LANCS: Local Celebrity.

Called in on the Eagle Owl site this morning and could just about see one sitting in the heather in the gloomy conditions. These birds attracted a lot of attention a couple of years ago when their presence was put out in the public domain. I've bumped into a few visitors this year but there are strict regulation that any birder should adhere to. They are readily available on the excellent Lancaster & District Bird Watching Society's website here.
Another Whinchat today, this time a male and in the same place I saw a lone female yesterday. Located it by its "bullfinch call" so yesterday's efforts were worthwhile as I'd never heard this before. Single Painted Lady again this morning on the slopes and Stonechats with young notable as well.

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LANCS: Picture of a bird on blog shock!

Spring arrives at last! After days of interrupted fieldwork it was a real treat to get out to Bowland yesterday - Meadow Pipits in parachute display flight, Red Grouse croaking away in the heather, Curlews bubbling overhead (can't believe how crap they are landing in heather!), Peregrine Falcon causing havoc over the LBBG colony and a couple of pairs of Stonechats in the clough below. Surely this is how Spring should be? Nice to see a few Green Hairsteraks on the wing for the first time in nearly a fortnight as well. Ring Ouzel on the way back was a rare treat this Spring. Didn't see another soul in this remote part of Bowland for over seven hours. Heaven.
Worrying times though as Mrs B was out and about in Bowland as well, somewhere in the Abbeystead area. I'll have to start hiding her bins again before this gets out of control and starts lugging her 'scope and tripod around too.

Well here it is the long awaited bird pic on the blog. Bowland is the breeding stronghold of the Hen Harrier in England nowadays and this bottle of "Sky Dancer" carries Bowland's flagship bird species as its logo. Nice drop of beer too - thanks to Mrs B for buying a few bottles out at Bashall Barn instead of gripping me off with something!

This morning was just as good, perhaps even hotter with hardly a breath of breeze. The absolute highlight was recording 4 Whinchats - a pair plus a male in one square and a female on my march back. The males were as always with species, mind blowing. I sat for quite a bit of time watching them listening to the wide variety of vocalisations (including a Bullfinch like call) and managed to record one bird. Another pair of Peregrines seen this morning and some very handsome Stonechats near the Whinchats too.


On the way back to the car I noticed this Painted Lady, not something I see in Lancs this early in the year. They are normally in the garden in late July / August on the buddleia if we're lucky with the weather. Shouldn't have been too surprised though; a quick look at one of the latest thread on the vismig yahoo group (see new link for visible migration blog on the right) tells all:

"Please forgive me for posting an item that is at the moment not related to the BOG area. So let me explain, whilst birding in Costa Blanca Spain (an area I know very well) I experienced a massive northerly movement of Painted Lady butterflies. The influx started on the 14th of May 09 with butterflies coming in off the sea from North Africa at Punta Prima.

The following day the 15th they were still coming in but in greater numbers. At 9am we went on the coast road to Clot de Gavney NR a distance of about 30 miles and during the whole journey butterflies were heading north many hitting the cars and landing on the roads.

At Clot de Gavney NR the place was 'alive' with Painted lady butterflies. On the 16th not one Painted Lady could be found. Given the distance of the movement thousands and thousands of butterflies must have been involved.

Some what about the BOG area I strongly believe that we should get some of these migrants in the next few weeks, so keep a look out and any good number please report them.

Sorry if I have gone on!"

Posted by Martyn Priestley

So, something to look out for then ......

Couple of Spotted Flycatchers in the Whitendale Valley at the end of my walk were the first of the year for me, Plenty of "normal" people out in Bowland today (not birders). Taking in the sun, BBQ's, camping, just enjoying themselves in the Bank Holiday sunshine. Should be back to normal tomorrow hopefully.


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SOLWAY: Last chance skua saloon?

Browhouses, 23 May 2009.

Er, more seawatching = no bird pics again.

What is it about birders? Never satisfied, that's it.
"Like to see the Pom' passage on the Solway this Spring"
"Would really like to jam in on a Long-tailed"
There you go then, mission accomplished? Nah, not really. My experiences with Pomarine Skuas passing through the Solway and attempting overland migration this month just left me hungry for more. But I was quite happy with my single adult Long-tailed off Southerness ....... until yesterday.


