Increasing the List: Bird Report for 29/03/31 - 07/04/31

Firstly in this post we may as well cover some 'firsts'. The highlight of these was another new species for the blog: a Hooded Crow. We get good numbers of 'Hoody hybrids' (there was even one nearby for comparison) but true Hooded Crows only occasionally show up, so it was very nice to see one amongst some Carrion Crows in the Twite Field. Amongst the Pied Wagtails, we not only had our first female moving through but also our first 'White Wagtails' (the continental subspecies) of the year. Our other firsts are also spring migrants: two singing Blackcaps, a Wheatear, a Sand Martin and two Swallows early in the week and a Whimbrel (two more birds were spotted a few days later).

Our other 'spring' species are now increasing in number. Gannets and Sandwich Terns have been seen daily, with highest day-counts of 58 and 40, respectively. We once again had a Siskin in our garden (a female this time) - the recent increase in our Siskin sightings is likely due the local population being bolstered by migrating individuals. Many species migrate at night to avoid predators. We went out one night and, while we didn't pick out the calls of any spring migrants, we did manage to hear a good variety of species. Pink-footed Geese were heard - it is always hard to guess how many there are when you can't see them but we've seen over 700 birds flying overhead throughout the week. The three-note call of a Redshank sounded out and at least three Snipe were calling from near the marsh where they were feeding. Either three or four Tawny Owls were calling (at least two were males) and a Barn Owl was also heard. Not bad for a night's work!

A smart-looking male Wheatear.

During the day, our ears are still getting put to good use in picking up the many birdsongs. Goldfinches, Great Tits, Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Chaffinches, Coal Tits, Dunnocks and Wrens have all been heard singing their hearts out. The number of singing Chiffchaffs has increased to nine and we had a highest day-count of three Song Thrushes and one Mistle Thrush (all singing). Of the four Goldcrests that were counted, two were singing, along with two of the three Nuthatches and four of the five Skylarks. Meadow Pipits and Linnets are currently increasing in number (highest day-counts of five and roughly 20, respectively) but we've also heard individuals of these species singing. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming, Starlings were seen copulating and Robins have practically all stopped singing already - a sure sign that they are pairing up. At a known colony, Shags and Cormorants have already built up their nests.

In contrast to this, many of our 'winter' species are still here. Twelve Fieldfares and a Redwing were spotted and the Pale-bellied Brent Goose flock saw a highest count of 174. Highest day-counts of seven Long-tailed ducks and six Slavonian Grebes (all in breeding plumage) were present. Singles of Black-throated, Red-throated and Great Northern Divers were sighted (the former two species were in full winter plumage while the Great Northern was moulting from winter plumage into summer plumage). Other species are also decreasing in number as they head off to their breeding grounds. We've had highest day counts of only 36 Common Scoter, approximately 20 Common Gulls, 56 Curlews, 14 Goldeneyes and 38 Turnstones. A surprise flock of 62 Whooper Swans visited Wig Bay and were joined by two Mute Swans.

A lonesome Whooper Swan has also been spotted at Loch Connell. It has been kept company by five Goldeneyes, seven Mallards, six Shelducks, 35 Teals and 50 Wigeon (this number decreased to 19 on a later date). Two Oystercatchers and two Herons (both immature birds) fed around the outskirts of the loch, while 58 Greylag Geese, ten Curlews, two adults of both Great and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 11 Herring Gulls were in the abuttal fields. Swooping around above the freshwater loch were 18 Sand Martins.

A male Linnet.

Back out on Loch Ryan, we've had highest day-counts of 35 Red-breasted Mergansers, two Guillemots, four Razorbills and one Black Guillemot. Along the shore, we counted six Bar-tailed Godwits, 157 Oystercatchers, 20 Ringed Plovers, one Rock Pipit and 12 Knots. A male Peregrine terrified some Feral Pigeons, a male Reed Bunting was at the marsh and a female Stonechat was at the Pool Field. Two Long-tailed Tits were espied in the woods and a Magpie cackled as it flew overhead (an increasingly common occurrence).

Let us not forget our 'regular' species either. Collared Doves, Eiders, House Sparrows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws and Woodpigeons were frequent additions to our daily lists. Some more highest day-counts include three Herons, two Buzzards, five Pheasants and two Sparrowhawks (interestingly, these were both soaring over the woods together - rather than our usual 'fly-bys'). Two adult Great Black-backed Gulls were joined by an immature bird that was moulting from its second-winter into third-summer plumage. 170 Black-headed Gulls were counted at Soleburn and over 200 Herring Gulls were seated on the scar one evening.

