Quite the Conundrum - January 2023 Bird Report

Thanks to Jeni, Eleanor and Benjamin Grover for contributing records and much thoughtful discussion.  This article and the images contained within were provided courtesy of the author, S. Grover.

A remarkable month that presented three interesting identification challenges; alas, they were never satisfactorily resolved.  Read on to learn more!

Are not Brent Geese great?!  At this time of year they can be seen grazing the sward of the Wig Fields, fattening up in readiness for the journey that will take them back to their breeding grounds in arctic Canada.  Their guttural calls often reach my house and waft in through an open window.  A stirring sound to be sure, especially first thing in the morning when the dawn breaks and the first rays of daylight appear over the moor behind Cairnryan, on the far side of Loch Ryan, brightening swiftly to illuminate the day.  The Brents - pale-bellied ones, to be precise - have maintained a constant presence throughout the month, peaking at 238 birds on the 6th.  In fact, 200 or so birds were seen most days, feeding in the fields at high tide and then on the exposed algae and eel-grass when the tide turned.

An intervening hill separates my house from Loch Connell in the west.  Although my view of this site is thus effectively masked from home, my ears often inform me of a multitude of geese there.  On the 8th the presence of these birds was betrayed by the overwhelming chorus that came from over the hill.  The sound lured me to go and check them out.  Upon arrival I was not unduly surprised by the sight of 122 Canada Geese and in excess of 736 Pink-footed Geese feeding in the adjacent grasslands.

Shelduck were scarce about Loch Ryan, with five at the Scar being my highest count.  It was a different story at the Piltanton Estuary however when I carried out a Wetland Bird Survey there on the 23rd; in spite of the rain I logged 131 birds.

On my local patch I had just one record of a Shoveler: a female at Loch Connell on the 15th.  Teal were most numerous at this site, with a high of 443 on the 8th.  I sometimes find it interesting to gauge the ratio of males to females within flocks; on the 15th, I counted 430 together, 70% of which were males.  Seven of this small duck species rode the choppy water off of the Scar, Loch Ryan, on the 27th.  They bought to mind plastic ducks bobbing up and down on rough water such as you might see on a fast moving stream where a festival ‘duck race’ is being held.  Back to Loch Connell, where I was delighted to record 208 Wigeon on the 8th; lesser numbers are typically the norm’ here.

A pair of Wigeon looking rather splendid

Common Eiders are a staple of Loch Ryan.  I saw them in small, scattered flocks, but knew from experience that many more were actually present: thus, towards the end of the month I put in a bit more of an effort to discover their true numbers.  On the 27th I counted a respectable 204 birds but sensed that there were more out there.  Conditions for counting them were even better the following day, resulting in 339 being logged. 

A possible King Eider on the 8th presented the first challenge for the family.  During a routine scan of Wig Bay from the comfort of my home I noticed a smallish, dark-looking Eider just off the Scar.  Its head was somewhat truncated in appearance, lacking the obvious wedge shaped profile of a typical Common Eider.  To me, at least, its appearance suggested a first-winter male King Eider.  One by one each member of my family took a turn to view the bird through the spotting scope and formulate an opinion.  A closer look was required.  The rest of the family headed off to the Scar whilst I remained on station to monitor the bird’s whereabouts.  Upon their return each member recounted their experience of what they had seen of the bird resting on the Scar, floating on the water, and in flight.  The shape of the head, neck and bill, seen in profile, was agreed by the majority to be atypical compared to Common Eider;  but it was the consensus that several more features lacking needed to be satisfied, in order for a positive identification.  The conclusion was in limbo and that, alas, is where it shall remain.

Common Scoters on the sea loch were, as usual, active and mobile, which made counting them with any accuracy difficult: on the 26th I logged a mere 20 birds.  Entered into the records the following day, the 27th, was my only Velvet Scoter of the month: a female seen at the Wig.  Eight Scaup were also observed at this location on the 2nd, along with two on the 6th and a singleton male on the 27th.  The species faired considerably better at Bishop Burn where a rather low count of 87 birds was made, on the 5th; however, our family party may have been distracted by the presence of what we presumed were two hybrid Scaup X Tufted Duck.  These were a minor identification challenge compared to the ‘three main-event’ birds in this category.

Probable hybrid (2nd from right) in amongst regular Scaup

A handsome black and white (although they do have bottle-green heads, when seen close-to and in good light), male, Goosander was noted at Loch Connell on the 15th and the 23rd, whilst on the 27th a total of 101 Red-breasted Mergansers on Loch Ryan was logged.

Notable this month was the dearth of Cormorants about Loch Ryan.  Barely a handful were seen at the Scar.  Wintering birds seem to disperse from Loch Ryan early in the year.  Shags, on the other hand, linger longer; I counted 130 on the 26th, with 70 of these at the Scar.

Black-throated Divers were observed in Wig Bay on the 8th, 12th and 15th.  Great Northern Divers were more frequent in occurrence, being sighted on nine days across the month, with three birds registered on the 15th.  Red-throated Divers were considerably commoner than their cousins, with a creditable tally of 106 on the 26th.  A delightful trio of Little Grebes (Dabchicks) was seen in the harbour at Stranraer, on the 5th, and two sightings of Red-necked Grebe were registered at the Wig, comprising three birds on the 1st and a singleton on the 19th.  Slavonian Grebes were noted in small numbers, with a maximum of 29 logged, also on the 1st.

