At this point, I think we're all resigned to the weather, be it wind, rain, sleet or snow. Nonetheless, there is still a lot out there to see, even if I had to endure some unpleasant side effects to get out and see it!
Where better to begin than on the beach with our waders? Taking shelter from the high winds they were often hunkered down in the shelter of a rock, whilst occasionally braving the gale to run along the shore in search of food. Hardest to spot are the Turnstones, whose mottled backs offer the perfect camouflage amongst the seaweed pebbles. Once they make a run for it though you can pick them out, and there were as many as 38 on the beach this week. Often seen running alongside them were Ringed Plover, whilst Oystercatchers, Curlew and Redshank were common sights all along the beach. Among them was a lone Dunlin, likely blown in by our numerous storms. This still wasn't all of our waders however, as 11 Bar-tailed Godwits were recorded later in the week. Finally, a small flock of 4 Grey Plovers was seen past the end of Fishers Lane, but they refused to stay put for a picture!
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| Days later, and we finally got a Grey Plover photo! |
With the amount of rain we've had recently, everything is very muddy and boggy, so birds in the fields might as well be waders. As always we had our large flock of Pale-Bellied Brent geese - accompanied by their Dark-bellied cousin - who graze in the Swan Fields. This week they seemed to grow a little, with one count recording over 270 Geese (previous counts have them around 200). Pink-footed Geese can still be heard coming into roost at night, and a flock of 200 birds was counted. We even had a couple of Greylags down on the Wig, including an immature bird.
Continuing the trend of large flocks, and the gulls have been gathering in good numbers this week. Whilst Black-headed and Great Black-backed gulls appeared in regular numbers, both Common and Herring Gulls were recorded in flocks of over 150 birds. We also got some new gulls this week, not in huge numbers, but 5 Kittiwakes were very nice to see as they took shelter from the storm. They weren't the only birds taking shelter in our calmer waters though, as we had several Gannets visit the loch over the week.
Perhaps the best suited to these storms are the divers, after all, it's already very wet when you're underwater! Red-throated Diver numbers were a little low this week, peaking at 21 birds. This is probably not a reflection of the number of birds out there though, and more just our inability to see them. They weren't alone, as we also had a record of a Black-throated Diver, as well as a few Great-Northern Divers.
On the surface of the water, we had our regular complement of ducks, including Red-breasted Mergansers, Long-tailed Ducks, Eider and Goldeneye. Their numbers were a bit down from usual, but that was to be expected given the circumstances. One species who appeared unaffected was the Common Scoter, which whilst seen daily also were recorded in a flock of up to 300 birds.
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| You can tell its been raining - edge of Corsewall Estate |
As you go round the Wig, instead of turning up Fishers Lane you can continue along the beach a bit further. This takes you past a patch of marshland (now very wet thanks to all that rain) which this week had Grey Herons, and up to 60 Teal - even if they are often easier to hear than see. Further along this stretch, we had another new species for the Blog, a pair of Bullfinches! Bullfinches are rather scarce locally, and the Wig isn't their preferred habitat (woodlands - or even gardens are ideal) so they are a rare record for us. This doesn't mean they are rare bird themselves, just their natural habitat and elusive natures make them hard to spot and so they could well be under-recorded.
Following down the trail along the beach, you should eventually reach a gated path bearing left, which loops back around through the Corsewall Estate and ends up in Kirkcolm Village. There are still a few signposts to go up, but once complete this should be a nice addition to the circuit and provide some new habitats to explore. Wrapping along the edge of the woodland, it is a great spot to listen out for some birds. From across the field, you often hear the whistling of Teal, whilst in the tree's Great-spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatches are regular callers. Blue, Great and Coal Tits were all recorded here this week, as well as a Jay which was nice to see.
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| A Tree Sparrow waits in the queue |
You don't need an estate garden to be able to see a good diversity of species though. In our own garden, we've had Carrion Crows (and the Hybrid), Collared Doves, Starlings, Chaffinches, Robins, Goldfinches, Dunnocks, and at one point, over 50 House Sparrows. It's amazing what will stop to visit if you have a little food out in your birdfeeders. Indeed, it is the food that attracts our semi-regular Tree Sparrow, as we only record it after we fill up the birdfeeders! It's nice to see it still about, and perhaps if we keep feeding it, it will become a resident.
And so another week comes to a close. Whilst the wind and rain don't seem to be stopping any time soon, the good news is that February is drawing to a close. A new month will hopefully bring new weather and the promise of spring. I hope you all enjoyed this post, and we'll be back next week with another bird round-up.
(All photos and records belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them)
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