SANDWICH BAY BIRD OBSERVATORY EXPEDITIONS THE ISLAY EXPERIENCE OCTOBER 31ST TO NOVEMBER 7TH 2014 Friday October 31st: En route to Islay We had an early start to our trip, with almost everyone gathering at the Observatory for the coach to pick us up at 3.30 a.m. As it happened, it was some fifteen minutes late but it made good time en route to Gatwick and some of us were even able to catch up on some sleep! The airport transfer went smoothly and even the breakfast served while on our flight north to Glasgow was acceptable. At Glasgow there was a minor ‘ripple’, bearing in mind the problems that had occurred earlier in the week, when there appeared to be no mini-buses. However, a quick phone call to the company put our minds at rest and we found them ready and waiting a short walk away. We headed north out of Glasgow, crossed the Erskine Bridge near Dumbarton and on up the west side of Loch Lomond. The autumn colour of the trees lining the road were commented on by all, but we saw few birds until our first stop, at Arrochar, set at the head of the sea- loch, Loch Long. Here the muddy margins held a number of gulls, including Common Gulls, 1 while the Corvids on the ‘beach’ included at least a dozen Hooded Crows. Two Goldeneye were seen offshore while waders included Redshank and Curlew. A Grey Wagtail and several Rock Pipits were found and one member of the group walked a short distance to find a Dipper on a nearby burn. We then headed off into the Argyll mountains, climbing up the long incline to the ‘Rest and be Thankful’ pass. Here a road diversion due to a landslide took us down a back route through Forestry Commission land, but we re-joined the main road at the top of the pass. From there it was downhill and onwards through beautiful scenery as we drove along the sides of sea-lochs, including Loch Fyne, where the oysters come from, stopped at Inveraray for lunch and then onwards through Lochgilphead and down to Tarbert. We had arrived in plenty of time here to walk around and explore this busy fishing port. In the harbour were a few Little Grebes and some Mute Swans, but not much else. Our final leg of the journey, took us by way of the ferry ‘port’ at Kennacraig on the Caledonian-MacBrayne (Calmac) ferry out to Port Askaig in Islay. Despite the fresh wind and the rain lashing down on the decks outside, the crossing was surprisingly good and the on- board cuisine was sampled by most of us before we arrived on Islay and were transferred to our hotel or Youth Hostel in Bowmore and Port Charlotte respectively. We started our Islay bird list in the dark, when a Barn Owl was flushed from a roadside fence post just as we came into Bridgend. A long day and a varied one! Saturday November 1st Bowmore; Loch Indaal; Loch Gruinart RSPB Reserve and Ardnave Our first day on Islay. For those of the group staying at the Port Charlotte Youth Hostel, the day dawned red over Loch Indaal and, as the weather lore has it, the ‘red sky in the morning’ did prove correct because there were showers of rain on and off all day to-day, but bright intervals in between. People in one of the mini-buses were fortunate enough to see our first Choughs as they travelled in across the head of Loch Indaal on the way in to breakfast at the Bowmore Hotel. And all of us had glimpses of the large flocks of Barnacle Geese coming off their overnight roosting sites on the mud-flats. However, the main birding started for everyone just after breakfast as we called in at Bowmore Harbour. Here we found good numbers of Red- breasted Mergansers and a few Eider Ducks and Great Crested Grebes. The best birds, however, were at least 3 Great Northern Divers which were seen quite well out in the Loch. Two of these were still in summer plumage. Moving north round the Loch we found further species to add to our growing list, including a nice flock of migrating Redwings, before moving inland towards the RSPB Reserve at Loch Gruinart. Arriving at Gruinart Flats, a large flock of Barnacle Geese in a field also had a number of Greenland White fronted Geese with them and a single Pink-footed Goose, a 2 species which is not at all common on Islay, but, even better, there was a Cackling Goose. This small member of the Canada Goose family breeds in the Canadian Arctic and although it is a vagrant to Britain as a whole, it does turn up in most winters on Islay. It was previously considered as a sub-species of Canada Goose but is now treated as a separate species by most authorities. Just after leaving the