Stornoway Dump - Isle of Lewis

Ardvule - South Uist

Male Siskin on nut feeder this evening 29-04-2009 a first for our garden in Sheshader. Point

John H

• Kumlien's Gull
• Larus glaucoides kumlieni

Ardvule - South Uist

• Spotted Redshank
• Tringa erythropus
• UK: Passage/Winter Visitor. Southward migration July - August. Most birds go through UK in September. Wintering birds leave April - May
• UK: AMBER LIST (50%+ of UK wintering population found in just 10 sites). 420 passage records annually BTO , 80 - 400 wintering (RSPB).
• WI: Scarce passage Visitor (Very small numbers each year)
• Breeds: North Europe, North Asia, Northern Siberia
• Winters: Europe - Mediterranean to South-East Asia, China, Africa
• Habitat: Wetlands, marshy tundra. (Migration: coastal wet meadows & mudflats)
• Diet: Wades in deep water, swims, sometimes dabbling bottom-up like a duck. Insects- larvae, shrimps, worms.
• Bit larger than redshank. Summer adults almost all black, wings have some white spotting. Back has white wedge shape - noticeably in flight. Tail barred. Winter: grey back, paler below, & more prominent eye stripe than redshank. NO white wing bars.
• Listen to a Spotted Redshank (RSPB site)
• Similar birds: Redshank, Greenshank
  

• Green-winged Teal
• Anas carolinensis
• UK: Scarce vistor, 22 annual records BTO
• WI: Scarce visitor (very small numbers recorded in most years)
• Breeds: North America (nests on the ground, near water & under cover)
• Winters: South of breeding range
• Habitat: Lakes, marshes, ponds, shallow streams, sheltered wetlands, (taiga bogs)
• Diet: Seeds, vegetation, insects - usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing
• Breeding male: flanks & back grey. Yellow rear. Head chestnut with green eye patch. White-edged mark under eye.
  Distinguished from drake Common Teal by vertical white stripe on side of breast, NO horizontal white shoulder stripe & NO thin buff edging lines on head.
  Females light brown, similar to female Mallard, but with white-edged mark under eye. (Very similar bird to a female Common Teal).
  Non-breeding drake looks like the female.
• Gregarious dabbling duck. Noisy species. Male has clear whistle, female a weak quack.
• Similar birds Common Teal
  

Heres a pic of some of the oystercatchers with a single blacktailed godwit braigh loch" Andyl

Large flock of long tailed ducks with wigeon.Along with these was a group of approx 30 plus oystercatchers and 6 black tailed godwits on Braigh loch lewis
razorbills,Great northern diver and a red throated diver off point lewis.
Andy l

Sunday 26th April 2009

One Barn Swallow perched on telephone line above our house this morning.
John B

My first this year.
Also one Greenland Wheatear at Fivepenny.

Sunday 26th April 2009

Ardvule - South Uist

Butt of Lewis

Ardvule + Knockline - South Uist

• Black-tailed Godwit
• Limosa limosa
• Gaelic: Cearra-ghob
• WI: Uncommon passage Visitor (low numbers), Very rare winter visitor (five or less records)
• Similar birds: Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe

Saw a lovely pair of coal tits, this morning, in my back garden.
Stornoway , near primary School.
Dave

Friday 24th April, 2009

• Hen Harrier
• Circus cyaneus
• Gaelic: Brèid-air-tòin, Clamhan-nan-cearc
• UK: RED LIST, UK 570 pairs (Summer) BTO
• UK: Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
• WI:Uncommon Resident Breeder (10-99 breeding pairs), Passage/Winter Visitor (recorded in low numbers each year)
• Breeds: Ground nesting in upland moorland: Europe (inc Western isles), North & Central Asia, North America
• Winters: Aug-Sept resident birds come down from moor and Oct-Mar Continental birds join them to winter. UK, France, Africa, South Asia & South America
• Habitat: Open areas - low vegetation: moorland. Winter: river valleys, coastal marshes, fields
• Diet: Small birds, nestlings, small rodents (lots of voles!)
• Males pale grey above, rump & below white, wings grey with black wingtips
  Females & immatures brown, with white rump, streaked buff below, white upper-tail feathers, giving name "ringtails".
• Food searching flight: wings held shallow 'V', glides very low, following land contours
• Max recorded age approx 16 yrs (average approx 7 years)
• Listen to a Hen Harrier (RSPB site)
• Similar birds: Marsh Harrier

