11.02.2012

Yesterday Mark Pollitt from the DGERC posted a message on the DGERC Yahoo Group asking people to look at Holly Bushes for signs of Gall Flies and a fungi that forms on Holly (Holly Speckle). So when I had a chance I went out into the garden to look at some Holly leaves and instantly noticed what looked like the Holly Leaf Gall fly markings on several leaves. Took a few pictures (below) and got Mark to confirm the ID, which he kindly did.

Apparently there was only one record of this gall in D&G, hence the request for more sighitngs. So if anyone sees a similar looking pattern/marking on any Holly leaves I'm sure Mark would be pleased to get your D&G sightings. Check out the DGERC website for ways to send in records /sightings. For images and more information about Holly Leaf Gall Flies and Holly Speckle, a quick Google search will do the trick!

GOOSE UPDATE: The Greylag Goose with neck collar 'CJD' that I found at Loch Connell was rung at Loch Eye, Ross-shire on 05/11/2005 (my 17th Birthday!) and was ID'd as a bird from the Icelandic population rather than a British resident bird.

22nd, 27th & 28th Jan 2012

On Sunday (22nd) I went in search of gulls at Loch Ryan and got lucky. Found at least 3, possibly 4, ICELAND GULLS at the south end of Loch Ryan. There was definitely two 4th-winters/adults (first two photos) and a 2nd-winter, but there was also a 4th-winter/adult (3rd photo) at a different location to the other two that may or may not be the same bird. The reason I'm naming them as 4th-winter/adult is because at the time they looked very adult-like, but having looked at the photos the bill pattern (dark marks) suggests a bit of immaturity.

Then yesterday (27th) I searched the Machars. While heading through Braehead towards Garlieston I spotted a large flock of gulls (photo below) in a field just outside Kirkinner. Fortunately I was able to park on a quiet side road and search through the flock with the scope in good light. Overall I found 3 1st-winter ICELAND GULLS which made the trip worth it along with an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull (scarce in winter).

Today (28th) I was back at Loch Ryan and instead of finding lots of Iceland Gulls, I found 3 adult MEDITERRANEAN GULLS (photo below) and a single 3rd-winter ICELAND GULL. A trip to Loch Connell also produced 2 EURASIAN WHITE-FRONTED GEESE within a flock of at least 3091 Pink-footed Geese, these were counted using a combination of photos. There was also an orange neck-collared Greylag Goose with code 'CJD' which will be interesting to find out where it's come from.

19.01.12

Headed down the Machars today and found the LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER still on the wetland at Wigtown and the GLAUCOUS GULL (2nd-winter) still at The Crook of Baldoon. There was also a good number of ducks on the wetland at Wigtown including:

54 Pintail
54 Wigeon
62 Teal
2 Goldeneye
3 Tufted Duck
15 Shoveler

Sadly no geese showing from the hide, but I did eventually find some just north of Garlieston. There was a mixture of Barnacle and Pink-footed Geese but they were quite distant and a lot were probably hidden. In Garlieston Bay there was at least 250 Dunlin and also 3 Pale-bellied Brent Geese. At The Crook of Baldoon there was a large number of Golden Plover and Lapwing around the fields along with about 35 TWITE (photos below) that showed really well around the farm buildings.

I went home along the back road from Wigtown and stopped off by a wet, muddy field opposite Grange of Cree farm and counted at least 80 Pied Wagtails along with a few dozen Meadow Pipits and several Reed Buntings. Then a Sparrowhawk scattered them and then decided to land on the hedge right next to the car, but sadly behind me so I had to photograph it through the rear window (photo below).

18.01.12

Today was the second Cree Valley voluntary day of the new year. Both days we have been working in Low Camer Wood to try and thin out the Birch and also remove as many conifers as physically possible. The thinning of Birch was concentrated around Oak trees to prevent any competition for nutrients and allow more light into the area.