A flock of 9 Long-tailed Skuas were seen from the old viaduct at Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria (above viewed looking south across the Solway from Seafield Bay near Annan) yesterday you see. But (there's always a "but"), they didn't go "in". "In" is the term meaning they didn't pass the viaduct and head east and attempt overland passage. These birds decided to stay out in the bay somewhere so surely they'd attempt an overland crossing at high tide today?
Well, they didn't (at least as far as we* could see), but it wasn't half bad today. A six-and-a-half hour shift at Newbie produced the following (extracts from my surprisingly detailed notes):

Newbie NY179645 0900 - 1530 (high tide 1115).
SSW f3 wind becoming stronger (f7) SW around 10.00 with showers restricting vis'. Clearing after 1430 and wind dropping.
Didn't really start to pick up until high tide (first skua at 11.35), but quite productive.
4 G C Grebe
1 Red-throated Diver (west)
2 Manx Shearwater (west)
8 Gannet: minimum - depending on whether the same birds were going "in" and "out" or not. One sub-adult plopped down on the sea off Newbie and died (literally - it was floating with its legs in the air!).
60+ Kittiwake: at least - one flock of c60 was thought to comprise of flocks of roughly c30, 22 and 12 that were going in and spiralling up before going out again.
10+ Fulmar
12 Common Scoter (9 west, 1 east plus a pair drifting in with the tide)
5+ R br Mergs
3 grey geese (Pink-feet) west
2 Bonxie
7 Arctic Skua
13 Pomarine Skua

I even have the times for the skuas and the direction in which they were flying but I won't bore you (even more) wth those.

Also present Peregrine Falcon, 200+ Ringed Plover, 100+ Dunlin, 11 Sanderling (in various stages of summer plumage), 1 Whimbrel, 12+ Turnstone.

The Pom's came in dribs and drabs (max. 5 at once). It's undoubtedly one of the most spectacular sights in all my birding experiences as these powerful birds "scythe" through the air and shear the waves before wheeling up into the sky again. Can't get enough of it - imagine how a flock of Long-tailed would look! Not to be today and the clock is ticking. Who knows though, maybe one last chance.

Good to see some waders on the shore today with some Dunlin to sort through. Note the Sanderling - basically just a passage migrant on this part of the Solway with the second half of May the best time to find them.
I did get some birding in away from Newbie today but saw little at Redkirk Point and Browhouses apart from a single Barnacle Goose, a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits and a couple of Common Terns.
Oh well, have to wait until next Spring for another bash at Solway skua passage. Yeah right Bushell!

*we = me & Chris Baines at Newbie plus birders on the viaduct at Bowness (we can see you!).


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LANCS: Rain stops play ..... again.

Once again no bird pics! Not that I haven't seen any - in fact it's been quite good. It's just that this crap weather makes things really tricky. These windy conditions are great for seawatching (oh how I wish I could have stayed on the Solway until Monday evening), but not so good for finding migrants in the bushes. That Turtle Dove at Southerness Point last year on a sunny Spring day is a fading memory. The Ortolan Bunting at Pilling would've been nice too this week but these survey squares don't get themselves done that way
Enough whinging, it's not been all bad. Male Redstarts in song, 3 Dippers from the car in one day, Ravens and my first Bowland Cuckoos of the year have made all that trudging around worthwhile. This afternoon's aborted fieldwork thanks to the weather had one consolation in the shape of some cracking roadside birding from the car. Ringtail Hen Harrier quartering a fell (a rare luxury to see one of these from the car), Redshank with 4 chicks, Oystercatchers with a chick and a Snipe sitting up on a dry stone wall made me realise just how rewardng this upland birding can be.
I see the predicted "nice weekend's weather" has shifted back a day or so and now starts half way through Saturday instead of Friday evening. Should be OK for Sunday though as long as I can escape from the Bank Holiday Weekend hordes.

SOLWAY: One I forgot!

The culprit: Garganey on Folly Pond 30 August 2008.

Something rang a few bells when I read about a Saker Falcon near Wigtown early this month. Then the penny dropped: Caerlaverock last year! I remember watching the bird in the above photo for sometime hoping it would fly to see if there were any jesses. It never did and I looked away and suddenly it wasn't there! It was a long way off and viewed from the Avenue Tower.