Whinchat & Reed Bunting
Singles of each in garden yesterday afternoon, Upper Aird, Point.
Grahame & Jackie
21st April, 2009

• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Calididris melanotos
• UK: Passage migrant. 56 UK records a year (BTO)
• WI: Scarce visitor (very small numbers recorded in most years. Approx 40 previous records)
• Breeds: Arctic coast of East Siberia, North America, winters in South America
• Habitat: wet fields , freshwater pools, marsh or lochsides, boggy ground on (migration mudflats)
• Fat-bodied, small-headed , larger than Dunlin. ID amongst waders - sharp contrast between the dark-patterned chest and the white belly (pectoral line). Yellowish legs. Bill has pale base. 2 pairs of white lines down the back like a pair of braces. Males in breeding season have an inflatable throat sac - expands and contracts rhythmically during display flights and creates a series of hollow hoots

• Common Crane
• Grus grus
• UK: Accidental
• WI: Very rare visitor (five or less records). Previous record 1906
• Breeds: Remote places. Nest mound of vegetation. Reedbeds in lakes, Bogs in Northern Forests. Scandinavia, Russia
• Winters: Spain
• Diet: Plant material, insects
• Huge bird - up to 6 feet tall! (Length 96 -119cm, wing-span 180 -222cm). Very long legs, long narrow neck. Ostrich-like bulky "tail" plume (dark). Plumage mostly pale blue-grey, flight feathers grey-black. Breeding adult often has brownish stain on back. Head & upper neck black & white. Hindcrown bare, red coloured. Sexes similar.

Butt of Lewis

Barn Swallow, Single this am, Garrabost, Point
Grahame and Jackie

Shelduck on Garynahine end of Loch Roag, Swallows at Gress, Garry Beach (2) and Laxdale
SK

• Barn Swallow
• Hirundo rustica
• Gaelic: Gobhan Gaoithe
• UK: 726,000 pairs (Summer) (Declining) AMBER LIST BTO
• WI: Uncommon Migrant Breeder (10-99 breeding pairs) and fairly common passage visitor (occurs in small numbers)
• Breeds: Originally cave-nester: Europe, Asia, North America
• Winters: South Africa, North Australia, South America
• Habitat: Open country usually near water: farm pasture & buildings, villages, reedbeds
• Diet: Aerial feeder: flying insects (flies mostly)
• Small bird. Dark glossy-blue back. Red throat & forehead. Pale below. Long (forked) tail streamers
  Very agile in flight - spends majority of life on the wing.
• Typical lifespan 3yrs, max recorded 11ys 1mth
• Listen to a Barn Swallow (RSPB site). Twittering
• Similar birds: House Martin, Sand Martin (squarer tails), Swift (forked tails)

Aristole believed that Swallows spent winter in the bottom of ponds. This was proven to not be the case by means of tying small strips of rag to a swallow's legs. The rags had a water-soluble dye, when the bird returned in the spring the strips of rag still had colour proving conclusively that Swallows do not spend winter in the bottom of ponds.

Swallows winter in Africa and return to the Western Isles to breed each summer. Some arrive in March, but the majority do not arrive until April when there is plenty of food (flying insects). This is where the expression "One Swallow doesn't make a summer" comes from

Loch Barvas + Loch Tiumpan (5)