Conifers were planted in the wood a number of years ago around the Oak trees and though most have been removed there are still newly sprouted ones scattered throughout the wood. So we hunted them out and cut them down. Once cut down we removed the branches to create a brash pile and use the trunks to create log piles. These piles then become create habitats for all sorts of creatures which then provide a food source for others like birds and small mammals. While searching for more we found one large conifer that was too large to be cut down with a hacksaw, but we decided to have a closer look and I was surprised to find a TAWNY OWL roosting halfway up. I don't often see Tawny Owl's, though I hear plenty throughout the year, so it was a great to see.

Yesterday I failed to find any Iceland Gulls at Loch Ryan but I did find another colour ringed Black Headed Gull from Killington Reservoir, Cumbria. The bird had a blue ring with code '2A64' and was ringed in June last year and was first spotted at Loch Ryan in September by Chris Baines.

15.01.12

So, I wanted to see a Glaucous Gull... well on a trip to The Crook of Baldoon to help with a WeBS count I spotted a large white gull sitting in a field. Got the scope up and there it was, a gruesome looking GLAUCOUS GULL (photos below). It had obviously been getting dirty in the mud and also on a nearby carcass. After a while it went for a wash in Wigtown Bay and looked a lot better, just wish the light had been better.

Earlier in the day at Garlieston I saw 11 Greenshank, 4 Little Grebes, 32 Gadwall, 51 Teal, 26 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and 9 Goldeneye. There was also a rather sick looking Fulmar in the bay sheltering from the brisk wind behind a rock groyne. Hopefully it was just having a rest.

10th & 13th Jan 2012

The country has seen a large influx of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls (commonly known as White-wingers) this winter. So it seemed to only be a matter of time until the first one appeared in the county and on Tuesday an ICELAND GULL appeared at Loch Ryan. I first found it at Leffnoll Point, on the east side, and then refound it at Bishop Burn feeding on the cheese outfall. Initially I wasn't sure if they were the same bird but it would seem likely and at present it is believed to be a 2nd-winter, though it could easily be a first-winter. There was also an adult MEDITERRANEAN GULL (photo below) at Bishop Burn, which is also a white winged gull that is now considered a UK resident though still a scarce Scottish bird.

I also noted a few leg ringed gulls on the beach which I was able to read. They included the blue-ringed Black-headed Gull with code 2A07 (from Killington, Cumbria) and also the regular Finnish and Lithuanian Black-headed Gulls. There was also a second Finnish Black-headed Gull with a metal ring (code: ST209.822) which I am awaiting details of. A British metal ringed 1st-winter Herring Gull was also present with code GR24516 and is my first metal ring for this species.

I was back at Loch Ryan on Friday to help with a WeBS Count (Wetland Birds Survey). For once it was a calm sunny day which allowed for good viewing of the loch. There was nothing unexpected, but there was noticeably a larger number of Red-throated Divers across the whole loch. They were also seen in small groups of about 10-15 birds which was a great sight to see. Some of the main counts are as follows:

99 Red-throated Divers
5 Great Northern Divers
34 Slavonian Grebes
110 Great Crested Grebes
716 Scaup
336 Common Scoters
52 Bar-tailed Godwits

The ICELAND GULL and MEDITERRANEAN GULL were still at Bishop Burn along with another ICELAND GULL (photo belows) which initially looked like an adult, but it eventually showed nicely and showed it was more like a 3rd/4th-winter.

Just need a Glaucous Gull now!!

07.01.12

Did a bit of local birding and started at Wigtown. There wasn't a huge amount of activity on the wetland or on the merse, but there was a small group of waders which I thought were worth a closer look. I was amazed to find a/the LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER actively feeding around sleeping Redshank and Lapwing. The chances are it is the same bird that I found there in November last year, though I don't think it was reported throughout December. Not much about elsewhere other than 4 Magpies at the Crook of Baldoon which are very localised in D&G.

05.01.12

With a strong North-westerly wind forecast, I decided to give a seawatch at Corsewall Point a go despite it being the wrong time of year for migrating seabirds. The wind was certainly strong and therefore most birds seen were passing close to the coast line. Kittiwakes were the most numerous species with at least 98 heading south-west with good number of immature birds. The other usual species like Fulmar and Guillemot were present, but the most interesting bird was a 'BLUE' FULMAR (photo below) which is a sub-species of Fulmar from further north.