Must admit to forgetting about the Saker completely, mainly thanks to a Garganey on the Folly Pond as we made our way back to the visitor's centre. Reported the Garganey and forgot to mention the falcon! OK must be an escape but impressive beast nevertheless.

SOLWAY: D&G Birding.

Well, shouldn't be too long (if rumours are to be believed) before the next D&G bird report is out. Just had a look through the last one (2006) and about 215 species were seen that year. Last year I saw 196 in D&G just by spending a few weeks hols there and weekends and without twitching. Most of the species on the yearlist were "self-founds". We didn't miss much - Black-necked Grebe, Black Tern, Hoopoe, Red-breasted Goose, Red-necked Phalarope, Black Grouse Brambling and Storm Petrel spring to mind though. So bearing in mind that most county listers get well over 200 in a year, D&G isn't a goldmine for birding. Of course there will be a few things we didn't hear about as well as one or two that we should have.
In the end keeping a D&G yearlist wasn't sch a mundane excercise as first thought (I don't really do the "numbers game"). For instance we struggled to see Redwings until the end of the year; Magies were genuinely rare (as discussed of late on the D&G birding yahoo group - see link on the right of this site); Jays only seen infrequently; Ring Ouzel, Reed Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats are rarities and Green Woodpeckers are surprisingly hard to come by. Corn Bunting, Little Owl, Turtle Dove and Yellow Wagtail are all but gone, although we did manage to find the latter two on our travels.
The D&G bird report has changed its format a fair bit too. The last one covered just 2006. Some cover two years (and I am led to believe that the next one will too), at least one has covered a four year period.

The problem with covering just the one year is that if your county is under watched (as D&G surely is), the report may need a bit of "padding out". Click on the above and have a read (thanks to Gavin Haig for this idea by the way). If you can't fill the report with birds seen that year, why not fill it with birds that were seen over a century ago or weren't even seen at all! Genius!
Anyway, I look forward to the next report in great anticipation and returning north of the border for some more quality birding. So it's the D&G Corn Bunting and Little Owl challenge this year then.

SOLWAY: Blustery with showers - just for a change!

A busy weekend started with an early visit to Bowland to squeeze in some fieldwork in a "fine weather window". The morning was beautiful with a light easterly breeze and clear sky, Ravens and Buzzards overhead and Pied Flycatchers singing their little ditty from wooded slopes. Didn't last long though with inclement weather closing in by mid-morning and wind strengthening so I had to "abort mission" and head for home.

Mrs B looking for terns at Castle Loch 16 May 2009.

As far as I am aware their were only a couple of "tickable" Black Terns in Dumfries and Galloway last year. Both were present while I was abroad - one on the Inner Solway in early May and another at Loch Ryan in September. So with the past week dominated by easterly winds I'd been monitoring the Black Tern movements in the north of England, hoping that we could get one on our D&G list at long last.
We arrived at Castle Loch near Lochmaben after some squally showers with the wind shifting round to the south east, but hopes were still reasonably high. No sign at first so we supped tea and ate a butty or two when I spotted a distant tern dipping over the water. 'Scope out, zoom in, BINGO! A cracking Black Tern, my first in D&G (status category rare vagrant according to the latest D&G report) and Mrs B's 200th D&G bird no less. I love it when a plan comes together (it rarely does!).


We carried on down to the Solway and on to Southerness for the night in good spirits. Our best birds are often on the way up for our breaks on the Solway - was this to be the case yet again? The wind shifted round to the south-east for the morning of 17th May (it ended up in the south west the previous night provoking a good movement of all 4 skuas in the Solway) but I gave the point at Southerness a go anyway. It was obvious that a large number of Common Scoter were on the move as I noted 210 flying west in little less than an hour with 20 or so sitting on the sea off the point for most of the time I was there. What these birds are up to I'm not sure of yet. I'd guess they make their way into the Solway with the tide and I'm seeing them going out again as the tide ebbs? Sanderling are a spring migrant mostly in these parts so it was nice to see 3 flying west off the point and then another 5 on the beach later when I returned with Mrs B.


