Once Upon a December: Bird Report for 14/12/20 - 20/12/20

For once I'm going to start this week's post off chronologically, for on Monday we saw a nuthatch. These little birds are regular in the area but still manage to hide away in the treetops - despite all the noise that they are all-too-often making. Other small passerines (perching birds) that we have seen this week include a grey wagtail, 2 siskins, 3 greenfinches, a total of 3 redwings and approximately 1000 starlings (our highest flock so far this winter). We have had highest day-counts of 20 goldfinches, 3 rock pipits and roughly 60 twite. The latter species had better be on guard - for a male merlin was seen hunting last week.

A flock of twite

Moving onto our waterfowl and waders, the number of teal at Loch Connell increased to 274 while the pale-bellied brent goose flock at the Wig saw a highest count of 288. Our regular 3 bar-tailed godwits remained, whilst curlews saw a highest day-count of 79 and a flock over 120 pink-footed geese flew overhead. A ringed plover flock of roughly 50 blended in with the pebbles, 9 snipe made an appearance one day and later in the week we saw 5 purple sandpipers on the scar. These were certainly a nice surprise - we hadn't expected to see any more purple sandpipers after our previous bird disappeared.

This week we went out to Piltanton Burn to do our monthly WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) count, so we have even more waterfowl and waders than usual. 174 dunlins were scattered along the shoreline, along with 58 redshanks and 4 little egrets. A flock of circa 200 golden plovers wheeled overhead before disappearing into the distance - perhaps they had been put up by the kestrel that had flown by earlier. Paddling about were 6 greenshanks, 34 knots, 5 lapwings, 84 teal and over 168 wigeon. 88 shelduck were on the mudflats while in the river itself were 3 cormorants, 16 red-breasted mergansers and a shag (unusual to see swimming up the river, normally they stay out on Luce Bay). Finally, just as we were packing up to leave, 2 little grebes appeared - not a species we see there very often.

Continuing on from Piltanton, we decide to do a loop around West Freugh before heading towards Soulseat Loch. On the prowl for geese, we stopped to scan a flock of greylags and found behind them a flock of Greenland white-fronted geese. These lovely geese are always a delight to see - they rarely make their way to the Wig or Loch Connell. Given that they were half hidden behind a hedge, we moved on and round the corner we were able to get better views. As a bonus - just a few fields over was another flock of Greenland white-fronts! This was obviously the spot to be at that day, for along with the two flocks of white-fronts (42 and 46 birds) a ringtail hen harrier was hunting above the fields - and it proceeded to put up a merlin who had also been trying to hunt in the same area. Yellowhammers flew up and down the hedges and further up a bullfinch and a magpie were perched in a tree.

Distant flock of Greenland white-fronted geese

After all that excitement, the light was beginning to fade when we got to Soulseat. Despite this, we were still able to count 3 cormorants, a coot, 17 goldeneyes (more than our highest day-count on Loch Ryan this week), 1 little grebe, 7 tufted ducks and 121 teals. There were also approximately 20 mallards, over 300 wigeon and a flock of greylag geese - unfortunately more accurate counts were interrupted by a low-flying aeroplane. Whilst not a bird, it was nonetheless very nice to see an otter sploshing about on the far side of Soulseat Loch.

It was a very exciting day out and appears to have stolen most of the show for this blog post! Fret not, all of our regular species are still present at the Wig and (the benefit of writing these posts a week late) I can assure you that there are some brilliant surprises to come next week...

[All photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

A Virtual Wander Round the Wig

In this blog post I hope to give you a better feel for what it is really like to "wander around the Wig". We'll be taking a virtual tour around the Wig, following the route I normally take. This post will heavily feature photographs, showing what the landscape and habitats around the Wig are like. The photos will show the Wig at all times of the year and I'll highlight what species you might look out for at each area.

Sunrise over the Wig, from my house.

I generally head for the Wig car park first, from here you have great views over all of Wig Bay and further out onto Loch Ryan. Looking out to the right you can see Marian Jetty, while the Scar is to the left. The car park is a great place to scan for seabirds: cormorants and shags, auks, divers, grebes and sea-ducks.

At the Wig car park, looking towards Marian Jetty at low and high tide (spot the ringed plovers!).

At low tide, a stretch of seaweed, sand, shingle and mud is exposed, proving popular with feeding waders. In the winter, species such as wigeon, brent geese and shelduck also can be found feeding on this area.

At the Wig car park, looking towards the Scar and Cairnryan.

Again looking towards the Scar but from further up the Wig track
(photo by my phone, hence the poorer quality!).

From the car park, a track follows the beach up to the Scar Hut (an observation post from World War II). Along here you can not only keep an eye on the shore to your right but also view the fields to your left. These fields may hold a range of species throughout the year, from swans and geese to waders, linnets and twite.

Mute swans in the fields.

We have given the different fields names to help us record birds in specific areas: towards Kirkcolm are the swan fields, next the Wig track are the twite fields and the field that frequently floods to form a soggy pool in winter is the flash field.

The winter 'flash' field... being enjoyed by brent geese and oystercatchers.

Once you get to the Scar Hut it is another great place to stop for a look. From here you can see out over the Scar and also towards the mouth of Loch Ryan and Ailsa Craig. Eiders can be seen hauled out on the Scar at any time of year and wader flocks and gull flocks sometimes gather there to roost. In the summer, terns may be seen bouncing by overhead and gannets soar by on their way to Ailsa Craig. Skylarks, ringed plovers and oystercatchers all breed here, so please don't walk out onto this area.

