11th October, 2008.

Heavy sea running through morning with poor visibilty at 0800hrs but gradually improving by midday. Wind F5+ SW which seemed to be limiting movement. A few Gannets south (60+), a Great Northern Diver, Eider pair, and a few Kittiwakes comprised the main interest.

Had a good look around the south Rinns. The majority of passerine flocks seem to have moved on compared to previously although Linnet and Goldfinch still in evidence. There appears to be a lull in thrush migration too. A flock of 25 Grey lag Geese on the coast was comprised of noticeably very pale birds.

Spent time putting together the figures derived from the various surveys of Grey lag Geese in September. The highest day total was 1457 and the accepted band of likely presence in the period was 1400-1600. A number of these also now seem to have moved on although a further precise count will be attempted next week. The large influx of birds to supplement our own breeding birds I anticipated might happen in September doesn't appear to have occurred, although the initial Islay total may have been reduced due to the effects of shooting. Certainly we have not seen the total of 1800 birds we had last year exceeded. The large accumulations have now broken up,flocks are more mobile and, therefore, somewhat more difficult to monitor.