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VOLUME 33(3) SEPTEMBER 2013
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Scottish Birds
194 President's Foreword K. Shaw
PAPERS
195 Counts of Dotterel and Ptarmigan on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau, Cairngorms between
2003 and 2012 T. Bradfer-Lawrence & S. Rao
206 Foraging ecology and diet of a Great Grey Shrike within a winter home range in
Dumfries and Galloway B.D. Henderson
218 Ecological preferences of Speyside Merlins and relationship with Sparrowhawks
The late D.N. Weir :
229 Sex determination of Briinnich’s Guillemots from Scotland R.Y. McGowan, Z. Floody
& J.M. Collinson
HORT NOTES
2335 Great Tit tugging at human hair A. Graham
233 The Black Wheatear’s temporary appearance on the Scottish List |J. Andrews
235 Letter: rare grebes and water quality W.R.P. Bourne
SITUARIES
236 Andrew Shepherd (1931-2013)
237 Brian Turner (1920-2013)
238 DrJohn Alan Gibson (1926-2013)
TICLES, NEWS & VIEWS
239 The Scottish Birdfair, May 2013 J. Cleaver
242 NEWS AND NOTICES
244 Alexander Wilson Bicentenary Celebrations D. Clugston
246 Impressions from 80 years watching birds W.A.J. Cunningham
251 2012 - an exceptional autumn for Jack Snipe in the Clyde area |. Livingstone
254 BOOK REVIEWS
257 RINGERS' ROUNDUP
261 The White-billed Divers off North-east Scotland - discovering a new birding spectacle
PA.A. Baxter, C. Gibbins and H. Maggs
264 Pacific Diver in Shetland, May 2013 - the first record for Scotland PV. Harvey & R. Riddington
267 White-throated Needletail, Tarbert, Harris, 24-26 June 2013 - the first record for the
Outer Hebrides A. Gretton
273 Balearic Woodchat Shrike on Westray, Orkney, 26 May 2013 - the first Scottish record
R.B. Wynn
275 The Long-tailed Skua passage in Scotland in spring 2013 B. Rabbitts & S.L. Rivers
281 1 April to 30 June 2013. S.L. Rivers
ae Robert Greenwood : NATURAL | | |
MLIOLY LIBRARY
19 SEP 2013
PURCHASED |
33:3 (2013) 193
194
It is late July and I am overlooking the Forth
Road Bridge watching the Swifts feeding. The
mist is coming and going and the Swifts are
changing their feeding height accordingly. & ... ¢ V %
Strange to think they will soon be gone; it Plate 174. Ken Shaw (right) and Chris Mcinerny,
seems like only yesterday that they arrived. Spain, February 2013. © Chris Mcinerny
It has generally been a hot, late spring and summer, which will be good news for at least some
of our breeding birds. My work continues on Lewis where there are plenty of Merlins and more
White-tailed Eagles than I expected. A feature of the last two weeks there has been the number
of Basking Sharks that can be viewed from the shore. The Ullapool to Stornoway crossing can be
good too, with over a hundred Storm Petrels and over a thousand Manx Shearwaters in late July.
This is my last foreword as President. It has been an interesting two years. The job is probably bigger
than I expected and I am very grateful to all those who helped me; all the staff, Council and partic-
ularly Treasurer, Secretary and Vice-president - these are vital roles within the Club. Chris McInerny,
my Vice-president has covered a lot of ground and I am sure he will make a fine President. The Club
is in a good position; we have very good staff and a huge number of extraordinarily talented and
experienced volunteers. I repeat what I said in the December 2012 issue - myself and SOC Council
would like to acknowledge and thank the families who have already left legacies to the Club. Their
kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity will ensure the future of the SOC for years to come.
1 am looking forward to the annual conference in Troon, but such is the way of things that we
are already working on the 2014 conference. We would like to thank all those regular conference-
goers who helped us on this one by responding to the survey seeking feedback on location, price,
format and speakers etc. It is quite tough to get the balance right on the annual conference, but
input from the membership does help.
[ have just finished writing the foreword for the Birds of Clackmannanshire and | mentioned that
the delivery of projects like this is often down to a few individuals. Their contribution to Scottish
ornithology does not go unnoticed.
July has seen the arrival of some very rare birds in Scotland. I smiled to myself when I heard that
Margaret Cowie and Tim Marshall were the finders of the Rock Thrush in Aberdeenshire. They are
real patch workers and really deserve such an exotic visitor.
The cloud is lifting and the Swifts are feeding higher. As I said, they will soon be gone, but the
airspace above the Forth will not lose its interest. The Little brothers - Hound Point regulars -
have already spotted a Pomarine Skua this month and hopefully this will be the forerunner of
many. There is no better sight than a group of ten or 12 adult Poms moving up the Forth.
| am on my way now, as I have a SOC management meeting at the Hawes Inn just along from
the bridge. I will take my binoculars and might spot a Roseate Tern or a Mediterranean Gull on
the way. Management meetings are pretty informal - I might even have a glass of red!
Whatever you are doing, have a great autumn and my sincere thanks for supporting the Club.
Ken Shaw, President
33:3 (2013)
T. Bradfer-Lawrence & S. Rao
Annual counts of Dotterel and Ptarmigan have been conducted on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau
every July since 2003. Monitoring takes in the whole of the plateau above 1000 m in altitude,
much of which lies within the Mar Lodge Estate. Populations of both species have fluctuated over
the decade, without any clear trend. Comparison with count data from 1988 to 1999 suggests that
Dotterel numbers on Beinn a’ Bhuird have remained relatively stable over the 25-year period.
