2015

A steady start to the year with a bit of birding from the garden. White-tailed Eagle was the highlight but it was distant while in the garden there were plenty of Goldfinch...

...and a few Blackbirds too.

It was a bit dull today but as I was sent on an errand I took the birding equipment with me too. A cracking Golden Eagle was seen hunting by the road.

It's not too often that you see them perched on a post but it does happen...

...and if you are going to get yourself noticed you will get some unwanted attention!

No sign of the WF geese today but there was a 200 strong flock of Barnacle Geese.

Plenty of Rock Doves on show...

...plus lots of Rooks and a few Jackdaws.

I had driven past these Common Seals in the morning but I gave them a closer look on my way back.

It's all Rosy in the garden

I was pleased to receive a phone call to let me know that there was a Rose-coloured Starling in the garden of a croft. The weather was not the best so the bird was a bit bedraggled when I arrived.

The drizzle cleared up a bit and the bird was drying out...

...and it was looking splendid.

Not sure how tired the bird was but it was doing some serious damage to the fat balls!

I paid another visit to the Rose-coloured Starling the following day in better weather. The local birds were out in force with House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and plenty of Siskin.

A reasonable flock of Rock Dove were in an adjoining field...

...but it was all Rosy in the garden.

The bird looked in better condition and it was a bit more wary too. It was never destined to stay for too long so when it departed the next day I wasn't surprised - one last look!

Too much

Lots of photos in this one so I'll not do too much writing! Nice weather again and plenty of close sightings on this tour - Swallows are everywhere now.

There had been rain overnight so it was no surprise to find a Dipper at the mouth of a stream.

This 2 year old WT Eagle gave us a nice fly past...

...and a pair of Golden Eagle were flying around...

...above an adult WT Eagle.

We saw plenty of GN Diver but some of the views were like this!

A Greenshank was a surprise find as I haven't seen any for a couple of weeks.

Finally we have a few waders arriving - Dunlin on the beach.

We also picked up a Sedge Warbler singing on the fence.

A Black-tailed Godwit flew off...

...as this Brent Goose wandered down to the sea. This bird was ringed on 21st March at North Bull Island, Dublin.

Plenty of Rock Pipits to be seen...

...and the Lapwing chicks have hatched.

I've not had Rock Dove on the blog for a while so here it is.

There are not too many Golden Plover around at the moment and this single bird was very confiding.

Skylark - I'll say no more.

End of November

Well, that's the end of another month - no year ticks to be had but I managed another couple of additions to the Patchwork Challenge, Bullfinch and Goldcrest, to take the tally up to 108 species and 134 points.
An early trip out was fairly productive in dull conditions. Plenty of Reed Bunting about, 100 Barnacle Geese, WT Eagle, 20 Lapwing plus all the regular stuff. A Buzzard was looking like a real savage frowning at everything from his post.

Maybe it was the Rock Doves that were frustrating it - no chance of catching them!

An Otter was spotted quite far out on the loch but heading for shore with a fish in his mouth. I had enough time to scramble down to a closer position as it cleaned itself up on the seaweed.

Look at the face on that - another one with a frown!

I keep saying there are plenty of GN Diver on the loch but they are mostly single birds scattered across the sea. It was nice to find a group of six birds just loafing together.

A female Hen Harrier was seen sitting on a fence post close to the road but it didn't stay long. I'd stopped out of sight of the bird but it was in flight before I got sight of it again...

...and they don't often fly towards you after that! Let's see what December brings.

Stretch.

A bit of a plug to start with. Anyone who didn't catch up with Hebrides: Islands on the Edge get yourself settled in front of the TV on Thursday, BBC2 9pm - just awesome.
We started this tour with a good sighting of an Otter within 15 minutes of setting off. When the Otter moved out of sight we had to move on as I could hear Otter calls nearby - better to move and try again later rather than disturb them. An Oystercatcher was first in the frame of the camera as it stretched below the surface for an open mussel.

A superb sighting of an adult WT Eagle perched in a tall conifer came next...

...while a Common Sandpiper foraged on the grass next to us.

Not too long after that we had some splendid views of Golden Eagle flying over the ridge.

We found a Snipe on a telegraph pole, another two Golden Eagle and a male Hen Harrier before checking out the Adder and Whinchats.

The afternoon was pleasant enough with a wander on the beach, a few Wheatear and plenty of Rock Pipit - another one having a stretch!

The Tufted Duck were still on the small loch as we drove past on our way to see Mountain Hare. A few Rock Dove were strutting their stuff in a field as we headed back.

Our last sighting of the day was a Red deer stag munching on the grass. There is a Common Sandpiper that comes off it's nest every time anything goes past it - I wonder if these eggs will hatch at all.

Flat.

It was a pretty miserable start to the day as can be seen by this Barn Swallow sitting it out.

Our initial sighting of WT Eagle was a bit grim as it was difficult to see anything through the mist clinging to the trees. We tried from a couple of viewpoints and managed to get a reasonable view.An Otter was seen on the shore a couple of times but we soon lost it when it headed back into the choppy sea. An easier spot was a couple of Common Sandpiper squabbling while a third bird egged them on!

The weather started to clear just in time for a visit to the Golden Eagles. Pretty good views of both birds in flight and sitting on the cliffs, good views of Cuckoo and a superb fly past by one of the Goldies.

We checked out the Wood Warbler and found a Spotted Flycatcher as well then bumped into some Red Deer stags.

We picked up some Red Deer hinds and just as we were going to move on a male Hen Harrier appeared...

...then straight on to Whinchat...

...and an Adder was looking very flat as soaked up the heat.

The Chaffinch is a stunning bird but sadly it's too common for many to take notice!

The Rock Dove is another superb bird but it's just a Pigeon to most people.

There are plenty of Buzzards to see at the moment sitting on posts and hanging in the wind.

A Song Thrush was much admired as it sang at the side of the road...

...and I was surprised to see the Whimbrel but no surprises to find a couple of Mountain Hare.