Saturday 30th December

Today was definitely a "game of two halves" with regard to the weather. Strong winds from the east  with driving rain in the morning, followed by a reprieve with lighter winds and a dry, almost sunny afternoon.

Our visiting stalwart, Phil Edwards can tell us more:

"Slim pickings today.  On a completely vile morning with the forecast set even worse for the afternoon, I set out to look for the Red-breasted Goose on Gruinart Flats only to find that there were effectively no geese at all on Gruinart Flats!  So up the relatively sheltered east side of Loch Gruinart only to find the tide was in and there were no birds there either!  Completely thwarted, I headed for the relatively sheltered part of Loch Indaal and at Gartnatra managed to find 29 Bar-tailed Godwits, 23 Knot, 91 Oystercatcher, 53 Wigeon, and 16 Mallard.  Further round between the power station and the edge of Bowmore there were two male and one female Long-tailed Duck (one quite close in) with five pairs of Red-breasted Mergansers, 230+ Common Scoter, two Great Northern Divers, and a female Goldeneye.  On the way back to Smaull through increasing torrents of rain, there were six light-bellied Brent Geese at Traigh Cill and Rubha.  While we were eating lunch, the rain suddenly stopped, the wind dropped, and the sun came out!  So an impromptu trip to Sanaigmore ensued where we flushed a Snipe on the way to the beach where there were 17 Oystercatcher, 24 Ringed Plover, one Redshank, one female Common Scoter, one Great Northern Diver, two Rock Pipits and 32 Chough."

Thanks Phil for your notes and accompanying photos from your day's endeavours.

The only other reports on today's WhatsApp concerned Otters. Shona-Isla had seen one today at Kilnaughton, prompting Malcolm O. to note that he had been seeing a family (mother + two large cubs) in the sea in front of his house in Bruichladdich, while I saw one at Port Charlotte yesterday fishing close inshore in a very choppy sea.