A very early post , as the sensible option for today is to remain linked to this computer and stoke up the fire!!! The weather is pretty bad , which is in contast to the previous few days as it's been relatively calm with odd showers only. Long walks with the dog have been rewarded with my being within woodland, always a pleasure away from Islay, although we do have some small blocks of deciduous woodland, not being besieged by a constant wind and an array of the commoner bird species. A vain attempt to find Crested Tit was tried, but failed! Whilst nothing is too numerous I get the feeling that commoner passerines , e.g. Chaffinh, are in better numbers than we enjoy back home.
From forecasts it would seem the ferries are cancelled off the west coast so no respite there either!!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
21st November,2009.
Early start to get the 0700 hours ferry, but the weather held firm and no problems encountered.
Uneventful journey up the Great Glen with very little in evidence. I'd expected more Redwing and Fieldfare to be on show , but such was not the case. A flock of about 90 Redpoll sp. near Drumnadrochit was nice to see and a walk in the woods nearby to Kirkhill shortly after my arrival renewed an acquaintance with a variety of easily seen passerines.
And then , the crowning glory to a full day.......Scotland's success in the rugby!! What a match, what a defence, 27 years in the waiting and worth every minute!!
Uneventful journey up the Great Glen with very little in evidence. I'd expected more Redwing and Fieldfare to be on show , but such was not the case. A flock of about 90 Redpoll sp. near Drumnadrochit was nice to see and a walk in the woods nearby to Kirkhill shortly after my arrival renewed an acquaintance with a variety of easily seen passerines.
And then , the crowning glory to a full day.......Scotland's success in the rugby!! What a match, what a defence, 27 years in the waiting and worth every minute!!
19th/20th November,2009.
With several parts of the country suffering from floods, and Islay having its share of inclement weather too, the loss of my water supply was a mixture of frustration and embarassment!!! The connection to the spring-fed supply had broken and all supplies on store had been drawn down. A problem then emerged with the pump governing the supply to the house so I was pleased to be moving off early on the 21st. Hopefully the necessary repairs will have been completed by my return!!
Local forays between weather fronts showed nothing over the sea, but areas close to the house produced a couple of Woodcock records. The fells are at their most forlorn at present with very little attendant wildlife. Given our recent heavy rainfall the ground is absolutely saturated and not the best conditions to be in to face the upcoming winter months. Returning home at dusk two Red Deer hinds leapt across the road and narrowly missed the car ( too "narrowly" for my liking! ). Doing an emergency stop in wet conditions on a road with ditches either side has the potential for dissater!!
Local forays between weather fronts showed nothing over the sea, but areas close to the house produced a couple of Woodcock records. The fells are at their most forlorn at present with very little attendant wildlife. Given our recent heavy rainfall the ground is absolutely saturated and not the best conditions to be in to face the upcoming winter months. Returning home at dusk two Red Deer hinds leapt across the road and narrowly missed the car ( too "narrowly" for my liking! ). Doing an emergency stop in wet conditions on a road with ditches either side has the potential for dissater!!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
18th November,2009.
A busy day amending arrangements around my needing to be up in Kirkhill, Inverness from the weekend. The weather forecast for both Saturday and Sunday started off pretty poor with the distinct likelihood of cancelled ferry services. Having decided on a "window of opportunity" on early Saturday morning the matter is now in the lap of the Gods! Such is the downside to living on an island when ferries can be affected by high seas/wind and the flight service can be affected by high winds, fog and runway condition. Leaving "connections" to the last miniute to any appointments etc on the mainland is foolhardy at best! Having decided all that the last weather update of the day saw the overall situation ameliorating slightly !!
What remained of the day spent considering future plans relating to this Blog site and others I intend establishing. Had a look at a whole selection of Blogs for tips, comparisons and the like. Some appeared to be utter drivel , with no effort made to really communicate or educate, some were so repetitive in their content and style one could almost predict what was coming up based on what had gone before in the preceding month /year and some definitely needed to improve on writing style. I must be getting old as I'm afraid I don't find the move towards abbreviated English in texts, E-mails or on the social network sites to be at all attractive!! There's an interesting aspect to all these sites. Do people read them because they find them a source of information, or they like your opinions or they simply enjoy the style and subject content? I'm sure some sites endeavour to be the first to put out the news , an aspect I'm not really interested in , although breaking stories re political hot potatoes must figure amongst these. Anyway, watch this space for changes!!!