The rest of the day was interrupted by showers, some very heavy indeed. Stops at Auchencairn and various spots on the Dee Estuary near Kirkcudbright prooved fruitless so after a quick coffee back at Southerness we ventured out to Kirkonnell Flow where we logged a couple of pairs of Crossbills and a pair of Redstarts as well as watching one Buzzard killing another. Most gruesome indeed.
Didn't have much time for birding this morning but managed an hour or so seawatching at Southerness. An adult Little Gull was a nice surprise as it's only the third one I've seen here since October '07. Birds in D&G #18 (2006 bird report) states that Little Gulls are "rare passage migrants": this is my third this year. Shame we had to leave the Solway early today as weather conditions look good for passage later with the high tide ............

LANCS: Changeable Week.

Hesketh Out Marsh on the Ribble Estuary, Lancs 10 May 2009.

A wet day today (15th May) with fieldwork put on hold temporarily and an opportunity to catch up on a few other things including the blog. With so much time spent on the uplands this Spring my regular walks on the Ribble have taken a bit of a hiding. So it was nice to get a chance to get out on the estuary last Sunday, and to a new area! After watching the diggers at Hesketh Out Marsh on the south shore from the Fylde coast at Warton and Freckleton of late, it was great to get an opportunity to see how things were developing on the new RSPB reserve there. Hesketh Out Marsh is not open to the public yet so we took advantage of an opportunity to visit with Graham Clarkson (the warden of nearby Marshside RSPB) on a guided walk with others. The latest details can be seen here, but basically the RSPB are restoring the marsh to its former glory by breaching the seawall, re-digging creeks and returning the land to saltmarsh. The Ribble Estuary is internationally important for birds, but it is notoriously difficult to access for good views of its waders, ducks and geese etc.
We got a little "taster" with Avocets (already breeding!), Whimbrel, Little Ringed Plovers and best of all (for me) a flock of 60+ Dunlin with half as many Ringed Plovers. I can imagine that as the site develops a flock will one day carry Curlew Sand', Little Stint or even a Broad-billed Sand'! It's not just about migrants though as the site will be a haven for breeding Redshanks and Lapwings with Skylarks and Corn Buntings on the surrounding farmland. It's going to be a great site and the next guided walk is scheduled for 19 September.
After the walk Angie and I headed down to Plex Moss where at least 14 Dotterels were on show. This was a real bonus as I've been short of time this pring and unable to take the normal trek up Pendle Hill to see them (and a pint of Pendle Witch in the pub afterwards).


During fieldwork this week I cam across a small number of Green Hairstreaks. They were on this bank bathed in sunshine and lets just hope that there are more chances to look for them this Spring (if the last two years are anything to go by, there won't be many).

Green Hairstreak, Bowland 12 May 2009.

Other highlights this week included female Merlin chasing Meadow Pipits with a pair of Hen Harriers on view at the same time, several Pied Flycatchers and Stonechats with young. In fact I've had a good week for Stonechats in Bowland with 3 pairs in one valley in less than a kilometer and a half.

SOLWAY: Southerness Point.

Map of the Solway Firth showing the location of Southerness Point (south of A710 road just above the "S" of Solway Firth on the map.

Since 2007 we've spent most of our weekends staying at Southerness Point on the Solway in Dumfries & Galloway. I've long been an admirer of the site with its birding potential, so much so that I took my new bride there on the afternoon of our wedding over 20 years ago (she was less than thrilled). The highlight of that day was undoubtedly a flock of Purple Sandpipers on the rocks near the lighthouse; ouch (just been punched)! Since the late 70's my visit to the 'Ness have been few and far between, until recently when we started staying there at weekends. The mix of habitats from rocky shore and sandy bay bordered by a reed-bed, farmland, a golf course and a few patches of bushes provide adequate interest for a birder. And best of all hardly anyone else goes there!

Winter at Southerness Point. Gillfoot Bay with Criffel in the distance, December 2008.

