Who of us cannot marvel at what are perhaps the most attractive of the wild geese to visit Britain in significant numbers, the Barnacle. Appearing almost monochromatic in cold tones of black, grey and white, their crisp markings are immaculate to the human eye - well, mine at least. On the morning of the 21st, when I scanned the vista across from my house, I was delighted to see a party of 27 of these dapper birds grazing in a grassland that I have come to refer to as the Twite Field. They remained all day and for most of the following day, sometimes joined by the more familiar Brents but never really intermingling with them. I saw Pale-bellied Brent Geese daily from my house and recorded flocks of in excess of 300 birds on eleven occasions across the month, the peak count being 388 on the 4th and 5th. Despite the high numbers of these birds present I noticed that very few were juveniles, suggesting yet another poor breeding season for this species.
Wherever there are found agriculturally improved grasslands in combination with open freshwater then naturalised Canada Geese are likely to occur, in varying numbers. On my local patch these conditions are met with at Loch Connell, and to which flocks of ’honkers’ are no strangers. On the 28th of the month when the loch itself was half frozen over by blue-ice, 248 Canadas sought refuge on the shallow expanse, along with a similar number (233) of Greylags and 20 ‘Pinkies’ (Pink-footed Geese). From my house - which is east of this loch - I heard Whooper Swans calling on several days but only managed to catch sight of two birds on a visit to the said waterbody on the 21st. My daughter reported to me seeing a single Shelduck at Bishop Burn, on the 5th; one was at the Wig on the 23rd, three there on the 26th and one at the Scar on the 31st.
A singleton Shoveler at Loch Connell on the 21st was my only record of this species all month. The same site held an impressive 560 Teal on the 7th and 39 were observed on the sea to the north of the beach at Kirkcolm, on the 12th. From the freshwater site of ‘Connell came a good count of 130 Wigeon, also on the 7th, whereas at the Wig my peak count of this species was 177, on the 12th. It was at Loch Ryan that my highest tally of 149 Common Scoters was logged on the 23rd, whilst for Eiders the peak was 292 on the 3rd, with, curiously, just one bird less a little later in the month on the 25th. I saw very few Goldeneyes about the Wig, with a high of 24 on the 15th, whilst at Loch Connell nine birds was the most I recorded, on the 21st. The Wig held a most excellent 19 Long-tailed Ducks (three of which were female) on the 23rd. A drake Pochard was at Loch Connell on the 7th and 21st, whilst on the 28th (when there much ice present) the same site hosted both a male and a female. At the same site, on the 7th, there was also an immature male Scaup and 28 Tufted Ducks, while the following week (14th) numbers of the latter species had risen to 34. Goosanders here peaked at 12 birds on the 28th whereas for their cousins, Red-breasted Mergansers, the highest number I recorded at Loch Ryan was 55, on the 1st.
A singleton Black-throated Diver was present on the sea-loch on the 6th. In comparison I am pleased to report that observations of Great Northern Divers were considerably more frequent, being logged on 12 days spanning the month, with a peak of 5 birds on the 6th. My highest count of Red-throated Divers here was 43 birds on the 23rd, just a few short of the peak count of 50 Slavonian Grebes on the same day.
I grew up with Curlews, so to speak, and have had a special fondness for them ever since. (At that time I lived in Leicestershire, where Curlew were rare breeders but I was lucky to have them on my doorstep). I consider myself fortunate that on most days whenever I look put from my present home across to the Wig I can see these distinctive waders. Admittedly, they are fewer in number compared to a few years past, but see them I still do. And that continues to bring warmth to my heart. This December - because of rain and wind … wind and rain .. then more of the same - the numbers of Curlew entered into my logbook have been relatively few. But on the 28th that tally boomed when I registered a princely 105 birds on the Wig fields - still lower than my historical records for the area show but a welcoming total, nonetheless. Alas, just four Dunlin at the Scar on the 25th was disappointing by comparison; I found consolation in approximately 160 Golden Plovers at the Scar on the 4th and the 31st, and three Grey Plovers there on the 1st.
