Kintyre Birds (1 Viewer)

[Dave Kennedy]

hi Dave

i do have a few photos of the iceland gulls and have tried to attach them but have failed, something to do with photo size, im not very computer literate i'm afraid, but my wife is a wiz kid on them and will get her to look at it as soon as she can.

on subject of photos maybe you can offer some advice, for many years i used a basic digital camera mostly to record birds in the hand when ringing, recently i got hold of a fugi finepix s5700, one of these superzoom cameras, which is great but has given me a real taste for photography and a hankering for a real digital slr but this is right out of my budget just now and have been considering getting a teleconvertor for the finepix, have you any experience or opinions on these lenses, would value your advice.

by the way forgot to mention the flock of snow buntings that are hanging around the dunes between machrihanish and westport biggest number i saw was 32 just before christmas but seen 11 last week and have had a few other reports from other people.

am doing the atlas work out on the laggan tomorrow and will give you a report on the geese and other birds of intrest after

cheers

neil

Neil, the maximum photo file size you can post is, I think, 297kb. Get your wife to check out whatever editors you have on your machine. Most of them can do file size reduction. I copy photo files I want to post into a separate folder, and then reduce them all to a suitable size. I can then post easily into Birdforum.
I have a Fuji S5000 - it's the early (2004) version of yours - and if you look back at earlier postings, it takes quite good pics. You should go to the following forums which you'll find if you page down the main forum page:

1 Photography, Digiscoping, Art & Equipment
2 Cameras and Photography
3 Fuji

You'll find guys there who really know what they are talking about, and I'm sure you'll get the info you need.

Nice to hear about the snow buntings. I'll look forward to your next post.

Best wishes,
Dave

 

[neil brown]

Hi Dave

went for a walk throught langa quarry and down through the new golf course onto the dunes near westport. thought you would be interested in the flock of twite i came across on the piles of gravel in the quarry, 32 birds in total although they are one of those birds along with linnet that when you first hear them they sound like a lot more. also flock of 98 curlew feeding in the field beside the quarry. there were several skylarks singing over the dunes, the first i have heard this year and it really lifts my heart with its promise of coming spring (i hate winter, well i hate the lack of daylight really, love winter birds and often winter weather) there was also flock of 13 goldfinches in the quarry also, hope to see the first sandmartins here within the next few weeks. when on the shore there were a small flock of waders, 9 ringed plovers, 2 dunlin, 7 sanderlling and a solitary purple sandpiper. out to sea there was 1 great northern diver and 5 red throated divers. 1 buzzard and 1 male hen harrier also seen and a group of 6 ravens. no sign of the snow buntings, golden plovers or lapwing though. a very enjoyable walk with bright sunny weather and little wind, back to grey and windy today. cheers for now
neil

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Hi Dave

went for a walk throught langa quarry and down through the new golf course onto the dunes near westport. thought you would be interested in the flock of twite i came across on the piles of gravel in the quarry, 32 birds in total although they are one of those birds along with linnet that when you first hear them they sound like a lot more. also flock of 98 curlew feeding in the field beside the quarry. there were several skylarks singing over the dunes, the first i have heard this year and it really lifts my heart with its promise of coming spring (i hate winter, well i hate the lack of daylight really, love winter birds and often winter weather) there was also flock of 13 goldfinches in the quarry also, hope to see the first sandmartins here within the next few weeks. when on the shore there were a small flock of waders, 9 ringed plovers, 2 dunlin, 7 sanderlling and a solitary purple sandpiper. out to sea there was 1 great northern diver and 5 red throated divers. 1 buzzard and 1 male hen harrier also seen and a group of 6 ravens. no sign of the snow buntings, golden plovers or lapwing though. a very enjoyable walk with bright sunny weather and little wind, back to grey and windy today. cheers for now
neil

Nice list there, Neil. Twites seem fond of the Machrihanish area. I have seen them far more often than I would have expected in the vicinity of the Seabird Observatory at Uisaed Point. One one occasion they were feeding on the rocks right down by the shore. It looked like they were eating the flowers of the Thrift or Sea Pink Armeria maritima. Can you or anyone else confirm this? Would they eat the flowers or were they perhaps seeking seeds? I've attached a picture of Thrift just in case you or anyone else is uncertain which plant I'm talking about.
I've seen purple sandpipers on the East coast (Aberdeen area) but never on the west. Is this an unusual sighting for Kintyre?
And finally, is the quarry you refer to a sand or gravel quarry? Do the sand martins nest there?

