Gramsdale - Benbecula

Ardivachar - South Uist

Stornoway Harbour

Lesser Scaup

Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF 770 510

North Ford - Benbecula

Kentish Plover

North Bay - South Uist - Outer Hebrides

Gramsdale - Benbecula

Ardivachar - South Uist

Ardivachar - South Uist

Lesser Scaup

Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF 770 510

Gramsdale - Benbecula

Ardivachar - Douth Uist

Loch Barvas - Isle of Lewis

North Bay - South Uist

Loch Boisedale - South Uist

Loch Barvas - Isle of Lewis

North Bay - South Uist

Pintail 1   (drake)        West Gerinish/Lochbee

Glaucous Gull 3x1stw    Just South of Ardivachar

Iceland Gull 2x1stw        Just South of Ardivachar

W F Goose 23               Just North of the Range buildings at West Gerinish.

The Range - South Uist

Ardivachar - South Uist

BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH Sat 26th & Sun 27th January, 2008

Details via the above link.

How many species can you get on the Western Isles in your garden in a hour?

Leaflets in Stornoway Library and An Lanntair while seed available from a variety of outlets including Willowglen, Lewis Crofters and the Home Improvement Centre

Martin
RSPB Conservation Officer (Western Isles)

More About the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

In the late 1970s, the RSPB asked their junior members to count the birds in their gardens - over the same weekend.
It was so successful that it has been a regular event ever since.

Monitoring the garden birds helps show which birds are in need of help so that the RSPB can prioritise their bird conservation work.

Since 1979:
House sparrows count - dropped by 52%
Starling count - dropped by 76%.
Chaffinch count - increased by 36%
Great tits count - increased by 52%.

Oban Liniclate - Benbecula

• Ring-necked duck
• Aythya collaris
• Scarce visitor, less than 20 annual UK records (usually 1 - 3 WI annually)
• Small diving duck - looks like a tufted duck
• Breeds: North America
• Winters: South - Central America
• Diet: (Aquatic - feeds by diving) tubers, plant seeds, molluscs, small fish, invertebrates
• Habitat: Marsh areas, lochs, lakes, bays, rivers ( preferably with thick vegetation)
• Grey bill has white band, head purple & shiny, white breast, yellow eyes, back grey
• Adult female, pale brown head & body, dark brown back, dark bill has more subtle light band than male, brown eyes
• BTO records

Loch Barvas - Isle of Lewis

Balranald - North Uist

Ardivachar - South Uist

There is a flock of about 100 birds at Balranald this winter

• Snow Bunting
• AKA: Snowflake, Snaa Fuhl
• Plectrophenax nivalis
• UK Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
• AMBER LIST: UK 70 - 100 prs (Summer) 11,000 birds (Winter) RSPB
• Breeds: Arctic: (Circumpolar) Greenland, Iceland, North America, North Europe - A Few in North Scotland. (Has bred on St Kilda)
• Winter: Heads South: South Europe, Central Asia, South USA
• Breeding Habitat: Tundra, treeless moorland (rock crevices)
• Diet: Ground feeder: Mostly seeds (summer insects for young), rocky shores (follows wrack-line), short & open vegetation, sand dunes
• Large buntings. Summer males: Heads & underparts all white with black back & wing tips. Females & juveniles pale ginger above, white below. In Autumn & winter the white has a sandy or buff wash & males' upperparts more mottled. Flight: large white wing patches. Not shy. Forms flocks
• Listen: snow bunting (RSPB site)

The most Northerly breeding landbird, the Inuit equivalent of our house sparrow.

Flocks in flight: Hindmost birds leap-frog the front ones, creating a blizzard-like flurry of white wings & tails-markings - hence the Orkney name snowflake

Stornoway - Isle of Lewis

Gramsdale - Benbecula

Balranald - North Uist

Ardivachar - South Uist

Western Isles Council is writing to First Minister Alex Salmond following speculation that Scottish ministers will refuse permission for the 181 turbine wind farm on Lewis.

The Scottish Government has insisted no final decision has been taken ...

Press Association web site 26th January, 2008

See more stories on this topic Saturday 26th January, 2008

The Scottish government said today that the future of the Lewis windfarm was still being considered by ministers.
politics.co.uk   Friday 25th January, 2008

BBC's Gaelic news service, has learned that Scottish Government ministers are going to refuse permission for the 181 turbine scheme.

BBC web site    Friday 25th January, 2008

Loch Grogarry - Stilligarry - South Uist

NF 764 395

Lesser Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF 770 510

Today’s list.

