This last week has been extraordinarily bountiful, and despite our limited time outside we were able to see 65 species in one day, as well as 5 new species across the week! The spring influx is in full swing, and we are very lucky to live in an area where we don't have to go far to see a great variety of habitats and species.
This week I'm actually starting at Bishop Burn, a stretch of beach from Stranraer heading out towards Cairnryan. Looking out into the loch you get Wigeon and Red-breasted Mergansers, with Eider and Scaup further out. This week also had some Brent Geese, with up to 70 birds counted on Monday. The mainstay species, however, are the waders, and this week had Oystercatchers, Curlews, up to 50 Redshanks and 52 Knot. The real highlights are the Godwits though, with up to 20 Bar-tailed's and a pair of Black-tailed Godwits recorded. The later is a spring migrant, and so hopefully we'll see some up at our end of the loch soon! Special thanks to Gill Deacon for providing these records, it's great to know what is being seen in other parts of the loch, and we happily accept the records.
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| The view from Bishop Burn |
Moving back to our own shores, and there has been a flurry of bird activity this week. We officially called it spring when we had our first Wheatear, shortly followed by our first Sandwich Tern. If that wasn't enough we also had a Greenland White-fronted Goose flying overhead as well!
Speaking of geese, we retained our full complement of species this week. The Pale-bellied Brents were regularly grazing in the fields next to the shore, with the Dark-bellied Brent still among them. Meanwhile, up at Loch Connell, we had Pink-footed, Greylag, and Canada geese, as well as a flock of 84 Whooper Swans, the largest we've seen this year.
Continuing to look outside of the Wig, my daily excursions this week have been up in the woods behind Kirkcolm. It is only a short stretch of woodland (about half a mile) however, walking through and alongside it, there is a great variety of species which you can see. This week I had a lot of the regulars, including Blue Tits, Great Tits, and Chaffinches. Walking back past the cemetery there is always a regular Buzzard up in the branches, as well as plenty of Pheasants in the fields. Further up was where all the excitement was though, as I had my first pair of Nuthatches in the wood, and then a Kestral passes by overhead! And if that wasn't enough, a Red Squirrel startled me as it ran up a tree not 2 metres away from the path.
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| Sometimes they just pose perfectly for the camera! |
On the subject of Red Squirrels, we also saw 5 others over the week in the Corsewall Estate. There were also some sightings of Roe Deer, as well as the first Tree Bumblebee of the year. Finally, to wrap off the non-avians we had an Otter in Loch Connell! They often can be seen swimming from the burn into the loch, but normally you have to get up nice and early if you want to stand a chance of seeing one.
With this article already packed to the brim with exciting records and new species its probably best to finish it here. Yet somehow, amazingly, we have more interesting discoveries this week, even despite our limited outing time. More on this in a later article though, so in the meantime stay safe and enjoy your birdwatching!
[All photographs were taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]
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