Skye Birds Blog, News & Events

As we prepare to fly back to-morrow our three week break is coming to an end and the weather is more seasonal with temps hitting 17 degrees to-day.  Aiguamolls Reserve on the Costa Brava is a favourite with lots of Gadwall (see image), and there were also many more Greylag Geese there than we had previously seen, pushed south on the back of the cold eather affecting the rest of Europe.  Amongst the Greylags were two European White-fronts thought to be the third record for the area, and two Bewick's Swans one previously ringed at Slimbridge.  Because of the cold weather there was an absence of early summer migrants as Swallows and Sand Martins would normally be on the move.  No matter where you watch birds weather patterns can be strongly influential in what you see.  With Blue Rock Thrush and Peregrine Falcon to-day the species list stands at 126 which does not include a probable Rock Sparrow, and - Wallcreeper will need to wait for another day.  Just in case you were wondering we were also visiting family as our son lives in Barcelona, and a trip to the Nou Camp to see Barcelona beat Valencia 5-1 wil hopefully convince you that holidays are not entirely about birds.

Bob

Though happy to get away from the winds and rain of Skye, it was not anticipated that the bad weather would follow us.  Temperatures in Spain plummetted to all time lows as we visited the Ebro Delta and Aragon.  Lake Gallocanta in Aragon was frozen and the wintering grounds for thousands of Common Cranes, at 4000' was exposed to an icy siberian blast which meant few walks and most birding was from the car.  Migration often starts in February in Spain but apart from a few Black Kites there was little sign of anything on the move.  Highlights so far have included 64 Great Bustards in the steppe areas west of Lleida where we found lots of Black-bellied Sand Grouse but no Pin-tailed.  A search for the rare Dupont's Lark proved unsuccessful.  Birds of prey have so far included Golden Eagle, Booted Eagle, Merlin, Hen Harrier and as ever no shortage of Marsh Harriers.  An obliging Moustached Warbler at the Ebre was a first and it was good to catch up with many favourites including Purple Gallinule and Glossy Ibis as well as regular Skye species like Black-tailed Godwit and Jack Snipe.  There is a selection of images in the overseas section of the Gallery and we hope to visit a few Catalonian hotspots in the coming week.

Bob

The numbers of white-winged Gulls we see varies each winter and the exact reasons behind this are possibly not well understood.  The last two winters were exceptionally cold yet numbers of white gulls were low.  The exceptional windy weather may be a factor this winter.  Iceland Gull breeds mainly in Greenland but Glaucous has a more widespread distribution.  The two can normally be easily separated as Iceland is smaller and has a more 'dove-like' head.  Kumlien's breeds in arctic Canada and is a hybrid between Iceland and Thayer's Gull and sometimes the markings can be very subtle.  This winter has seen good numbers on Skye and Lochalsh, including several adult Iceland Gulls which is unusual.  Since the Portree 'dump' was closed the area is probably less attractive to wintering gulls though Portree harbour has always attracted some.  However the real local mecca is Mallaig where Stephen MacDonald has found around 20 white-winged Gulls, not quite reaching his record total here.  In the image of one of the new pontoons at Mallaig, are five Iceland Gulls of varying ages, including a Kumlien's.  Images in the Gallery will hopefully help out with the identification of the different species and hybrids.

Bob