A flock of knot come in to land on the Scar, where brent geese, cormorants, shags, wigeon and a common gull are already resting.

Ailsa Craig, with Arran in the background.

From the Scar Hut, you may head straight back to the car park, however, there is a circular route around the Wig. As you head north along the path, in summer you can hear the sounds of whitethroats, stonechats, blackbirds and many other species singing away from the vegetation.

At the Scar Hut area, looking towards Corsewall Estate and the mouth of Loch Ryan. The sea radish along here looks gorgeous in the summer.

As you continue along the path, it meanders away from the shore slightly, opening out into a more grassy area. To the left is another field that floods in the winter: we've dubbed it the pool field (yes, I know, we're not a very inventive bunch!), which may be home to curlews, teal or a heron.

The grassland area in summer with eggs-and-bacon (common bird's foot trefoil) flowers in bloom. At the back of the right-hand picture you can see our only local patch of marram grass - a species more typically indicative of sand dunes (presumably an indicator of historic sand dunes in the area).

The pool field with a dusting of snow.

Just a little bit further along and Corsewall Burn meets Loch Ryan. We have given this area two names: Fisher's Lane outlet (the side meeting the loch) and Fisher's Lane pool (on the other side of the path). Often bereft of birdlife, it is nevertheless always a good idea to stop and look because we have had records of dipper, kingfisher, snipe, common sandpiper, water rail and more!

Fisher's Lane outlet at low tide.

Fisher's Lane pool.

Now we are coming onto the final stretch of our tour. There is a path that you can take that heads past the marsh (see our separate blog post on the marsh: A Smorgasbord of Surprise: The Marshes) and leads into a circular route through the woods of Corsewall Estate. However, I most often head back through a shorter stretch of woods leading onto Fisher's Lane and the bottom of Kirkcolm village by the school. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for roving tit flocks, treecreepers and goldcrests flitting in the treetops ahead. Once out of the woods, it's a short walk back along Fisher's Lane and a left turn to head back to the Wig car park. 

The woods by Tunnock's bridge look stunning in the spring when they are carpeted with bluebells.

That concludes our virtual tour of the Wig - I hope that you enjoyed it! At the very least, it's something a little different from our regular posts.

[Unless otherwise stated, all photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover - please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

Dark December Days: Bird Report for 07/12/20 - 13/12/20

It has been a bit dull and dark this week - winter is definitely on its way. We have seen some comparatively low counts this week and have finally broken our streak of seeing new species. However, this just makes us appreciate what we have seen all the more. We haven't been able to count the brent goose flock every day (we didn't see any brents one day) and our highest count was a comparatively low 161 birds. A single pink-footed goose was looking rather lonely sitting out on the scar and a single mallard was also present at the wig. We saw a flock of 5 adult whooper swans and mute swans also made it back onto out list this week (a flock of 6 individuals).

Small numbers of scaup were also present at the wig: first 2, then 4 and then back down to 2 again. We only ever see low numbers of scaup in wig bay itself - the main flock prefers to loaf around and feed at the other end of the loch. Great crested grebes also must have been hiding elsewhere this week, for we only saw a total of 5 individuals. Slavonian grebes, however, were still showing well with a highest day-count of 31. We also saw 2 razorbills, 2 different black-throated divers, 17 red-throated divers and a total of 6 great northern divers (although 4 of these were on the same day). On the diving duck front, we had highest day-counts of 22 red-breasted mergansers, 111 common scoters, 12 long-tailed ducks and 16 goldeneyes.

A female scaup

Another goldeneye was seen at Loch Connell, alongside a male and a female tufted duck and over 240 teal. The geese in the fields around Loch Connell numbered over 160 Canada geese, over 40 greylag geese and 1 pink-footed goose mixed in amongst them. Two herons were seen fishing and last week's moorhen and adult Mediterranean gull were both also still present at this small freshwater loch. The Mediterranean gull has almost become a regular there, perhaps it will spend the whole winter in this location.

Back at the wig, our regular gull species of black-headed, common and great black-backed gulls all made frequent appearances and we made a count of approximately 200 herring gulls. Waders often mingle amongst the gulls on the scar and the highlight this week was 46 golden plovers, which we were only able to see because they were frightened into flying by a peregrine. Raptors certainly have their uses in putting up well camouflaged birds! Other raptors seen this week include a sparrowhawk and a buzzard.

A brief flyover from a sparrowhawk

As you walk around the wig, it is always a good idea to keep looking to the fields and woods, not just at the shore and the loch. This way you can see many more species that are unlikely to be sitting on the beach. This week we saw 3 meadow pipits, 22 skylarks (all in 1 day) and 2 fieldfares. An increase on last week, we saw 8 siskins and although we only saw 1 redwing we heard others flying over at night.

I'll finish off this bog post in the same place that all of my outings finish: my house. Our garden has again been performing well, with over 50 house sparrows cheeping away from the hedge and a single goldcrest (not particularly common in our garden) braving a rainy day to search for insects. Over 800 starlings were wheeling through the skies and - on a different day - a total of 734 were perched on the electricity wires.

It just goes to show that you can see birds anywhere; you just have to keep looking.

