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Wildfowl (and gamebirds) |
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Wildfowl (and Gamebirds)
26th May. A Red Grouse was found during an atlas Timed Tetrad Visit on the hills above Glendaruel, Cowal (Tom Callan)
5th June. A pair of Greylag Geese and six, one-third grown, goslings were seen close to the shore of Eilean a' Bhuic, near Portavadie, Cowal and a superb male Reeve’s Pheasant was seen at Ardtaraig, Cowal (Steve Petty).
6th June. A female Goosander was seen with 12 small young, including five carried on her back, on the River Cur, Loch Eck, Cowal (Peter Woods).
7th June. A drake Eurasian Teal on Loch na Keal was unusual for the time of year (Alan Spellman).
10th June. A female Goosander was seen with nine small young on the River Eachaig at Benmore, Cowal (per Andrew Webster).
Seabirds, Divers, Grebes, Shearwaters, Herons etc. (and other seawatch species)
11th May. At Strone, Cowal, 29 Northern Gannets were counted in the Clyde Estuary (David Warden per Tom Callan).
13th May. A Red-throated Diver, two Black-throated Divers and two Great Northern Divers were present at Kilfinan Bay, Cowal (David Warden per Tom Callan).
13th May. Two Red-throated Divers in breeding plumage was seen off Otter Ferry, Cowal (Tom Callan).
29th May. An adult Red-throated Diver in breeding plumage was seen at Tralee Bay, North Argyll (Bob Grove).
5th June. An adult Great Northern Diver was in Hough Bay, Tiree.
6th June. An adult Great Northern Diver was at Gott Bay, Tiree.
12th June. A pair of Black-throated Divers was found with a small chick and another pair has two small chicks, both at sites in Mid-Argyll (Paul Daw/Roger Broad).
14th June. Birds found during atlas TTVs on Gigha 7th–14th June included at least six pairs of Great Cormorants and 17 pairs of Shags on Craro and Grey Heron breeding at Mill Loch (Stephen Welch).
Raptors, Rails etc
25th May. A pair of Moorhens was seen at Tralee Bay, North Argyll (Bob Grove).
26th May. An Osprey flew south along the River Cur at the top of Loch Eck, Cowal (Peter Woods).
2nd June. An Osprey flew south through the Bellanoch "gap" at the Add Estuary (Bill Allan/Anne-Lise Dickie).
8th June A male Hen Harrier coursing the beach at Rhugarbh Croft, Appin, North Argyll has been seen in the area most days recently (Mary Gregory).
Waders
5th May. Two late Purple Sandpipers were still in the West Bay at Dunoon (George Newall).
11th May. A pair of Northern Lapwings was present at Kilfinan Bay, Cowal (David Warden per Tom Callan).
25th May. Three pairs of Ringed Plovers were seen at Tralee Bay, North Argyll including one pair with a small chick (Bob Grove).
27th May. Three pairs of Common Sandpipers were found along the shores of Loch Fyne in the Otter Ferry area (Tom Callan).
28th May. A colour-ringed Sanderling photographed at Machrihanish SBO turned out to have been marked in Ghana on 18 March 2007. It was seen in Ghana again, throughout January 2008–last on 29 Jan (Eddie Maguire, with thanks to Edward Koomson for the information from Ghana and John Bowler for tracking this down).
1st June. At least one Woodcock was roding over Kames, Cowal at 22.30hrs (Steve Petty).
4th June. A Curlew Sandpiper was seen at Miodar, Tiree (John Bowler).
5th June. A late Whimbrel was at Traigh Bhi. Tiree (John Bowler).
6th June. A pair of Common Sandpipers was seen with young along the River Cur, Loch Eck, Cowal (Peter Woods).
8th June. Two Common Sandpipers were very agitated on the beach at Rhugarbh Croft, Appin, North Argyll indicating a nest nearby (Mary Gregory).
9th June. Six Golden Plovers (late or early migrants?) were at Hough Pools, Tiree (John Bowler).
14th June. Birds found during atlas TTVs on Gigha 7th–14th June included five Northern Lapwings with one chick and a single Greenshank (Stephen Welch).
Skuas, Gulls, Terns and Auks
12th May. Two Sandwich Terns were seen at Kirn, Dunoon (George Newall).
8th June Two ‘commic’ terns (probably Common) were fishing at Rhugarbh Croft, Appin, North Argyll - an unusual sight here since the fish farms moved elsewhere (Mary Gregory).
16th June. Auks on Loch Fyne today included 39 Common Guillemots above the Otter Ferry spit (failed breeders?), 13 Black Guillemots around Glas Eilean and six Black Guillemots (including birds on nests) at Pier House, Otter Ferry (Tom Callan).
17th June. Three Common Terns were seen off Otter Ferry, presumably from Loch Gilp. It is unusual to see them so far up the loch (Tom Callan).
Doves, Owls, Woodpeckers etc.
3rd May. A Long-eared Owl was seen at the Taynuilt end of Glen Lonan Mid-Argyll (Bob Grove). There have been no other recent records of the species from this area.
27th May. A Hoopoe seen on Ulva, Mull may well have been the same individual as that seen at Lochbuie the day previously (per Alan Spellman).
