Monday, October 13, 2008

12th October,2008.

Spent most of the day birdwatching with friends, so lots of banter and fun!!! Whilst we covered quite some ground we had some good birds too, including the Rose-coloured Starling still in the centre of Bowmore. It's begining to look a bit tatty, but still as ebullient as previously.

Managed to confirm productivity of another eagle pair seen together with their single young bird this time. Only one territory remains for which data is unavailable, which is the farthest away of them all!!

This weekend was the count date for Light-bellied Brent Geese. Birds present on both Loch Indaal and Loch Gruinart but also a party of 8 resting along the shoreline in Machir Bay. With the number of people around these moved off eventually, as did a single Arctic Tern, which we'd first seen almost lying prone on the sand seemingly utterly exhausted. Various beaches had Ringed Plover and some Sanderling suggesting this week had seen quite a peak in passage. Finally, two or three small flocks of Golden Plover seen as these seem to have been quite scarce here this autumn , at least so far. Depressingly, reports of certainly more than one American Golden Plover from "neighbouring" Tiree, where doubtless they didn't have the constraint of thousands of newly arrived and nervous Barnacle Geese spooking everything every few minutes!!!

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