[All photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

A Splash of Purple: Bird Report for 30/11/20 - 06/12/20

We may now be in the last month of the year but by no means does this mean that there are less birds to see. During the winter months, gulls come together to form large mixed-species flocks. Especially large flocks form when the gulls come together to roost in the evening and while we haven't counted any particularly big flocks of late we did see over 300 common gulls one day. In amongst these were 3 adult great black-backed gulls and 1 adult lesser black-backed gull. Lesser black-backed gulls typically winter further south, so this one either came back early or hasn't left - perhaps preferring to spend the winter here with us.

Gulls were also a prominent sight at Loch Connell this week, with over 170 black-headed gulls and an adult Mediterranean gull being counted. Despite 20% of Loch Connell being covered with ice this week's visit still produced some good counts. In the surrounding fields 79 curlews, 34 lapwings and over 200 and 530 Canada and greylag geese (respectively) were feeding. A little grebe and 16 goosanders were diving in the loch itself, while an elusive moorhen crept around the outside. Scattered around the loch were 28 mallards and 108 wigeon (more wigeon than were present at the wig this week). Two whooper swans - an adult and a juvenile - were seen (I wonder what happened to the rest of their family?). Teal numbers remained fairly constant, with 144 individuals being seen this week.

However, Loch Connell was not the only place that we saw teal this week; 4 birds were sighted at the scar. The number of shelducks at the scar and wig increased to 10 and the flock of pale-bellied brent geese went back up in number to 256 (36 of which were juvenile birds). Other waterfowl seen include a flock of approximately 100 pink-footed geese and yet another small flock of teal (34 birds) - this time paddling about on a pool in the marsh.

Purple sandpiper at the wig.

The marsh also provided views of a grey heron and 6 snipe. It was nice to be able to add the secretive snipe to our wader list this week, for it's been quite a good week for waders at the wig. We had highest day-counts of 238 oystercatchers, 16 redshank, 52 turnstones, 66 curlews and 4 bar-tailed godwits (the highest number of bar-tails we've seen in a single day this winter). Other slightly less regular species included 6 grey plovers, 3 golden plovers, a dunlin, 40 ringed plovers and a single knot was seen twice (although it may not have been the same bird). That's still not the wader list finished (…drumroll...)! It was a surprise to find a purple sandpiper at the wig this week. These lovely waders prefer rockier habitats and so we don't often see them at the wig. Fortunately, this individual showed off for the camera and even hung around for another day for us to enjoy it. Our final wader, seen on the same two days as the purple sandpiper, is equally exciting: another American golden plover. I say 'another' but given that it is also a first-winter bird it is very likely to be the same individual. A pleasure to see, nevertheless!

This brings us onto our 'sea-going' species. A single black-throated diver was again seen twice during the week and highest counts of eiders were approximately 200. We saw highest day-counts of 16 Slavonian grebes, 34 shags, 8 cormorants and 12 black guillemots. Many of the shags and cormorants are already in full breeding plumage and one black guillemot was well on it's way to being the same - looking noticeable darker all over than its winter plumage counterparts. Only small numbers of great crested grebes were seen this week (highest day-count of 6) but the number of long-tailed ducks is still increasing. We've seen a high of 21 long-tailed ducks so far and most of these have been adult male birds.

A winter plumage black guillemot that was fishing off Marian jetty.

Back at the shore, we had a highest count of 5 rock pipits this week. 6 linnets were spotted and the twite flock stood at approximately 80 individuals, providing plenty of potential targets for the peregrine and male sparrowhawk that were seen during the week. Another water-loving species was seen at Fisher's Lane pool: a second dipper. It would be interesting to know whether this is the same bird as last week or not.

Continuing on into the woods, a great spotted woodpecker and a mistle thrush were seen twice during the week. Other counts saw 3 nuthatches, 3 song thrushes, 2 redwings, 1 grey wagtail and over 70 woodpigeons. It was very nice to see a siskin and two bullfinches - two species that are not particularly regular for us (especially bullfinches). Perhaps bullfinches are under-recorded due to their quiet and unobtrusive behaviour - we shall just have to keep our eyes peeled.

That about wraps it up for this week and just in time too - a patch of blue sky has just miraculously appeared through the rain! Time for one last look for birds before the sun sets...

[All photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

Dabbling and Dipping: Bird Report for 23/11/20 - 29/11/20

Last week saw some rain but it soon became clear (if cold!) skies - perfect for birding. We finally broke our recent trend of seeing a new species per week - by seeing two new species instead of one! More on those later...

Let's start by considering some of our commoner species. Typical 'garden species', we expect to see these birds every day and so I often neglect to give them a mention. We see good number of corvids - jackdaws and rooks especially. Carrion crows are also regulars, both in our garden and on the beach. We have two hybrid (carrion x hooded) crows that visit our garden and this week we also saw a different hybrid individual (distinguished by its different markings) strutting about on the beach. We also see a pair of ravens fairly often, or at least hear their cronking calls.

House sparrows, starlings and feral pigeons are present in abundance. We had a largest flock of 14 collared doves this week and robins, wrens, dunnocks and blackbirds are also frequently encountered. The other thrushes are less common for us, for example we only saw a song thrush twice this week. Great tits, blue tits and coal tits do regularly visit our garden but only ever in small numbers. We see more of these species in roving tit flocks in the woods, sometimes accompanied by other species (this week we saw goldcrests and treecreepers). On the finch front, chaffinches are a staple species but goldfinches and greenfinches are much less common - we often only see the species down at the wig (flock of 10 greenfinches this week).

