Apologies are in order for my tardiness in not keeping this blog posting up to date: sometimes life and the many varied circumstances associated with its living conspire, interfere and disrupt even the best laid plans.
Although it is the so-called common species that form the bulk of any natural history dataset it is generally those species that we do not see often, or on a regular basis, which folk seek to learn more about. The following is thus not a summary but a selection of personal highlights of records of rare, locally significant, or key species, which I logged on my local patch during the three months covered by this report. The species are presented in alphabetical order within each month.
May 2025
Arctic Tern: singletons at the Scar, Loch Ryan, on the 1st and the 4th; a pair at the Cairnryan Pier on the 26th and 28th. Cetti’s Warbler: one singing, in suitable breeding habitat, on the 4th. This constitutes my first record of this Scottish rarity on my local patch. Eider: 242 males on Loch Ryan was the month’s peak count, on the 30th. Great Crested Grebe: a nesting pair at Loch Connell (on the 11th), present throughout the remainder of the month. Great Northern Diver: all records from Loch Ryan - an adult in breeding plumage on the 6th and 7th; seven birds (including a party of six) in full breeding plumage, on the 8th; a singleton on the11th. Heron: two breeding pairs on active nests (on 2nd). Iceland Gull: an immature seen about the Wig, Loch Ryan, on the 19th. Kittiwake: five birds flying past the Scar, on the 25th. Lesser Whitethroat: one singing in suitable breeding habitat bordering the sea-loch, on the 8th. Osprey: a singleton observed flying over the Wig fields towards Loch Connell, on the 27th. Puffin: an adult on Loch Ryan, seen on the 3rd and 4th, was a rare treat. Red-throated Diver: recorded on the sea-loch on 13 days between the 1st (10 birds) and the 26th (one bird), with maximum counts of 26 birds on the 3rd, 4th and 8th. Sandwich Tern: highest count of 36 birds at the Scar, on the 1st. Slavonian Grebe: an adult in breeding plumage, seen almost daily in Wig Bay between the 8th and the 28th. Whimbrel: observed on eight days, between the 1st and the 28th, inclusive, with a maximum count of six at the Wig on the 4th. White-billed Diver: a smashing find of an immature at the Wig, on the 4th. Whooper Swan: three were at Loch Connell on the 4th, reducing to two birds on the 11th and then to a singleton on the 25th.
June 2025
Common Sandpiper: a walk along the shoreline of Loch Ryan into the town of Stranraer, on the 19th, turned up a single bird, foraging like a turnstone on the beach at Broadstone. Three Common Terns were at the Wig on the 10th, and one was at the Cairnryan Pier on the 25th. Eider: a female with two small ducklings was at the Scar on the 2nd, whilst 232 males were on the same spit of land on the 12th and a different female with two fully-fledged juveniles, on the 15th. With these two breeding records now archived in my data-base, I think it is safe to say that this has been the worst year of Eider productivity yet. ‘Where have all the Eiders gone’ could be a question the next up-and-coming generation of naturalists might be asking sooner, rather than later! Great Crested Grebe: a single chick was observed at Loch Connell on the 8th and was still present at the month’s end. Curiously, the adults seem to take turns to flight over the intervening hill to forage for food in Loch Ryan. Red-throated Divers on their breeding grounds are widely known to follow this practise but it is not something that I have ever associated with Great Crested Grebes. Little Egret: only one record this month - a single at the Wig on the 28th. Mediterranean Gull: two adults were in one of the grass fields beside the Wig, on the13th; an adult and a first-summer bird were at the same location on the following two days(13th/14th); a different first-summer bird frequented Wig Bay on the 16th, and an adult and an immature were in the same general area on the 18th and 20th. Pacific Golden Plover: a stunning-looking bird in full-breeding dress, bearing all the hallmarks of this species, was present in the grassland beside the Wig track, on the 12th and 13th. This constitutes my first record of this species on my local patch. Red-breasted Merganser: numbers at Wig Bay were generally low but I made a respectable count of a flock of 44 birds on the 23rd. Whooper Swan: the lone bird from last month remained at Loch Connell throughout June.
July 2025
Arctic Tern: two birds on the Scar, on the 8th and six birds there on the 29th, followed by two birds the next day(30th). Bar-tailed Godwit: one at the Wig on the 15th. Black-tailed Godwit: a singleton at Loch Connell on the 13th; one at the Scar on the 15th, with three there on the 31st. Common Tern: three birds about Wig Bay on the 25th, nine on the 29th and a single on the 30th. Common Sandpiper: a party of five at Kirkcolm beach on the 17th. Eider: a count of 153 at the Scar on the 9th was only exceeded by 158 at the same location on the 29th. Golden Plover: just 18 birds at the Scar on the 15th was a rather poor showing. Greenshank: a singleton was at Loch Connell on the 20th and two were at the Wig on the 30th. Kittiwake: two adults flying past the Scar were unexpected visitors on the 29th. Lapwing: three at Loch Connell on the 13th and 20 there on the 20th. Little Egret: a total of nine were at the Wig on the 30th. Manx Shearwater: a disappointing two records only, with one flying past the Scar on the 10th and a party of three doing the same on the 17th. Mediterranean Gull: an adult observed at Wig Bay on the 3rd and 29th. Osprey: a single bird spent much of the day sat on the Scar, occasionally moving off to hunt in the bay before returning to its chosen post…or should that be, pebble, to rest! Red-breasted Merganser: high counts of 107 and 119 at the Wig on the 8th and the 30th, respectively. Roseate Tern: an adult flew about the Scar on the 29th. Ruff: three at the Scar on the 15th and one there on the 28th. Snipe: singletons at Loch Connell on the 13th and 20th. Wheatear: a first-winter bird was at Loch Connell on the 13th, and at the Wig on the 30th. Whimbrel: one at the Wig on the 17th and four there on the 30th. Whooper Swan: the same bird as reported on last month remained at Loch Connell throughout July.
This report is provided courtesy of the author, Stephen Grover.
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