Having had enough of the wind I headed to Wig Bay. The choppy conditions made it hard to see things but I got the following counts: 4 GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS, 5 Long-tailed Ducks, 12 Slavonian Grebes, 14 Black Guillemots (photo below), 10 Common Scoters, and 129 Scaup, plus other regular species. Then to Soulseat Loch where the birds were well spread over the whole loch, but fortunately the SMEW showed itself and the GREEN-WINGED TEAL was unsurprisingly still present though hard to pick out. A few counts included 200 Wigeon, 193 Teal, 40 Goldeneye, 1 Scaup and 104 Mallard.

It was then time to have another look around West Freugh for any geese. For once it was not hard to find large flocks of mainly Pink-footed Geese, with a scattering of other species. There was around 150 Greenland White-fronted Geese, 2 EURASIAN WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose (not usual at West Freugh). However I was very happy to find at least 4 BEAN GEESE with some Pink-feet near High Mye. The light was quite bad at this point but I managed to get a quick video (video-grab below) before they, along with 8 other geese, flew off.

A good start to the year, just wish this wind would calm down a bit!

02.01.12

So my birding year started with a trip to Loch Ryan and the surrounding area with the hope of seeing as many species as possible, especially any uncommon ones. The scarcer species included 5 EURASIAN WHITE-FRONTED GEESE at West Freugh and fortunately the GREEN-WINGED TEAL was still present on Soulseat Loch, though the Smew wasn't visible.

Loch Ryan held the usual species with a single VELVET SCOTER and GREAT NORTHERN DIVER being the most interesting birds. There were 3 Long-tailed Ducks in Wig Bay and a flock of c90 Pale-bellied Brent Geese were in the fields with a new colour ringed bird, HAWR (photo below).

In total I saw 68 species, which is about a third of my total for 2011.

27th - 31st Dec 2011

My year ended with a trip down to North Wales to spend New Year with family. So my brother and I set off early on Tuesday (27th) to get a bit of birding done. First stop was Castle and Kirk Loch at Lochmaben to look for Willow Tits and the wintering AMERICAN WIGEON. A very noisy Willow Tit was found around the bird hide at the south end of Castle Loch along with a Kingfisher and the AMERICAN WIGEON showed nicely on Kirk Loch within a flock of Eurasian Wigeon.

We then headed off for our next and final destination of Leighton Moss. There had been a few interesting birds reported there recently so I had my fingers crossed. The first bird was a GLOSSY IBIS (photo below) which we eventually saw thanks to other birders pointing us in the right direction. Didn't show very well in gloomy, windy conditions but a first for me. After watching the ibis for a while we headed for the Eric Morecombe hides where we saw a single SPOTTED REDSHANK (photo below), a Peregrine and several Little Egrets.

With the light fading fast we headed for the main reserve and went and sat in the Greisdale Hide in the hope of a few more goodies. The first goodie was the arrival of a redhead (female/immature) SMEW and then a juvenile MARSH HARRIER showed itself quartering over the reeds. The best bird however was the arrival of a GREAT WHITE EGRET (photo below) which showed well in the presence of Little Egrets and a Grey Heron for comparison, this was another first for me. We ended the day watching the spectacular sight of murmuring Starlings over the reedbeds.

The 28th saw us heading for the North Wales coast in very windy conditionss. First we failed to find any Firecrests at Conway RSPB reserve, but we did manage to see a WATER RAIL under the bushes we were searching in. We then headed east to Kinmel Bay to look for SNOW BUNTINGS. Thankfully we found them despite the strong winds, sand storms and high tide with crashing waves. Initially only saw the flock of 11 birds flying but they eventually settled and allowed me to get a few photographs (below).

For New Year's Eve we went back to the Point of Ayr (having stopped off there on 28th) for high tide. There was a decent number of gulls on the shoreline which gave us something to look through along with large numbers of Dunlin, Knot and ducks. While scanning through the gulls I spotted a SPOONBILL (photo below) sleeping, this bird had been reported recently. This was my final new species of the year and therefore I finished with a year list of 201, with 8 of the birds coming in the last week (all noted in this post).