Male blackbird in the garden

Around the wig we see many such small passerines (perching birds). This week saw highest day-counts of 2 meadow pipits, 5 pied wagtails and 2 rock pipits. The twite flock is still feeding in the fields, if in smaller numbers than when they were first arriving (roughly 40 birds this week). Stonechats are also seen almost every time we go around the wig - we saw 3 pairs this week. Pairs of stonechats tend to stay together over the winter, so these birds will likely have bred together during the summer.

We had a highest day-count of 55 turnstones running along the shoreline and we saw a total of 10 grey plovers. Lording over the waders, two graceful herons were feeding in the shallows. However, out on the water of wig bay saw some of the most exciting species this week. First and foremost amongst these, was one of our new species for the week: a gadwall. These dabbling ducks are annual locally but are hardly usual, so it was very nice to see this male duck paddling about near some wigeon. Also not common at the wig was a redhead goosander and a little grebe (we more often see these species at Loch Connell). More typical species: the wig's local pale-bellied brent goose flock saw a highest day-count of 182 birds (a little down from last week) and there were 8 shelducks present.

Further out on Loch Ryan was a whole host of other species and we were not the only birders out enjoying them. Gill Deacon went to Marian jetty and had some very nice views of a velvet scoter - it's nice when you can actually see them close to rather than as distant blobs! It's been a good week for velvet scoter sightings: we saw a male, an immature bird and then a male and a female together (across 3 different days). In amongst the goldeneyes and long-tailed ducks (highest day-counts of 16 and 14, respectively), Gill also had some nice views of a great northern diver catching and eating a flatfish. It's been another good week for great northern divers (highest day count of 8) but we certainly never saw one with a flatfish. That must have been brilliant to watch - you'd think that it would catch something a little easier to swallow!

Winter-plumaged great northern diver

Also out on the loch this week were up to 14 cormorants and 168 common scoters. We counted 140+ eiders and saw one red-necked grebe. Single razorbills were seen twice during the week, as was a black-throated diver. We have also seen good numbers of scaup. While only 3 individuals were at the wig, over 320 scaup were present off Innermessan and the next day saw 127 birds off Low Balyett (although perhaps these were some of the same individuals - the scaup flock is rather mobile).

Finally, that just leaves us with a couple of species that came in at the end of their respective day lists (one is of course the second new species for this blog that you have been waiting patiently for!). Failing light at the end of the day meant that a quick look at Fisher's Lane pool revealed only a podgy silhouette. I was quite surprised when, after raising my binoculars, I was confronted with a dipper. Whilst familiar to many on their regular haunts, in the winter dippers disperse out to any available feeding areas and this is when we might see one locally for a short time. While I don't expect it to hang about, it was certainly a very nice way to end the day.

Last but not least, this post's final species was heard but not seen. A familiar hooting sound to many, a male tawny owl has begun to call once again. As the winter goes on it will probably be heard calling more and more often as it begins to establish its territory in preparation for spring - we'll keep you posted!

Dipper at Fisher's Lane pool in low light conditions

[All photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

Not Too Early for Snow! Bird Report for 16/11/20 - 22/11/20

Perhaps this week's title should instead be 'Not Too Early 4 Snow' - given that this is the fourth week in a row that we have seen a new species for the blog! For those of you who may have been thinking that we haven't had any snow yet, you are right. Now you may well have already figured out this week's new species: snow buntings. These charming finches may breed further north in the Cairngorms but when the weather gets colder they, along with continental birds, come south to spend the winter along the coast. We saw 3 snow buntings on the beach this week, hopping about looking for food before they realised that there was nothing tasty to be had here and flew off again.

Our other passerine species have been varied in number this week, ranging from as little as a single linnet to a flock of over 600 starlings. Redwings and fieldfares have only been in small numbers, with 4 of the former and 13 of the latter being seen throughout the course of the week. We tend to get larger numbers when the birds are moving through on passage - only a relatively small number winter locally. The mistle thrush that we have seen multiple times is quite likely to be the same bird here to spend the winter, given that it always appears in the same general area just before the woods.

A snow bunting on the beach - gorgeous little birds

Also spotted (or heard, anyway!) near the woods was a great spotted woodpecker. The woodpecker, 3 alarming pheasants and one startled snipe all called suddenly - there must have been a predator nearby but it did not show itself. On the subject of predators, we have done quite well for raptors recently. A peregrine and a sparrowhawk were both sighted at the beginning of the week. A solitary buzzard put in an appearance a few time through the week and a female merlin was seen at the end of the week.

Moving onto waterfowl, mute swans continued to drop in number - we didn't see any at all on Sunday. We did, however, have a flock of 15 whooper swans one day. 3 shelducks and a single female scaup came to pay the wig a visit this week. Our highest day-count of pale-bellied brent geese stood at 225, with a dark-bellied individual amongst them. Interestingly, the brent geese have already started grazing in the fields alongside the wig track. In previous years, the brent flock didn't take to these fields until after Christmas-time. Our other regular flock - wigeon - is also still going strong at a weekly high of 214 birds.