Glaucous Gull 3 (1stw)               Ardivachar  (just south on the edge of the Range there is some flooded land)

Iceland Gull 3 (2x1stw 1xAdult)  

Snow Bunting 8

Pink Footed Goose 7

Merlin 1

Kentish Plover was at North Bay today

Terry's photographs of the gulls:

Glaucous gull 1st winter	Iceland Gull 1st winter	Iceland Gulls 1st winter and an adult bird	Iceland Gull 1st winter flight	Iceland Gull adult flight	Iceland Gull 1st winter flight	Iceland Gull 1st winter with Glaucous Gull 1st winter

Lesser Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF 770 510

Kentish Plover

North Bay - South Uist - Outer Hebrides

• Kentish Plover
• AKA: Snowy Plover
• Charadrius alexandrinus
• 34 annual UK records BTO
• UK Former Breeder, Scarce Visitor
• Breeds: "Locally" in Europe, Asia, (NOT KENT or rest of UK)
• Winters: South Europe - Central Africa, South-East Asia
• Habitat: Beaches, mudflats, rivers, lochs
• Small wader, like ringed plover, but smaller, paler, longer-legged & thinner-billed. Breast band never complete, & usually as dark lateral patches on sides of breast. Greyish-brown above, white below. Summer adults' breast markings black, otherwise brown. Legs black. Flight: Flight feathers blackish & strong white wingbar
• Diet: Inland: Insects. Coastal: Crustaceans, worms, molluscs (run & pause)

• Bonaparte’s Gull
• Larus philadelphia
• UK ( in any month), accidental, 3 annual records BTO
• 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.

The bird was named after Prince Charles Lucien Bonaparte, he was a zoologist and Napoleon's nephew:

BBRC UK Bonaparte's Gull records 2000 - 2006:
10, 1, 4, 1, 5, 4, 9.

We also had a Bonaparte's Gull in Ardvule, South Uist on 2nd September 2007.

Ardivachar - South Uist

Loch Bhruda - North Uist

Gramsdale - Benbecula

Ardivachar - South Uist

Gramsdale - Benbecula

The American herring gull is apparently similar to the herring gull, but a little larger and heavier, with a stronger bill, smaller head, with a flatter forehead.

The American herring gull is slimmer than the glaucous gull with a rounder head, eyes that are more centrally placed, a more slender bill, and with a less clear *gonys-angle (*not in my dictionary - please can anyone explain this?) and a narrower tip.

The gull's head often peaks on the crown well behind eyes. When it has settled it shows 3 or 4 equally spaced primary tips beyond tail.

Distinguishing the American herring gull from the herring gull is described as straighforward in first years (!) but otherwise extremely difficult, and for older birds is often impossible.

Apparently sound recordings of the American herring gull played to herring gulls in Western Europe got no response. (So perhaps they are unlikely to cross-breed and make identification even more difficult...)

*"Gonys-angle: this is difficult without drawing a picture, it's the angular bit of the lower mandible near the tip of the bill you should be looking at. Less pronounced in the American Herring Gull than say a Glaucous Gull"

Carl Chapman

A couple for today, the Bonaparte’s thanks to Steve Duffield.

Glaucous Gull 1             Ardivachair, South Uist

Bonaparte’s Gull 1         Ardivachair

Andy's photographs of the hooded crow playing ball

what do you think of these couple of shots i took today of a local hoodie playing ball lol .I have seen them picking up objects before and drop them but this one picked up and droped this several times at one stage dropping the ball into a pool of water and then retrieving it . I have numerous shots of it in flight with it too it was something else

• Hooded Crow
• AKA: Hoodie, Hoodiecrow, Militia Crow, Scotch Crow, Danish Crow, Denmarks, Norway Crow, Dun Crow, Grey-backed Crow, Winter Crow, Grey Crow, Corby, Corbie, Royston Crow, (Some of these are for the hooded or the carrion crow) Gaelic: Feannag, Starrag
• Corvus cornix
• Western Isles: Common Resident Breeder,
• UK summer 214,000 pairs BTO
• Distribution: (North & West) Scotland, Europe, Asia
  Mostly bulky stick nests in tall trees, also cliff ledges (then uses seaweed in nest), buildings, pylons. Preferred breeding habitat: boggy areas
• Diet: Omnivorous: Insects, grain, eggs (inc from puffin burrows), carrion, scraps (drops shellfish to break open)
• Black and glossy head, throat, wings, tail & thighs. Otherwise contrasting ash-grey. Bill & legs black. Male largest otherwise sexes similar. Flight: slow, heavy, straight. Fledglings much blacker than parents. Juveniles duller plumage
• listen to a hooded crow (RSPB site)

