MORE YANKY WADERS 16TH SEPTEMBER 2011

I had a phone message this morning from a visiting botanist to Coll who was just leaving on the ferry. He was reporting four Sabine's Gulls off the pier. I went down not long after but there was no sign.

At around 13:15 I was driving past the flooded field at Arnabost when two waders dropped in. It was immediately apparent that they were juvenile Buff-breasted Sandpipers. They remained for a while then flew off to the south at 13:25 never to be seen again. Later on, at high tide, I checked out the waders at Cliad and was very pleased to find the juvenile White-rumped Sandpiper was still on the shore at southern end of the beach with 18 Sanderling, 4 Dunlin, 6 Turnstone, 11 Barwits and 3 juv Ruff. There were also 300+ Twite at Cliad.

I checked out the pier again late afternoon but still no sign of any Sab's. There were 200+ Kittiwakes (50:50 ad:juv) off shore feeding along with over 400 Shags. I did a half-hour seawatch whilst there from 1700:1730. Highlights were 37 Manx Shearwaters, 5 Bonxies & 2 Arctic Skuas.
The Long-eared Owl story continues. It seems that the bird seen and photographed in the garden near Arnabost on 12th was not the only one. One was found long-dead just 200m from there on the same day and another was seen well at Friesland on 14th. Where have they come from?
John Bowler on Tiree reported that he couldn’t relocate the White-rumped Sand on 16th in wet and blustery conditions at The Reef although 1 Pectoral Sandpiper and 16 Ruff still present.

YANKY WADERS & LONG-EARED OWL

The islands were home to FOUR American waders today (15th Sept 2011). On Coll I found a superb juvenile White-rumped Sandpiper at Cliad feeding with Sanderlings and a few Dunlin and the regular flock of 12 Bar-tailed Godwits. I managed to get a few horrible photos by holding the camera of my mobile phone up to the scope - my DSLR is currently out of action sadly. Meanwhile, at the same time John Bowler the RSPB warden over on Tiree was watching an adult White-rumped Sandpiper and two Pectoral Sandpipers at The Reef. John also had 34 Ruff, 12 Black-tailed Godwits and a Curlew Sandpiper on Tiree today, whilst other birds of note on Coll included the first Barnacle Geese of the autumn (16 over mid-morning) and an adult Black-throated Diver off the pier for its 3rd day.



White-rumped Sandpiper on Coll



White-rumped Sandpiper on Tiree (John Bowler)



White-rumped Sandpiper on Tiree (John Bowler)

Both islands have neen excellent for Merlin and Hen Harrier this week, possibly due to the huge numbers of Meadow Pipits passing through. Belated news came through of a Long-eared Owl at Arnabost on Monday 12th. Apparently it fell out of the sky completely drenched in the hideous rain and winds.



SEAWATCHING 13TH SEPTEMBER 2011

Tried a seawatch off Cliad early afternoon but other than good numbers of Gannets moving W and 4 Common Scoters heading NE it was very slow. Much better this eveing though off the Arinagour Pier with 1 juv Sabine's Gull, 6 Leach's Petrels, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 97 Manx Shearwaters, 74 Arctic Terns, 2 Pomarine Skuas, 11 Arctic Skuas, 18 Great Skuas, 53 Kittiwakes, 19 Fulmars, c150 Gannets and 16 Pale-bellied Brent Geese. Earlier on (1.30pm) there was an Osprey over Toraston heading SW, possibly the one subsequently seen on Tiree.

 

juvenile Pomarine Skua



Meanwhile, on Tiree an evening seawatch by John Bowler produced 3 juv Sabine’s Gulls, 9 Leach’s Petrels, 4 Storm Petrel, 2 Sooties, 2 Pomarine Skua, 14 Arctic Skua, 30 Bonxie, 19 Arctic Tern, 41 Kits, 51 Fulmar,138 Manxies, 205 Gannet and 96 large auks. An Osprey was seen distantly at Moss perched on a ruin late afternoon. 

 

COLL SEAWATCH 10TH SEPTEMBER 2011

A superb sea-watch again this evening from 1830-1930. At times I didn't know where to look there was so much going on. All the shearwaters were moving SW-NE whilst pretty much everything else was moving into the wind in a NE-SW direction. Highlights were a flock of 3 adult & 4 juvenile Long-tailed Skuas which passed within 100m of the pier then banked up high and headed off inland in a westerly direction. Other best bits were at least 3 Sabine's Gulls (1 adult & 2 juveniles) with probably two others that were just too far out to be 100% certain. Totals were c.1000 Manx Shearwaters, 146 Sooty Shearwaters, c.50 Fulmars, c.300 Gannets, 19 Arctic Skuas, 14 Bonxies, 7 Long-tailed Skuas, c.1100 Kittiwakes (mostly adults), 3-5 Sabine's Gulls, 260 Arctic Terns including one flock of 160+, 100+ auk spp, 2 Red-throated Divers, 7 Great Northern Divers and 5 Common Scoters. Amazingly, not a single petrel!
Earlier in the day I went looking for waders and despite the huge numbers of Yanks around just now was disappointed that the best bird was a single Little Stint amongst the Sanderlings & Turnstones at Cliad.

juvenile Arctic Skua

Manx Shearwater

TIREE 7TH-9TH SEPTEMBER 2011

An exciting few days on Tiree although I can't help feeling this is just the beginning of yet another amazing autumn for the island. Many thanks to John Bowler for the following update.

