Summer Bird Race 2003

Mark Ruggeri, East Ayrshire Countryside Ranger Service

Saturday 21st June 2003 saw 7 teams participating in the Summer Bird Race event jointly organised by East Ayrshire Countryside Ranger Service and the Ayrshire branch of the SOC. Six teams took part in the county-wide main race and one team tried their hand at the site-based race at Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock. Two of the teams in the main race travelled by bike, one got around by public transport while the remaining three opted for the more conventional method of birding by car. The team who took part in the mini-race in the country park relied on good old-fashioned walking as their mode of transport.

The race was an 18 hour event and teams were able to start at 2am if they wanted to. In the end only one team chose to do so, beginning at the top of Corsencon hill in New Cumnock in the dark! Another team entered the race at 4am while others decided to have a more leisurely start to the proceedings. The weather turned out to be very good with only one light shower around lunch time, although this did not affect the team of birders who decided that having a hearty meal in the Ship Inn at Irvine was preferable to adding a few more birds to their total!

The teams taking part ranged far and wide across Ayrshire, taking in a good range of habitats and chalking up an impressive list of species along the way. Some teams travelled along the South Ayrshire coastline to Girvan and Ballantrae while others concentrated their efforts around Stevenston and Ardrossan to the north. Almost everyone stopped off at Irvine harbour at some point during the day as they tried to pick up a few more species around the mouth of the Garnock Estuary.

Inland the teams took advantage of a selection of the best birding sites available in the county. Some headed for the Special Protection Area around Muirkirk and Airds Moss, others explored the hills and forests along the Nith Valley, while the Fairlie Moors and the Carrick Hills were also scoured for upland species. The lowland countryside of Ayrshire was not neglected during the course of the day either. The area around Maybole and Daily yielded a good number of birds while the cycle track from Knockentiber to Springside proved popular as did the farmland and woods along the River Ayr. Birding in urban areas proved to be quite productive for some teams with a number of useful species being picked up along the New Town Trail in Irvine, at Belisle and Rozelle Parks in Ayr and at Townholm and Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock.

Typically for a bird race day it was some of the "common or garden" bird species which proved difficult for most of the teams to locate, particularly as the race rules stated that the birds had to actually be seen as opposed to just heard, Coal Tit for example frustrated a lot of people. Another more difficult species which also announced it's presence, but proved very elusive throughout the race was Grasshopper Warbler. Waders seemed to be in particularly short supply along the coast, (even Redshank and Curlew proved difficult for some teams), although those who ventured up onto the moors were rewarded with several breeding species including Golden Plover.

Highlights of the day included a Quail heard at Common Loch near Lugar, the drake King Eider, located by one lucky team near the old salt pans in Saltcoats, Tree Sparrows at a number of locations, a hunting Short-eared Owl observed at Muirkirk, Little Terns at Ballantrae and good numbers of Black Guillemot in Ardrossan Harbour. Other notable birds seen on the day included Grey Partridge, Black Grouse, Great-crested Grebe, Red-throated Diver, Peregrine, Barn Owl and Wood Warbler.

The cumulative total of species logged during the day was 119, a very respectable total for any county at this time of year and a tribute to the knowledge and dedication of the Ayrshire birders who took part in the event. The winning team managed to see a grand total of 105 species in 16 hours travelling by car. Equally impressive was the runners up score of 94 species seen in 18 hours by a team whose main mode of transport was the humble bicycle! The day finished up at Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock where refreshments were provided for the weary birders (some were in greater need of it than others!) and prizes were presented to the winning team and to the environmentally friendly team with the highest score. Thanks to the generosity of those who took part, the event raised over £100 for LIPU-UK. The money was forwarded by the branch secretary of the SOC and will go towards LIPU's vital bird protection work in Italy. (For further information please visit www.lipu-uk.org). East Ayrshire Countryside Ranger Service would like to thank everyone who helped to make the Summer Bird Race a great success and hope that a similar event can be organised in 2004

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