Wigeon were also seen at Loch Connell this week (a total of 80). Visits at both ends of the week saw some good numbers coming from this small freshwater loch. 2 adult Mediterranean gulls were in amongst the other regular gull species in the abuttal fields. On the loch itself, the main species were ducks, with 126 teal, 4 'redhead' (females or young males) goosander, 11 mallards and 4 female-type tufted ducks (our fist tufted duck on Loch Connell this winter). Flocks of approximately 30 greylag geese and 170 Canada geese were seen on both visits, quite probably involving the same birds. Not to be outdone, a flock of 99 lapwings was also seen at Loch Connell (the one hundredth individual was sought for but not found!).

A further 176 lapwings were feeding in the fields on the way to Loch Connell. On the wader front, however, the wig far outshone Loch Connell. We had highest day-counts of 3 bar-tailed godwits, 6 dunlin, 30 ringed plovers, 210 oystercatchers, 53 curlews and 56 turnstones. Particularly good counts for the wig this year included over 70 knot and roughly 600 golden plovers.

A male red-breasted merganser

Our number of lapwings was far eclipsed by those seen by Gill Deacon at the West Freugh. In the same area as a flock of 100 pink-footed geese, was a field full of lapwings - up to 500 in number! Also at West Freugh, Gill saw some whooper swans: flocks of 9 adults with 2 juveniles and then 10 adults with 3 juveniles. It is always good to record the number of juveniles present in whooper swan flocks because it gives an indication of how good the breeding season was. Gill also went to Marian jetty and managed to get some nice views of close-in great northern divers.

We have also had some quite nice sightings out on Loch Ryan itself this week. A single gannet flew past and a flock of 135 black-headed gulls were paddling about together before coming in to roost. A red-necked grebe was amongst the great crested and Slavonian grebes (highest day-count of 25) and the same day also saw a black-throated diver. A male velvet scoter was spotted amongst the flocks of common scoters (highest day-count of 162). We also had highest day-counts of 28 black guillemots, 10 long-tailed ducks and 84 red-breasted mergansers. The long-tailed ducks are still mostly males and they don't all get on with each other - a fight broke out this week with much flapping and pecking involved! The male mergansers were also competing, if in a different manner. 16 males were in a group displaying to a single female, who didn't look very impressed.

Finally, I'll finish off by mentioning a species that is not a definite record but still very interesting. A late afternoon scan revealed two possible king eiders flying past (likely an immature male and a female). Unfortunately, due to the distance, fading light conditions and the short period of time they were seen, it wasn't possible to be fully certain that these were king eiders. They did appear to show a small-billed profile (lacking the wedge-shaped head of a common eider) but the birds were not seen again, so we'll have to leave them as "the ones that got away". It just goes to show that you should never stop looking.

[All photographs are taken by and belong Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

Strike Three! Bird Report for 09/11/20 - 15/11/20

Yet another week with more than its fair share of unfavourable weather but yet another new species for this blog. The week started off with a trip to Marian jetty - just a little further up from the Wig car park it can offer good views of birds out on the loch, especially if the tide is in. This week there were not only birds to be seen, for an otter was fishing close in by the jetty. A nice surprise it was to see, this aquatic mammal was nevertheless eclipsed by our new species for the blog: a white-billed diver. In its winter plumage, this large bird is very similar to the great northern diver, yet it is far more uncommonly sighted, being in general a more northerly species.

Other diving birds include a highest day-count of 5 long-tailed ducks. We are mostly seeing males of this smart-looking duck at the moment. Our highest count of shags this week was 70. Opposite to this, our cormorant sightings were down this week, with only a highest count of 6. Whilst not a diving bird, it was very nice to see an adult lesser black-backed gull this last week. This species migrates south at this time of year, spending the winter in warmer countries such as Portugal (lucky for some!).

A skein of greylag geese

Mute swans have steadily decreased in number - starting off with 68 birds until there were only 27 at the end of the week. It is likely that these birds have moved off to areas with more food available. To make up for it we saw a flock of 35 greylag geese. The pale-bellied brent goose flock was also performing well. One day saw a single flock of 396 - a smashing number to be in a single flock!

Moving on to our waders, our regular curlews and oystercatchers were seen daily and we had counts of 44 ringed plovers, 58 turnstones and roughly 70 golden plovers. In amongst these, we also had some more unusual birds present. A single sanderling was spotted running alongside the waves and we also had a single whimbrel this week. We only see whimbrel on passage (and more in the spring than autumn), so to see one in November is fairly unusual for us.

Pale-bellied brent geese

It's not all about our coastal species, however, and it is always just as fun to scan through flocks of 'little brown jobs'. We only saw greenfinches once this week (a flock of 10 along the wig track). This flock seems to have decreased in number in recent weeks. The same day was also the only day of the week that we saw any fieldfares - a flock of 26. A total of 5 meadow pipits throughout the week was outshined by the number of rock pipits (we saw 5 in one day alone). A single song thrush was seen and a grey wagtail was present near the cemetery. Despite the seeming lack of food (only circa 20 twite seen this week), a male merlin was still seen hunting.