2nd June. Four Stock Doves (one male and three females) were seen feeding on a newly seeded field near Moine Mhor with 30 or more Wood Pigeons (Bill Allan/Jim Dickson). Three Common Swifts were flying over the shops at Kirn, Dunoon (Andrew Webster).
5th June. No less than five Stock Doves were seen together on the field near Moine Mhor. Amazingly this is the most Stock Doves seen in one place in Argyll since records started in 1980 (Bill Allan/Jim Dickson)! Two or three Common Swifts were seen near Connel Airport (Mary Gregory).
14th June. Birds found during atlas TTVs on Gigha 7th–14th June included Barn Owls hunting near Achamore Gardens (Stephen Welch).
Passerines
24th May. A pair of Bullfinches was seen in a garden at Glencruitten, Oban (Bob Grove).
25th May. Birds found during an atlas Timed Tetrad Visit at Glendaruel, Cowal included six House Martins, eight Pied Wagtails, six Dunnocks, four Whinchats, five Common Stonechats, two Common Whitethroats, a Common Chiffchaff, 27 Willow Warblers, a Jay, 12 Greenfinches and two Linnets (Tom Callan)
26th May. A pair of Spotted Flycatchers has established a territory in a garden at Glenbranter, Cowal (Peter Woods). Birds found during an atlas Timed Tetrad Visit on the hills above Glendaruel, Cowal included no less than 77 Meadow Pipits as well as two Common Stonechats (Tom Callan).
27th May. Frustratingly briefly, John Halliday thought he heard the nasal call of Golden Oriole, at Taynish NNR. A probable Golden Oriole was also reported as heard there on 24th May (Dick Edie).
29th May. Adult male and female Common Crossbills were seen feeding on tips of new Sitka Spruce growth, which was about 1km from the family party seen at Largiemore, Cowal recently (Tom Callan).
1st June. A singing Lesser Whitethroat at Carnan Mor, Tiree was the first ever spring record on the island and a female Common Redstart, a female Common Whitethroat, a male Blackcap, a Common Chiffchaff, a Spotted Flycatcher and a female Chaffinch were also found. A Spotted Flycatcher and a Lesser Redpoll were at Balephuil (John Bowler). A single Jay was seen at Salachary, between the Ford turnoff and Ardfern, Mid-Argyll (Bill Allan).
2nd June. At least two pairs of Sand Martins were found nesting in the wall of a small quarry newly dug (i.e. within past 3-4 weeks) for track improvements at Drimfern, Glen Aray, Mid-Argyll, The species has not been seen in the area before (Judith Witt). An example of how opportunistic Sand Martins can be where new nest sites are concerned. A Garden Warbler found at Carnan Mor, Tiree (John Bowler)
3rd June. A singing Blyth's Reed Warbler was photographed at Carnan Mor, Tiree at 17.45hrs. This is a notoriously difficult species, but with the song and photographs we have our fingers crossed that Tiree has provided yet another new species for the Argyll list. Two House Martins, two Spotted Flycatchers and a Whitethroat were also found there (John Bowler).
8th June. A family of about ten Blue Tits, obviously just fledged, were making their way noisily around the field and vegetable patch at Appin, North Argyll (Mary Gregory).
12th June. Birds found during an atlas Timed Tetrad Visit near Kilfinan, Cowal included 29 Wrens, three Dunnocks, nine Blackbirds, seven Song Thrushes, 36 Willow Warblers, 12 Long-tailed Tits, 42 Common Chaffinches and six Common Crossbills with recently fledged young (Tom Callan).
13th June. Birds found during an atlas Timed Tetrad Visit near Minard, Mid-Argyll included 19 Wrens, four Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Common Whitethroat, four Common Chiffchaffs and 27 Willow Warblers (Paul Daw). A Yellowhammer was seen on Scarba - many of Argyll's Yellowhammers appear to be distributed along the coast these days (Hazel White per David Wood).
14th June. Birds found during atlas TTVs at Achamore Gardens on Gigha 7th–14th June included six male Blackcaps, single Common Chiffchaff and Spotted Flycatcher and breeding Treecreepers and Long-tailed Tits (Stephen Welch).
15th June. A male Common Redstart was seen with recently fledged young in Minard Woods, Mid-Argyll this morning (Paul Daw).
16th June. Seven Sand Martins were seen at Strone Farm, near Otter Ferry, a location where they have not been recorded before (Tom Callan). Birds found during an atlas Timed Tetrad Visit at Loch Gair, Mid-Argyll included 15 Barn Swallows, two Grasshopper Warblers, three Common Whitethroats, two Blackcaps, 12 Willow Warblers, a family party of Long-tailed Tits and 21 House Sparrows, including recently fledged young (Paul Daw).
17th June. A male Common Whitethroat was seen near Otter Ferry feeding a juvenile with insects from mature and also recently planted Sitka Spruce (Tom Callan). A pair of Spotted Flycatchers has established a territory at Tullochgorm, Minard. They did not appear here until 8th June (Paul Daw).
Other
1st June. A Minke Whale, 35 Basking Sharks, and three Otters were seen off Hynish, Tiree (John Bowler).
7th June. The Bearded Seal was still present in Loch na Keal, Mull (per Alan Spellman).
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