Isle of Lewis

• Scaup
• Aythya marila
• Gaelic: Lach-mhara
• UK: AMBER LIST. 1-5 birds breed in the UK (rarest breeding duck). 9200 birds winter RSPB
• Scarce Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor Mainly in winter, from late October to March.
• Breeding: Nests on ground by lakes, bogs ( tundra) across Arctic & subarctic Northern America, Europe, Asia
• Winters: Forms flocks in coastal waters. South of breeding range to South Europe, China, South US
• Habitat: Tundra lakes (migration open lakes, coasts)
• Diet: Omnivorous. Feeds by diving & swimming underwater. (Molluscs - winter) Othe shellfish, crustaceans & small insects. Some plant material
• Diving duck (42-51cm length). Resembles tufted duck. Male: black head with green sheen. Black shoulder & breast, white flanks, grey back, black tail. White rump. Females brown with white band at base of bill. Flight shows white patches along trailing edge of the wing. Blue bill. Yellow eyes.
• Max recorded age 14yrs
• Listen to a Scaup (RSPB site) Usually silent when not breeding
• Similar birds: Tufted Duck (common - black back), Ring-necked Duck (rare - black back, strong white band around bill), Lesser Scaup (rare - whitish back)
  

The name Scaup comes from a Scottish word scalp which means mussel beds (favourite food of the Scaup duck)

• Ruff (female also called Reeve)
• Philomachus pugnax
• Gaelic: Gibeagan
• UK: Migrant Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor. AMBER LIST. 700 birds winter BTO . Breeding 37 males RSPB
• WI: Scarce & sometimes uncommon passage visitor (Usually very small numbers each year, but sometimes up to 50 birds). Aug/Sept. Two winter records. May have bred
• Breeds: Bogs, marshes, wet meadows. Nests in short vegetation. Females raise the young. Northern Europe, Russia, Asia
• Winters: South of breeding range to Africa, India, Australia
• Habitat: Grassy tundra, croftland, farmland, machair, lakes (migration mudflats)
• Diet: Forages wet grassland & mud, probing or by sight. Mainly insects, earthworms, some plant material, seeds (winter), larvae, frogs, small fish
• Medium-sized wader (22-32cm length). Pot-bellied profile. Long neck, small head. Medium, slightly drooping bill. Yellowish-orange med-long legs.
  Breeding males spectacular black, chestnut or white neck ruffs & head tufts. Backs grey-brown. White below except for black breast. Flight: Faint wing-stripe & oval white patches either side of the tail. Gregarious - a wintering flock of 1 million occured (Senegal)
• Max recorded age 9yrs
• Similar bird: Redshank
• Listen to a Ruff (RSPB site)

A few birds are present in the UK all year round. The ruff is usually present as a migrant, young birds from Scandinavia visiting the UK in late summer, then heading on to winter in Africa. The birds which winter in the UK are usually found near the coast.

• Arctic Tern
• Sterna paradisaea
• Gaelic: Steàrnan
• UK: AMBER LIST. 553,000 pairs - summer BTO
• WI: Common migrant breeder (1000 -10,000 pairs) and fairly common passage visitor (occurs in small numbers)
• Breeds: Usually return to breed in area & colony, where they hatched to breed. UK - Europe, Arctic, North America
• Winters: Antarctic oceans
• Mostly grey & white. Red beak & feet. White forehead. Black nape & crown. White cheeks. Deeply forked whitish tail giving long "streamers"
• Habitat: Tundra, Seacoast, lochs, rivers. Winter - sea
• Diet: Fish, insects
• Lives to 20yrs.
• Listen to an Arctic Tern RSPB site
• Similar birds: Common Tern, Little Tern

The birds winter far South in the Antarctic oceans. In late April, early May they begin to arrive back in the UK. Migration back South starts at the end of the breeding season in late July and August.

A chick ringed in Northumberland one June was in Australia, that October (12, 000 mile round trip).

