June 2025 Photos

Dave Grant tells me that the Osprey he saw over Broomhill (see above) was ringed as a female chick in 2019 in Sutherland. It’s only been seen once before, around the Blair Atholl area.

A lovely, varied batch of photos has been submitted to the Photo Gallery. I find it fascinating how, since this site started over a quarter of a century ago, the quality of the photos has improved by orders of magnitude.  We’ve gone from copies taken from slides where the caption is “Yes, that could be a bird” to stunning digital images.  We’ve also got images that show the bird’s character and others that are just beautifully composed art. However, that doesn’t mean you have to be a top-flight photographer or have photos of mega-rareities to be considered: a snap on your phone of a Starling having a bath is always going to catch my eye.  So, please send your photos in.

My thanks go to Dave Grant, Angus Hogg and Mark Turnbull for sending in the latest batch.

Western Sandpiper

We all know the story of the ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan; well, something similar happened in Maidens. The Little Stint that has been hanging around for months has changed into a Western Sandpiper following subsequent re-identification.  This is a new species for Ayrshire and resulted in a bit of a twitch.  My thanks go to Dave Grant, David Lynn and Kevin McCormick for sending in their pictures for the Photo Gallery.

March 2025 Photos

With Spring officially here, it’s good to clear my inbox ready for the usual deluge of breeding season bird photos. My thanks go to Dave Grant, David Lynn and Kevin McCormick for sending in their pictures for the Photo Gallery.

Update on 7-Jun-25: this photo by Kevin McCormick was originally published as of a Little Stint. In light of the subsequent evaluation, it is now updated to be of the Western Sandpiper.

Ayrshire Rarities Checklist Updated

Angus Hogg has fully revised the Ayrshire Rarities Checklist to bring it up to date. In addition, he has written a comprehensive article giving the current state, the changes since the last revision, and what we can expect in the future. This is essential reading for anyone interested in our rarer birds. The article and checklist can also be found on the Species List option of the menu at the top of the page.

Ayrshire Bird Report 2022

The Ayrshire Bird Report for 2022 is now available online. This year saw first records for Ayrshire for Cattle Egret, and the first Ayrshire breeding records of Red Kite for over a hundred years. The year was also remembered for seabird colonies being out of bounds due to avian flu, resulting in a number of colonies not getting the attention that they normally received. The report starts with some interesting articles on the ongoing work with Lesser Whitethroat by Tom Byars, the Birds of New Cumnock Parish by Mike Howes, and the status of rare birds with less than 20 records by Angus Hogg. This is followed by the systematic list with records from over 200 observers.

The report is available for free as a PDF download by clicking here.

Angus Hogg and Dave Grant, Editors

January 2025 Photos

At this time of year the light can either be grim or stunning. So here are some pictures taken by David Grant and David Lynn when the light was in their favour. And I must apologise to Bruce Kerr and Hayden Fripp for missing out some pictures they sent at the beginning of August last year: especially as Hayden’s picture of a Quail also made it onto the Ayrshire Species List.

The full set of photos are in the Photo Gallery. My thanks to all of them for sending them in.

Birds of New Cumnock Parish: an Update 2010–2024

Michael Howes
January 2025

The publication of Birds of New Cumnock Parish by James ‘Jimmy’ Begg in 2010 was a welcome addition to Ayrshire birding literature. Being of the ‘old school’ I always enjoy reading small pamphlets and books that cover local birdwatching. These often include insights about changes to bird distribution, populations, breeding ranges and habitats not always easily included in larger, more general reports.

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Blairbowie – Just One Field

Angus Hogg,
November 2024

Arriving in Ayrshire in 1969, with a somewhat vague interest in birds, my move to Crosshill in 1970 took me into an area which I quickly realised was home to a rich diversity of wildlife and, more particularly, birdlife. I could see and hear all sorts of farmland species from my house, from secretive Spotted Flycatchers breeding in the garden, to jingling Corn Buntings at nearby Garpin Farm. However, I soon became aware of a rather special location which I could watch from a minor road (B7045) between Kirkmichael and Minishant – Blairbowie.

The field at Blairbowie, from the B7045 © Angus Hogg
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Peregrine Falcon Predating European Storm Petrel

Hayden Fripp
November 2024

Any sighting of the diminutive European Storm Petrel is a delight in itself and this year in particular has been a bumper year for Ayrshire sightings. My personal tally of sightings whilst sea watching from my favoured spot at Dunure between 23rd May and 30th August is 46 birds with a high count of 15 on 28th June including a flock of ten birds at one point in my scope view. Viewing from Dunure with its height above sea level definitely gives an advantage to seeing Storm Petrels.

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November 2024 Photos

A small update to the Photo Gallery but some cracking images. Firstly, Hayden got lovely pictures of a Yellow-browed Warbler he managed to find at Bracken Bay. This also made it onto the Ayrshire Species List. Then Dave showed that birds don’t need to be rare to be spectacular with his stunning pictures of a Blue Tit in his garden, and a flock of Lapwings.

My thanks to Hayden Fripp and Dave Grant for sending them in.