Once again it was time for our monthly WeBS count, so we also have some records from Piltanton this week. It was nice to be able to see species that we don't often see at the wig, including 3 greenshanks and 6 little egrets. 4 mallards, 200 wigeon and 25 shelduck far outshone the numbers of these ducks that we saw at the wig this wig. It was also great to be able to see 127 dunlin, having seen only small numbers of this wader this autumn. 2 stonechats, a linnet and 14 pied wagtails fed along the beach at Piltanton and everything shot up alarming when a male hen harrier flew over, shortly followed by a peregrine. My first hen harrier of this winter - brilliant!

Whether we are finding new birds for the winter or counting up flocks of our regular species, there is always more birding to be done!

[All photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

A Great New Species: Bird Report for 02/11/12 - 08/11/12

Despite the autumnal weather, we have had a great week for birds. One day saw a species total of 69 (it just goes to show that it doesn't have to be in the peak migration times for us to see lots of species in a day!) and another day recorded yet another new species for this blog. In amongst the scattered records of grey herons this week (up to 3 one day) stood another heron species. It was big and white - yes, it was a great white egret! It is perhaps surprising that this is our first record of this species, given their advance further north. The bird was only seen once before disappearing into the rain, however, another birder sighted a great white egret later in the week at Piltanton burn, alongside 6 little egrets. This could well be the same bird and it may well be the bird that has been around Wigtown harbour in recent weeks.

Onto a smaller but nonetheless long-legged group of birds: the waders. A single grey plover was seen this week and a flock of approximately 50 knot was seen at the beginning of the week. Our highest day-counts of the week stand at 83 curlews, 2 bar-tailed godwits, 228 oystercatchers and 30 lapwings (although the latter were at Loch Connell). With all these delicacies running about it was no surprise that a peregrine made an appearance twice during the week, as well as a male sparrowhawk.

An elegant grey heron

Paddling about close to shore, our highest count of wigeon this week was 288 birds. The pale-bellied brent goose flock reached a high of 245 (although no dark-bellies) and the number of mute swans scattered about the loch remained stable in the low 50s. A flock of 20 whooper swans flew over and a different flock of 18, with three of them juveniles, was seen at West Freugh by Gill Deacon. Gill also saw a couple of shelduck amongst all of the usual suspects at Bishop burn.

Waterbirds further out on the loch included highest day-counts of 168 common scoter, 19 goldeneye, 13 great northern divers (a high count for Loch Ryan), 70 red-breasted mergansers and 41 Slavonian grebes. Our highest daily count (at our end of the loch anyway) of great crested grebes was only 26 this week but these were joined by 2 red-necked grebes. 2 male velvet scoters were seen on the same day and another individual was seen later on in the week. A total of 5 razorbills were also seen throughout the week. Both razorbills and guillemots often feed out on the open sea during the winter months and the auk that we tend to see most often in the winter is the black guillemot, with our highest day-count for this week being 18. It is interesting to see the amount of natural variation that is present in the winter plumage of this auk - with birds varying between quite dark and startlingly white.

Black guillemot - or 'tystie' - in winter plumage

Another species that shows lots of individual variation is the redwing and we saw a new high (for this winter) of over 80 birds in a day this week. We also had counts of 7 mistle thrushes (high for us!), 10 pied wagtails and over 600 starlings. Whilst not a high count, it was nice to see a late swallow on the 5th. Not a bird but also rather late, this week saw a fox moth caterpillar wriggling about despite the chill in the air.

So while we still had a summer migrant, we also had some new winter ones as well. 3 bramblings flying over our garden were our first records for this winter and were complimented by another individual in the woods later in the week. Continuing around the woods, we also saw 10 goldcrests, a female great spotted woodpecker, a nuthatch, a raven and 3 treecreepers. I don't normally see 3 treecreepers in one day and it was lovely to get the opportunity to view these elusive birds so well.

All in all, it's been great week - I just hope that the weather picks up again soon so that I can go out again!

[All photographs were taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

Blow Winds Blow: Bird Report for 26/10/20 - 01/11/20

Starting off this last week chronologically, on Monday the white-winged black tern was still present. It hasn't been seen since, so hopefully it is now well on its way towards Africa. An adult winter-plumage Mediterranean gull visited the wig once this week and the highest day-count of black-headed gulls reached 90. Gulls weren't the only species standing round in large flocks and this week we had high counts of 54 and 58 shags at the scar and Cairnryan pier, respectively. Shags and cormorants are always easier to count when they are sitting together, rather than when they are out fishing on their own all around the loch.

Many other species clearly were fishing because we saw a good selection of diving birds last week. While we didn't see a huge amount of red-throated divers (highest day count of 12), these were complimented by 2 black-throated divers early in the week. On top of this, the number of great northern divers around the loch has risen to 3 - all looking extremely smart because they are still in their breeding plumage. Poor visibility this week has resulted in us seeing smaller numbers of birds at our end of the loch this week. However, Slavonian grebes and black guillemots are still scattered around the loch, with our highest counts being 8 tysties and 10 Slav. grebes. Alongside our regular quota of diving ducks (eider, red-breasted merganser and common scoter), this week we also saw 9 goldeneyes, 3 long-tailed ducks and a female-type velvet scoter. There is quite likely to be a small number of velvet scoter present on the loch at any one given point but we just don't see them every day.

