SCOTTISH BIRDS j~ Ir:i I '\ ~ ~~~. '--. / ~ THE JOURNAL OF THE SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' CLUB Volume 6 No 2 SUMMER 1970 Price 105 SCOTTISH BIRD REPORT 1969 JohnGooders watchingTawnyEagles inThebes Mr. John Gooders, the celebrated ornithologist and Editor of 'Birds of the World', is seen using his new Zeiss 10 x 40B binoculars. Mr. Gooders writes: "I stare through binoculars all day long for weeks on end without eyestrain - try that with any binocular other than West German Zeiss. The 10 x 40B meets all my other needs too; high twilight power for birds at dawn and dusk, superb resolution for feather by feather examination, and wide fie ld of view. With no external moving parts they stand the rough treatment that studying birds in marsh, snow and desert involves - I can even use them with sunglasses without losing performance. Zeiss binoculars are not cheap - but they are recognised as the best by every ornithologist I know. The 10 x 40B is the perfect glass fo r birdwatching·'. Details from the sole UK agents for Carl Zeiss, West Germany. Degenhardt & Co. Ltd., Carl Zeiss House, 31/36 Foley Street, London W1P SAP. Telephone 01-636 8050 (15 lines) _ I~ I megenhardt RSPB fT0 Protect and Conser..-e' The RSPB now maintains 10 Reserves in Scotland and employs regional representatives in Shetland and Orkney. BUT MUCH REMAINS TO BE DONE-WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 17 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh, EH7 5BN Tel. 031-556 5624 CRESTED TITS IN THE CAR PARK OSPREYS IN THE AUDITORIUM AT LANDMARK EUROPE'S FIRST VISITORS CENTRE Open from Mid-June on A9 at CARRBRIDGE GOOD SELECTION OF BIRD BOOKS R.S.P.B. Films in the Evening Restaurant Open 9 a.m •• 10 p.m. Dornoch Castle Hotel ISLAY DORNOCH, SUTHERLAND 'The Blrd·Watchers' Paradise' A.A. * R.A.C. * R.S.A.C. Retaining the romance of a Castle and the homely charm of a For stimulating ornithological country Douse combined with the experience nothing can beat Islay amenities of a modem hotel, our in late spring. There is an astonish· guests receive a warm welcome ing variety of bird habitat. Not long and a first class service. ago ninety·seven different birds Conveniently situated for the were seen in two days and that in Dornoch Firth, Tain Bay, Edderton the depths of winter! The island is Sands, Skibo Estuary and Loch the principal wintering resort. Fleet as well as many interesting possibly in the world, of the inland moorland, mountain and Barnacle Goose. It is also the last forest areas, Dornoch has much to Scottish stronghold of the Chough. offer the observer of wild birds. Illustrated brochure of hotel gladly sent on request. For Ornithological Brochure Proprietors : write to Mid Argyll, Kintyre Irene and Stuart Thomson & Islay Tourist Association, Telephone Domoch 216 Tarbert, Argyll. SCOTTISH BIRDS THE JOURNAL OF THE SCOTrISH ORNITIlOLOGISTS' CLUB 21 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh, EH7 5BT Contents of Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 1970 Page Editorial 61 Scottish Bird Report 1969. By A. T. Macmillan (plates 5-8) 62 Isle of May Bird Observatory and Field Station Report for 1969. by Nancy J. Gordon ... ... ... 129 Enquiries 137 The Scottish Ornithologists' Club 137 LOST-Bound volumes of 'Scottish Birds' -an urgent appeal for help There has been an unfortunate muddle in the binding of copies of volume 5 of Scottish Birds. As a result, the editor has received back from the binder someone else's volumes; his own personal volumoe and the editorial copy have both been lost. It seems that other people have also received the wrong copies. If you had volume 5 bound, will you please check that you have received back your own copy (annotated or unmarked, as the case may be). The editor's and editorial copies are both annotated and may be recognised from the fact that at the top of the editorial page of each issue the date of receipt is written into the heading in ink. If you have got the wrong copy it would be very much appreciated if you would let the club secretary or the editor know so that matters may be put right. In particular, the editors are very anxious to recover their copies, these being in a sense the tools of their trade. Edited by A. T. Macmillan, 12 Abinger Gardens, Edinburgh, EH12 6DE Assisted by D. G. Andrew Business Editor Major A. D. Peirse-Duncombe, Scottish Ornithologists' Club, 21 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh, EH7 5BT (tel. 031-556 6042) LOOK BIRDWATCHERS SPECIAL BINOCULAR­ TELESCOPE OFFERII UP DISCOUNT OF TO 25% Postage included/Free Transit Insurance. Retail price Our