Lesvos Sylvias

Male Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans near Molivos, Lesvos 9 May 2012.

 One of my favourite excursions during the Lesvos week is to the coastal cliffs in the north of the island. The scrub here is superb breeding habitat for Ruppell's S. rueppelli (male, above) with Sardinian S. melanocephala, Eastern Orphean S. crassirostris and Subalpine Warbler S. cantillans in the same patch.

Ruppell's Warbler (male).

 This nice male Subalpine Warbler (below) showed very well indeed; a nice example of the subspecies albistriata with a whitish belly and broad white "moustache". 
Looking forward to more trips for W. Palearctic birds next year.

1000 up.

 Moths for my 1000th post on Ribble to Amazon.


Put the trap out in the garden late last night / early hours of this morning, just before the drizzle started (about 0100hrs). I've never had a big catch since we moved to Longton but it was nice to get a few bits and pieces in the short time the lamp was running, including the Elephant Hawk Moth  (above).


Update: Please see comments section regarding ID (thanks to Dave and Pete).

Angle Shades.

Beautiful Golden Y.

Silver Y.

Beautiful Golden Y.

Gothic.

Small Angle Shades.

Small Angle Shades.

Brimstone.

Double Square-spot.

Heart and Dart.

White-tailed Eagles, Highland June 2012.

Male White-tailed Eagle, Highland June 2012.

Male White-tailed Eagle with Hooded Crows. 

 Nearby Mull may be THE place to see White-tailed Eagles but we were fortunate enough to watch our own birds on the Highland mainland last week. Lazy birds indeed, this individual sat in a Larch for the duration of a football match before flying a short distance.

This male is called Mara. He was reared on Loch Frisa, Mull in 2008 and wears a satellite transmitter. His sister Breagha is still on Mull. Many thanks to the excellent Loch Shiel Cruises for the info.

 We were watching a bird one afternoon when it was suddenly joined by a female. Both birds posed for a lengthy period. Indeed we left the birds sitting there, well satisfied with our views.

Pine Martens, Otters and more from the conservatory.

 I think that Tigh Bhaan Cottage by the shores of Loch Sunart on Ardnamurchan has to be the best accommodation we've stayed in. True, Ardnamurchan may not be my favourite site in Scotland for birding, but the wildlife viewing opportunities from the conservatory alone are superb with Pine Marten, Red Deer, Otter, Spotted Flycatchers, Wood Warblers and much more on show from the comfort of an armchair.

 Male Pine Martens are about a third larger than females and some individuals are identifiable by the markings on the chest and throat. Note the dark blotch in the centre of the chest on the one above and the plain throated one below. 

Pine Marten, Loch Sunart (Ardnamurchan, Highland), June 2012.

 Both these animals were coming to the cottage steps last week and Millie had trouble not being the main attraction as you can see.

 Otters can also be seen from the cottage. I watched this one catching fish for some time one afternoon, resting under one of the floating pontoons just off the green in front of Tigh Bhaan.

 It eventually came ashore, dragging the fish onto a rocky beach but I lost it among the rocks and it must have slipped away out of view.

Common Sandpiper outside the cottage.

 Wildcats are present on Ardnamurchan but obviously extremely difficult to see. I tried to get on a 4x4 night safari on the Ardnamurchan Estate as they use thermal imagery cameras to locate these shy animals as well as Pine Martens. They don't come cheap and a minimum of four participants is required to run the nocturnal tour (11.00 - 03.00 hrs). Unfortunately there were no tours running last week but I'd dearly like to have a go. Interested?


Contact me if you'd like to know how to book Tigh Bhaan.

Catching up?

White-tailed Eagle, Highland June 2012.

Loch Shiel, Highland June 2012.

Working in Perthshire a couple of years ago I realised I hadn't seen a Crested Tit for a while so we made for Speyside. Got me thinking - Ptarmigan? Capercallie? We put the former right last winter but "Caper" kept out of sight so I was very pleased to see two hen Capercaillie last week. Last time I saw one? I delved into my notebooks (currently in the garage) and had to go back to 1981 when I saw a male at Grantown-on-Spey on 17th. Looks like my first was a hen a few days earlier near Loch Vaa.  

Cuckoo, Sunart (Highland) June 2012.

Pretty shocking really; I better get to grips with some of the other "regulars" again soon too. 

The Glenfinnen Monument and viaduct from Loch Shiel, Highland June 2012. 

Red Deer, Loch Shiel (Highland) June 2012.

We spent ten days in the Scottish Highlands and as well as the "Capers" we enjoyed Golden Eagles, male Hen Harrier, Wood Warblers and some cracking summer plumage Black-throated Divers. Highlight of the trip was undoubtedly our day on Loch Shiel with Loch Shiel Cruises. Eagles, the divers, the harrier all seen from the boat - perfect. 

Glenfinnan Monument photo by Angie.

Wasn't all birds (honest). After the cruise we drove along to Fort William under the shadow of Ben Nevis and had a look at Neptune's Staircase.

White-tailed Eagle, Highland June 2012.

Pine Marten by Loch Sunart, Ardnamurchan (Highland) June 2012.

Plugging away.

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB 8 June 2012.

June, as expected, has started very quietly for local birding although Goshawk, Ospreys and a Honey-buzzard on my travels elsewhere provided some cheer.
Visits to Marshside last weekend failed to produce the hoped-for goodie with just a few groups of Ringed Plovers and Dunlins dropping in during rather bad weather. Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB fared a little better with the Yellow Wagtail still present and raising hopes of a breeding attempt, female Yellowhammer near the car park (let's hope its teamed up with that male) and visits from the Arctic and Common Terns that must be vreeding out near the river somewhere.
Most of the Avocets had moved to the few bits of higher ground on the salt marsh after the higher tides at the end of last week.

SCOTLAND

SCOTLAND, a set on Flickr.