It seems like summer is really upon us now, as the unrelenting sun continued through this week and seems set to last. Whilst this can certainly be enjoyable, it can make for some hot and bothersome birdwatching, especially as around the Wig there is little shade. To top it off, the heat haze blurs the vision from our landing window, so we can't do all our birdwatching that way. Nonetheless, we've still made it out about and have plenty of interesting records this week.
It has been a rather quiet week this one, however many of the records we have had are quite unusual. First among these were a group of 10 Kittiwakes, some of which were immature birds. They like to nest on cliffs along coasts, but sadly do not breed locally. They occasionally stop by the loch however, and as this their first record within many months, they are very nice to see. Looking at our other gulls, we are still getting our usual records, including Black-headed, Herring and Greater Black-backed Gulls on a regular basis. We even had a single Lesser Black-backed Gull over at Loch Connell to complete the set.
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| A Grey Heron takes a break from fishing |
Loch Connell is a weekly survey spot for us, and whilst it has a fairly regular species list, occasionally some exciting records crop up. The Greylag Geese are still present in good numbers (and so are the goslings, up to 18 now!) however, amongst them was another new species to the blog, a Barnacle Goose! Normally they are breeding up in the Arctic circle at this time of year, so it's possible this bird is injured, or part of a small feral population that remains in Scotland year-round. Either way its an irregular record, but one we are happy to see. Rounding out the Loch Connell records, we also had a pair of Sand Martins, plenty of Mallards and 2 Grey Herons.
Whilst we might not have seen as much out on the loch, there is plenty of shade in the hedges, and so from the fields and woods, we have plenty to listen to. Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Whitethroats contend for our attention the most, with all being heard pretty regularly (including 8 Chiffchaffs in one day!). This wasn't everything though, as across the week the chorus of a Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting and a pair of Blackcaps was heard as well.
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| A Starling showing off its spectacular plumage |
The activity of many birds may have calmed down, but there are still certain species which we see almost every day, all year round. Unless it's pouring down with rain (and even sometimes when it is) you can be assured of seeing Jackdaws, Starlings and House Sparrows. I would go so far as to say that these are the most consistent species we have throughout the year. Whilst common birds to most of us, they have not always been the case, and so their records are just as important as any other. Indeed, House Sparrows are actually red-listed due to their decline in numbers, so we shall enjoy ours whilst we still have them.
Our bird records might have been low this week, but we've more than made up for them in Butterflies! Ever since the sun became our staple weather we've been seeing more and more of them on a daily basis. This week we had several species recorded, including Red Admiral and our first Painted Lady in the garden. Furthermore, we had a Small Copper and Green-veined White, and only recently we had a Wall Brown and our first Chimney Sweeper moth of the year. We have had plenty of other species in the past, and so will be eagerly keeping our eyes out for more as summer progresses.
That's another hot and blustery week wrapped up, and we fully expect next week to be much of the same. No two days are ever the same around the Wig however, and so there are bound to be yet more intriguing records to be seen in the coming days.
[All photographs were taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]
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