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

 

[neil brown]

Hi all

was out on the aros moss yesterday doing some gardening of the net rides in preparation for the start of the CES ringing season. The moss can seem pretty dead in the winter although thats not the case, but with spring approaching (hooray!) the birds are starting to become more apparent.
SNIPE - 23 birds flushed including a possible JACK SNIPE, have recorded these birds here before but couldnt be certain on this one
WOODCOCK - 3 birds flushed, have never recorded these birds in breeding season and believe they may be continental.
TEAL - several birds on the loch noisely protesting the arrival of a single GREY HERON who is no doubt feeding on the numerous frogs and toads.
HEN HARRIER - wonderful views of a hunting female who landed for a couple of minutes on an old fence post c. 15 yards from me and guess what - no camera!
LONG-EARED OWL - one bird flushed from willow scrub
RAVEN - pair displaying.
BUZZARD - single bird
LONG-TAILED TIT - party of 14 birds
GREENFINCH - 3 birds, 1 male in song
YELLOWHAMMER - 2 males one female
REED BUNTING - 4 birds
MERLIN - jack, only one i have seen this winter

also caught a common lizard, beautiful creature

cheers for now

neil

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Hi all

was out on the aros moss yesterday doing some gardening of the net rides in preparation for the start of the CES ringing season. The moss can seem pretty dead in the winter although thats not the case, but with spring approaching (hooray!) the birds are starting to become more apparent.
SNIPE - 23 birds flushed including a possible JACK SNIPE, have recorded these birds here before but couldnt be certain on this one

cheers for now

neil

Closest I've seen a jack snipe to Aros is Ardnamurchan, on the road from Acharacle to Kinlochmoidart.

Sorry I missed your post - I was away birding in N Kruger, and just got back

 

[neil brown]

lucky old you, first wheatear of the year today out at langa quarry again also first lesser black-backed gulls, although have been told they have been around for a couple of days. the flock of twite are still there (25-30). hope to get the first sand martin of the year in the next week or so, begining to see gannets regularly and also a pod of 7 bottle nosed dolphins off keil cliffs a couple of days ago. nothing to compare with n kruger i'm afraid, although i dont know...

regards

 

[Dave Kennedy]

lucky old you, first wheatear of the year today out at langa quarry again also first lesser black-backed gulls, although have been told they have been around for a couple of days. the flock of twite are still there (25-30). hope to get the first sand martin of the year in the next week or so, begining to see gannets regularly and also a pod of 7 bottle nosed dolphins off keil cliffs a couple of days ago. nothing to compare with n kruger i'm afraid, although i dont know...

regards

Hi, Neil,

Don't knock Kintyre! There are no twites in northern Kruger, nor are there any bottlenosed dolphins. I've just been up to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, so I apologise for this delayed response. Do me one favour - tell me when the swallows get back to Kintyre. I've been watching them gathering here prior to migration, so it would be interesting to see how long they take.

If you ever see Eddie Maguire, give him my good wishes, and tell him to post some of his sightings here!