The Purple Sandpipers can usually be found on the rocks near the lighthouse at the point. However they sometimes get to the rocks east of the point at the end of Gillfoot Bay off Powllimount. I don't believe there are any large gatherings of scoters off the point nowadays, but I have noted large offshore movements of Common Scoter in June, presumably the summer moulting flock present in the Solway. Nevertheless it's worth taking a look off the point in winter for Scaup, Long-tailed Duck and divers. Because of its position Southerness is bound to attract the interest of seawatchers. So far my best results have been during SW winds with all four skuas seen in a day in May 2009. Other notable sightings include Little Gulls, Great Northern Diver and mid summer movements of Manx Shearwaters. It's also a great place to see Common Porpoise.
Because most of my past visits were in winter (when we used to visit D&G in school half-term with the kids - oh how they loved it), the migration of passerines has been neglected. The only real substantial cover near the point (apart from a few clumps on the golf course) is on the Arbigland Estate at the eastern perimeter of our recording area. Yellow Wagtail and Turtle Dove in the Spring of 2008 (both rare in D&G) and and autumn Ring Ouzel the same year are noteworthy and with more effort ....... well, who knows?
Nearby sites include Mersehead RSPB to the west and Carsethorn on the Nith Estuary to the east. There's usually a flock or two of Barnacle Geese in the area in the winter months (October - April) that's worth checking for any "small race" Canada Geese. The fields north of Loaningfoot and near Powillimount are the favourite areas with Pink-feet congregating in late winter (during the last two winters at least) near Maxwellfield.

Interesting Southerness Sightings (updated 26 August 2009).

Otter
1 offshore near the lighthouse 0700 9 July 2009.
Manx Shearwater
170 east in 90 mins 25 July 2008.
Unidentified diver sp.
93 west / 4 east 9 May 2009.
Great Northern Diver
Single 16 & 22 October 2007.
Singles 31 March and 23 October 2008.
Black-throated Diver
1 offshore 31 March 2008.
Whooper Swan
34 on 22 December 2007.
Pink-footed Goose
180 east 9 May 2009.
Greenland White-fronted Goose
1 adult with Barnacle Geese 22 October 2008.
Pale-bellied Brent Goose
3 on 7 September 2008.
Richardson's / Taverner's Canada Goose
1 with Barnacle Geese at Loaningfoot 22 October 2007.
Common Scoter
1000+ on 5 June 2008.
210 west 17 May 2009.
Greater Scaup
1 male on 25 July 2008.
Long-tailed Duck
Female 31 March 2008.
Merlin
1 on 20 October 2007.
A male 19 October 2008.
1 (female) in off the sea 9 May 2009.
Mediterranean Gull
Adult 25 July 2008.
1st winter 9 October 2008.
Adult 18 October 2008.
Little Gull
Adult + 1st winter west 22 October 2007.
Adult west 18 May 2009.
Kittiwake
30 east / 3 west 9 May 2009.
Sandwich Tern
40+ on 5 August 2007.
Arctic Tern
Adult 5 August 2007.
Juvenile 6 August 2007.
1 on 22 October 2007.
2 on 25 April 2008.
2 west 8 May 2009.
6 west 9 May 2009.
Arctic Skua
1 on 25 July 2008.
1 east 8 May 2009.
3 west 9 May 2009.
2 dark phase 13 July 2009.
1 dark phase 28 July 2009.
Long-tailed Skua
Adult west 9 May 2009.
Pomarine Skua
1 east 25 July 2008.
1 east 3 May 2009.
1 west 6 May 2009.
20 (1 flock) east 8 May 2009.
2 east 9 May 2009.
Bonxie
1 on 23 October 2008.
1 west 9 May 2009.
2 heading west 13 July 2009.
Oystercatcher
2000+ on 22 October 2007.
Golden Plover
355 between the point and Gillfoot Bay 22 March 2009.
Grey Plover
24 on 22 October and 27 on 22 December 2008.
Ringed Plover
70+ on 5 August 2007.
45+ on 22 December 2008.
Whimbrel
11 on 18 May 2008.
Bar-tailed Godwit
150 on 22 October 2008.
Purple Sandpiper
15 on 22 October 2007.
22+ near lighthouse 1 March 2009.
9 on 22 March 2009.
Turnstone
50 at the point 16 October 2007.
105 in Gillfoot Bay 18 October 2008.
Knot
350+ on 20 October 2007.
600+ on 18 May 2008.
Sanderling
38 on 24 May 2008.
3 near the point 17 May 2009.
Redshank
600+ on 16 October 2007.
Greenshank
1 on 18 September 2007.
1 on 22 December 2008 and 22 March 2009.
Turtle Dove
Single in caravan park 30 May 2008.
Kingfisher
One off the point 22 December 2008.
Tree Pipit
1 north 25 April 2008.
Yellow Wagtail
A male came in from the south, landing on the beach near the point briefly before heading inland 24 May 2008.
Ring Ouzel
1 near the Natterjack Toad Pond in the village during a big thrush movement 22 October 2008.
Fieldfare
700+ heading south mainly near Powillimount 22 October 2007.
80 on 30 March 2008.
Redwing
50+ heading south in part of the big thrush movement noted for Fieldfare 22 October 2007.
Siskin
50+ south 8 September 2008.
Twite
c. 30 on 20 October 2007.
6+ on 22 October 2008.
Crossbill
At least 6 in the Arbigland Estate 25 October 2007.
Corn Bunting
An adult along the quiet lane from East Preston to Prestonmill 10 August 2009.
Hooded Crow
1 near Loaningfoot 25 April 2008.
Magpie
One near East Preston 24 August 2009.

