Spotted Crake, Doonfoot, ©Cathy Cochrane, 2017

Spotted Crake, Doonfoot, ©Iain Leach, 2017

Juvenile Green Woodpecker, near Straiton, ©Angus Hogg, 2017

Juvenile Swallow, Crosshill, ©Angus Hogg, 2017

Redstart, Ness Glen, ©Angus Hogg, 2017

Apparently a Spotted Crake has been seen recently! My guide-book says they are secretive and hard to see. Clearly the Doonfoot individual hasn’t read the book because it has put on a great show as the various photos show. These are also the first photos of an Ayrshire bird and so made it onto the Ayrshire Species List. I received pictures from a few people (all stunning) but Cathy Cochrane’s made it onto the list, primarily because she’s new to this site!

Another entry to the Ayrshire Species List is Angus Hogg’s picture of a juvenile Green Woodpecker – he now just has to prove its parents bred in Ayrshire!

While the Spotted Crake is very photogenic, my favourites this time round are a pair of photos, again by Angus, that summarise the hope and reality of an Ayrshire Summer: the Redstart singing his head off in hope; the fledgling Swallow enjoying the rain!

My thanks go to Cathy Cochrane, Dave Grant, Angus Hogg and Iain Leach for sending in photos for the Photo Gallery.

The printed copy of the 2014 Ayrshire Bird Report is now available. It consists of 102 pages including 18 full-colour inner pages with 36 photographs.

It can be obtained via the outlets listed here.

Tony Scott has sent in the latest issue of the The Stonechat, the SOC Ayrshire Branch‘s newsletter. It comes in two parts: Part A and Part B.  

The Summer 2017 issue of The Gannet, the club newsletter of the RSPB Central Ayrshire Local Group is now available. It comes in two parts: Part A and Part B  .

Waxwing, ©Angus Hogg, 2017

Shag, Lady Isle, ©Dave Grant, 2017

Great White Egret, Hunterston, ©Angus Hogg, 2017

Glossy Ibis, Beith, ©David Lynn, 2017

Now that Spring is over and we are enjoying the summer rain (hmm!), it’s time to update the Photo Gallery with the latest submissions. Again wetland birds were the stars (Dave Grant’s Shag on her nest on Lady Isle is particularly striking) but we also have the incoming migrants and even a late Waxwing. Angus’s lovely photos of the Great White Egret at Hunterston made it onto the Ayrshire Species List.

My thanks go to Dave Grant, Angus Hogg, David Lynn, Jamie McPike and Bob Ross for sending in photos for the Photo Gallery.

The Arran Bird Report for 2016 is now available. It can be obtained from:

It is priced £5.00 + £1.50 p&p

Tony Scott has sent in the latest issue of the The Stonechat, the SOC Ayrshire Branch‘s newsletter.   You can get it here .  Note: this is a 12MB PDF document as it contains a lot of high-quality images.

You may remember the project to describe all the best places to watch birds in Ayrshire.  That was over a decade ago (!) and things change.  So it was great to receive an update from Mike Howes for the entry for Craigdullyeart and Corsencon in East Ayrshire now that access restrictions have been removed after the completion of open-cast mining.  If you have any updates for other sites please let me know and I’ll update them.  My thanks to Mike for sending it in.

Waxwing, ©Angus Hogg, 2017

October Chiffchaff, Crosshill, ©Angus Hogg, 2017

Glaucous Gull, Troon, ©Dave Grant, 2017

Little Grebes, Rozelle, ©Jamie McPike, 2017

Water Pipit and Meadow Pipit, Pow Burn, ©Angus Hogg, 2017

It’s time to update the Photo Gallery with the latest submissions. While most are wetland birds, we did have a small bunch of Waxwings around and a late Chiffchaff to brighten up urban birding. Down at the coast we had a few Little Egrets, Water Pipits and (for Ayrshire) rarer stuff like Velvet Scoters. Angus Hogg managed to get a photo of a Water Pipit and Meadow Pipit together as an identification aide: but which is which? And winter wouldn’t be the same without some interesting gulls: Dave Grant managed to get some nice photos of a juvenile Glaucous Gull on one of the rare days when the sun shone! Sadly, no new photo entries to the Ayrshire Species List.

My thanks go to Dave Grant, Angus Hogg and Jamie McPike for sending in photos for the Photo Gallery.