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Saturday , 26th September turned out to be mild and damp, although with no heavy rain, and some sunshine. Nine enthusiasts met at the Skipness Castle car park, two having already seen 2 male black grouse fly across the moor while en route. Common buzzards together with robins, blue, great and coal tits and dunnocks were very much in evidence as we proceeded along the woodland walk through Campbell’s Glen but no tree creepers or woodpeckers could be heard, far less seen. As the trees opened out to give an extensive view of moorland and hills, a male and female kestrel were seen hunting high above. The path now headed through several fields and mixed woodland towards the coast and then along the shore and back to Skippness Castle. We were disappointed not to see any divers species and few sea ducks but all enjoyed a welcome lunch at the Skipness Sea Food Cabin.
Refreshed, if rather over filled, a few of us walked round the edge of a large field to check out a ‘cloud’ of small finches – they turned out to be about 400 chaffinches (no bramblings amongst them) and a flock of 24 linnets. On the way home along the moor road a single male black grouse flew across the road was seen by four of us, and, as we caught up with the others a bit further on, a hunting male hen harrier had been seen.
Thanks to Tom Callan for his generosity in sharing use of his telescope – which he carried all the way!
Birds: Gannet, shag, common eider, red- breasted merganser, hen harrier, common buzzard, kestrel, black grouse, oystercatcher, ringed plover, turnstone, curlew, common gull, herring gull, greater black-backed gull, wood pigeon, swallows, skylark, rock pipit, meadow pipit, pied wagtail, grey wagtail, wren, dunnock , robin, wheatear, song thrush, black bird, great tit, coal tit, blue tit, hooded crow, rook, starling, house sparrow, chaffinch, greenfinch
Mammals: field mouse
Insects: peacock butterfly, angled shades moth and caterpillars of fox moth,
red darter, southern hawker and migrant hawker
Plants: bog asphodel
Saturday, 31st October, 2009 was considered to be windy by some, but only breezy if you live in Tayinloan, and rain, while not far off, kept away. Seven of us (fortified with a cup of coffee) set off at 10.00 across a very wet field, climbed over the gate to the banks of the Tayinloan burn, where we scared of several mallards as we walked towards the coast. On the shore there was a profusion of pied wagtails, rock and meadow pipits and starlings picking amongst the washed up dead seaweed. After negotiating across the burn, we proceeded south along the coast before turning east, through a gate this time! The habitat alongside a deep ditch bordered by hawthorn, goarse and alder and beyond which flooded fields with pools and rushes, promised much, but proved to be disappointing on this occasion. Back to base by the same route to stop off and enjoy tea/coffee and much chat (some about birds) before we set off again along the shore - North this time.
Again this proved to be somewhat disappointing although we did have some excitement – pondering over the ID of a distant large raptor, unusually pale for Tayinloan and, with wind ruffling its head feathers to make that appear white at times – well there was a Marsh Harrier seen a few weeks ago!!
Birds seen: Greenland White-fronted geese, Eurasion Wigeon, Mallard, Common Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Pheasant, Red-throated Diver, Great Cormorant, Shag, Grey Heron, Reed Bunting, Common Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Common Snipe, Curlew, Common Redshank, Turnstone, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Kittiwake, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Pied wagtail, White Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Stonechat, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Jackdaw, Rook, Hooded Crow, Raven, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Twite.
Saturday, 28th November, 2009 was one of those beautiful cold, frosty but sunny mornings which was a welcome change from preceding days when the Gigha ferry was unable to make all the scheduled crossings owing to extreme wind and rain. Seven of us caught the 10.00 am ferry to the island and enjoyed beautiful views unhampered by the elements. On arrival our a people carrier was waiting and once paperwork and money had been exchanged Tom, who was kind enough to act as driver for the day, progressed at a pace suitable for bird watching en route and patiently stopping to check out birds seen in fields, hedges and trees as we passed. The vehicle was parked opposite Druimyeon More, and we proceed along the extremely muddy track to the West side of the island, stopping to explore the Mill Loch for hoped for whooper swans and moorhens on the way.
As we became aware that lunchtime was approaching, we reluctantly turned and re traced our steps back to the vehicle, although looking forward to the prospect of an excellent lunch at the hotel - they had been warned to expect us.
Well filled and nicely warmed, we piled in to the transport and Tom drove us to the North end of the island – with a few stops on the way to check out the Twin Beaches and other interesting looking habitats we only had about 15 minutes left to spend there before returning to catch the 1530 ferry back to Tayinloan. Those who were able to stop at my house for a cup of tea before the journey home were reward with a view of a male Blackcap – a first for my garden!
Birds seen from ferry: Great Northern Diver, Black Throated Diver, Slavonian Grebe, Cormorant, Shag, Heron, Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull,
Black Guillemot (Tystie), Razorbill, Guillemot,
Birds seen only on the island: Grey Lag Geese, Mallard, Goldeneye, Shelduck Buzzard, Sparrow Hawk, Pheasant, Redshank, Curlew, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Meadow Pipit, Skylark (heard), Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Stonechat, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Hooded Crow, Raven, Rook, Starling, Gold Finch, Reed Bunting
Mammals: Otter, common seal
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