Are the Good Old Days Gone? Bird Report for January 2025.

There was a time, not so long ago, when logging 50 species of birds, or more, in a day seemed easy for me to achieve without having to even try. That was yesterday, as it were. Today, it appears that considerably more effort is required should target chasing be a priority. Fortunately, that is not the case for me, nor has it ever been. It is a general but relevant observation that I make, without trying to be overcome by nostalgic sentimentality. This month more than 50 species were logged on five days, with a daily average of 25.

More than 200 Pale-breasted Brent Geese were recorded on 23 days during the month, either at the Wig or in grassland adjacent to the track leading to the wartime observation hut at the Scar. Flocks of over 250 birds were noted on three days, with a peak count of 316 on the 2nd. Consorting with them on the 1st were two Dark-bellied Brents, and a single bird on the 2nd. A hybrid Barnacle X Canada Goose was at Loch Connell on the 26th, where it mingled with its common compatriots, Canadas’. Whooper Swans were logged on five dates across the month, with a high of 36 at the Wig on the 24th. 

Two Dark-bellied Brents on a field beside the Wig.

                                                    One especially dark-flanked bird (on right)

My only record of Shelduck was of a singleton at the Scar on the 20th. Observations of Pintail were registered at Loch Connell on three dates: two females on the 5th and one on the 19th, with two ducks and a drake on the 26th. Also at this freshwater site were 268 Teal on the 5th, and 44 Wigeon on the 26th. The highest count of the latter, however, was 115 at the Wig (a place they had been absent from for much of the month) on the 31st. 

On a page in a guide book, or when seen as a digital image on a screen, Common Scoters and Eiders are very different looking birds, especially so the males. But out in the field - when the effects of weather, waves on the water, plus where the distance from the subject may be considerable, - identification becomes more complex. Other, more subtle factors then come into play. Inevitably, however, it is the observers’ experience that determines the threshold of the confidence level we each set ourselves. So then … drake Common Scoters are black and male Eiders are white and black. Right! Now throw into the equation female and immature types (plus eclipse plumages for good measure), add a little distance (which tends to reduce a persons perception of colour and patterns into a uniform toned shape on the water), and suddenly the potential for confusion becomes rife. The consequence of this in my case is that many small flocks, and individual birds, that are seen are never entered into the daily log because of the ‘uncertainty’ associated with them. My highest ‘confirmed’ count of Common Scoter was just 79 on the 21st, and that of Eider, 247 on the 8th. A very reasonable 60 Goldeneye were registered on the 20th, whereas my peak count of Long-tailed Duck was 12 on the 28th.

Loch Connell frequently holds several species that I rarely record elsewhere on my patch. Here on the 5th was a Pochard, a female Scaup, and 12 Tufted Duck. A drake Velvet Scoter was at Wig Bay on the 22nd, but I did not see it thereafter. Goosander on the freshwater loch, Connell, peaked at 24 on the 5th whereas the maximum count of Red-breasted Merganser on the sea-loch was 75 on the 21st.

Red-necked Grebes are mid-way in size between the smaller Slavonian and the larger Great Crested. However, when seen on their lonesome, with no other birds for comparison, they can give the impression of being large or small. Fortunately their general shape and bulkiness are usually sufficient to enable identification, with plumage details of secondary importance. This month, all sightings were of birds seen in the company of their aforementioned cousins, along with Red-throated and Great Northern Divers. Singletons at the Wig were registered on the 3rd and 21st, and an impressive - and notable - six birds (a party of four, with another two close by) on the 20th. 

Red-necked Grebes with Slav' and Red-throated Diver

Slavonian Grebes were recorded on 21 days across the month. It probably would have been more if not for the intervening weather effecting the presence of birds and viewing conditions. Nonetheless, my peak count for the species was a very satisfactory 43 birds on the 29th. Several of them were noted showing ‘transitional’ plumage, moulting from winter to summer dress. There was just one record for Black-throated Diver: a singleton on the sea-loch on the 22nd. Great Northern Divers were observed on 12 days, with a high of 3 on the 14th. The peak count of Red-throated Divers was 69 on the 20th, though generally the number of birds was far fewer with, I suspect, the weather strongly effecting their presence.

The fields beside the Wig held 178 Curlew on the 6th - a good count for this species. Golden Plovers were, not unexpectedly, scarce, with a high of just 24 birds at the Scar on the 28th. Grey Plover was more frequently sighted although fewer in number - two, to be precise - and with probably the same birds accounting for all registrations across the month. The cold and blustery weather undoubtedly accounted for the presence of over 80 Lapwing at Loch Connell on the 19th, and 46 there on the 26th. Back to the Wig there were 206 Oystercatcher at the Scar on the 22nd, a surprisingly high count of 14 Redshank on the 2nd, and some 80 Ringed Plover on the 27th.

The vast majority of gulls that are seen either on, or about, Loch Ryan are (in alphabetical order only) Black-headed, Common and Herring. The first mentioned, and especially the latter, are conspicuous birds in the town of Stranraer; the Common Gull, though present there, is easily passed over but is certainly obvious in the wider countryside during the winter. Like most gulls, this medium-sized species is readily logged by birdwatchers but not so regularly counted compared to so-called ‘key’ species, such as Red-throated Diver, Scaup and Slavonian Grebe, of which Loch Ryan supports nationally significant numbers. I confess, I tend only to count what I consider to be significant numbers of Common Gulls - based on many years of study - on my local patch. I logged 228 birds at the Scar on the 15th; not an especially high count, granted: but the largest concentration I had observed during the month.

With the exception of Black Guillemot, auk species are scarce on Loch Ryan during the winter. It will come as no surprise then when I report that just three Guillemot and two Razorbill were my only records, on the 20th.

Male Bullfinch in the garden

Of the passerines (the so-called, perching birds), the following are worthy of note. On the morning of the 4th a Black Redstart was watched for several minutes in the car park at the Wig, so constituting my first known record of the species at this location - an exciting find and a delight, I am sure, to all those who saw it. Seven Bullfinch were logged on the 4th, and four in my garden on the 8th, and six, also in my garden, on the 20th. Some 95 Chaffinch were observed during a walk through the Corsewall Estate on the 30th, including a flock of approximately 75 birds. A Hawfinch noted flying low over the Wig car park was, like the Black Redstart before it, an unexpected find. Four Lesser Redpoll turned up in my garden on the 3rd, following a long absence of entry into my logbook. Great to have some back! Siskin numbered 28 in a garden near to my own on the 23rd - my highest count of the species for a while. A party of 60 Skylark over the Wig fields on the 15th fortunately did not go undetected, making up for the otherwise paucity of sightings this month. 30 Twite, also on the 15th and at the Wig fields, were a welcome addition to the log. Lastly, 92 Woodpigeon observed feeding within a grassland on the 2nd might not seem a particularly large flock by anyones standard but it turned out to be significantly the highest count of the month.

This article and the accompanying images was provided courtesy of S. Grover.