SOLWAY: "Skua'd!"

Skua-less horizon at Newbie, Dumfries & Galloway, May 2009.

Well, I wanted to experience some skua passage, didn't I? It didn't start too well though. Despite an early start and a bacon butty breakfast (expertly prepared by Mrs B.) at Seafield Bay overlooking the Solway we drew a blank. There were 10 Arctic Terns, a Black-tailed Godwit in with the Oystercatchers and Curlews and an unidentified diver that flew west, but that was it. With the tide still high we drove the short distance to Newbie where there had been 3 Poms but we decided to bail out and head for Caerlaverock where the Wood Sand' and 3 Garganey were still on show on the Folly Pond.
We checked in to the Southerness Hilton (our caravan), took a quick coffee and then headed to Mersehead RSPB in blustery conditions. Not much going on here apart from 4 Whimbrel, a pair of Black-tailed Godwits and that Buzzard still quartering the reeds like a Marsh Harrier though. A post dinner hour's seawatch off the point at Southerness was OK though with a pale phase Pomarine Skua heading east at 20.15 hrs.

Red Kites at the feeding station near Laurieston, Galloway Kite Trail 7 May 2009.

The following morning (7 May) saw me "in position" at Newbie on skua-watch by 0700. With good vis' and a strong SW wind expectation were high and I only had to wait half an hour before the first Pomarine Skua flew into the Solway, even though high tide was still nearly 4 hours off. It was another half hour or so before it (or another) Pom' headed out of the Solway but soon after 10 Pomarine Skuas arrived from the west, banking gracefully as they headed towards the viaduct up-river. What a sight and just what I'd hoped for!
I sat it out for 5 hours seeing at least 18 Pom's and a couple of Arctic Skuas plus a couple of Fulmars, a few Kittiwakes and a few unidentified divers. At least one Red-throated Diver was on the sea, performing that "rolling preen" every now and then that makes them appear like a Black-throated momentarily.

Back at HQ Mrs B was waiting ready to go out (she can't hack seawatching). We drove out towards Castle Douglas, taking in the Red Kite feeding station near Laurieston before heading across the uplands and down to the coast at Gatehouse of Fleet. No sign of the Wood Warbler where I had a singing male last year so we hit the moors where we came across a female Stonechat and a crippling male Whinchat. Down at Skyreburn we stopped to grill some gulls bathing near the A75 where a white-winged bird amongst the Lesser-black-backs and Herring Gulls turned out to be a leucistic Common Gull!

Male Whinchat, Lauriston - Gatehouse of Fleet Road 7 May 2009.

Galloway hills, May 2009.

Retracing our steps we checked out another one of last year's Wood Warbler territories, this time with success. Garden Warbler in the same area was a bonus but the blustery conditions with showers made finding songbirds difficult. Heading back to Southerness we stopped off at Carsethorn where we sifted through the waders on the shore from the car as we sheltered from the rain. The usual Whimbrel were present as well as 40 Dunlin and 88 Ringed Plover.