price SWIFT AUDUBON 8.5 x 44 £42 10 0 £31 10 0 SWIFT SARATOGA 8 x 40 £22 10 0 £18 5 0 SWIFT TRllYTE 7 x 35 £49 10 0 £37 0 0 ROYAL 8 x 30 (Proof Prism) £39 10 0 £33 0 0 ZEISS JENA JENOPTEM 8 x 30W £29 10 0 £23 17 0 ZEISS JENA DEKAREM 10 x 50 £78 10 0 £63 1 0 eARL ZEISS 8 x 30B Dialyt £85 0 0 £68 6 0 eARL ZEISS 8 x 50B .... £142 0 0 £113 18 0 eARL ZEISS 10 x 40B .. .. £97 10 0 £78 6 0 lEITZ 8 x 32B .... .. .. £89 14 5 £72 0 0 lEITZ 10 x 40 .... .. .. £100 7 5 £80 12 6 ROSS STEPRUVA 9 x 35 £50 1 11 £40 5 0 Nickel Supra Telescope 15 x 60 x 60 £54 19 0 £43 19 0 Hertel & Reuss Televari 25 x 60 x 60 £52 15 6 £42 4 6 All complete with case. Fully guaranteed. Available on 7 days approval-Remittance with order. Send for Free price list. Also available most makes of Photographic Equipment at 22t % Discount. Send for separate price list. NASCROFT TRADING CO. LTD. 15 SHORTCROFT, DODDINGHURST, BRENTWOOD, ESSEX. Telephone Navestock 3498 (via Brentwood) SCOTTISH BIRDS THE JOURNAL OF THE SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' CLUB Vol. 6 No. 2 Summer 1970 Edited by A. T. Macmillan, assisted by D. G. Andrew Edi torial New editor. Many readers will know that the SOC has been seeking a new editor for Scottish Birds. It can be very reward­ ing and satisfying to be responsible for such a journal, even if one's principal function is often to remain unobtrusively in the background easing other people's work into print. But it calls also for a great deal of spare time, something that gets progressively scarcer as the responsibilities and demands of a growing family crowd upon one. Thus it was, with consider­ able regret, that we eventually bowed to the inevitable, asking that the Council should appoint a new editor and allow us to slip into retirement. In Tom Delaney they have found a most enthusiastic and experienced successor. In the coming months he will be picking up the threads of the work, with a view to taking over completely before the end of the year. We trust he will find his time in office as worthwhile as we always have; we appeal to all Scottish ornithologists to give him their fullest support in a difficult job; and we wish him every success with it. SOC subscriptions. As approved last year and detailed in the spring issue (Scot. Birds 6: 56), SOC membership sub­ scriptions go up this autumn (except for those who have joined the club since 1st November 1969 and are already on the new scale) by relatively modest amounts considering the extraordinary length of time since the previous rise, the pres­ ent level of subscriptions to other organisations, and the bene­ fits of membership. We sincerely hope no one will grudge the small extra cost. What has made it possible to continue so long at the old level has been the club's steadily expanding membership; the clear moral is that it is in everyone's interest to be on the lookout for potential new members at all times (descriptive leaflets and application forms may be had from the club secretary). The other painless way to help offset ris­ ing costs is by buying all one's new bird books from the SOC Bird Bookshop (at no extra cost, as the bookshop pays the postage). (To smooth the way for the col1ection of subscriptions in the autumn everyone with a banker's order or deed of covenant has been approached with a request to revise it in line with the new arrangements. Most 62 EDITORIAL 6(2) people have now done so, but apparently some members have not yet 'responded; -it would be thoughtful if they did so now, and thus saved the club secretariat the most tedious work of writing about small un­ paid balances of 1970/71 subscriptions.) Scottish Bird Report 1969 Compiled by ANDREW T. MACMILLAN (Plates 5-8) This 1969 report follows that for 1968 (Scot. Birds 5: 302- 356), the first of a new series, and it is compiled on the same principles, though working out somewhat longer. We are sorry for its late appearance, a product basically of the very large volume of material handled. What we have tried to produce, so far as the information is available, is an unbiased record of changes in status and of the year's patterns of migration. Much of what is included may be felt to make heavy reading, but we firmly believe that 'its value as a source of reference will continue to grow. as succeeding reports become available for comparison. We have not usually attempted to define the ordinary status of a species (for which see mainly Rintoul & Baxter The Birds of Scotland 1953), because of the difficulty of covering so large and varied an area as Scotland in a line or two, but the text should indi­ cate clearly which species breed in Scotand.