In the back issues of RSPB Birds magazine there is a series of articles about crow antics. Someone wrote about how they had seen a carrion crow pick up a piece of slate in it's beak, put it on the centre of their perspex skylight dome, jump on it and slide down SEVERAL TIMES

Andy L

Glaucous Gull 1

Terry F

RSPB Scotland today called on Scottish Government Ministers not to be swayed by the spin of developers who want to build a massive wind farm in one of Europe's most highly protected wildlife sites ...

www.wildlifeextra.com 17th January, 2008

what an awesome day it was today i did get out for a short time and managed to photograph a few barnacle geese there were approx 30 of them on loch Tiumpan Point and managed to get a couple of flight shots.

Andy's photographs of the Barnacle Geese

Andy L

Oban Truimsgarry - North Uist
NF 767 470

+Clachan - North Uist

Hen bird

MF

Gramsdail - North Ford - Benbecula
NF 815 556

+Loch Dusaray?

RSPB Balranald - North Uist

Loch Bee - South Uist

Loch Eaval - North Uist

A865 Opposite Hogha Gearraidh turnoff, near RSPB Balranald
NF719720

Two goldfinches in my garden for the first time ever - very exciting!

Great White Egret	Great White Egret	Teal

G W Egret 1 LochGrogarry, South Uist

Greenshank 1 West Gerinish

Merlin 1 Balgarva

Glaucous Gull 3 West Gerinish-Ardivachair

Loch Barvas - Isle of Lewis

NB 345 504

Loch Grogarry - Stilligarry - South Uist

NF 764 395

Kentish Plover

Lochdar - South Uist - Outer Hebrides

(just before Hebridean Jewellers park on left)

NF 815 558

Lesser Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF 770 510

Drake bird

based on Neill Hunt's notes

There are about 18 UK lesser scaup sites so far this year RBB.
BTO records show about 2 birds a year
BBRC records show 14 for 2006, as highest number in any year.

(2 birds) Ardivachar
NF 741 459

Drimsdale
NF 749 376

South Uist

Croir - Great Bernera

NB 152 401

Winter adult

Lesser Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF 770 510

Coot Loch - Benbecula

NF770509

Gramsdail - North Ford - Benbecula
NF 815 556

(2) Ardivachar -
South Uist
NF 741 459

Loch Stiapabhat (at least 2 birds in the general area)
NB 528 642
+ Shader
NB 378 548
Isle of Lewis

I have attached pic’s of the Iceland (Gramsdale),a Grey Plover and G N Diver at Stinky Bay.

Terry's photographs of the Iceland Gull

Stinky Bay - Benbecula

NF 760 539

Terry's photograph of the Grey Plover

Stinky Bay - Benbecula

NF 760 539

Terry's photograph of the Great Northern Diver

Lesser Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF 770 510

Had a reliable report of a Coot seen crossing the road from Engy's garage into the large drainage ditch a couple of days ago.

Two or more coots are called a covert or cover of coot.

The white frontal plate above the bill is fleshy and has no feathers, and is where the phrase "bald as a coot" comes from.

Balgarva - South Uist

+ Loch Barvas - Isle of Lewis

NB 345 504

1st yr Glaucous Gull Balgarva (heading off to roost with other gulls).

One for today  Woodcock 1      Eaval (North Uist)

Barraglom - Great Bernera

NB 163 354

Lesser Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF770510

Kentish Plover

Lochdar - South Uist - Outer Hebrides

(just before Hebridean Jewellers park on left)

Loch Barvas - Isle of lewis

NB3450

I have attached an image of the juvenile Glaucous Gull that has been hanging about Barvas.
The photo was taken by my Callum my 11 years old son

Lesser Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF770510

(2 Pairs) Loch near Bernera Shop
+ (1pair) Loch near Bac Memorial - Isle of lewis

Lesser Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF770510

Loch Barvas - Isle of lewis

NB3450

Lesser Scaup

Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF770510

Kentish Plover

Lochdar - South Uist - Outer Hebrides

(just before Hebridean Jewellers park on left)

Terry F

Lesser Scaup

Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF770510

Lesser Scaup

Scaup

Coot Loch - Benbecula

Far end of loch (opposite Borgh on B892)

NF770510

Creagorry - Benbecula