Carstramont Woods near Creetown, Dumfries & Galloway 8 May 2009.

So the overland spring skua passage is established through the Solway and the "narrow neck" between Bowness on the Cumbria side and the Newbie area on the D&G side is the place to observe this phenomenon. But how about Southerness Point? Reading the few D&G bird reports I have it seems this site is largely unwatched during skua migration periods so I thought I'd have a go. The morning of 8 May looked good with gale force SW winds, reasonable visibility and squally showers. I started watching at 0600 and it was pretty slow for an hour until I saw a flock of at least 20 Pomarine Skuas to the east of the point lift off the sea! The impending downpour must have enticed them to move on in a hurry and I lost them in the murk. Just one more skua was seen (an Arctic heading east) before I gave up after two and a half hours watching but there was plenty to see in the form of distant divers, Common Scoters, 3 Arctic Terns, a couple of Fulmars and a single Manx Shearwater.

What I do when I'm on my own is my business. The tree is actually further away from me than it looks, I'm holding my binoculars and listening to Pied Flycatchers!

Heading back to Southerness I saw 3 Bullfinches from the car and in Castle Douglas we saw our first D&G Swifts of the year screaming along the high street. After a blow out lunch in the Douglas Arms we drove to Carstramont Woods near Creetown with the weather improving as we arrived. The song of Pied Flycatchers rang out (7+) and a couple of Redstarts could be heard but worryingly no Wood Warblers in very good habo.

Uplands at Gatehouse Station.

Driving up to Gatehouse Station we heard Cuckoo before heading back to Southerness where we saw a male Wheatear before a fish supper in the caravan.

With the skua passage still in full swing and the wind still in the south west I had to give it one more try at Southerness this morning. 'Scoping from the car and sheltered from the f8 wind and showers I started early (05.30 hrs) and filled the notebook fairly quickly. Usual suspects on the sea - Great-crested Grebes (2), Red-throated Diver, Common Scoters and 20 Sandwich Terns on the beach. Few waders about with a couple of Turnstones arriving and 30+ each of Bar-tailed Godwits and Knots. First surprise was c. 180 Pink-footed Geese that came over the point from the west, continuing along the coast and over Powillimount. About 100 geese heading along the Cumbrian coast into the Solway a little later could well have been this species and small movements were noted across Morcambe Bay in Lancs this morning too. Lots of divers on the move this morning with 97 seen, mostly heading west with one flock of 15 birds seen. At least 16 Gannets were moving to and fro when suddenly things really heated up as a flock of about 30 Kittiwakes headed east and the the first skuas of the morning showed up. The first was a distant pale-phase bird (almost certainly a Pomarine), but two dark phase birds just off the point heading east were definitely Pom's. Three Arctic Skuas followed them into the Solway before a hulking great Bonxie lumbered out of the Solway. A Merlin "in-off" was a complete surprise (especially to the local Linnets!) but attention turned to the sea just after (08.30 to be precise) when an adult Long-tailed Skua flew east past the point followed closely by an Arctic Skua. Back of the net!
Things started to slow up a little later but still included two more Arctic Skuas and a Pomarine heading east, 8 Arctic Terns and a few auks buzzing past. What a morning!
Calling in at Newbie on the way home we watched a passing flock of Pink-feet (surely not the one I saw this morning at Southerness?) notched up another dark morph Pomarine Skua on the sea before heading inland to Langholm on the heather moors near the border. The overland passage of seabird theme continued though with a first summer Kittiwake looking most out of place as it headed across the fells!

SOLWAY: May Bank Holiday Weekend.

Dawn at Southerness Point, Dumfries & Galloway.

