The joy of losing the internet.

Anyone else living/working on the banks of the Clyde Sea read this? If so, wasn't it peaceful yesterday! If not, I must explain, we had some unexplained loss of internet over the area for most of yesterday morning AND it wasn't raining (much). I ducked out and went birding round the island.

On the walk home to pick up the car, the usual mix of finches and tits were in Farland scrub, but they we joined by 3 goldcrest, a party of 18 LTT's and the female GSW that I saw yesterday. The area seems hoching with wrens as the foliage is disappearing, and the robins are squabbling like mad.

Dodging round to my WEBs sight at Clashfarland for high tide, I was hoping for waders; however it was a big tide and most of the flat was covered. However, there were a few wigeon and eider about, and a grey heron flapped its way north as I left the car. Onshore there were quite a few song thrush feeding on the rowans and rosehips; and the fields were host to carrion crow, wood pigeon and the odd oyk, and a few pippits were heard overhead. In addition to the usual stuff a buzzard was sat on a fencepost on the hill, glum in the drizzle.

Mixed woodland on Ferry road

As I nipped further round this island larger rafts of eider and around 20 wigeon were seen at Fintry; then I headed uphill to the wood at the top of Ferry road, on the way up a further two buzzard were seen in the field with a group of seven rooks. Pulling off the road, a trio of goldcrests flitted into the beech hedge, and a 15 minute wander revealed a full assortment of the regular tits (including a party of eight LTTs), six siskin, a lesser redpoll, a few dunnock, around 12 chaffinch, four black bird, innumerable robins and another goldcrest.

Heading back to the house for lunch, I found an LTT at the suet, and the female GSW on the nut feeder again; who knows, maybe she will stick around.

Lunchtime Callers

Finally, something new at the feeders. I've known there were a few greater spotted on the island for a while - frequently hearing them in the woods at the far end of the road - but have never seen them.

Happily, when I arrived home this lunch time, I caught a glimpse of a bright red bum disappearing over the wall.  I went out and topped up the supplies, rubbed a spare suet cake over the trunk of the adjacent trees, and settled down to watch. Not 5 minutes later a female woodpecker had appeared on the nut/suet feeder. Then she was gone. She returned after a further 10 minutes only to be flushed by a passing van.

A brief view, but very welcome given the slow nature of the past few weeks here. I'll stop complaining about the recent lack of birds now! I'll just have to keep the feeders well stocked and hope they see fit to move along the road from their current territory. Although I'm sure how they'd manage with the resident sparrowhawks, perhaps a second feeder around the back of the house is in order.

Shame the weather/light was bleeding awful!

2nd Showing

Technical Difficulties and a Quick Update

Well, its been a complete faff, but I'm finally able to get my images etc. onto the blog. Hopefully regular and more interesting updates are possible now!

Just to keep you in the know...

- the weather has been bloody awful.

- this week we've had sightings of harbour porpoise and plenty of large feeding agreggations of gulls and gannets. The numbers of manxies and terns seem to be dropping away, however, we still have fair numbers willow warblers and white throat about.

- waders are on the increase with around 350 curlew, 100 blackwit and 150 barwit last week, and the geese are starting to stream in at dusk

- the feeders have been extra busy, and the jackdaws have returned in some numbers to Ravenscraig, probably something to do with the dispersal of this years juv. sparrowhawk.

In context...

- The Clyde and Ayrshire seem to by getting nice influxes of birds; the duck numbers are building up at nearby Lochwinnoch, the latest visitors begin three scaup yesterday, and there have been a couple shouts of blue wing teal around the Clyde region. There have also been sightings of longtailled skua and Leach's petrel down at Troon, and a grey phalarope yesterday and Turnberry Point.

Curlew overhead, 10/09/2012

11-09-2012: Bit Breezy

1930 hrs; back from a day's work in Glasgow, too tired to think, might as well walk the point instead.

"Nice South Easterly will keep the tourists at bay", says I. "No chance", say the tourists, "It's high tide and the beach is underwater".

Its amazing how much noise people can make! Still, the Ravens were in attendance above the cliff which bears their name, and as I head through the gate I pick out a common sand feeding along the shoreline; unfortunately everything else had tucked itself well away in the scrub; I could pick out chaffinch, wren and black bird, and my brave little sedge warblers were still bringing in food for their brood.

The pair of carrion crows were again at the picnic table, doubtless doing well from the days visitors, and 7 oyster catchers stood sentry around the rocks. Apart from that, the real interest lay offshore; the wind carrying past a stream of gannets, shearwaters, shags and common gulls, which joined the evening flight-lines of black-backed and herring gulls moving south.

It wasn't long before the south easterly did me in and I slunk off to the house.

Totals

• Raven - 2
• Carrion Crow - 2
• Wood Pigeon - 2
• Blackbird
• Wren
• Chaffinch
• Sedge Warbler
• Common Sandpiper - 1
• Curlew - 1
• Oyster Catcher - 7
• Shag - 6
• Manx Shearwater - lots!
• Gannet - 12
• Common Gull - 3
• Herring Gull - 1 ad, 4 juv

11-09-2012: The Morning After the Night Before

Last night I went petreling with Bernie, The Boss, Jess (my undergraduate helper), and Sean. We sat for 4 hours on the dark side of the island, deafening ourselves with eerie calls and watching the shooting stars, cursing whenever the cloud parted to bathe us in moonlight. We had brie and home-made soda bread, but no petrels.

Up on the morning of the 11th I took Bernie straight to the ferry and went for a stomp around the point. It was late on (gone 9!) and was beginning to fill with dog walkers; but, the easterly breeze was keeping most of the world at bay, as well as carrying past plenty of shags (7), manxies (4), gannets (2), gulls, and the odd cormorant (2). Inland, under Ravenscraig, the swallows were feeding over the meadow, and the female sparrowhawk made an ineffectual grab at a wood pigeon.

With all the people around most of the usual stuff was out of sight but there was still plenty to be heard, with black bird "chucking", wrens scolding, and whitethroat grumbling in the brambles by the gate. More noises out on the shore too, with the curlew calling in the distance as they lifted in response to a passing family, and the keening begging of immature herring gulls. And they weren't the only ones, beside the path behind Farland Bight busy sedge warblers were backward and forward feeding young hidden in the gorse. It was a good day for insect feeders all round as the craneflies swarmed in their hundreds in the long grass.

With all the people around I wasn't out long (about an hour), and retired for a coffee on the doorstep to watch the feeders in case any of the fledging sprawks was up for some target practice. Alas, no such luck.

Totals

• Jackdaws - 8 - Ravenscraig cliffs
• Carrion Crow - 3
• Rock Pippit - 1
• Blue tit
• Great tit
• Coal Tit
• Dunnock
• Chaffinch
• Greenfinch - 1
• Willow Warbler - 1
• Sedge Warbler - 2 (+juvs in nest)
• Whitethroat - 3
• Stonechat - 1
• Wren - 5
• Robin - 5
• Blackbird - 2
• Swallows
• Cormorant - 2
• Shag - 7
• Manx Shearwater - 4
• Gannet - 2
• Curlew - 3
• Oyster Catcher - 4
• Herring Gull - 6 ad, 3 juv
• Common Gull - 3
• Grey heron - 1 (missing secondaries on both wings, very disinctive)
• Sparrowhawk - 2 (male and female)