Thursday, 5 October 2023

Before the storm


With heavy rain and strong winds forecast from mid-morning and then for most of the day, I decided to head out at first light to try to get at least some birding in today. I started out at Eoligarry church and had the shock of my life when I saw probably the yellowest willow warbler I have ever seen! Following recent events here and given that there was an American yellow warbler on Tiree as recently as two days ago, it was certainly a heart stopping moment.

Still there was no sign of the rain and the winds were no worse than moderate so I drove to Eoligarry jetty, parked up and set off down the beach towards the wader roost at Scurrival beach. As I walked I nonchalantly day ticked the two white-tailed eagles on the corpse on the other side of the water, on a beach on Funday island, which we have seen every day since we arrived.


The sand is covered in otter footprints and we regularly see them here.


It's not a particularly large roost, around 100 ringed plover, 25 sanderling and about 50 turnstones, but there's always the hope that something else might be with them today.




At Traigh Mhor I came across these two knot with 117 bar-tailed godwits.


Eleven pale-bellied brent geese were on the sea. 

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