Bird Sightings : Outer Hebrides : July 2009

This is an informal birder's page for sharing first bird sightings of the season, rare bird sightings, unusual birds to an area, and other birding interests in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles) of Scotland.

Resources
Bird Photographs
Notes: A - Z Index
Notes: Taxonomic Index
Outer Hebrides Birds Checklist
Outer Hebrides Bird Report (Book)
Archived Sightings records
Western Isles Wildlife Forum
Bird ringing in Lewis
Useful contacts
Wildlife Garden
Birding web sites

Bird photographs
the collection is large enough now
to help with ID - all the birds were
photographed here in the
Western Isles of Scotland
See the bird photographs

Corrections and birding gleanings
to share are always welcome

Reports
Please send bird sightings, comments
& photographs to Suzanne
birding@thewesternisles.co.uk 

Our County Bird Recorder
Brian Rabbitts would also like to receive details of your rarity sightings, any counts or anything of interest e.g. first/last dates of migrants of our commoner birds.

rabbitts@hebrides.net

Weather Forecast
BBC 5 day forecast
7 Day Tide Forecasts
Local weather station

Birds in your garden
Share with us news of the birds you encouraged into your garden by regular feeding and developing the habitat
Wildlife Garden

• Siskin
• Carduelis spinus
• Gaelic: Gealag Bhuidhe
• UK: Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
• UK: 369,000 pairs summer BTO
• WI: Scarce (1-9 breeding pairs) migrant breeder, and scarce (very small numbers recorded in most years, sometimes a few more) passage visitor
• Breeds: Northern Europe - UK including Scotland, Russia, Asia
• Winters: South Europe, Central Asia (favours riverside alders)
• Habitat: Woodland treetops (prefers coniferous) (On passage here: Often tall & dense, seedy undergrowth)
• Diet: Seeds (prefers spruce & pine) alder, birch, (summer - insects)
• Small finch: Upper parts greyish-green, under parts grey-streaked white. Short, forked tail. Wings & tail have yellow patches. Male: More yellow-green body & yellower face, black cap & bib. Female & young birds greyish-green heads & no cap. Birds in flight show yellow wing bars. Gregarious out of breeding season (forms mixed flocks often with Redpolls)
• Listen to Siskin (RSPB site)
• Similar birds Greenfinch, Serin (not on the Outer Herbrides Birds Checklist)

• Iceland Gull
• Larus glaucoides
• Gaelic: Faoileag-liath
• UK: Uncommon winter and passage visitor , scarce in summer
• UK: 70 - 80 birds (usually singular) winter in UK RSPB
• UK: Uncommon winter and passage visitor (recorded in low numbers each year), scarce in summer (very small numbers recorded in most years)
• Breeds: Arctic Canada, Greenland (not Iceland)
• Winters: North Atlantic, South to North Europe - UK, East coast USA
• Habitat: Seacoasts, lakes
• Diet: Omnivores: Mostly fish, some carrion, eggs & young of other birds
• Usually smaller than herring gull. All plumages very pale, no black in wings or tail. Immatures pale-creamy brown with fine barring. Rounded head, large dark eyes. Flight: "short-necked", very pale wings - white tips
• Similar birds: Glaucous gull (they're usually larger & more frequent)

Loch na Muilne RSPB - Arnol - Isle of Lewis

DO NOT ENTER MARSH
(Use viewpoint)

• Red-necked Phalarope
• Phalaropus lobatus
• Deagan-allt, Isean-dearg
• UK: Breeding 20-30 pairs
• UK: Migrant breeder/passage visitor
• WI: Scarce passage visitor (very small numbers each year) and scarce migrant breeder (1-9 breeding pairs)
• Breeding: Arctic and sub-Arctic. Europe
• Winter: live at sea off the Arabian coast
• Similar birds: Grey Phalarope, Wilson's Phalarope

In 2000 there were only 13 pairs of Red-necked Phalarope breeding in the whole of the UK, most were in Shetland. The Northern part of Scotland is on the Southernmost edge of it's breeding range. There are now estimated to be 20 to 30 pairs breeding in the UK.