What remained of the day spent considering future plans relating to this Blog site and others I intend establishing. Had a look at a whole selection of Blogs for tips, comparisons and the like. Some appeared to be utter drivel , with no effort made to really communicate or educate, some were so repetitive in their content and style one could almost predict what was coming up based on what had gone before in the preceding month /year and some definitely needed to improve on writing style. I must be getting old as I'm afraid I don't find the move towards abbreviated English in texts, E-mails or on the social network sites to be at all attractive!! There's an interesting aspect to all these sites. Do people read them because they find them a source of information, or they like your opinions or they simply enjoy the style and subject content? I'm sure some sites endeavour to be the first to put out the news , an aspect I'm not really interested in , although breaking stories re political hot potatoes must figure amongst these. Anyway, watch this space for changes!!!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
17th November, 2009.
The second day of the International Count, thankfully graced by much better weather. Mild, even sunny at times, but with a fresh wind. I was counting on a different route so comparisons between the counts weren't possible. Wintering geese appear to be broadly hefted to given areas within which they move around, some being very "loyal" to relatively small sectors. Our count on the Rinns wasn't grossly at odds with yesterday, which was a relief!. Of interest was a small group of 35 Grey-lag Geese "roosting" out on the open moor north of Kilchiaran picked up by Kevin Wiggins. Not easy to see and I suspect in a location that couldn't be seen from other vantage points other than the very high hill holding the , now defunct, transmitter ststion. I wondered the extent to which the same location might have been used by local birds as a moulting spot earlier in the year as they appeared to go missing at times! And were probably missed on counts too!
Whilst Grey Wagtails are not uncommon birds here, given we have them breeding and as passage birds , it was nice to see birds at four different locations and to again pick up a couple of Twite flocks too.
Whilst Grey Wagtails are not uncommon birds here, given we have them breeding and as passage birds , it was nice to see birds at four different locations and to again pick up a couple of Twite flocks too.
16th November,2009.
The first day of the Greenland White-fronted Goose International Survey. On Islay this is organized by Scottish Natural Heritage within the normal goose management scheme. In recent years the numbers of this distinctive subspecies have been reducing and, therefore, a close eye is kept on the population figures. A little under 6000 was counted recently but, hopefully, the figure will rise as more birds arrive.
Sadly, an absolutely filthy day at the onset, but which improved later. Due to the wind all geese, both Barnacles and Greenland White-fronts, had sought out sheltered spots and some guaranteed locations were bereft of birds just to add a challenge to the day. Little else of interest was seen ,but a final hour 's birding at the head of Loch Indaal saw quite a lot of activity amongst the resident duck and waders as a high tide inundated much of the merse
Sadly, an absolutely filthy day at the onset, but which improved later. Due to the wind all geese, both Barnacles and Greenland White-fronts, had sought out sheltered spots and some guaranteed locations were bereft of birds just to add a challenge to the day. Little else of interest was seen ,but a final hour 's birding at the head of Loch Indaal saw quite a lot of activity amongst the resident duck and waders as a high tide inundated much of the merse
Friday, November 13, 2009
12th November, 2009.
Grabbed a couple of hours before the weather set in with a vengeance. For two to three hours in the afternoon there was very heavy continuous rain. The house is located in a shallow basin with a road running across it N/S and a ditch diagonally across the centre. Such was the ferocity of the rain storm that a huge lagoon built up due the the ditch overflowing, a feature I've never seen here before despite some bad weather. I'd visions of my own local "reserve" developing but, sadly, over several succeeding hours the water ebbed away!
Winter thrushes are a feature at the moment with Blackbirds and Redwings scattered everywhere, but Fieldfares in much lesser numbers. Twite flocks , or smaller parties, are in evidence and Reed Buntings are noticeable generally, a pleasing aspect given their reduced numbers at many sites within the UK.
Winter thrushes are a feature at the moment with Blackbirds and Redwings scattered everywhere, but Fieldfares in much lesser numbers. Twite flocks , or smaller parties, are in evidence and Reed Buntings are noticeable generally, a pleasing aspect given their reduced numbers at many sites within the UK.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
10th/11th November, 2009.
Goose counting on both days supported by wonderful weather that I suspect has provided everyone with a nice break after recent less pleasant spells!!
