Scottish Birds 35:2 (2015)
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Contents Scottish Birds 35:2 (2015) 98 President’s Foreword C. McInerny PAPERS 99 Habitat selection by Greenland White-fronted Geese at RSPB Loch Gruinart, Islay J. How & G. Gilbert 105 Scottish Birds Records Committee report on rare birds in Scotland, 2013 R.Y. McGowan & C.J. McInerny on behalf of the Scottish Birds Records Committee 126 The use of trail cameras for the audio monitoring of birds and detection of Spotted Crakes I. Francis & C.B. Smith SHORT NOTES 129 Behaviour of a newly established pair of urban-nesting Lesser Black-backed Gulls in Ayrshire D. Grant 130 Feeding association between Kingfisher and European Otter in Glasgow C. McInerny OBITUARIES 132 William Clunie (1948–2014) D.R. McKean ARTICLES, NEWS & VIEWS 134 Scottish Birdwatchers’ Conference, Glasgow, 21 March 2015 143 NEWS AND NOTICES 145 Dense fog and a Gannet frenzy R. Shucksmith 151 BLAST FROM THE PAST - The attempted nesting of Bee-eaters in Scotland in 1920 I.J. Andrews 154 ARTIST PROFILE - Brin Edwards 156 The American Golden Plover at Maidens - do I have to write a description? A. Hogg 159 Starling eggs on a lawn J. Savory 160 Site fidelity of Great Northern Diver with a deformed bill D.C. Jardine & I.A. Fisher 162 Nuthatch numbers soar at Dalzell J. Maxwell 163 BOOK REVIEWS 166 OBSERVATORIES' ROUNDUP 170 Little Egrets in Dumfries & Galloway P.N. Collin 173 Vagrant Nearctic waders on the Isle of Tiree, Argyll J.M. Bowler 180 Harlequin Ducks in Scotland 2015 R. Leslie & D. MacAskill 186 Red Grouse, Isle of May, April 2015 - first record for the island G. Howie SCOTTISH BIRD SIGHTINGS 188 1 January to 31 March 2015 S.L. Rivers PHOTOSPOT BC Redshank A. Chapman 35:2 (2015) Scottish Birds 97 President’s Foreword President’s Foreword I am delighted to say that the Club has now been converted to a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). The final signing off occurred on 31 March when office bearers visited Morton Fraser, the Club’s lawyers (see page 143). We thank Elizabeth Robertson of Morton Fraser for her work in making the process so smooth from beginning to end. Can I remind members that, as part of this conversion, the Club’s Constitution has been updated; the new version is available to view/download from the SOC website: www.the-soc.org.uk/constitution. Please take a moment to look at it. We have just had the spring conference in Glasgow, Plate 88. Chris McInerny, Aberlady, February 2015. hosted by the Clyde branch of the SOC, which was a © Karen Bidgood huge success. Many folk came to hear a series of excellent and varied talks, the venue was great, and the lunch tasty (see pages 134–142). The only catch was that we were all ‘trapped’ inside on a beautiful sunny day! I thank Ian Fulton and the Clyde branch for running this super event. Next year’s spring conference will be held in Peebles on the 19 March 2016, with BTO Scotland and SOC Borders branch taking a lead role in its organisation. Preparations are already well underway for this autumn’s SOC conference, which will be at the Atholl Palace Hotel in Pitlochry at the end of October (see booking information enclosed). The programme has been built around the theme of upland birds and their management. We hope that the talks will prove very topical and create much debate and discussion about what we all can do to help to manage and preserve an important part of the Scottish countryside. We hope to see you there. Some members will also receive their annual renewal reminder with this issue of the journal. I hope the Club can continue to count on your support. I would also ask any members not already signed up to Direct Debit to strongly consider switching to this convenient method of paying your subscription. Not only does it make the renewal process automatic, so there is less chance of you forgetting and missing out, it also makes a considerable difference in terms of staff time and resources. To switch to Direct Debit, visit the renew page on the SOC website (www.the- soc.org.uk/renew) or speak to a member of staff at Headquarters. As I write, I am hearing the roof-nesting gulls of Glasgow establishing territory in the city with their evocative calls. In our garden and at my study sites on Loch Lomond many resident birds are already setting up territories, the first migrant Chiffchaffs have been calling, and I have already seen some juvenile Common Crossbills. With Rooks, Ravens and Grey Herons all nest building, I find this a wonderfully invigorating time of the year. Best wishes to all and good birding. Chris McInerny, SOC President 98 Scottish Birds 35:2 (2015) Scottish Birds Records Committee report on rare birds in Scotland, 2011 Plate 89. Greenland White-fronted