• Little Tern
• Sterna caspia
• Gaelic: Steàrnan Beag
• WI: Uncommon Migrant Breeder (10-99 breeding pairs)
• Similar birds: Common Tern, Arctic Tern

• Long-tailed Duck (Hound Duck, Col-candle Wick, Col-candle Week, Callo. Obselete: Old Injun, Oldsquaw, Old Wife)
• Clangula hyemalis
• Gaelic: Eun-binn, Lach-bhinn
• UK: AMBER LIST. 16,000 pairs winter BTO
• UK: Scarce Breeder, Winter Visitor, Passage Migrant (See from sea watching points)
• WI: Fairly common winter visitor (occurs in small numbers)
• Breeding: Tundra pools, marshes, sea coasts, large mountain lakes. Nest is made from vegetation, lined with down & on ground near water. North Atlantic, Alaska, N Canada, N Europe, Russia, N America
• Winters: Main area Baltic Sea, where 4.5 million gather. South of breeding range to coasts of N America, N Europe, Asia & Black Sea & the Great Lakes. (On migration - gregarious & forms large flocks on open lakes, coasts).
• Diet: Usually feed near surface, but also dive depths of 60m (200 feet). Aquatic insects, crustaceans, molluscs, clams, crabs, small fish.
• Small neat sea duck. Small round heads. Steep foreheads. Adults white below. Rest of plumage does complex changes with moulting.
• Male long pointed tail (10 - 15 cm) and a dark grey bill crossed by a pink band. Winter male mostly white - some brownish-black markings. Dark cheek patch mostly white head & neck. Dark breast. Summer male dark head, neck, back. White cheek patch.
• Females browner. Shorter pointed tail. Winter female head & neck white with dark crown. Summer female head mostly dark. White cheek patch.
• Juveniles similar to autumn adult females (with a less noticeable cheek patch).
• In flight all show all dark wings and white bellies.
• Max recorded age 22yrs 8mths
• Listen to a Long-tailed Duck (RSPB site)
• Similar birds: Similar birds: Common Eider, Northern Eider (very rare)

On migration Long-tailed Ducks are gregarious and form large flocks on coasts and lakes (Broadbay is a site where 300+ birds can be often be found wintering), this makes the species very vulnerable to oil pollution, that and is why the birds have Amber List status in order to protect their wintering sites

• Lapland Bunting
• Calcatius lapponicus
• UK: Scarce breeder, passage - winter visitor
• UK: 350 birds (winter) Arrives September - October, leaves by May BTO
• WI: Scarce passage migrant (very small numbers recorded in most years)
• Breeds: Arctic Europe, Asia, Canada, North America. Birch, willow, bare mountains areas
• Winters: South to Central Europe, Central Asia, South America, cultivated land or coasts, wet meadows
• Chunky yellow seed-eater bill. Winter males: very noticeable black crown, face & throat. White eyestripe. Chestnut nape. White below. Heavily streaked black-grey back. Mixed species flocks.
• Diet: seeds (summer invertebrates)
• Listen to a Lapland Bunting - RSPB site

First corncrake seen and heard today Point (Lewis) croft.
Andy l

• Corncrake
• Crex crex
• Gaelic: Trèan-ri-trèan
• UK: Migrant Breeder, Passage Visitor.
• UK: RED LIST, 1100 males summer BTO
• WI: Fairly common (100-999 breeding pairs) migrant breeder (50% of the UK breeding population)
• Breeds: Apr-Sept. Tall grass and tall rough vegetation (Hayfields, grassland, patches of yellow flag iris, reeds, nettle or rhubarb etc). Nest on ground is of dead stems & leaves. 8 -12 greenish-grey red-spotted eggs. 1st clutch May - June, 2nd clutch July - August. Incubation 16 -19 days. Fledging 34- 38 days. Europe, Asia
• Winters: South Europe to South Africa (long-distance migrant)
• Diet: Forages insects & seeds on surface of soil and also pecks them from plants. Earthworms, beetles, slugs, snails.
• Approx size of a moorhen. Dark-streaked grey-brown. Rusty barring. Short deep bill. Strong (long) legs & feet. Flight shows bright chestnut wings, trails legs. Males & females similar.
• Listen to a Corncrake

Egg thieves are still a major problem, in 2001 an egg collector from London was arrested for disturbing Golden Eagles. He was trying to steal eggs from a nest on South Uist.