RSPB Loch na Muilne nature reserve on the Isle of Lewis is a Red-necked Phalarope breeding site.

The female Red-necked Phalarope usually arrive in mid-May and by the end of August have left our islands.

Red-necked Phalarope do not make typical monogamous pairings. The females are the most brightly coloured, they sing and court the males, and also fight each other for the attentions of the males.

The males incubate the eggs and feed the young whilst the females take on a second partner.

Red-necked Phalarope feed by swirling up freshwater bottom sediments and eating the insects etc that rise up. The process by which they swirl the water makes them spin around.

• Common Crossbill
• Loxia curvirostra
• Gaelic: cam-ghob
• UK: Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
• UK: Summer breeding 11,000 pairs BTO
• WI: One possible breeding record. Scarce passage visitor (Very small numbers each year) except in irruption years
• Europe, Asia, North + Central America
• Habitat: Coniferous forest
• Diet: Conifer seeds. Feeds fluttering from cone to cone. Bill is an adaptation for extracting the seeds of a cone.
• Noisy, chunky finch. Large head. Bill crossed over at tip. Usually flys at treetop height coming down to drink. Adult males orange or brick-red. Females greenish-brown.
• Average lifespan 2yrs, Max recorded lifespan 8yr 4months
• Listen to a Common Crossbill (RSPB site)
• Similar birds: Scottish Crossbill (Not on Outer Hebrides Birds Checklist), Parrot Crossbill

An irruption is when finches and other seed eaters move in large numbers in search of food. If the cone crop failed on their usual breeding grounds, Crossbills may be numerous in the UK and will arrive from the Continent from late summer, often staying to breed. There are just 1 or 2 possible Western Isles breeding records.

Crossbill's breeding season lasts from summer to the next spring to take advantage of maximum cone supplies.

Forthcoming Event: Friday 17th July

Bumblebee Safari

Bragar, Isle of Lewis, 6-8 p.m. Meet at top end of Loch Ordais (track to right off road to Labost) - unless better suggestion for meeting point as looks OK from Google Earth!
Saturday 18th July Evening talk, Morven Gallery, Barvas, Isle of Lewis, 7 p.m. (45 minute talk).

There was an article in the Scotsman online on the 24th June, 2009 entitled:
Loss of isle missile jobs could put rare birds in jeopardy

The MOD have announced that they may switch control of the Hebrides range to the Aberporth range in Wales, which could result in 180 job losses in South Uist.

RSPB Scotland says this may create issues for the environment and bird life as some of the workers are also crofters whose management of the land helps rare species such as the corncrake, and if the crofters leave, the machair or grassland wildlife habitats could also be lost.

Read the article

Forthcoming Curracag Events:

Tuesday, 7July 2009 - 7.30 p.m. at Lews Castle College, Benbecula (next door to Lionaclete School).

Derek McGinn will be taking a look at Scotland’s (mainly) birdlife starting at the shores and ending on the Cairngorms – a few of the images and sound recordings were made on the Uists.

Tuesday 14 July 2009 - 7.30 p.m. at Claddach Kirkibost Centre, North Uist.

A presentation by Bob Dawson from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, covering the plight of the bumblebee, the work of the Trust, and the Great Yellow Bumblebee and ongoing work for its conservation.

(Visitors £2, but no charge to members)