As always travelling around vast tracts of the more rural areas of Islay you see a tremendous array of good birds. However,an incident on the 11th will stand for a long time as a quinessential image of birds and the island landscape. As we moved northwards across the Ardnave Penninsula a party of seven adult Whooper Swans could be seen flying across the sea between Islay and Colonsay. The "canvas" of these birds against a background of a wonderful blue sea coupled with views of Colonsay,Oronsay, and farther north a glimpse of Mull, was fantastic, particularly as everything was bathed in bright sunlight. Later we found them resting on a lens of water at Killinallan, doubtless thankful of reaching their wintering grounds after what might have been well in excess of thirty hours of flight from Iceland. A nice memory!
As always travelling around vast tracts of the more rural areas of Islay you see a tremendous array of good birds. However,an incident on the 11th will stand for a long time as a quinessential image of birds and the island landscape. As we moved northwards across the Ardnave Penninsula a party of seven adult Whooper Swans could be seen flying across the sea between Islay and Colonsay. The "canvas" of these birds against a background of a wonderful blue sea coupled with views of Colonsay,Oronsay, and farther north a glimpse of Mull, was fantastic, particularly as everything was bathed in bright sunlight. Later we found them resting on a lens of water at Killinallan, doubtless thankful of reaching their wintering grounds after what might have been well in excess of thirty hours of flight from Iceland. A nice memory!
Monday, November 9, 2009
9th November, 2009.
A day exclusively given over to playing catch -up with E-mails, phone calls, correspondence etc!!
The 1st November signified the commencement of the third year of the BTO Winter Atlas. Almost unbelievably one volunteer has already been up to Jura and completed four tetrad surveys, the second "batch" of which can be completed during one of our team visits after the year end. With a fairly clear run of time until Christmas I'm hoping to complete an appreciable number of tetrads and make inroads into those remaining to allow us a greater " free rein" in the final year when we can concentrate on mopping up activities!!
A press release, issued by Natural England, relating to the lack of success in Hen Harrier breeding this season makes for solemn reading. I do wonder about the current situation. Passive commentary from the Government's body responsible for overseeing conservation matters and, similar outpourings from the RSPB, appear lacking in both fire and resolve. The release provides more emphasis to the fact that a pair of harriers has nested in a cereal field in southern England than to exclaiming that a particular effort will be made to tackle persecution next season and improve the lot of the species once and for all. Other agencies claiming no persecution has taken place for the last four years appear to be utterly divorced from reality and one wonders whether they should be involved in the debate at all!! A sad situation no better than thirty years ago! In my view our justification for castigating Mediterranean countries where shooting of raptors still persists, but is slowly improving, is brought into question in the light of the persistent depradations against Hen Harriers in the UK !!
The 1st November signified the commencement of the third year of the BTO Winter Atlas. Almost unbelievably one volunteer has already been up to Jura and completed four tetrad surveys, the second "batch" of which can be completed during one of our team visits after the year end. With a fairly clear run of time until Christmas I'm hoping to complete an appreciable number of tetrads and make inroads into those remaining to allow us a greater " free rein" in the final year when we can concentrate on mopping up activities!!
A press release, issued by Natural England, relating to the lack of success in Hen Harrier breeding this season makes for solemn reading. I do wonder about the current situation. Passive commentary from the Government's body responsible for overseeing conservation matters and, similar outpourings from the RSPB, appear lacking in both fire and resolve. The release provides more emphasis to the fact that a pair of harriers has nested in a cereal field in southern England than to exclaiming that a particular effort will be made to tackle persecution next season and improve the lot of the species once and for all. Other agencies claiming no persecution has taken place for the last four years appear to be utterly divorced from reality and one wonders whether they should be involved in the debate at all!! A sad situation no better than thirty years ago! In my view our justification for castigating Mediterranean countries where shooting of raptors still persists, but is slowly improving, is brought into question in the light of the persistent depradations against Hen Harriers in the UK !!
8th November,2009.
As one might imagine the return journey to Islay was held in extremely good weather, calm, sunny and a complete contrast to what had been endured over the past week!! Surprisingly, very little was seen over the whole day, an outcome that is becoming a reality all too often and a comment on how much our native bird populations have fallen!
Little of particular note appears to have occurred on Islay during my absence , although the Cattle Egret, present before I left, is still here and an immature Black Redstart had been picked up dead in Portnahaven during the last week. Set against our efforts at Flamborough this is not just a cruel irony..... Portnahaven is my closest village!!
Little of particular note appears to have occurred on Islay during my absence , although the Cattle Egret, present before I left, is still here and an immature Black Redstart had been picked up dead in Portnahaven during the last week. Set against our efforts at Flamborough this is not just a cruel irony..... Portnahaven is my closest village!!
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