There is a BBC article written in 2008 about another egg-collector caught with more than 7,000 eggs in his collection,  653 of those eggs were from the UK's most protected species such as the Red-necked Phalarope. He also had eggs from Barn Owls, Golden Eagles, Ospreys, Choughs, Peregrine Falcons, and almost 40 Black-necked Grebe's eggs. (RSPB estimates there are only 40 - 60 breeding pairs of Black-necked Grebes in the whole of the UK ...)

 

• Keep your eyes open for trouble.
  
• Quickly phone the police or RSPB if you are at all worried about the safety of birds.
  
• Don't tell people if you know where there are nests
  
• If you know where birds are breeding do not take photographs of them on the nest. Disturb some breeding birds and you are going to be arrested ...
  
• Don't mention exactly where you have seen endangered species during breeding time - (locations where the birds of prey and some other species have been sighted at breeding time are kept vague on our bird sightings page).
  

A lot of people think that egg-collecting does not happen anymore, it is an archaic thing to do in these enlightened times - but sadly the rarer a species becomes the greater a target it is ...

Great to see the Red-throated Divers are back on their lochs again, the Pentland road, theBlack-headed Gull Colony have not yet returned to their breeding site.
Suzanne

• Red-throated Diver (Red-throated Loon, Rain Goose, Cape drake, Cape Race, Rain-goose, Scape-grace, Sprat Loon, Cobble, Little Loon, Pegging-owl Loon, Pepper-shinned Loon)
• WI Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
• UK, AMBER LIST, 1200 pairs (Summer) BTO, 4850 Winter RSPB
• WI: Fairly common migrant breeder (100 - 999 breeding pairs), and passage visitor (occurs in small numbers)
• Breeding grounds: North Europe, North Asia, North America, Arctic Canada. Arrive in March & April. Shallow nest (rush-lined) in rushes by ponds & freshwater lochs. 2 eggs late-may/early June. Departs in September & October
• Winters: Coastal waters south of breeding range to Southern Europe, China and Southern North America. Birds from more Northern parts arrive to winter off the UK's coasts in August & September - peak in October.
• Diet: Fish caught at sea, also some frogs (adults feed sand eels to their young)
• Smallest UK diver (24-27in long). Breeding adults: grey head. Thick neck with red throat, white below. Dark mantle. Non-breeding: drabber. White chin & foreneck also most of face. Red Iris. Bill up-tilted.
• Usually jumps up to dive. Remaining underwater up to 1.5mins & to depth 25ft. Very clumsy on land, ashore only to breed. Only diver that can take-off from land.
• Listen to a red-throated diver (RSPB site)
• Max recorded age 22yrs 11mths

RSPB and SNH have found that in the last 12 years black-throated divers have increased in numbers in the UK by 34%, and red-throated divers by 16%, with the greatest increase in breeding birds being in the Western Isles. Both species have however declined in Europe.

Loch an-t' Saile- South Uist

Long Tailed Ducks (Also seen at the Braighe, Point, Lewis - there were probably 100+ there, and off Luskentyre, Harris)
Gannets
Little Auk (95% certain on this one - not sure there is anything else of the right size it could be mistaken for!)
Eider - Lots of them!
Guillemot
Black Guillemot
Razorbill
Common Tern

Plus the usual Cormorant, Shelduck, shag etc.

We're away home on Saturday so unless we see anything interesting in the meantime this will be all from us until next year. Thanks for the invaluable help your site has given over the past fortnight!

Robyn F

Wednesday 15th April, 2009

• Common Cuckoo
• Cuculus canorus
• Gaelic: Cuthag
• UK: AMBER LIST, 14,000 pairs (Summer) BTO
• UK: Migrant Breeder, Passage Visitor (Arrives late March - April, departs July - August)
• WI: Scarce passage visitor (Very small numbers each year)
• Breeds: Europe, Asia, North Africa
• Winters: South of breeding range to South Africa, South Asia
• Habitat: Reedbeds. Trees: open woodland, taiga (moist subarctic coniferous forest begins where tundra ends), steppe forest
• Diet: Larger Insects & large hairy caterpillars & beetles (usually ones that other species avoid)
• Dove-sized blue-grey bird with slender body, long tail, strong legs. Pointed wings.
  Adult females two morphs: sometimes grey like the male but with rusty-buff tinge & dark barring on breast, other morph rusty-brown above & breast with dark barring all over (the “hepatic” phase). Young are brown.
• Max recorded age 17yrs 9ths
• Listen to a Cuckoo (RSPB site). It is the call of the male that gives the bird it's name. Female's call is a loud bubbling sound
• Similar birds: Sparrowhawk, Collared Dove

The female Cuckoo will return to the same breeding territory for up to 10 years. 75% of the nestlings return in later years to establish their own breeding territories within 40km of their birth site.