There is only ever a small presence of Bar-tailed Godwits about Loch Ryan.  We expect to find them on the shore but they are equally at home in the fields, especially when there has been flooding.  I regularly saw two birds on the Wig Fields, with three on the 26th.  Curlews are commonly found in grasslands: 116  at Clendrie was a good count, on the 18th.  Dunlins roosting on the stone revetments, forming the sea-wall alongside the railway station in Stranraer, provided good counting conditions on the 5th, when there were 88 birds.

Knot are becoming increasingly irregular visitors in my neighbourhood.  I have none to report from Loch Ryan this month, but the Piltanton Estuary surprised me with a flock of 330, during my monthly visit there on the 23rd.

Small parties of Golden Plovers were observed on several dates at the Scar, Loch Ryan; over 300 were present, on the 18th.  Their cousins, Grey Plovers, frequently go undetected because their generally solitary nature and the cold, dull, plumage tones combine to blend them in to their surroundings of pebbles, stones and sandy-mud which they favour hereabouts.  Three birds were seen here on the 26th.  A pleasant surprise find was a Greenshank at the Wig on the 18th; Piltanton has become a more regular place to see them, and four were logged there on the 23rd.  Redshank are one of several species that are more numerous at the southern end of Loch Ryan than at Wig Bay: nine was my highest count from the latter location, on the 26th, whereas I recorded 126 on the stonework of the railway and harbour walls in Stranraer on the 5th.

During the early part of the month I had been seeing reasonably sized gatherings of Common Gulls about Wig Bay but it was not until the 18th that I had a proper stab at counting them.  A flock amassed a short distance off-shore.  Although there was a continual movement of birds I managed to log a minimum of 500.  On the 28th, I again fancied my chances.  Fortunately the birds were all settled; this time I counted 809.  

A leucistic Common Gull was reported to me by several birdwatchers that I encountered on my excursions.  Enter the next challenging conundrum… The skies were clear, so to speak, of any ‘white-wingers’ until the 27th when I happened to spy an incoming bird to the Scar.  Yes, this bird was Common Gull sized but its overall appearance was distinctly different, having a markedly broad arm and a noticeably pointed hand compared to the other Common and Herring Gulls, which it accompanied.  Was this the returning Ivory Gull from 2019, thought I?  … Well, I beckoned my wife .. hoping that a fresh pair of eyes might help to resolve the issue.  Alas, the light was fading fast and the viewing distance too great for precise details to be examined; consequently, an open verdict was registered.  

I went out the following day in the hope of a further sighting but, sadly, the gulls did not gather, on account of there being too much human disturbance.  I did, however, come across another interesting-looking Gull in plain view, associating with a raft of Black-headed Gulls.  It was an immature bird that was already wearing a partial, black,  summer hood.  When it flapped its wings they showed the typical pattern of a similar aged ‘Black-headed’ on the upper sides, but also included a prominent black trailing edge; the underside of the wings were mostly dark: a feature associated with adult Little Gull.  In short, its plumage (markings and tones) and bare parts shared similarities to both Black-headed and Little Gull, though it was obviously smaller than the first mentioned species and a good deal larger than a typical example of the second mentioned.  Could it have been a hybrid?  Or was it just an aberrant bird?  Anyway, three tricky identification challenges in one month was more than enough for this observer.

Artists rendition of the unusual gull

With the decline in the presence and numbers of Twite on my local patch it is little wonder that Merlins have become irregular visitors.  A female on the 8th was the only record.  Jackdaws, being such common birds, rarely receive mention in the blog.  To amend that failing on my part I hereby offer to faithful readers my sighting of more than 200 birds that I watched going to roost on the 28th.  Blackbirds, similarly, receive little attention, but very occasionally it is necessary to count them in order to gauge their status within the area.  A walk through the estate woods on the 6th resulted in a total of 44 birds logged, with the largest group seen together being a mere five.  The flocking tendency of wintering Fieldfares makes them somewhat easier to spot, although at this time of year these thrushes are generally scarce on my local patch.  A party of 12 was the largest congregation seen, on the 2nd.  Mistle Thrushes are less sociable compared to the preceding species.  Just a single bird was noted for a few short days early in the month, briefly seen entering my garden, on the 4th.  Redwings were heard more often than they were seen; 81 were registered on the 6th and 116 on the 11th.  Like Blackbirds, the presence of Robins is noted, but generally without much effort to ascertain their population.  The estate woods harboured a minimum of 43 birds on the 6th.

Blackcaps were recorded in my garden on four occasions: a female on the 4th and a male thereafter on the 8th, 11th and 16th.  Indeed, on the latter date the bird was caught and ringed (under British Trust for Ornithology licence) by my daughter, hence the picture accompanying this article.  A hybrid House Sparrow x Tree Sparrow was again seen in my garden, on the 4th, whilst on the 13th and 14th a lone Tree Sparrow was present here.  Remarkably, normally scarce Bullfinches were recorded in my garden on three occasions, including a male and a female on the 15th and, presumably, the same female of the pair was caught and ringed the following day, on the 16th (see photo).

A selection of birds caught and ringed from our garden