A 2-hr seawatch off Aird in the morning of the 7th produced highlights of 1 juv Sabine’s Gull, 1 Leach’s Petrel and 5 Sooty Shearwaters, as well as 790 Manx Shearwaters, 510 Gannets, 135 Fulmars, 8 Bonxies and 3 Common Scoters. In the afternoon, Mark Fanshawe found another juv Sabine’s Gull at Traigh nan Gilean.
Best bird of the 8th was the Nightingale at Vaul first seen on the 3rd, and a long-dead 10m long Sperm Whale was discovered at Traigh nan Gilean. The 9th saw large arrivals of Golden Plovers and Snipe as well as a confiding juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper on a flooded field at Balinoe.

Sabine's Gull by Mark Fanshawe

Nightingale by Mark Fanshawe

Pectoral Sandpiper by John Bowler

Pectoral Sandpiper by John Bowler

7TH SEPTEMBER STUNNING SEA-WATCHING OFF COLL

With all these winds I decided to step up the seawatching today. I tried an hour off Cliad early afternoon with some success. An adult Pomarine Skua was the highlight but there were also five Arctic Skuas harrassing a migrating flock of 50+ "Commic" Terns.
This evening was much more rewarding. The first hour (1630-1730) saw two juvenile Long-tailed Skuas amongst a flock of over 300 Kittiwakes, Gannets moving SW at 15 birds per minute, Manx Shearwaters moving NE at 20 birds per minute and Fulmars at 10 birds per minute. Amongst the Manxies were 6 Sooty Shearwaters and one Balearic Shearwater. The second hour was even better with totals of 7 Leach's Petrels, 4 Storm Petrels, 1100 Fulmars, 600+ Gannets, 300+ Kittiwakes, 4000 Manx Shearwaters, 22 Sooties, another Balearic, a probable Great Shearwater, 11 Arctic Skuas and 34 Bonxies.
In summary then, the two hour session from 1630-1830 produced estimates of 1500 Gannets, 800 Kittiwakes, 1700 Fulmars, 5200 Manx Shearwaters, 28 Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 1 probable Great Shearwater, 7 Leach's Petrels, 4 Storm Petrels, 2 Long-tailed Skuas, 11 Arctic Skuas and 34 Bonxies.

SW GALES AND SEAWATCHING 6TH SEPTEMBER

Tried two seawatches this afternoon in SW 4-5 winds, firstly off Arinagour where the highlights of an hour were 6 Sooty Shearwaters amongst 36 Manxies and then off Cliad where the only birds of significance were 2 Storm Petrels. There was however a Pectoral Sandpiper in a huddle with 2 Curlews and a Barwit on the golf course there sheltering from the storm.

 

Meanwhile, over on Tiree the Nightingale was still present on 5th and John Bowler had two successful seawatches off Aird with highlights being 12 Leach’s Petrels, 9 Sooties, 10 Arctic Skuas and 21 Bonxies on the evening of 6th and a juvenile Sabine’s Gull, 1 Leach’s Petrel & 5 Sooty Shearwaters on the morning of 7th. Many thanks to John Bowler for the Tiree update.

WILDLIFE TOURS 4TH-5TH SEPTEMBER

A couple of really good tours this last few days. Bird highlight yesterday was a juvenile Little Gull off Cliad. Seven Bar-tailed Godwits flew in off the sea and there were good numbers of Sanderling, Ringed Plover and Turnstones. Bumblebees there included a Great Yellow and numerous Red-shanked and Moss Carders. Botanical highlights were a single Irish Ladies Tresses and still thousands of Grass of Parnassus in bloom. A superb hunting Hen Harrier brought the tour to a nice end as it harried a flock of 200+ Twite.

Highlights of today's tours were Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper amongst the throngs of Sanderling and Dunlin at Crossapol. Great views of Otter and Grey & Common Seals were had there and a female Hen Harrier hunted the Twite flocks at Breacacha. A superb Osprey slowly drifted south over the Roadside Lochs.

Osprey

AUTUMN MIGRATION STARTING TO PICK UP

Following on from the long staying Hoopoe at Arnabost on Coll (22nd-30th August), reasonable numbers of Sooty Shearwaters and Pomarine Skuas and some good wader passage including Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwit and Knot, the autumn is now beginning to really get going.
Reports from Tiree today included a Nightingale at Vaul and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Loch a' Phuill. What next? Many thanks to John Bowler for the Tiree update.
These two islands have a great record in autumn and Coll Of The Wild is now taking bookings for 5-day all-inclusive guided birding holidays in September and October. 

 

Nightingale (Keith Gillon)