Both Barnacle and Greenland White-fronted Geese moving north ,in small numbers , first thing as they "readjusted" after overshooting the island. A flock of 37 White-fronts on the south Rinns was obviously newly arrived with most birds asleep! Gradually activity increased and they began preening or feeding. Amongst them was an adult bird wearing a collar (bearing letters and a number) which allows its movements to be tracked based on the reports from birdwatchers sent back to the organizer of the scheme ( Tony Fox ).I'll post details in due course.
A seawatch showed a few birds on the move including 104 Kittiwakes, odd Manx Shearwater, Red-throated Diver and a flock of Turnstone. Auk numbers have been extremely low to date with only around 20 seen this morning.Two Black-throated Divers were offshore.
Further north odd Swallows were still around at Bruichladdich but a nice surprise was a flock of 29 Mistle Thrush, which I think is the highest number I've seen on Islay. Local birds form flocks in autumn but, equally, they may have been migrants given a few Blackbirds and Song Thrush were with them.
Inner Loch Indaal was alive with birds, compared to the Outer loch , which was virtually devoid of birds. A lone wader loosely associated with Golden Plover showed enough to suggest American Golden Plover but, shortly after finding it, all birds "spooked", including the 4000 + Barnacle Geese!!!!, and everything went in diverse directions!!! An hour spent looking for it, unsuccessfully, added to the frustration so a search arranged for first thing in the morning!!
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