Day seven of the month and Loch Connell crops up once again, this time in respect of an unusually high count of 58 Lapwings that I saw rise from the marshy ground on the eastern side of the site. Also unusual was the four I noticed at the Wig on the 31st. In excess of 163 Oystercatchers were counted in the Wig fields (on the 18th), which, although not an exceptional high number of birds is certainly more than is typical. The shore of the Wig itself, beside the car park, held 17 Redshanks at high tide on the 24th.
A classic ‘biscuit- coloured’, first-winter, Glaucous Gull made a brief appearance on the Scar during the early morning of the 24th. Alas, I never saw it again and I know of no other person that did, either. 14 Kittiwakes passed the same spit of land on the murky day of the 10th. A pair of Little Auks did the very same thing on the 3rd, heading in the direction of Stranraer. Instantly recognisable by their direct flight on rapidly whirring wings and, of course, their diminutive size, they were utterly unexpected visitors but that in itself, I find, is one of nature’s tantalising attractions.
After mentioning the Cormorants at Loch Connell in the November issue of this blog, I did not expect to be following that up this month with 16 birds there on the 7th. There were no flamboyant bouts of fishing this time around: all of them stood upright on the bank, with wings pressed firmly against their sides, half-dozing in the morning light. Funnily enough, 132 Shags were doing much the same on the pier at Cairnryan, on the 3rd. What I think to be an exciting discovery was seeing a Little Egret roosting in a tree close to a local heronry, on the 23rd. This species often nests among other herons and although a tad early (or late, depending how you look at it), I shall be keeping a watchful eye on things in the weeks and months ahead.
It has been a few years now since Hen Harriers used breed a few short miles (as the crow flies) from my house; consequently, sightings of this species on my patch have become fewer with the passage of time, occurring now as only rare visitors. I saw a rather stunning-looking adult male float low over the Wig fields on the 29th. His passage went unmarked, disturbing neither other small nor large birds into flight on his unwavering journey west towards Connell, then out of sight. The memory of those all too brief moments remain as strong in my mind now, as I write, as when the event itself transpired. Isn’t nature wonderful!
A male Blackcap visited my garden on the 18th, 20th, 21st and 22nd. Where he went after, I know not. A total of 72 Fieldfares was recorded on the 21st, with just two the next day - overall a disappointing turnout but perhaps not unexpected. A Kingfisher was a delightful surprise find at the pool where the Corsewall Burn outlets into Loch Ryan, on the 3rd. But no sooner had I espied it and it was gone, disappearing somewhere upstream.
Both the presence and the numbers of Meadow Pipits fluctuate widely on my local patch, suffice to say that they are not as common here as other folk might suppose. A party of 15 birds on the Wig fields was thus notable on the 3rd, I thought. Also noteworthy on the very same fields was a flock of 86 Skylarks, on the 12th. Treecreepers are undoubtedly more common than my few records ever suggest because visually they are rarely obvious and their thin high calls, which might otherwise betray their presence, are lost to mine ears these days. One bird, however, was in my garden on the 29th - not spiralling up the trunk of a tree (which I don’t have), as is usual behaviour, but, of all things, seen working its way along a concrete seat! A single Tree Sparrow was again in my garden, on the 16th and 17th.
I close this month’s report with that age old duo and confusion species’, Twite and Linnet. Each of them when seen well, or heard calling, present few identification problem to persons familiar their respective characteristics. However, when viewed from afar and, especially when occurring in mixed flocks, either together or with other species eg Chaffinch and Goldfinch, then difficulties arise for the birdwatcher; such situations can also make counting them with any accuracy a considerable challenge. On the 3rd of the month that very scenario presented itself when a mixed flock of small birds, perhaps 600 strong, hugged the cattle trampled fields at the Wig. Using any suitable device to capture a series of digital images can aid greatly in the assessment of both the numbers of birds involved and the species present, so providing either confirmation, or a guide, to solving the matter in hand. The particular flock in question seemed to comprise some 300 Twite and about 250 Linnets, with Chaffinches, Goldfinches and a few Meadow Pipits making up the rest. Isn’t this fun, what ho!
This article was provided courtesy of the author, S. Grover
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