Finally, I'll just finish off with some of our non-avian sightings. Bluebells, willow trees, speedwells, Common Dog Violets, dandelions, buttercups and Red Campions are all flowering. Roe Deer and Brown Hare both cropped up every other day. Rabbits are on the decline and it was a surprise to bump into one in the middle of the woods - away from their usual haunts. A species of cellar spider has been seen in our house, while moths such as the Early Grey are emerging. Up to five species of bumblebee have been counted in a single day and we've also recorded our first Chocolate Mining Bee of the year. A Grey Seal was lounging around for a few days and not one but three Otters were at Loch Connell!

Getting to be a rare sight these days - a Rabbit.

That concludes this report for the past ten days (hence why it's a little longer than the usual weekly reviews) and this is actually going to be my last blog post until at least August. Hopefully it was a satisfying review, for it included every bird species that we saw during those ten days! While there won't be any weekly reviews over the summer, if you are interested in knowing which species can be seen from April-August at the Wig then the previous post A Year Like No Other: Bird Review for 2020 contains a table (found at the end of the post) that shows the species we saw in 2020 and the months in which we recorded them.

However, for now, this is adieu from me. I hope that you have enjoyed hearing about our sightings over the past few months and a big thank you to all readers for your support.

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

Gulls, Glorious Gulls: Bird Report for 22/03/21 - 28/03/21

If you are not the biggest fan of gulls then please don't let the heading put you off - for we have also seen lots of other species during the week! That being said, it has been a brilliant week for our gull species, so I may as well start off there.

We began the week with an adult Yellow-legged Gull and then were surprised to find another individual the very next day. The second bird was an immature (so definitely different!): moulting from second-winter to summer plumage. We don't usually see Yellow-legged Gulls at this time of year, so these two were a pleasant surprise. The day after that, we struck gold again: with a Glaucous Gull. A new species for the blog, these large 'white winged' gulls occur less-than-annually at the Wig during the winter months. In the middle of the week, we made highest day-counts of 84 Herring Gulls, over 104 Common Gulls, roughly 300 Black-headed Gulls and three adult Great Black-backed Gulls (with a third-winter bird of this species being seen on a different day). Finally, we finished off the week scouring through a gull flock landed in a field during a light rain shower. In amidst the Herring Gulls there were three adult and one third-winter Lesser Black-backed Gulls and, hiding away at the back, an Iceland Gull! All in all, it was a smashing week for gull species.

It was also a pretty good week for raptor sightings. A male Sparrowhawk was chasing birds along the ground in our garden and another of this species was seen later in the week. Four Buzzards were seen on two days, one of which all four were displaying. A male Kestrel (Kestrel sightings are pretty uncommon for us these days) winged its way over the woods and a Peregrine was also spotted. A pair of Peregrines were unfortunately disturbed by people releasing balloons (one such balloon we managed to later dispose of after it became caught up in barbed wire). While not raptors, the large Ravens always feel like they belong in this category and this week one was espied carrying food (likely towards young in a nest somewhere).

A male Red-breasted Merganser having a bit of a flap.

Out on Loch Ryan, we had highest day-counts of 60 Common Scoters, 17 Red-breasted Mergansers, 13 Long-tailed Ducks (some birds are in full breeding plumage while others are still transitioning) and eight Slavonian Grebes (all in breeding plumage). We twice counted 31 Gannets, while a single Sandwich Tern and a total of seven Red-throated Divers were also spotted (two of the latter were in breeding plumage). We only counted a high of seven Shags - for many will be breeding already - and one Cormorant that we saw was carrying nesting material.

Other species are decreasing in number. Many of our wader species are departing for their breeding grounds and as such we only had highest day-counts of 17 Curlews, two Redshanks and ten Turnstones. A total of only three Teal were seen during the week and (while more were heard calling at night) just one Pink-footed Goose was spotted. A male Mallard was at the marsh, while seven Shelducks were at the Wig. The Pale-bellied Brent Goose flock varied in number: a couple of times there were over 160 birds, whilst other times there were approximately 140 birds present.

A Skylark showing off its crest.

We once again had good numbers of Pied Wagtails, with a total of 16 birds counted during the week. We also had totals of ten Siskins (including a male in our garden). Our first Chiffchaffs of the spring were heard singing away - first there were two but by the next day there were six. A selection of other highest day-count include five Goldcrests, 108 Woodpigeons (in the Woodpigeon Field), a Treecreeper, two Jays, two Skylarks, three Meadow Pipits and three Mistle Thrushes. Of the three Great Spotted Woodpeckers heard throughout the week, one treated us by drumming away (very loudly!) in a tree directly above our heads.

That's it for now but I think that it's safe to say that spring has well and truly arrived!

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