Ardivachar - South Uist

I was up in Lewis this weekend and thought there didn't seem to be a great deal about just yet, I saw the following:

1 black throated diver and 3 red throated divers at North Lewis - Sunday 12th

3-4 wigeon at Loch Tiumpan - Saturday 11th

Great Skua - 1 at The Brighe, Sunday 12th, 1 at Tiumpan Head Saturday 11th. 1 at The Butt of Lewis, Saturday 11th.

2 Merlin (or maybe 1 if it flew REALLY Fast) on the West Side

1 Wheatear nr Uigen, Sunday 12th

1 Golden Plover nr Uigen, Sunday 12th.

There were also 4 Merganser in the bay behind the braigh at Aiginish (excuse my spelling). 3 males and a female. 1 male was particularly annoyed that the other two males were hanging around, ruining his chances. I felt for him.

Jamie R

Loch Sandary - South Uist

• Surf Scoter
• Melanitta perspicillata
• UK: Accidental
• UK: Fewer than 20 records BTO
• WI: Scarce Visitor (very small numbers recorded in most years)
• Breeds: Alaska & Canada
• Winters: South USA, Europe & UK
• Habitat: Close to sea, lakes, rivers, tundra
• Diet: Molluscs, crustaceans, (migration fish eggs)
• Large sea duck, bulky shape, large bill.
  Male almost all black, white patches nape & forehead. Bulbous red, yellow & white bill. Females brown birds, pale head patches. Head wedge-shaped & no white in wings helps ID female from female velvet scoter
• Similar birds: Velvet Scoter (rare), Common Scoter , Eider,

Tuesday 19 May Brian Sawford about Ardnamurchan,
Tuesday 26 May Ian McGuire about his work for conservation of British owls through the Hawk and Owl Trust.

Venue will probably be Room 63 Lionacleat School, Benbecula – 7.30 p.m.

Long-tailed Ducks - Over 200 on the Braigh Pond, Point this morning, as some of us went to work !
Grahame

Ardivachar + Ardvule- South Uist

• Little Tern
• Sterna caspia
• Gaelic: Steàrnan Beag
• WI: Uncommon Migrant Breeder (10-99 breeding pairs)
• Similar birds: Common Tern, Arctic Tern

Ardivachar - South Uist

Clachan - South Uist

Ardvule Point - South Uist

Ardivachar Point + Balgarva - South Uist

Loch Sandary - North Uist

Baile Gharbhaidh- South Uist

• Bonaparte’s Gull
• Larus philadelphia
• UK ( in any month), accidental, 3 annual records BTO
• WI: Very rare visitor (five or less records)
• Breeds: Ground-nesting or in conifers (only tree-nesting gull). Prefers lakes, marsh or bogland in coniferous woodland or forest. N North America (Alaska), Canada
• Winters: Migrates to coastal waters: south to Mexico. (Vagrant to Western Europe), mixes with black-headed gulls
• Small gull (31-34cm. Similar but smaller than Black-headed Gull. Winter head white & adult has large ear-spot. Summer adult has black hood (not brown). Short, thin & black or mainly black bill. Body mostly white with pale grey upperwings & back (extending to hind-neck in winter). Underwing pale. Wing tips dark. Short pinkish legs (orange in summer). 1st summer bird similar to first winter, but paler. Less than 5% get a dark hood in their 1st summer. Graceful tern-like flight.
• Diet: (Foraging in flight, wading, swimming or on ground). fish, crustaceans insects, wading. Rarely scavenges.