• Mallard (Stock Duck, Stockie, Stocker, Wild Duck)
• Anas platyrhynchos
• Gaelic: Tunnag-fhiadhaich, Lach
• UK: Introduced/Resident Breeder, Winter Visitor
• UK: Breeding 50,400-127,100 pairs. Wintering 371,000 individuals RSPB
• WI: Fairly common resident breeder (100-999 breeding pairs), and winter visitor (occurs in small numbers)
• Breeding: Usually nest on river bank (not always near water) 1 brood 11-14 eggs laid. Mallards pair until eggs laid then male leaves. Mallard ducklings can swim and feed themselves (insects) as soon as they hatch. Female stays & protects them. Europe, N America, Asia, New Zealand, Australia (much domesticated)
• Winters: Strongly migratory in northernmost parts - winters farther south of the breeding range. Mallards seen in winter in the UK may be resident breeders or migrants - many birds that breed in Iceland & N Europe winter here. Very gregarious out of breeding season & often forms large flocks (called sords)
• Habitat: Wet places including urban area: Wetlands, parks, small ponds, rivers, lakes
• Diet: Omnivorous, opportunist. Feeds mostly by dabbling in shallow water for plant material & insects. Also grazing. Seeds, berries, plants, acorns, insects, shellfish, frogs
• Large, heavy-looking duck. Long body. Long, broad bill. Adult breeding male dark green head. Black rear-end. Yellow black-tipped bill. Breast mainly purple-brown. Body grey . Non-breeding male drab, & like female, ID it by yellow bill & reddish breast. Female mainly brown. Orange bill. Both sexes have purple (white-edged) wing patch (speculum).
• Listen to a Mallard (RSPB site)
• Typical lifespan 3yrs. Max recorded lifespan 23yrs 2mths
• Similar birds: Gadwall (Rare), Pintail (rare) Teal (fairly rare) Green-winged Teal (rare)

• Golden Eagle
• Aquila chrysaetos
• Gaelic: Iolair-dhubh
• UK: AMBER LIST. 442 breeding pairs (summer) BTO
• UK: Resident breeder
• WI: Uncommon resident Breeder (10-99 breeding pairs)
  The Outer Hebrides breeding population is of national importance
• Breeding: Nest made of branches. High in trees or on cliffs. Builds several nests which alternates use of. Nest up to 2m across & 1m tall. Breeds at 4yrs. Mates for life. Lays 2 eggs. Incubated for 45 days. 50 days later young take first flight. Resident breeder in Europe, Asia, North America
• Habitat: Tundra, open coniferous forest , open moorlands & mountains, islands, remote glens
• Diet: Mostly mammals or birds, some as carrion (rabbit is usually max size of prey)
• Huge bird, up to 1m (3 ft) length and 2 m (7 ft) wingspan. In UK only White-tailed Eagle is larger. Colour range black-brown to dark-brown. Often with lighter patch on upper wings. Golden-buff crown & nape. Immature birds resemble adults, but duller & more mottled. Juveniles have white tail with black band. White diminishes with every moult until full adult plumage with all-black tail is reached in 5th year. Bill downward-curving, yellow near head with grey-black tip. Feet have knife-like talons. Females up to ¼ larger than males.
• Max recorded age 32yrs.
• Listen to a Golden Eagle (RSPB site)
• Similar birds: Buzzard, White-tailed Eagle

• Eurasian Turtle Dove (Turtle Dove)
• Streptopelia tutar
• Gaelic: Tutar
• UK: RED LIST, 44,000 territories (summer) BTO
• UK: Migrant reeder, Passage Visitor
• WI: Regular but scarce passage visitor (very small numbers recorded in most years). March - Oct but mostly May-June & Sept. Approx 10 records a year
• Habitat: arable land near townships, woodland edges, hedgerows & open land with some shrubs, gardens
• Breeds: Europe, Central Asia, North Africa
• Winters: south of breeding range to Central Africa
• Diet: Seeds, cereal grain, weeds
• Size of a large blackbird. Dainty dove. Smaller & darker than collared dove. Upperparts mottled chestnut & black. Black tail has white edge
• Max recorded age: 7yr 1 mth
• Listen to a Turtle Dove (RSPB site)
• Similar bird: Collared Cove
  

Loch na Muilne RSPB - Arnol - Isle of Lewis

DO NOT ENTER MARSH
(Use viewpoint)

I have just found your web site and I thought I would send in a couple of photos I took August 2007 on the isle of Lewis. I was advised by a birder at work that they were Goshawks, but after a bit of research I think that is unlikely. Please feel free to use them on your web site and I would be most grateful if you could identify them. They were a pair perched on a high rock at the side of the road. We parked and walked back and they both took off and circled for a while. Not sure the exact location but it was on a trip back from Haris to Crulivig. Brian Hayes