Headed up to D&G for a long weekend's birding on 2nd May, starting at Redkirk Point just west of Gretna on the Solway. With a fresh SW wind hopes were raised of a bit of overland skua passage but with plenty of time to spare until high tide we kept on the move. A pink-flushed adult Little Gull with another first winter bird amongst Black-headeds was a nice start as Little Gull is a rarely recorded bird here. Not that they are really that rare of course - just a lack of observer coverage, but then that's the attraction of the area for me. Three Arctic Terns in the same channel as the Little Gulls completed a nice set of birds and helped us forget about the blustery conditions for a while at least. Quite a few Whimbrel about too. We saw at least 7 in the Redkirk - Browhouses area with plenty more encountered over the weekend.
Browhouses was pretty quiet but another Timed Tetrad Visit was completed with at least 4 Whitethroats seen. No Lesser Whitethroats though (this stretch has produced them in recent years). We spent a couple of hours at Newbie just prior to high tide but it was disappointing with just a single pale phase Arctic Skua through. No skuas were seen from the Cumbria side this evening either. A small flock of 14 Pink-footed Geese were the only notable birds at Priestfield as we made our way to Southerness Saturday evening.


I seawatched from the point at Southerness early on 3 May. Conditions were not ideal with the wind north of west but there was a bit of movement in the Solway. A single Pomarine Skua circling off the point at 06.30 was the pick of the bunch but other totals included 12 Manx Shearwaters heading west, 13 Whimbrel west, 2 Fulmar, 8 diver sp. east and plenty of waders shifted by the incoming tide. Feeling fairly confident that it wasn't to be a classic on the sea I headed inland by car stopping to scan the ploughed fields where 8 Wheatears were in one field and very mobile (passing through to the next fields and perching on fence posts and hedgerows) as if recently arrived. Sedge Warblers had arrived in force since our last visit and a distant Cuckoo could be heard on the hillside.


A quick trip to Gillfoot Bay at Powillimount before returning to breakfast produced a Barn Owl hunting at 08.45 and a Raven overhead. A nice start to the day.
Mersehead RSPB was our next stop where Mrs. B. located a smart female Whinchat. No sign of the Marsh Harrier reported over the last couple of days although a Common Buzzard sis a fine job of raising hopes as it "quartered" the reed beds with its wings held in a shallow "V".

News of 3 Garganey at Caerlaverock had us scooting round the Nith to the WWT grounds after lunch. We only managed to find one drake on the Whooper Pond (Mrs. B. coming to the rescue as I was about to give up again!) and that soon disappeared into a reedy pond out of sight after a short while. Couple of Whooper Swans still around and single female Wheatear were the only birds troubling the notebook later in the afternoon.


This morning's conditions (westerly wind f6-7, squally showers) looked good for seawatching off Southerness Point. After nearly two hours gazing at the waves I decided to leave with nothing more than decent numbers of distant (mostly unidentified) divers, a few Manxies, an assortment of auks (Guillemots and Razorbills - no Puffins), a handful of Kittiwakes and 29 Common Scoter under the belt. I'd hoped to witness some of the skua passage most readily seen near Annan this morning and maybe I left just a bit too early (see later).

Drake Garganey with Mallard on the Folly Pond, Caerlaverock 4 May 2009.

A quick drive along the Nith revealed that a few Pink-feet (175 to be exact) were still around near Drumburn and half-a-dozen Scaup had come in on the tide too. A fortunate check of my e-mails over breakfast broke the news of a Wood Sandpiper at Caerlaverock, a bird that would be a D&G lifer no less. Astounded by the news that the sandpiper was still present we left the reserve centre rapidly but no waders could be seen from the Folly Pond Hide. A dash up the Farmhouse Tower was in order (you can see behind the island from here) and there it was!

Wood Sandpiper on the Folly Pond, Caerlaverock WWT 4 May 2009.

Conditions were pretty awful as we stared through a rain-soaked window but it was great to see Wood Sand' in D&G. Caerlaverock has a good track record for scarce birds in May and I doubt we'll be passing the ground again this spring without at least a cautionary visit.

Wood Sandpiper (above) and Garganey (below) on Folly Pond, Caerlaverock 4 May 2009.

The 3 Garganey were on view as well, the lone drake rather flighty and commuting between Folly and Whooper Ponds whilst the pair were quite happily feeding on a smaller pond in the corner of the complex.


Skua passage had been heavy this morning (how many did I miss by leaving Southerness early?) so we headed for Newbie despite high tide being two hours earlier. Incredibly only seconds after pulling up we watched 4 pale phase Pomarine Skuas heading up the Solway towards Annan! Hopefully the conditions will prevail to enable us some more skua watching later this week?