds, on the 23rd, although the monthly Wetlands Birds Survey count at Piltanton logged 79 birds on the 12th.

These days we can expect to see a Little Egret at the Wig from time to time; one there on the 3rd was thus delightful but not extraordinary.  One at Loch Connell, however, on the morning of the 24th was enough to raise my heartbeat - my first ever record from this site since my recording here began fourteen years ago.

A first-winter Glaucous Gull at the Scar on the 25th and 26th was a noteworthy surprise, as was an ‘arctic type’ Herring Gull seen earlier in the month, on the 3rd.  Arctic ‘Herrings’ are typically large and powerful-looking and show a much reduced amount of black in their wingtips than do the familiar British race … this bird ticked all the right boxes!  The next day, on the 4th, the same location hosted another intriguing gull in the form of an immature ‘Viking Gull’ - a hybrid between Glaucous and Herring Gull.  Very nice!  A pit stop at Bishop Burn, on the 12th, revealed a smart-looking, adult Mediterranean Gull, in winter plumage.

Glaucous Gull (left) and a Mediterranean Gull

The only record I had of a Guillemot on Loch Ryan came on the 26th when I observed a singleton at the Wig.  Razorbills were hardly any commoner, with just one on the 1st and two on the 4th.  A lone Merlin was was observed about the Wig Fields on the 12th, 13th, 16th and 21st but whether it was the same bird on all occasions is unknown.  The larger sized Peregrine was sighted just once but involved a pair of birds, at Loch Connell on the 4th.

Carrion Crows rarely receive much attention from birdwatchers.  In many human societies crows are vilified; but in truth, they are no worse, or better, than most other species.  Like any other species on this planet they are what they are, including being intelligent and resourceful problem solvers.  We can anthropomorphise them as easily as we can as any cute, fluffy, duckling, or any bird showing seemingly tender affection.  It was this latter evocation that caught my eye when I saw two almost identical crows huddled up to one another in a heavy rain shower on the 25th.  They gave the appearance of looking sad and forlorn.  One bird reached over to the other with its bill and gently preened its companion’s chin and cheeks; the other seemed to receive the gesture affectionately, altering the position of its head incrementally to pleasure both birds simultaneously.  When finished, neither bird looked sad anymore but seemed content to sit snuggled next to each other in the pouring rain.

A Waxwing was a happy discovery by my wife when she drove past Seabank Road, in Stranraer, on the 5th.  Another stunning bird turned up briefly in our garden on the 10th.  A flock of plus 40 Skylarks on the Wig Fields, on the 13th, was a noteworthy addition to the log, whilst a female Blackcap was a surprise visitor to my garden on the 25th.  Had it not been caught (under licence) in a mist net by my daughter its presence would have gone undetected.

This Blackcap (f) in the hand was a surprise Christmas present!

The only entry for Mistle Thrush in the logbook was on the 23rd.  Song Thrushes faired better, with a tally of five birds on the 11th and six (mostly along the Wig track) on the 20th.  House Sparrows peaked at 56 in my garden on the 21st, whilst a Tree Sparrow here was recorded on the 1st and 2nd.  Curiously, a House Sparrow x Tree Sparrow hybrid was also observed in my garden on the 21st, 26th and 27th.  Like most hybrids this bird generated more questions amongst members of my household than there were definitive answers.

House Sparrow hybrid and House Sparrow side by side