A teal paddles about on a glassy surface

On the shore, we saw a nice variety of waders this last week. A single snipe called as it lifted up and headed to the marsh to roost. Once in the marsh, these brilliantly camouflaged waders become near-impossible to see. Other single counts include one lapwing at the wig and also a sanderling. Somewhat larger counts include 15 redshank, 47 turnstones and 34 ringed plovers. 28 golden plovers were seen at the start of the week and later in the week were replaced by a juvenile American golden plover. Although they are a scarce vagrant, we see American golden plovers on an almost annual basis. It was still lovely to see and is a new species for this blog no less! Perhaps it was blown in by the gusty weather we've been seeing this past week - or maybe it just couldn't bear the thought of hanging around for the election results.

Also by the shore, our pale-bellied brent goose flock stood at 192 birds this week, 20 of which were juveniles. In amongst this feisty gaggle were 2 dark-bellies - they must have heard me saying that we hadn't seen them for a while! Our other geese were mostly seen at Loch Connell - with 84 Canada geese and 76 greylag geese present on Saturday. The number of teal at Loch Connell now stands at 168 individuals.

Redwing feathers: not quite your typical view of this bird!

It has been harder to spot small passerines (perching birds) this week, due to the blowy weather. You don't quite realise how much you rely on your ears to pick out various bird calls until you are unable to hear anything but the sound of wind roaring down your ears! Nonetheless, we gave it our best effort. The greenfinch flock along the wig track had a highest count of 18 birds this last week, while the highest day-count of twite came at the end of the week, with 250 birds being counted. The fields along the wig track also gave rise to 7 skylarks, 8 meadow pipits and 2 linnets.

A number of walks through the woods yielded some rewarding results, with long-tailed tits, at least 5 goldcrests (so often seen but not heard!), 2 treecreepers, 3 buzzards, a nuthatch, a grey wagtail and a female sparrowhawk. A second sparrowhawk was seen later in the week; bearing down on a small flock of fieldfares that had freshly flown in from the sea. One less fieldfare left the bush than had flown into it and yet the sparrowhawk left with empty talons - make of that what you will! It was a good week for thrushes, with highest day-counts of 6 mistle thrushes and approximately 130 fieldfares. Given that it is quite likely that all of the fieldfares we are seeing at the moment are different individuals on migration, we may well have seen over 270 different fieldfares last week. We typically see redwings in smaller flocks, so it was nice to see 43 birds in one day. One flock of six dropped to five individuals - this mystery was solved by the presence of freshly plucked feathers in the woods (see photo above)!

Although this leaves me with one less bird to watch next week there are enough to go around and I can't begrudge a sparrowhawk a meal!

[All pictures and photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

Birding the Town Part 2: Places to Bird-watch in Stranraer

In the 'Birding the town part 1', we looked at how there may be more bird life in urban areas than you think. In this second article, I shall cover some of what I consider to be the best locations for bird-watching in Stranraer (my local town) and what birds you are likely to see at each site. Without further ado, let's dive right in.

Broadstones

A car park off Broadstones Road, this is the perfect place to start. Affording a nice view out over the loch, you can see all manner of the loch regulars, from divers and grebes to eiders and scoters. A flock of red-breasted mergansers can often be seen loafing around near the golf course and when the tide is out ringed plovers, dunlins and turnstones scuttle along the beach. Turning inland, the grassy stretches alongside see the expected woodpigeons and gulls, the latter often 'tapdancing' on the grass to tempt worms to the surface. However, you may also see more unusual species there - such as a flock of brent geese in the winter.

Brent geese off on a shopping trip into town!

Agnew Park

No town is complete without the traditional 'village pond' and for Stranraer, this is Agnew Park. To go to Agnew Park and not see any mallards is almost unthinkable. In amongst these, there may well be one or two 'farmyard duck' hybrids, often told by their extensive white markings. If the little island is empty of people then gulls often come down to rest there. Perhaps the most famous residents of Agnew Park are its pair of swans, who often raise large broods of cygnets. Yet you may be surprised what else may turn up to visit - with both goldeneye and tufted duck having been seen paddling about.

Do you think this swan knows that the inn was named after its species?

Stranraer Harbour and Port Rodie

At high tide, the harbour can provide nice close views of our sea-going species. Taking advantage of the calmer waters of the harbour, shags, cormorants, razorbills and guillemots come right in close to feed. At low tide, the revealed mud attracts waders. It is not uncommon to see redshank and curlew in the harbour but you may also see bar- and black-tailed godwits feeding there. In the winter larger numbers of pied wagtails often gather near the harbour at dusk. I felt sure that they must roost nearby but when I stayed to watch the entire flock suddenly lifted off and flew straight into the town! The rail along the harbour front also sees black-headed gulls perched on it and it is worth checking to see if any of these are wearing colour rings.

One of many black-headed gulls that love perching on these rails.

Port Rodie car park (opposite Tesco) also provides a view into the harbour. However, the best part about Port Rodie is the gull flock on the abandoned Stena land that can be viewed from there. At high tide, the gulls gather in larger numbers and it can be great fun scanning through the flock to see what is present. During the autumn, you stand a good chance of seeing a Mediterranean gull. You just never know what could be there, so keep your eyes peeled for Iceland gulls and continental herring gulls (L. a. argentatus).

An adult winter-plumage Mediterranean gull amongst black-headed gulls.