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

 

[neil brown]

Hi Dave

have been keeping an eye for swallows for the last few days, reports of them from all over the country now but have yet to see my first here. did see my first sand martins here today, been going out to langa quarry every day for the last week and today saw 4 flitting about the sandbanks, also a total of 3 pairs of wheatears there now. also seen large flock of c. 140 lesser black backs on the way out. The twite flock is still at langa and counted 37 today.

eddie is back in town and have seen him around, not likely to be speaking to him but will pass on your regards if i do

regards

neil

 

[neil brown]

Hi again dave

just a quickie just to let you know of first willow warbler of the year on the aros moss this morning. have not seen swallow yet

regards

neil

 

[neil brown]

Hi dave

just read a post on this forum that states there was a massive death toll of swallows due to some freak weather conditions as they gathered in south africa for onward migration. did you witness any of this or know anything more about it? im not sure but because of the date of the remaining birds departure (28th march) was wondering if this was a population destined for a more southerly part of europe as the migration atlas states that the british birds begin leaving at the end of febuary. be interested in any records of information you have

regards

neil

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Hi dave

just read a post on this forum that states there was a massive death toll of swallows due to some freak weather conditions as they gathered in south africa for onward migration. did you witness any of this or know anything more about it? im not sure but because of the date of the remaining birds departure (28th march) was wondering if this was a population destined for a more southerly part of europe as the migration atlas states that the british birds begin leaving at the end of febuary. be interested in any records of information you have

regards

neil

Hi, Neil,
Sorry, I've been away in Botswana. While there I saw thousands of swallows gathering for departure. Not aware of any freak weather conditions here - Weather has been quite good. Not positive, but I think most South African barn swallows come from Russia, not UK. Let me know if you hear anything further about this. I'll keep my ear to the ground as well.
Best regards
Dave Kennedy

 

[neil brown]

cheers dave

the original post i refered to was posted by a fellow south african with user name sal.

have still not personally seen any swallows here yet though have heard a couple of reports including 3 seen by my daughter at knocknaha farm. getting daily records of willow warblers though, and although not completely sure thought i heard a sedge warbler on the aros moss yesterday, but it is pretty cold and windy here just now with a north easterly wind.

am sure that the report did not involve uk birds simply because of the departure date which was coinciding with swallows first arriving in the south of the country although i do know there is some overlap (older more experienced males arriving first)

saw joanne early this morning while out for a run

regards

neil

 

[neil brown]

hi Dave

first swallow today, single male bird at kilmicheal farm just outside the town. also flock of summer plumage golden plover c.200 in fields by sound of kintyre. flock of crossbills (6-8) yesterday beside lussa loch.

regards
neil

 

[Dave Kennedy]

hi Dave

first swallow today, single male bird at kilmicheal farm just outside the town. also flock of summer plumage golden plover c.200 in fields by sound of kintyre. flock of crossbills (6-8) yesterday beside lussa loch.

regards
neil

Hi, Neil
How do you identify m/f swallows? Only way I know is length of tail streamer, but with only one individual to look at I might be pushed to make that distinction. Still heard nothing here about problems with swallows migrating from South Africa.

I would like to find a crossbill - what areas in Kintyre offer the best opportunity?
Say Hi to Joanne if you see her again.

Best wishes,
Dave

 

[lee_hesp]

Nice close views of a 1st winter Iceland Gull in the harbour in Tarbert last afternoon Thursday (April 17th). Does Tarbert just about sneak into the northerly limit of your area?

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Nice close views of a 1st winter Iceland Gull in the harbour in Tarbert last afternoon Thursday (April 17th). Does Tarbert just about sneak into the northerly limit of your area?

Hi, Lee, nice to have you on the thread. Tarbert's fine! We're not purists here! I wouldn't mind you telling us about an Iceland Gull if it was in Inveraray. The point is to try to make people aware of the good birding in the area, and a report like yours helps tremendously. Great sighting, and thank you for that.