• Canada Goose
• UK: Introduced breeder. 82,000 adults BTO
• WI: Rare visitor (less than 30 records)
• Breeding: 2 yr old finds a mate. Monogamous, mates for life (one dies other may find new mate). Nest shallow depression lined with plant material & down. Usually in elevated area nr water. Lays 1 clutch a yr, 5-7 eggs. Both adults protect eggs. During incubation (25–28 days) adults lose flight feathers. Feathers regrown & birds can fly again after eggs hatched. N America, (INTRODUCED: N+W Europe, New Zealand)
• Wintering: Many British birds travel to different sites within the UK to moult but are non-migratory. A few vagrant birds of the smaller races join with other species of wild geese in N Ireland & W Scotland
• Habitat: Marsh, meadows, lakes, tundra, estuaries, gravel pits, parks
• Diet: Mostly grazing - grasps grass with bill & jerks head to tear the blades off. Plant material, grass, roots, tubers, shoots, leaves, grains, seeds. In water feeds from silt at bottom of body of water. Also feeds on aquatic plants seaweeds etc
• Large goose. Black head & neck. Large white throat patch "chinstrap". Brownish, body plumage (with white breast). (Barnacle Goose, has black breast & grey body) . Female similar to male but slightly smaller & has different honk.
• Typical lifespan 6yrs. Max recorded lifespan 27yr 4mths
• Listen to a Canada Goose (RSPB site)

Arnol - Isle of Lewis

Peninerine + Eochar - South Uist

Ardivachar + Ardvule + Kilauley

South Uist

The Wheatears have arrived on Bernera again - saw two today
Suzanne

Wednesday 8th April, 2009

• Merlin
• Falco columbarius
• UK AMBER LIST (1,300 breeding pairs) RSPB
• WI: Uncommon resident or migrant Breeder (10-99 breeding pairs) and passage visitor (recorded in low numbers each year)
• Breeds: UK nest usually a scrape on upland rocky or scrub moor in long heather. Upland moorland, birch scrub, forest. North America, Asia, Europe
• Winter: In Aug - Oct birds resident birds come down to inland & lowland coast areas with open countryside & North European birds arrive. Some Icelandic breeding birds migrate to UK and some birds that breed here move further south. Africa, Asia, South America
• Habitat: Moor, heath, desert, open coniferous forest
• Diet: Mostly small birds - usually caught by dashing pursuit
• Smallest bird of prey. Male: 10-13in long, wingspan 24-27in. Female slightly larger. Compact, relatively long square-cut tail & fairly broad-based pointed wings (shorter than other falcons). Adult male: blue-grey above & orange-tinted below. Female & immature dark-brown above & whitish with brown spotting below. In flight looks a bit like a Pigeon hence old name Pigeon Hawk. Merlin often roost communally & with hen harriers.
• Max recorded age: 12yrs 8mths
• Listen to a Merlin (RSPB site)
• Similar birds: Kestrel, Sparrowhawk

Ardivachar - South Uist

Howmore - South Uist

Brian Rabbitts

Peter F

• Osprey (Fish Eagle, Fish Hawk, Osprey, Seahawk)
• Pandion haliaetus
• Gaelic: Iolar Uisge
• UK AMBER LIST. 148 pairs (Summer) BTO 4 UK nest records
• WI: Scarce passage visitor (usually May) 1-4 records annually
• European breeders usually generally winter in Africa. Females migrating before males . Birds fly up to 430km a day
• Habitat: Lakes & Lochs, rivers, sea coasts (usually nests near freshwater) Some nests used for 70 yrs
• Diet: 99% fish, caught in barb-like talons. Hovers then dives (to) 1m deep after fish (closeable nostrils). Sometimes diet includes small birds or rodents, reptiles etc.
• Large (2ft length, 6ft wingspan). Upperparts deep shiny brown. Breast (sometimes streaked) & other underparts white. Head white with dark mask-like eye patch. Golden rises. Black bill. White feet, black talons. Tail short. Wings long & narrow with "fingers". In flight arched wings gull-like with downturned "hands". Sexes fairly similar see WIKI for detailed ID. Mates for life
• Max recorded age 26yrs 1 month. Typical lifespan 8yrs

Just heard from Tony M in Ness -
11.05 hours at Loch Stiapavat from the hide watching a Killdeer.