The Railway Station

I myself didn't discover the birding potential of the railway pier until a few years ago. Alongside the railway wall, large numbers of oystercatchers and redshank can be seen at high tide. The pier itself affords a view out over most of the loch, including down towards Bishop burn (which can't really be seen as well from Broadstones). Down this way, the winter often sees the scaup flock bobbing up and down in the waves. A black redstart was also once recorded there. However, it is the summer that is better for the railway pier. Oystercatchers and rock pipits breed around and on the buildings. You can also see the gull colony on the Stena pier from the railway. Gannets and terns may pass by and dive down right in front of you. The bird that I most associate with the railway pier is the black guillemot - or tystie. These breed in holes along the pier walls and show spectacular views throughout the summer.

A black guillemot perched near the railway station.

Bishop Burn

Right on the far edge of town, the Bishop burn is a small stream that runs into the loch. This area of shore attracts many different species to it. At low tide you may see many different species of wader, including knot, sanderlings, redshank, turnstones and the occasional flock of golden plovers. The exposed mud also sees flocks of wigeon and brent geese in the winter. Also in the winter, a high tide may see part of the wintering mute swan flock present of it may draw the scaup flock in closer to shore. The freshwater of the burn itself attracts different species to it. Grey wagtails are common and even a kingfisher and dippers have shown up before. Mallards splosh about in the stream and other ducks such as shoveler and pintail are more often see around this area than other parts of the loch.

The view from Bishop burn with swans flying by.

That briefly sums up some of my favourite places to go birding in Stranraer. It is perhaps not surprising that most of these sites are along the sea front, where you an look out over the loch. Better still, they are near enough in a straight line, so you can head from one end to the other in one trip. Do you have any different favourite places to go birding in Stranraer?

[All photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]

Fall Rainfall: Bird Report for 19/10/20 - 25/10/20

It seems like the weather has finally realised that it is autumn, for this last week has seen some heavy rain showers and strong gusts of wind. Despite this, we've still managed to get out and about and see lots of brilliant birds. We started off the week with a single swallow. This may well be the last of this species we see until next year and, given the weather it was facing, who can blame it really! Hopefully the poor bird manages to dry out when it reaches Africa!

The wet weather has resulted in many pools forming in some of the fields along the wig (which, for this reason, we call them the pool fields!) and these have been put to good use, with a flock over 200 common gulls roosting there while 17 curlews and a bar-tailed godwit fed around them. Other waders seen this week include counts of 2 dunlins, 192 golden plovers, 6 grey plovers, 10 knot, approximately 94 ringed plovers and 148 oystercatchers.

A Slavonian grebe

Loch Connell also sported some waders, with a total of 58 lapwing being seen. Also at Loch Connell there were 2 Canada geese, 2 cormorants, 145 teals and 2 herons. A further 2 herons were seen at the marsh on the same day. The marsh was providing twos that day, for two reed bunting also were flitting about the vegetation. Whilst not at Loch Connell, the goosander that flew over our house had no doubt come from there. It made for a nice garden record anyway!

At the mention of gardens, many of our 'common' species have been showing well this week. 3 dunnocks were present in our garden while a neighbour had a single flock of 19 collared doves and the field beyond our gardens sported 44 goldfinches. A single buzzard has been seen around the woods this week - it is likely that there are more of these majestic raptors about but they are less vocal than in the summer. A roosting flock of jackdaws numbered over 100 birds and, sticking with corvids, a flock of 10 carrion crows was at the Fisher's Lane outlet (carrion crows tend to be found singly or in small flocks). A different carrion crow was seen along the beach, differentiated by a pure white spot on its breast. Over 70 woodpigeons were seen feeding in a stubble field. This time of year is best for movements of woodpigeons and the flock of 75 that was flying south west earlier in the week were likely migrants heading for winter pastures.

Other winter migrants are of course our thrushes. We've seen 14 fieldfares, a mistle thrush and 2 song thrushes over the course of this week. Another migrant, a late wheatear, was seen on the beach. This leads us nicely into little brown jobs: 2 linnets were seen this week ,compared to the highest day-count of roughly 110 twite. 3 rock pipits were outnumbered by 7 meadow pipits and 26 skylarks were present in a single day (including a flock of 20 birds). The number of wintering skylarks has been very few in recent years but perhaps this is a sign that they are on the increase again. With all these tasty morsel about, it's no surprise that raptors would be too and this week we saw a peregrine and a merlin.

A first-winter wheatear

A day later, Gill Deacon was luck enough to see another merlin (or was it the same bird?) flying towards Stranraer. While at Marian Jetty, Gill also saw a velvet scoter, 3 long-tailed ducks, some Slavonian grebes, red-breasted mergansers, common scoters, a razorbill and 3 red-throated divers. All in all, a nice selection of the birds that are present on Loch Ryan at the moment.

Also out on the loch, this week we have seen 4 black guillemots, a guillemot, a red-necked grebe, another velvet scoter and a single great northern diver (on two different days). Some of our highest day-counts this week include 108 common scoters, 67 red-breasted mergansers and 128 shags (hauled at the scar and Cairnryan pier in groups of 38 and 90, respectively). A single shelduck and a lonesome pink-footed goose were around the scar and the pale-bellied brent goose flock stood at a highest count of 174 birds this week. These small geese are still increasing in number, although their dark-bellied cousins haven't been seen for some weeks now.

As ever, there are so many birds out there that I could happily talk about them forever! For now, perhaps I'd better sign off and settle for going and and watching them instead.

[All photographs were taken by and are the property of Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]