Raptor at the Pub: Bird Report for 15/03/21 - 21/03/21

Another week has flown past - they're zooming by faster than I can keep up with at the moment! The start of the week was especially warm: a few species of bumblebee were buzzing about, a Peacock butterfly was basking in the sun and a Drinker Moth caterpillar wriggled along the path. Other non-avian sightings include up to three Roe Deer and a Brown Hare that was seen on three consecutive days.

Let's start off with the highlight that is also a new species for this blog: a Goshawk. While our UK birds are generally not true migrants, spring is nevertheless the best time to see them because Goshawks will often fly high above their woods when displaying. Despite being on the lookout for Goshawks at this time of year, it was still a surprise to see one flying over our local woods. It was most likely just passing through on its way to hunt, for they do not breed in our area and we haven't seen it since. The magnificent bird winged its way over the trees and seemed to be heading for the pub - I guess I know how to attract them in the future!

Other predatory species that we saw during the week included three Buzzards and a female Sparrowhawk. Two Tawny Owls were heard calling early in the week but later, when we went out after dark, this was reduced to just one lonely individual. Though unfortunately lacking in owls, that night we heard the calls of Mallards, Herons and a large number of Pink-footed Geese that flew directly overhead.

A female Sparrowhawk surveys her hunting ground.

Over 450 Pinkies were also at Loch Connell, alongside over 276 Greylag Geese. Indeed, Loch Connell was a great site to visit this week: with a Lapwing, two Oystercatchers, 148 Wigeon and eight Curlews feeding around the edges and abuttal fields. An adult and an immature Cormorant were present out on the water, alongside one male and three female Goldeneyes. A female Scaup was also spotted (unusual for a freshwater Loch) and a female Goosander was 'fishing': she had caught a large frog or toad that was putting up a struggle and was rather too big to be swallowed whole! The two Shelduck were, interestingly, both male (instead of a pair) and it was nice to see a female Pintail, for we don't get many records of this species in a year.

Back at the Wig, Curlews are decreasing in number (as they head off to their breeding grounds), with a highest day-count of 32. Other highest day-counts include 148 Oystercatchers, six Redshanks, 14 Ringed Plovers and 15 Turnstones. Two Bar-tailed Godwits made an appearance after having been missing for some weeks and two Knots were also spotted on the shore.

The Pale-bellied Brent Goose flock remained fairly constant throughout the week - with around 140 birds present. At the start of the week, seven Scaup and two male Long-tailed Ducks were seen swimming in Wig Bay. Shelducks and Common Scoters were seen more regularly throughout the week, with highest day-counts of ten and 116, respectively.

Out on Loch Ryan itself, we recorded a Black Guillemot, a total of seven Gannets and a Red-throated Diver still in full winter plumage. We saw highest day-counts of four Cormorants, seven Shags and 11 Slavonian Grebes. This week, three of the Slavonian Grebes that we saw were in complete breeding plumage.

A Shag shows off its green-hued plumage in the sunlight.

Moving on to our smaller birds, we had highest day-counts of 28 Chaffinches, 24 Goldfinches and five Rock Pipits. We saw totals of three Linnets, a Grey Wagtail, eight Meadow Pipits, four Nuthatches and approximately 40 Twite. Pied Wagtails were still moving through in decent numbers, with a total of 39 being seen over the course of the week (including days with 15 and 18 birds each). Two Siskins visited our garden, a pair of Stonechats were once again at the Pool Field and of the seven Goldcrests that were counted, two of them delighted us with their song.

One adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen twice in the week (it may or may not have been the same individual) and seven Shags were counted at a local breeding area. Shags are fairly early breeders and some pairs may have chicks already. Elsewhere, a pair of Mallards were at Rope Swing Bay and Woodpigeon Field was once again performing well - with a new high count of 203 Woodpigeons feeding there.

As always, that's only a short selection of some of the species that we've seen around the Wig and the surrounding area. With spring movements hopefully beginning to pick up, I'm getting excited by the prospect of birds to come.

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