Finishing February: Bird Report for 22/02/21 - 28/02/21

Another week been and gone - time is certainly flying by. Spring is definitely almost here and in the woods Lesser Celandines are beginning to come into flower. Whilst not a bird species and most certainly not everybody's favourite - I also picked up my first Tick of the year! Up in the treetops, we saw two Fieldfares, a total of three Mistle Thrushes and heard the calls of Long-tailed Tits and Nuthatches. So far, we have counted a total of eight singing Song Thrushes around the Wig and woodland route. Skylarks are also singing at the Wig, although in fewer numbers than they are present - for a hunting Merlin startled 14 Skylarks. A Linnet flew overhead along the Wig track and at the Pool Field a pair of Stonechats were seen. Later in the week this pair was joined by a second male - it looks like there is going to be some competition there!

At the Scar, we saw largest flock sizes of 98 Curlews and 276 Oystercatchers. We also had highest day-counts of six Grey Plovers, 45 Turnstones and roughly 40 Ringed Plovers (these little "moving pebbles", as I call them, can be remarkably difficult to count!). Whilst gulls often roost on the Scar, these birds were present in higher numbers at Loch Connell this week - with 100 Common Gulls, 196 Herring Gulls and approximately 20 Black-headed Gulls being counted.

Lesser Celandine flowers.

Over 1060 Pink-footed Geese were also at Loch Connell and some Whooper Swans were heard calling from this direction. A mixed flock of over 800 Pink-footed and Greylag Geese were feeding in the fields near Clachan Farm and a single Mute Swan was spotted near Stranraer Harbour. It is quite likely that this swan is one of the pair that nests at Agnew Park. Back at the Wig, we saw highest day-counts of 58 Wigeon, three Scaup, three Shelduck and roughly 150 Pale-bellied Brent Geese. The Brent Goose flock is highly variable in number day-by-day, indicating that our birds may have already started moving off and are being replaced by migrant individuals that wintered further south.

Out on Loch Ryan, we saw one Great Northern diver, single Back Guillemots thrice during the week and even spotted our first returning Gannet of the year. Common Scoter numbers decreased slightly from the previous week (highest day-count of 89), while Red-breasted Merganser numbers increased (highest day-count of 33). Alongside these, we also had highest day-counts of 18 Goldeneyes, 7 Red-throated Divers and 15 Shags. As we continue on around the Wig route, 11 Carrion Crows and a Grey Wagtail were present at the Fisher's Lane Outlet. At the marsh, three Wigeon and two Herons were present amidst the calls of the elusive Teal.

A Black-headed Gull in full breeding plumage.

Gill Deacon once again made her way out to the Wig - seeing two Long-tailed Ducks, one singing Skylark and about 50 Golden Plovers on the Scar. These plovers vanished later in the day, which just goes to show that you can never predict exactly what you are going to see when you go out. Gill also made count at Millburn Car Park: 3 Red-throated Divers, a Guillemot, eight Goldeneyes, two Slavonian Grebes, one Black Guillemot, eight Red-breasted Mergansers, a Great Crested Grebe, eight Scaup that were especially close in and lots of Wigeon. To finish off a great day of birding, Gill counted 60 Redshanks at Stranraer Harbour - this species is always present in higher numbers at the Stranraer end of the loch than at the Wig. Once more, thanks to Gill for submitting her sightings for the blog.

Finally, I'll finish off this week's round-up with a few "out-of-the way" locations. Our garden was once again visited by a male Sparrowhawk and a female also put in an appearance later in the week. A single field near the wood contained a feeding flock of over 100 Woodpigeons. The same field played host to a female and two male Pheasants - three of the five birds that were counted that day. At least, it started off as three, the two males soon got into an argument whilst the female wandered off in disgust!

All in all, another great week. Thankfully, we live in an area filled with natural life to delight in.

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