site, one group of us were fortunate to have views, (though rather distant), of a White Tailed Eagle. White-tailed Eagles have only been breeding on Islay for a few years, but there are now thought to be at least two pairs and a further one on Jura, plus, of course, the various young birds. A couple of hundred Golden Plover were also frequenting the damp pastures below the RSPB Centre, mixed in with Lapwings. After visiting the RSPB Centre, we spent the next hour or so in the hides overlooking the wetland area. There were good, close-range views of various duck such as Teal and also of Barnacle, Grey Lag and Greenland White-fronted Geese. Two Hen Harriers were found and 2 Ruff by one group of us. A very distant bird of prey was clearly an Eagle of some sort, (probably Golden), but it did not come close enough for us to confirm its identity. We then drove north up to Ardnave Loch, which held about half a dozen Whooper Swans, but much more interesting were a decent-sized flock of about 40 Choughs, feeding in a typically-active, loose flock as they foraged over the short-grass of the sand-dunes there. We all returned to the Youth Hostel at Port Charlotte to do the daily bird log and to plan for the next day. Sunday November 2nd Loch Gruinart; Machir Bay; Loch Indaal; Portnahaven / Port Wemyss and The Rhinns of Islay After yesterday’s heavy rain showers, to-day dawned much brighter but with a brisk south- westerly wind to blow the clouds along. Leaving Bowmore after breakfast, we found a group of Pale-bellied Brent Geese along the shore. The Pale-bellied race of the Brent Goose are much the commoner along north-west shores of Britain, compared to the Dark-bellied Brent which we get in the south-east. Continuing towards Loch Gruinart we came across a flighty flock of Fieldfares, clearly newly- arrived from the Continent, and there were a few Redwings about too. We drove up the east side of Loch Gruinart, with the light behind us, and again there were large flocks of Barnacle Geese to be seen. We added a few more birds to our list including four Greenshank, a few of which winter on Islay, and a late migrant Whimbrel. Other waders included Dunlin, Redshank and many Oystercatchers. We called in at the RSPB Centre again, then continued over the moorland towards Loch Gorm. Along this road, a ‘ringtail’, (female or juvenile), Hen Harrier flew across the road, the first of several to be seen to-day. 3 After a short drive, we arrived at Machir Bay. The westerly wind was blowing up some quite decent waves along the deserted sandy beach and most people went out for a bracing walk. Some birds were on the dunes and the surrounding area, including Choughs, for which this is a favourite area. (Choughs are dependent on having close-cropped turf grassland near the coast, so they can feed on the invertebrates living in the turf). Returning inland from Machir Bay we came across two very large flocks of Rock Doves, totalling perhaps 400 birds, which were taking advantage of grain left in a stubble field. (Just think, farmer’s fields used to be like this all over Britain….). Rock Doves are the wild ancestors, of course, of town and city Feral Pigeons, but everyone agreed that these smart pale-grey, white-rumped birds were in a different league. The concentration of birds that we saw must represent a large proportion of the population from northern Islay and they are usually only seen in pairs or very small groups. In the afternoon, we skirted round the north-west side of Loch Indaal and drove down towards the south-west tip of Islay. On the way, extensive sea-views opened up on our left and it was possible to just pick out the outline of the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland and the mountains of County Donegal, lying away south on the southern horizon. At Portnahaven and Port Wemyss, two beautiful former fishing villages, a number of Atlantic Grey Seals were hauled out, but there were few birds about and this proved to be the case, apart from a few Buzzards, as we drove back across The Rhinns on our way back to Port Charlotte. A Great Northern Diver, just offshore there, did provide the photographers with some sport. Monday November 3rd. Bridgend Woods; Lock Skerrols; the Woollen Mill; Bunnahabhain and the Sound of Jura. Another bright, breezy and sunny start to the day, but, just like yesterday, by the afternoon heavy rain showers started to appear, to put a dampeners on things, but by that time we were back in the mini-buses, heading ‘home’.