Hope we'll see more of you.
Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

 

[neil brown]

hi again Dave

adult male swallows have strikingly longer outer tail feathers (streamers) and although there can be some overlap in younger birds in adults its pretty easy to determine, coupled with the fact that the males tend to be the first to arrive back. i seen my second bird today at the aros moss, am hearing the odd reports of swallows back but do not expect the main arrival for another couple of weeks.

the aros moss was alive with willow warblers today and have a song thrush and 2 blackbirds on eggs there with a pair of hooded crows building. hoping to do the first CES visit there shortly and really looking forward to it.

uncertain if there is a best place to see crossbills but if there is in south kintyre it would be around the lussa loch area, seen the most there but not that many. a lot of siskin and a few bullfinches and mistle thrush there on sunday. however there is a flock of c. 12 crossbills hanging around the forestry tracks on bein guilean for the last couple of weeks.

my daughter mary recorded sandwich terns back in campbeltown loch today

regards

neil

 

[Dave Kennedy]

hi again Dave

adult male swallows have strikingly longer outer tail feathers (streamers) and although there can be some overlap in younger birds in adults its pretty easy to determine, coupled with the fact that the males tend to be the first to arrive back. i seen my second bird today at the aros moss, am hearing the odd reports of swallows back but do not expect the main arrival for another couple of weeks.

the aros moss was alive with willow warblers today and have a song thrush and 2 blackbirds on eggs there with a pair of hooded crows building. hoping to do the first CES visit there shortly and really looking forward to it.

uncertain if there is a best place to see crossbills but if there is in south kintyre it would be around the lussa loch area, seen the most there but not that many. a lot of siskin and a few bullfinches and mistle thrush there on sunday. however there is a flock of c. 12 crossbills hanging around the forestry tracks on bein guilean for the last couple of weeks.

my daughter mary recorded sandwich terns back in campbeltown loch today

regards

neil

Hi, Neil, must be an exciting time in Kintyre right now, with the summer migrants arriving. Do you ever chat to Eddie Maguire at the seabird observatory? He must be picking up some good sightings just now. Would be nice if he posted some of them in this forum. There are a lot of birders out there who probably don't know much about Kintyre, and would welcome such information.

Help me out here if you can, Neil. A while back my brother Bryce mentioned seeing a yellow bird - I think maybe some kind of oriole. Were you with him at the time? Can you confirm what he might have seen?

Thanks for the crossbill information. I'll keep that in mind for my next visit.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Seabird & Wildlife Observatory, Machrihanish, Kintyre

Having had an unscheduled trip to UK I managed just one morning down at Machrihanish to try for some nice seabirds. The Sealife and Wildlife Observatory (ignore arrow on map - the observatory is on Uisaed Point, immediately north of the blue triangle) looks out across the Sound of Jura towards Port Ellen and the Mull of Oa on Islay. Birding when the westerly gales blow can be very rewarding. The Observatory is manned most days from April to October. Eddie Maguire has been monitoring birds here for twenty odd years, and is a mine of information. Visitors are welcome at the Observatory. The first picture shows the Observatory's fine position. The second show's Eddie's digiscoping set up, where the camera on the telescope at right is linked directly to the monitor on the shelf at left. All observations are taken directly from the monitor, and photos taken as required.

Earlier posts on this Forum give additional details of birding in the area.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=163500&Y=620500&A=Y&Z=3

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Unusual interaction - skua and peregrine

On Sunday 15th June I managed a quick visit to the Seabird and Wildlife Observatory at Macrihanish, Kintyre, where Eddie Maguire, the Observatory's custodian and I observed a peregrine flying determinedly northwards up the Sound of Jura. Above and behind it, and possibly undetected by the peregrine, was an Arctic skua, holding the same course. Suddenly the skua tipped over and dive-bombed the peregrine, causing the falcon to take rapid evasive action.
I have seen Arctic skuas at Machrihanish using the same technique to force terns to disgorge their catch, which is then snapped up by the skua. My questions are as follows:

Was the skua simply doing what skuas do, and, failing to distinguish between a falcon and a tern, looking for a quick meal?

Did it recognise the falcon as a possible threat, so was this an aggressive display?

I would appreciate your comments on this incident.

Thank you,
Dave Kennedy