Ayrshire Birders Abroad are planning a ‘Crane Migration in Eastern Germany’ holiday from 2 to 12 October this year. During the autumn migration of 2013, over 60,000 common cranes were counted in the West Pomeranian National Park. The call of the cranes heralds a time of colour and excitement, especially during this mass migration south to Spain and North Africa. Please join us for what we believe to be one of the finest wildlife experiences we personally have ever witnessed.

Click here for the Introduction, Itinerary and Booking Form  .

Tony Scott

If you’ve ever wanted to know the secrets of migration from a bird’s point-of-view you’ll want to see this interview with an Australian Red-necked Stint, an Eastern Curlew and a Red Knot. Merry Christmas.

Making good use of dreich day Angus Hogg has written an article on the American Golden Plover that recently turned up at Maidens.  This highlights the points that helped ID the bird and is the second in his series on the importance of writing descriptions and submitting records.  This is the latest in a set of a longer articles you can read here.  My thanks to him and Dave Grant for sending in their photos.

My thanks go to Dave Grant, Edith and Bruce McInroy, Angus Hogg and Bruce Kerr for sending in photos for the Photo Gallery. Here are a couple to tempt you to look at the rest.

Castlepoint Press in Dalbeattie are selling a reprint of the classic Birds of Ayrshire by E. Richmond Paton and Oliver G. Pike, first published in 1927 for the special price of £14 including postage.  The publisher’s notes:

As well as a new short memoir of Paton by Dr Mavis R Paton (his daughter) and a slightly longer one of Pike by his grandson Professor Jonathan Dollimore, this reprint includes two letters to Paton from Lieut.-Commander G. Hughes Onslow and a note from Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul. Also included are the short ‘Supplements’, issued in 1932 and 1934, by The Scottish Naturalist. R. Paton lived at Hareshawmuir, by Fenwick and died in 1951.

Please send orders to castlepointpress@aol.com or to:

Castlepoint Press
Colvend
Dalbeattie
DG5 4QB

Payment by direct bank transfer, Paypal, or cheque.

A grey, dreich day gives me the time to catch up on submissions to the Photo Gallery.  And photos for species on the Ayrshire Species List are a bit like buses: nothing happens for ages then three turn up at once (i won’t count my Black Swan!).  So my thanks go to Angus Hogg for his Mistle Thrush and Kittiwake, and Jamie McPike for his Little Stint.  However, it’s not just the glory as they have also sent in a lot of other nice pictures with a few shown on the left to tempt you.

I’ve had a couple of emails from people about this Black Swan that was at Irvine Beach Park and Harbour this morning.  It appears to have a leg-ring and is almost certainly an escape from a wildfowl collection.  It was getting repeatedly attacked by the territorial Mute Swan at the pond so might decide to move on.  Very attractive white wing patches when it flies.

The Summer 2014 issue of Stonechat, the club newsletter of the Ayrshire Branch of the SOC is now available: click here to download it .

The Summer 2014 issue of The Gannet, the club newsletter of the RSPB Central Ayrshire Local Group is now available: click here to download it .

The Events Page has been updated with the following:

• Indoor meetings for the SOC Ayrshire Branch
• Indoor meetings for the Central Ayrshire RSPB Members Group
• Indoor meetings for the SWT Ayrshire Branch
• The joint SOC Ayrshire/RSPB Central Ayrshire outdoor meetings (30-July: this has been updated)

The Arran Bird Atlas 2007-2012 has just been published.  This is an essential read for anyone interested in the bird-life of Arran.  Details of its contents and where to get a copy are covered in the associated press release (PDF).  More details can be found on the Arran Natural History Society web site.