A more than pertinent reminder!

I've just been watching a programme in the Natural World series which appeared on the Eden Channel of Sky Television entitled " White Falcon, White Wolf", which was excellent and which I can recommend absolutely. Filmed on Ellesmere Island at the northern tip of Canadian Territory it follows the fortunes of a pair of Gyr Falcons and a Wolf pack. Unbelievable close-ups, flight shots , activity shots...... the lot, wildlife filming par excellence!! Other "stars" include Snowy Owls, Arctic Foxes, Musk Ox and Arctic Skua.

With the recent saga here on Islay relating to the Gyr the film provided some useful reference material relating to plumage details, size comparisons and the like. The nest site was magnificent and, based on studies of prey bones at the rear of the ledge,has apparently been in use for several hundred years! On Ellesmere Island the breeding cycle is closely synchronized to the appearance of young Arctic Hares; elsewhere Gyrs can rely heavily on sea birds. This caused me to consider the sad condition the Islay bird was finally discovered in and reflect on the fact that, just around the corner of the island it frequented was a breeding cliff used by Fulmar and only 100m or so away. At regular intervals birds have been returning there since Christmas and would have been easy prey, if desired, as would the local Herring and Common Gulls. We will now obviously never know the reason why such a magnificent predator met its demise, but the sight of it scattering local Rock Doves around the village as it moved through and the excitement of confirming that the white sentinel atop McKenzie Island was again the bird in question will long remain as a memory.

BUBO Listing.

Do you keep a list of birds you've seen? Locally,nationally,internationally perhaps? In recent times I do, and quite unashamedly too, but for my own enjoyment and reference as opposed to it being in any way competitive. Living where I do it would be impossible to be competitive anyway ( I've yet to see some of the most common birds in the UK this year given they don't occur on the island! ).

Sadly I lost most of my previous (lifetime ) records previous to 2001! Any lists I'd kept had been a bit of a half-hearted affair anyway and weren't computerised. Following that time I was determined that such a loss wouldn't happen again and a suitable means of "storage" would be found. And so , I commenced on a full blown Ornithological Renaissance and am enjoying every minute of it!. I have to admit that, in addition to the facilities described below, I also use Bird Base to record daily excursions etc, which can incorporate more detail.

Along this road of self declared discipline I found BUBO!! Not a stray owl, nor a holiday company , but a listing facility (http://www.bubo.org/listing, but also see the direct link opposite under Links to Other Organizations). Created and maintained by Andy Musgrove and Mike Prince it provides the facility to create, store ,compare and print off as many lists as you wish to maintain, and much,much more. You can commit records to more than one list as you're entering items, see who's seen what and how many species in a given year, retain your old Annual Lists...... They've thought of everything and it's tremendous fun. The more information you commit, the more you can enjoy a good trawl through a list for, say,2008, or check whether you saw a particular species when visiting Borneo!! They deserve a lot of credit from all of us in the birding world who use the site and I'm quite candid in saying that my own usage of the site has brought a lot of enjoyment. New features are forever appearing and doubtless the site will ( and should ) go from strength to strength.

So, whether you ( like me )also have a copy of Clements' book and dutifully "tick the boxes", try this too. Take a look at the site, register, have a browse and then pitch in! You'll not regret it. Sure, there are some very active people who see an enormous amount of species, but there are many,many more who can only operate within the limits of the time they have available. A site for everyone, try it!

Gyr Falcon carcass found!

After what has been a period of enjoyment for many it's now sad to report that the carcass of a Gyr Falcon was today found along one of Islay's beaches. What remains of the bird can be seen in the image above kindly provided by Malcolm Ogilvie.

Despite what is presumed to be this bird seen feeding last Tuesday morning on the Oa by Andy Schofield its overall condition was described as emaciated. A sad ending for a very fine creature! The fact now remains as to whether there has ever been two birds present on the island as I raised previously. A hunt is now on to track down the various photographs which various people have been fortunate enough to obtain. If anyone reading this is in a position to assist then, please, do get in touch. Thanks.

On a happier note, the female Brambling has again put in sporadic appearances over the past couple of days at the garden feeders and numbers of Chaffinches have risen quite noticeably. By contrast, and since mid autumn last year, Greenfinches have been noticeable only by their absence!

International bird conservation.

This week brought the news that the final proceeds of £263,000 from last year's British Birdwatching Fair had again been donated to the BirdLife International Preventing Extinctions Programme. This is the final donation of a three year commitment by the organizers which, in total, will have reached £754,000 and provided support to a diverse series of programmes across the globe. It also marks a 21 year history of the Fair within which time a mind boggling £2.5 million pounds has been raised for global bird conservation. To Martin and Tim, well done indeed!!

By comparison,confirmed news that another Red Kite has been poisoned in Dumfries, SW Scotland. A bird found west of Dumfries on the 8th January has been analysed and found to be the target of local persecution. The carcase had even had the identification marking tags removed from the wings, which very much confirms the intent behind the action. This is the 15th bird to be found poisoned in the overall area and points to a very deliberate policy of non-acceptance of the birds arising from the otherwise successful release scheme. Given the birds are active scavengers, as opposed to "hunters", the incident smacks of uneducated prejudice of the worst kind!

And finally, for any Chinese readers, may I wish you all the best for the Chinese Spring festival and a Happy New Year!

Passerine roosting behaviour.

Recent days has seen a small roost of Reed Buntings build up in basically the only suitable bush in the garden. It's set in the SW corner and so is essentially protected on three sides by the house,the porch and the garden wall.Most importantly its location catches the very last rays of the setting sun. It's also conveniently sited near the feeders around which the birds appear to be spending most of their days recently.

Given our good,virtually calm weather of late the birds spend time sitting out on top of the bush between bouts of feeding. Within the last hour of sunlight they appear to reduce feeding activity and sit out on the very top of the bush to gain the full benefit of the rays of the weakening sun. With the last rays no longer in evidence, and with darkness descending, they then move into the depths of the bush to roost. Similar activity has also be shown by both Blackbirds and Song Thrushes with them "sitting out" on the garden wall before they too find a suitable roosting spot.

Previous to Christmas a number of " walk up" shoots were held over the grass moors surrounding the house. Based on the shots heard they had rather a lean time of it with the moor being almost bereft of birds. Over the past few days Pheasants have now begun to call again at intervals and the moor is gradually coming back to life with the local Ravens and Hooded Crows openly scavenging around, but with the real upsurge in activity and presence of other birds yet to happen.

The S.N.H. Sisterhood Rules, O.K.!!

I suppose the following is more a reflection on how lucky anyone is to live on Islay with the support that is automatically made available from neighbours, friends and residents. Given I'm rather stranded at the moment, due to awaiting a replacement part from the mainland for the car, I rang in to the Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH) office to say that circumstances still hadn't changed and that I wouldn't be available for goose counting activities. Somehow this information had already gotten there, I was advised that "the problem" had been discussed and that "arrangements" had been made to transfer to me any shopping I required via the Rinns Goose Counting team next day if I could now let them have a list !!! It worked like a dream, shelves and fridge were replenished and computer work continued virtually unabated. Many thanks girls, particularly Margaret, and to the delivery team ( Malcolm and Becky ).

Added to this must also be the support I'd already received with groceries and medication "pick -up " last week from Stuart, advice I've received from two lots of engineers about the car and the offer of the loan of a car from my landlord. Believe you me , folks, it makes it feel very special to live here, be very much out in the sticks, but have the support to overcome the isolation if something untoward happens.

Thanks also to everyone who passed on comments relating to this Blog site. I'm now intending to have a good think, given I've time on my hands, and to consider improvements for the future.

Of the Gyr Falcon saga there now appears to have been a bit of a hiatus with the last sighting I'm aware of being on Tuesday morning on the Oa. Will update as opportunity allows!

Gyr Falcon mystery as at 9.2.2010.

Two "major" updates of importance. My ability to add bird information to the Blog is impaired at the moment as I'm without transport due to some involved fault on the car !! Don't ask!!

Secondly, a report late last night from the Oa ( Andy Schofield ) confirmed he'd seen the "Portnahaven" bird there yesterday ( after I'd transferred the photograph shown on this site), but that this was not the bird depicted in the photograph of a white Gyr taken on the Oa by visitors, which I'd made reference to before. At the moment a hunt is on to try and get a copy of this . Watch this space!!

An Appeal!! If there is anyone reading this who has been on Islay recently and managed to get photographs of a Gyr , could you please send on copies please? Contact information is on the Blog, full reference will be made to your help and please advise how I might get back to you. Many thanks.

3/4th February,2010.

A couple of rather miserable days with rain showers , or rain, at not infrequent intervals throughout! Managed to put some time in on computer work, including some much needed sorting out of records/data from previous trips abroad.

Well, given the absence of comments, it looks as if what appears on the Blog is acceptable! I hope so, but will still intend to inject a few improvements! Due to some other commitments it's unlikely I shall be able to get any birding in until early next week or make entries to the Blog. Apologies to those who visit the site in the meantime.

Woodland wonderland! 2/02/2010.

Initial plans to be on Jura had suddenly to be altered so I decided to adopt the same objectives for the day, i.e. visiting various woodlands, but direct them at Islay! It turned out to be a good "second best" decision as the day emerged glorious with a warming sun for a while that injected vitality into everything.

Amidst the decaying leaves of last year the signs of emergent spring was present in the form of Snowdrops, more of which will doubtless carpet the woodland floor shortly. Blackbirds and Song Thrushes seemed to be everywhere and we seem to have retained a high wintering population. By contrast few Robins or Wrens were evident, but most titmice were noticeably active and Great Tit and Coal Tit in occasional song. A Dipper and a Chaffinch both tried a few ,as yet, slightly discordant phrases but, surprisingly, all thrush species remained silent. Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit and Treecreeper were absent, possibly victims of the harsh weather experienced previously. All in all it was encouraging to see and hear so much activity, a mere prelude, of course, to what will be on offer a little later.

!st February...a veritable bonanza!

First of all, don't forget to visit the Sunday, 31st January entry and " Have Your Say"!

A mixed day with a few showers and rather cold conditions, but tolerable. Little was moving over the sea, Fulmars were around their colony ledges and the Gyr Falcon showed atop McKenzie Island until it appeared to be disturbed by a grazing Roe Deer! Farther north along the Rinns a large pack of Barnacle Geese held a single leucistic bird looking very washed out and "stand alone".The Outer Loch had a few Great Northern Divers , but little else of note.

Moving to oversee the Inner Loch from a favourite park-up point I experienced one of those purple patches so typical of birdwatching. Whether it was serendipity , the state of the tide or what, everything appeared to be laid out in a fairly restricted area and giving good views. A good count of Long-tailed Duck (15 ), numbers of Slavonian Grebe ( 21-28 ) , all three diver species, numbers of Red-breasted Merganser , Eider, Wigeon, Common Scoter and Greater Scaup, all presented a feast of viewing in relatively calm conditions and good " grey " light conditions . Within an hour all had changed, birds had dispersed and waves were advancing on the shore, however, in the time previously, the gently lapping waves below accompanied by the "Ah-oooh" calls of Eider, set against the snow shot hills beyond, was birdwatching par excellence.

Later good views were had of a male Hen Harrier wheeling over a traditional breeding moor. And to finish the day, something I'd not seen to the same extent before, 41 Hooded Crows hanging around on telephone wires previous to entering a local roost.