Brian R

• Killdeer
• Charadrius vociferus
• UK: just one record a year
  WI: In 2007 we had 2nd Killdeer in the last 10 years
• Breeds: Bare sandy/gravelly terrain near freshwater (gravel-pits, reservoirs, saltpans etc). North America
• Winters: North to South America. Vagrant to Europe
• Habitat: On migration: Freshwater margins, estuaries, coastal mudflats
• Diet: Forages by sight: fields, mudflats, shores. Insects, mostly earthworms, also snails, grasshoppers, beetles
• Adults: Bit similar to & bit smaller than ringed plover but white breast has 2 black bands. Brown wings & back, white belly, Rump orange-brown. Bill all black. Legs greyish-pink or brownish (not orange)

In North America where the bird breeds, it does the "broken wing" act to entice predators away from it's nest. It also stops horses, cows etc from trampling the nest by fluffing up, putting it's tail over it's head, and charging at the animal to scare it off! The Killdeer is smaller than a ringed plover!

BBRC Killdeer records 1992-2006

0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 3, 0, 1, 2, 3

Ardivachar - South Uist

Drimsdale - South Uist

North Bay - South Uist

• American Wigeon (Wigeon, Widgeon, Baldpate)
• UK: Scarce visitor, 6 annual records BTO
• WI: Rare visitor (less than 30 records)
• Breeds North-West & Central America
• Winters: South USA to Northerly South America. Gregarious outside of breeding season
• Habitat: Open wetlands, wet grassland, marshes lochs, wet meadows (usually with some taller vegetation) Migration also rivers, estuaries
• Diet: (Herbivore) Grazing for food - has short serrated-edged bill. Herbs, grasses, Wigeon grass, eelgrass, algae, roots. Also dabbling, pondweeds & other aquatic plants
• Dabbling duck. Adult male in breeding season: pinkish brown body, greyish head with greenish eye patch, creamy white crown stripe (Common Wigeon's is creamy-buff/yellowish-orange) , black rear-end, white wing-patch (speculum). Non-breeding male fairly similar to female. Female light-brown, & similar to female Mallard.
• Similar bird: Wigeon. Female & male American Wigeon out of breeding season similar to Mallard

North Bay + Loch Sandary

South Uist

North Bay - South Uist

Re Snowy owl: checked out galson area today with scope to no avail im afraid
Andy L
Friday 3rd April, 2009

78 Whooper Swans on Achmore loch (Lewis) yesterday
Sunny

Thursday 2nd April, 2009

Had lone twite on the table this morning. Fieldfares and redwings in the croft
Andy L, Isle of Lewis

Thursday 2nd April, 2009

Just to let you know that the Snowy Owl has been sighted on Galson Moor (Lewis) again, there are been two reports in the last week.

If people are coming to see it to be aware of where they park etc, as we had terrible problems the last time with people just stopping on random parts of the road where there are quite a few blind spots. We have the added problem this year that building work is going on not far away and so there are a lot of lorries using this stretch of road.

Julie Sievewright
Countryside Ranger
Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn
Bùth Lisa
Habost, Ness
Isle of Lewis

Thursday 2nd April, 2009

Outer Hebrides Bird Report 2005/2006

The Outer Hebrides Bird Report has been redesigned by a team of local birders,
and this new style has 250 pages, and features several plates of colour photos.

The Bird Report is a fascinating read for anyone birding here, and very useful
when wanting to get an idea of how likely you are to see a bird in a particular area
when narrowing down the ID, from a beginner dubious about ducks to an expert
picking between pipits.

Read more about the Outer Hebrides Bird Report

Probable Swallow in Ness on Friday afternoon
Julie S

Great Northern Diver

Saw the temp. resident Great Northern Diver in Balivanich bay...

see Debbies super photo of the Great Northern Diver