Kintyre Birds (1 Viewer)

A few more observations from my April visit.............

Right down at the southern tip of the peninsula, close by Keil Cemetery, is a cliff used annually as a nesting area by fulmars. On this occasion they were highly perturbed by the presence of a pair of ravens which were calling raucously from higher up the cliff. Undoubtedly these ravens could prove a danger to the fulmars and their eggs /chicks. A natural event, yes........but one couldn't help feeling concerned for the fulmars and this year's breeding success.

Driving back to Campbeltown along the east coast road from Southend I came across this fine Canada Goose at the mouth of a small stream. A Mallard drake and a fast-disappearing Shelduck were keeping it company.

And finally, at Ronachan, on the west coast of the peninsula, on the calmest of days, I came across this idyllic composition of seals, flat-calm sea, and a distant fishing boat surrounded by seabirds - very much an evocation of what this wonderful area is all about.

Best wishes,
Dave

I unexpectedly found myself back in Kintyre in June 2009, and made sure I managed my quota of birding in this beautiful area. June is not the most perfect time for birding - that reaches its peak during the passage of the spring and autumn migrants - but we did have the best weather I have so far experienced there, which made everything an absolute pleasure. One notable tick on this trip was a female and juvenile Hen Harrier, near Feochaig in the south-east corner of the peninsula, a hilly area of heather and sheep-dotted moorland looking out over the sea towards Ailsa Craig and the Ayrshire coast. This suggests successful breeding, which I understand has not been recorded here for some time.

The first picture shows a Black Guillemot swimming in Campbeltown's harbour. These handsome birds can be found in most of western Scotland's small harbours, often nesting in the stones of the harbour wall.

On the opposite side of the peninsula from Campbeltown lies Machrihanish, one of the premier birding spots in the area. To the west of the village lies Uisaed Point, just past the Marine Biological Research Station, where excellent seabird sightings may occur. There is a Seabird Observatory on the point, where visitors are welcome from April-October. While at the observatory one evening we had a splendid otter sighting, the fourth I have experienced here. Otters, of course, are the very devil to photograph, and the best I managed was a shot of his bum disappearing as he dived.

There is a small bay just before the Research Station, where Common and Grey Seals haul out onto the rocks. It was in this bay, on a stormy day some time ago, that I found my first, and so far only, Long-tailed Duck. The second photo shows a Common Sandpiper which was foraging round the bay, and the third, out on the rocks at least 5 female eiders, which are almost invisible against the brown seaweed. A splendid example of the benefits of cryptic plumage to a nesting female. Half a dozen dunlin (photo 4) were resting in the bay.

Out at the observatory one afternoon we heard a distinctive call and rushed outside to find this fine Redpoll (photo 5). My only redpoll sighting to date had been some years ago at Lochwinnoch RSPB, when we heard someone shout "There's a redpoll!", and turned round to see its butt disappearing over the horizon.

I'll post some more Kintyre observations soon.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy