July shares similarities with the preceding month, being a quiet time on the birding front. Usually it is towards the month’s end that hints of autumn are suggested by an increase in the number of passage species that typify this turning point in the calendar: birds such as Arctic Skua and Black-tailed Godwits being examples of such.
Greylag Geese seen during the summer are generally birds that have descended from feral stock. Family groups begin to congregate so that come the month’s end sizeable flocks may be seen. Loch Connell is a good location at which to monitor this build up: the peak count here was 153 on the 28th. Numbers of Mute Swans on Loch Ryan show a similar increase as the month progresses; the highest count logged was 42 on the 24th and 25th.
The first returning Teals were four at Loch Connell on the 7th, increasing to eight birds on the 21st. I had just one record of Common Scoters moving through the area when a flock of 24 were observed on the sea-loch on the 10th. Numbers of ‘black’ Eiders (males in full eclipse plumage appear entirely dark when seen at any distance) steadily increased, rising to a peak of 262 on the 8th; a female with three large ducklings was at the Wig on the 5th and, possibly the same birds (ducklings have grown and fledged, now sporting proper juvenile plumage) on the 23rd. Red-breasted Mergansers tended to be in small, scattered flocks, but a raft of 62 birds was on, or near, the beach at Kirkcolm on the 29th.
I saw very few Great Crested Grebes in Wig Bay during the course of the month: my highest counts being just three on the 7th and four on the 14th. As expected I saw no Little Grebes on the sea-loch but one was at Loch Connell on the 21st, and two there on the 28th. A singleton Red-throated Diver at the Wig on the 26th was my only record of this species.
The wader population visiting my local patch tends to climb towards the month’s end when non-breeding adults and failed breeders start to make their way through on passage. There was a Bar-tailed Godwit at the Scar on the 29th, a Black-tailed Godwit at Loch Connell the day before (28th) along with five Snipes. The number of Curlews in the general vicinity varied from day to day, with 25 of them being my largest count at the Wig, on the 6th. Records of Dunlin were scattered across the month, with the first (four birds) at the Scar on the 10th and the biggest flock of them (32) on the 29th. All were adults. I did not record any Redshank until the 28th, when there four at the Wig, with two the following day. Ringed Plovers are one of the commonest waders to be encountered in the local area. My efforts to see them this month were, however, shameful. Consequently I logged them on few days, and with a disappointing high of just 26 birds on the 29th. Adult Sanderlings were observed at the Scar on the 11th, 29th and 30th, with six, 10 and eight birds, respectively. My only record of Turnstone was a party of four at the Scar on the 29th.
Gulls are often perceived as being a specialised group within the birdwatching community on account of their general similarities of appearance to one another, and especially within the ranks of their immature plumages. Despite this, it is a relatively easy task to separate large (such as Herring) from small (such as Black-headed). The ‘small’ gulls have been particularly sparse on my patch all month - more so than usual. My highest count of Black-headed Gulls about the Wig was a mere 23 birds on the 6th. I saw few juveniles of this ordinarily common and abundant species.
There are usually a few pairs of Arctic Terns that breed locally but they hardly ever pass by my way. My best chance to see any is therefore to wait until the spring, or autumn, passage is underway, which occasionally brings flights of birds to Loch Ryan. This year autumn seems to have come early, with eight birds at the Scar on the 10th, six on the 11th, 12 on the 12th and two on the 13th. Sightings of Sandwich Terns were almost daily, with high counts of 40 on the 11th and 56 on the 14th and 15th; very few juveniles, however, were noted. Skuas are often associated with movements of terns: knowing this is one thing, catching a glimpse of these parasitic raiders of the sky is often another. I saw a pale morph Arctic Skua passing the Scar on the 16th, then spent a good 15 minutes watching another (also a pale morph) harassing Sandwich Terns in Wig Bay, on the 20th.
Flicking back through may notebook for the current year, I noticed a distinct lack of records for Tysties (alias Black Guillemots). Until evidence should prove otherwise I have to attribute this paucity to a number of factors operating at a local level, including weather conditions affecting visibility across Loch Ryan and issues restricting my field excursions, hence, site coverage. Throughout this July I had only four days of registrations of these small sea-faring birds. Seeing as they are such a common, but local, species I treat this as a poor sign rather than an impending omen of disaster. Gannets, on the other hand, have been regular as clockwork, although their numbers may have been slightly down on previous years’ data: 28 being my largest count, on the 25th.
Birds of prey are generally encountered ad hoc. Any observations of them are thus always useful, if only to indicate their continuing (for the regular species, that is) presence. I heard a Barn Owl calling in the late evening of the 5th and 13th; observed a Buzzard on the 8th and 28th (usually I would expect more sightings); and watched a Peregrine hunting over the Scar, on the 10th.
It has not been a great year on may patch for swallows and martins. Some days it was plain hard work just to enter one bird into the logbook. Vaguely reasonable counts of House Martins were 16 on the 23rd and 30 on the 29th. Swallows also peaked on this last date: a mere 24 birds. Somewhat surprisingly, sightings of Swifts exceeded all expectations, being registered on a mammoth six days spread across the month. Granted, the highest count of birds was only two (on the 15th) but I was well chuffed to have even them. (What does that tell you about the status of this migrant in my neck of the woods!).
July is not the best of months for registering warblers about the village of Kirkcolm. Consequently, I was more than satisfied with a single Sedge Warbler on the 7th, one Willow Warbler in the garden on the 2nd and another two on the 13th; also, a lone Whitethroat on the 2nd, 3rd, 14th and 29th (the first two were in the garden and the last at the Wig).
This leaves us with the odds and sods, as they say - perhaps better referred to as the miscellaneous. First up, Lesser Redpoll: a bird singing in my garden on three consecutive days (4th - 6th) and constituting the my first records of the summer season, no less. Secondly, a Robin on the 29th was my only record on my patch during the whole of the month. Just goes to prove how elusive common birds can be … or how unobservant the recorder is! Thirdly, Spotted Flycatcher: undoubtedly more widespread and common than my records might suggest but always a delight to mine eyes whenever I espy one; in this instance, a pair accompanied by two ‘spotty’ juveniles (the adults are mostly plain), on the 13th, and a couple of birds on the 23rd. We close this month’s blog with Skylark: a lone, single, solitary, songster above the Wig Fields on the 3rd. I know there were more of them earlier in the season but quite where they have all gone I am at a loss!
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