I reckoned them to be Buzzards, so I asked Martin Scott from Western Isles RSPB about them.
Suzanne

Just Buzzards in the pics - but nice none the less - and quite pale ones. There is a lot of individual variation.
Martin

Have spotted 3 pairs of golden plover on a walk from Lemreway to Gravir today. They are quite gregarious and put on something of a display for me. Two pairs are in residence in the area for the proposed SHETL HVDC converter station (near the radio mast). I think there were a couple of youngsters there too but the cleggs were after me and I couldn't hang around. I remember seeing just the one plover at this spot last year so perhaps their numbers are multiplying...sounds a bit obvious really but you know what I mean!
Helen B

Wednesday 1st July, 2009

I spotted a pair of Redshank (or rather they spotted me) on 16/06/09 on the moor near Loch Ceann Eastail near Lemreway. They obviously had a nest in the area as they made a very good job of seeing me off. No pictures I'm afraid as I was 'buzzed' every time I stood still!
Helen B

Above is a message from Grampian Ringing Group, please could you all keep an eye out for colour rings.
Sightings to me,
Cheers
Grahame
hawfinch@btinternet.com

Some photographs Andy sent in back on the 2nd June:

Here is a Sedge Warbler i have been watching and listening to calling its mate for the last couple of days Garrabost point Andy l

• Sedge Warbler
• Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
• Gaelic: Glaisean
• WI: Uncommon migrant breeder (10-99 breeding pairs) and passage visitor (low numbers)
• UK: Migrant Breeder, Passage Visitor. 297,000 territories (summer) BTO. Mid-April to Mid-October
• Breeding: Eurasia (Central & West). Female builds cup-shaped nest low in vegetation on ground, then lays & incubates 3-5 greenish-yellow & brown-mottled eggs.
• Winters : Africa (South of the Sahara Desert)
• Habitat: Wetland: Marshes, reedbeds, along rivers, lakes, estuaries, ponds
• Diet: Insects: mayflies, dragonflies, damselflies, grasshoppers, moths, beetles, flies etc. Birds most active near dawn & dusk when coolness makes insects slower. They often hop between plant stems, picking insects from beneath leaves, also sometimes catch flying insects by hovering, or whilst flying from perch to perch. (Autumn & Winter also berries such as Elderberry, Blackberry).
• Medium sized (11.5 - 13cm) , fairly plump, warbler. Distinct broad creamy stripe above eye. Brown back with blackish streaks. Creamy-white below. Legs greyish-brown.
• Typical lifespan 2yrs. Max recorded age: 10 yrs 1mth
• Listen to a Sedge Warbler (RSPB). (Singing from bare perch on outside of bushes or reed stem. Song noisy, rambling warble - Reed Bunting has rhythmic song)
• Similar birds: Reed Warbler

Hi folks, hopefully I will be able to fill in the missing month of updates later.
Meanwhile onward and thanks for coming back to see what is new ...
Special thanks to Martin and Andy L for the pushstart!
Suzanne

Lots of Common Crossbills in the Uists over the last few days (some on Lewis too) - on Saturday a flock of over 200 was seen at Ben Langlass in South Uist

You can see the event here

I did see also a lovely whooper swan in Harris on Saturday – golden road – I had thought that as these were “winter visitors” that seeing one in summer might be of interest?
Christine W

June 22nd 2009

There is an article in the Press & Journal online entitled:

Bird’s eye view of North Uist golden eagle eyrie is massive hit

RSPB Scotland have made arrangements for the only Golden Eagle Watch in Scotland to take place in North Uist.
The RSPB have setup telescopes in a disused quarry and more than 300 people had viewed the nest by the time the article was written.

Read the full article

13th June, 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

Bird sightings records for May 2009 (June yet to be added)

Sources of information for the bird sightings section