Goose, Loch Gruinart RSPB reserve, Islay, February 2009. © Michal Šúr/www.michalsur.sk Habitat selection by Greenland White-fronted Geese at RSPB Loch Gruinart, Islay J. HOW & G. GILBERT The Islay population of Greenland White-fronted Geese has dropped from a high of 13,000 in 1999 to 5,000 in 2013. The global decline in these geese is a conservation concern. The Loch Gruinart reserve has undertaken monthly field-by-field goose counts since 1984/85. This data set, combined with grassland habitat mapping, has been used to test habitat selection by the White- fronted Geese that use the reserve. ‘Frequency of field use’ has been used as a measure of field selection, which has been mapped and compared with available grassland habitats. The results indicate that White-fronted Geese show a preference for wet (flooded and wet rush pasture and wet grassland) areas over drier (un-/less improved grassland and improved grassland). This preference has become stronger over the last 15 years. The preferred fields have some standing water and a diversity of grass sward, which includes areas of managed soft rush. Introduction The Loch Gruinart RSPB reserve covers an area of 1700 ha in the north-west of the Isle of Islay, Argyll. The reserve comprises approximately 700 ha of grassland, 800 ha of hill moorland/blanket bog mosaic and 200 ha of intertidal mud and saltmarsh. It is part of the Gruinart Flats SSSI/SPA and RAMSAR site for wintering Barnacle Branta leucopsis and Greenland White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons flavirostris. It is particularly important for the geese as they arrive and depart from Islay. The reserve can hold up to 36,000 Barnacle Geese and 1000 Greenland White-fronted Geese at these times. 35:2 (2015) Scottish Birds: 99–104 99 Habitat selection by Greenland White-fronted Geese at RSPB Loch Gruinart, Islay Plate 90. Greenland White-fronted Geese, Loch Gruinart RSPB reserve, Islay, April 2010. © Michal Šúr/www.michalsur.sk The Greenland White-fronted Goose population has recently experienced a global decline which has been very severe within the Islay population, decreasing from 13,000 in 1998/99 to 5,000 in 2013/14 (Fox et al. 2014). This population change has been mirrored in the number of White- fronted Geese using the reserve. The Barnacle Goose population has increased and appears to have plateaued at approximately 40,000 (SNH 2014). The level of goose grazing on Islay has been of concern to the island’s agricultural community for some years. In 1992, the Islay goose management scheme was established to create and run government funded schemes to manage and subsidise agriculture for income forgone due to goose damage. Over the last 10 years, Greenland White-fronted Goose declines have become a growing worry, and efforts are being made to see if anything more can be done to maintain or improve conditions for over-wintering White-fronted Geese. White-fronted Geese appear to use less improved grassland compared to Barnacle Geese (Bignal & McCracken 1996). This paper uses the Loch Gruinart goose count data to look at habitat preferences, which could inform future goose management for White-fronted Geese. Method Staff at the Loch Gruinart reserve have undertaken monthly field-by-field counts of all wintering geese since 1984/85. Each year these counts are undertaken using the same route which gives views of all fields. The counts are carried out during October to April (inclusive) during the day time between 10:00 and 15:00 to monitor goose feeding behaviour. The reserve’s grassland habitats have been divided into four broad grassland types (Figure 1): Ⅲ FRG (flood and wet rush pasture) - grassland with a diverse sward including rush Juncus sp. and large areas of winter pooled water. Ⅲ WG (wet grassland) - reseeded and managed permanent pasture, mostly ryegrass Lolium sp. with areas of winter pooled water. Ⅲ UG (un- or less improved grassland) - unimproved grassland with a diverse sward, mostly dry. Ⅲ IG (improved grassland) - improved grassland, reseeded or fertilised permanent pasture, dry. 100 Scottish Birds: 99–104 35:2 (2015) Habitat selection by Greenland White-fronted Geese at RSPB Loch Gruinart, Islay Monthly goose count data was used in the form of ‘frequency of field use. For each season, frequency of field use is the number of visits to each field where White-fronted Geese were present. The figure is comparable across fields and seasons, given that the same seven visits were made to each field - October to April each year. The mean of this number was calculated across fields of each habitat type each season. There were occasional years when counts were made in September and May, these month counts were excluded in the data analysed across all fields.