Nice Garden Tick

It’s always nice to get a new tick on your garden list.  So you can imagine Selina Wilkinson‘s delight at adding Cattle Egret to her garden list when not just one but eleven birds appeared in the field behind her house in Girvan in October.  And it wasn’t just new to her garden: it was new for the county.  Cue twitch.  Amazingly, more birds turned up, this time in North Ayrshire at Hunterson and Kilwinning.  The photos below show some of the birds.  My thanks to Dave Grant, Angus Hogg and David Lynn for sending them in.  As fastest off the shutter, Dave’s picture also makes it to the Ayrshire Bird List.

September 2022 Photos

As more wet and windy weather hits I took the opportunity to catch up on the photos sent in over the summer. It’s comforting to look back on birds against blue skies and David Lynn’s picture of Arctic Terns does the job and nicely complemenets his other picture of a Common Tern. Dave Grant has started a whole new genre with his set of gull chick pics. Aaaww. Bob Ross got a great picture of a Great Northern Diver in summer plumage from the ferry coming into Loch Ryan: I’ve decided that it was definitely on the Ayrshire side of the loch! As usual, these are just a taste of what has been added to the Photo Gallery.  My thanks to Hayden Fripp, Dave Grant, Angus Hogg, David Lynn and Bob Ross for sending them in.

March 2022 Photos

In a desperate attempt to clear the decks before the arrival of the Spring photos, here’s a quick update with some late Winter photos. I’ve also included a very old picture from Angus of a Yellow Wagtail taken back in the 1970s taken on something called “film”. :-)   As usual, these are just a taste of what has been added to the Photo Gallery.  My thanks to Dave Grant, Angus Hogg, Bruce Kerr and David Lynn for sending them in.

Taxonomy Gone Mad

Every now and then the birding professionals at the BOU declare that the way we order our lists is all wrong and needs to be sorted. So they have lengthy and heated meetings where lots of Latin gets banded about, and then produce their new taxonomy. Well, here in Ayrshire, we like to keep up-to-date with this and so the Ayrshire Species List has had its decadal refresh. I won’t spoil the ending, but here are some highlights:

  • Lots of species now have a geographic prefix, e.g. Western Jackdaw and Atlantic Puffin.
  • Other species get a title bump, e.g. Great Cormorant (that’s going to annoy the anglers!)
  • Some sub-species have been added for the anoraks specialist birders, e.g. Greenland Wheatear.
  • Some things pop up in unexpected places, e.g. why aren’t Spotted and Pied Flycatcher together?

I’d like to thank Angus Hogg for doing the tedious list updates and for sending in some historical photos to use in the list for stuff no longer with us, e.g. Reeve’s Pheasant, Yellow Wagtail and Corn Buntings.

Ayrshire Bird Report 2017

Welcome to the 2017 Ayrshire Bird Report.  Having felt that something was missing in our lives (!) – in the form of the annual Ayrshire Bird Report – the decision was taken to bring the series up to date, starting with the 2017 edition.  The main reason for doing this was to improve access to information on Ayrshire’s birds.  This time, however, the medium used is not the familiar printed version but instead it is available for free as a PDF download by clicking here.  Once again, the report has been supported by the Ayrshire Branch of the SOC, and both editors are grateful for the help and advice received from the SOC local recorder for Ayrshire, Fraser Simpson.

Angus Hogg and Dave Grant, Editors

January 2022 Photos

Well, didn’t 2021 end on a bit of excitement?  Sure, there were a number of “firsts” such as the Pallas’s Warbler at Auchinleck House and the Cetti’s Warbler at Stevenston, and rarities such as the Black-necked Grebe at Martnaham.  But, for real standout splendor, you just can’t beat the Ring-necked Parakeet in Kilmarnock.  What a winter!  I’ve shown a taster here: please see the Photo Gallery for all the goodies.  Obviously, some of these make it onto the Ayrshire Species List with the associated glory and riches†.

My thanks to Hayden Fripp, Dave Grant, Angus Hogg, Bruce Kerr and David Lynn for sending in their pictures.

† Subject to availability!

October 2021 Photos

A driech Sunday morning gave the chance to avoid the gardening and catch up on the backlog for the Photo Gallery. I’ve included a few here – please see the Gallery for the others. My thanks (again) go to Dave Grant and Angus Hogg for their contributions.

May 2021 Photos

It’s a bit of a misnomer to call these “Spring 2021 Photos” as they have been in my inbox for months, continually reminding me they haven’t been processed. Finally I succumbed and I’ve now caught up with the backlog for the Photo Gallery. I’ve included a few here – please see the Gallery for the others. You’ll notice that the ones here are (mostly) our common ones but still stunning or odd (such as Angus’s partial albino Ringed Plover). Pictures of our rarer winter guests are covered in other posts. Despite my vow to not indulge the Gull Brigade, Bruce’s picture of an Iceland Gull was just too good…

My thanks (again) go to Dave Grant, Angus Hogg, Bruce Kerr and David Lynn and for their contributions.