Dotterel brood size averaged 1.3 chicks per cock, whilst Ptarmigan brood size has remained steady
at 4.3 chicks per hen. Despite the shared environment, within-year chick numbers for each species
appear to be unrelated to one another. Dissimilar ecological requirements imply that Dotterel and
Ptarmigan may react differently to changes in climate.
Introduction
Situated in the southern Cairngorms, Mar Lodge Estate covers over 29,000 ha and is owned by
the National Trust for Scotland (NTS). There are a wide range of habitats on the estate from
Caledonian pinewoods in the glens to summit heaths on the high mountain tops. Large areas of
Mar Lodge Estate are designated for conservation, including a portion which lies within the
Cairngorms Special Protection Area (SPA). The montane habitat provides an important breeding
ground for some of Scotland’s most iconic birds, including Dotterel Charadrius morinellus, one of
the notified species of the SPA, and Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus (Plates 175 & 177).
33:3 (2013) 195-205
195
Counts of Dottere! and Ptarmigan on the Beinn a‘ Bhuird plateau, Cairngorms between 2003 and 2012
There have been three national surveys for Dotterel: in 1987-88 (Galbraith et al. 1993), 1999
(Whitfield 2002) and most recently in 2011, the results of which at the time of writing have
yet to be published. The population was estimated at 840 breeding males in the 1987-88
survey, but this had fallen to 630 breeding males in 1999. Smaller-scale monitoring between
the two national surveys highlights considerable fluctuations in the number of breeding males
between years (Whitfield 2002), so the difference in numbers between 1987-88 and 1999 may
not reflect a sustained trend.
Breeding attempts by Dotterel in Britain are now largely restricted to Scotland, probably due to
habitat changes resulting from intensifying land management and atmospheric nitrogen
deposition south of the Highlands (Strowger 1998, van der Wal et al. 2003). Both of the published
national surveys highlight the importance of the East Highlands for Dotterel, which support over
50% of the breeding British Dotterel population. The Cairngorms is the most important breeding
area for this species in Britain, and the area covered by the SPA supports approximately 28% (240
pairs) of the British breeding population of Dotterel in 2001 (JNCC 2001). Declines between 1988
and 1999 were greatest in North-west Scotland, whilst the Eastern Highlands population
maintained its level. Whitfield (2002) suggests that this may represent a retreat by the Dotterel
population to the core areas of the most suitable breeding habitat. Their limited distribution in
Scotland reduces the species’ resilience in the face of environmental change and has led to
Dotterel being Amber-listed (Eaton et al. 2009).
British Ptarmigan populations are restricted to the uplands of Scotland (Stillman & Brown 1998).
Ptarmigan populations can show strong fluctuations over the course of a decade (Watson et al.
1998). Musgrove et al. (2013) estimate that there are between 2,000 and 15,000 breeding pairs in
Scotland. Given Ptarmigan population dynamics the figure is likely to vary widely between years.
To date, there has been no national survey for Ptarmigan, however the species is considered to be
secure and continues to be Green-listed (Eaton eft al. 2009, Birdlife International 2013).
Dotterel and Ptarmigan are at the fringe of their ranges in the uplands of Scotland. Predicted
changes in climate are likely to precipitate shifts in the distributions of these species; indeed this
has already begun in boreal Europe (Virkkala et al. 2008, Virkkala €& Rajasaérkka 2011). Thus
regular monitoring is necessary to understand changes in the density and distribution of species
such as Dotterel and Ptarmigan in Scotland. Monitoring not only helps to inform the management
of Mar Lodge Estate, but assists with elucidating the impacts of climate change.
sits er aay
Plate 176. Beinn a’ Bhuird, Cairngorms, viewed from the south, September 2008. © S. Rao
196 | Scottish Birds: 195-205 53:3(2015)
v4
it eS aaa ie
Noi
rth Top 7% |
ae |
MOTE epg
: HANI ER ARE A
ANG ee 2
\ i
Ni es i
at Meer ts
Figure 1 (a). Map of the region showing the area of the survey (red), the boundary of Mar Lodge Estate (dashed)
and some notable mountains. (b) The summit plateau of Beinn a’ Bhuird with the area surveyed for birds indicated
by the red line. (O.S. map Crown Copyright, NTS licence 100023880).
Study area and methods
Beinn a’ Bhuird is a large mountain at the head of Glen Quoich in the south-eastern Cairngorms
(Plate 176). The mountain has two summits: North Top (1197 m) and South Top (1177 m). These
are 3.5 km apart, separated by a broad ridge that is 1120 m at the lowest point. There are fairly
gentle slopes on the north, west and south faces of the mountain leading up to the summit
plateau. The vegetation of these lower slopes is dominated by Heather Calluna vulgaris. The
eastern edge of the plateau is defined by spectacular, 150 m-high rocky cliffs, which form three
corries with a series of smali lochans below.
The summit plateau of Beinn a’ Bhuird is characterised by short vegetation, with patches of bare
gravel and scattered small rocks. The vegetation is that of a typical summit heath, where the most
common plants are Stiff Sedge Carex bigelowti, Three-leaved Rush Juncus trifidus, Mat Grass
Nardus stricta and Woolly Moss Racomitrium lanuginosum. These plants are the dominant
components of the vegetation communities found here (SNH 1997, National Vegetation
Classification communities U9 Juncus trifidus-Racomitirium lanuginosum, with some snow-bed
communities U7 Nardus stricta-Carex bigelowii and U8 Carex bigelowii-Polytrichum alpinum,
Rodwell 1992). At the southern end of the mountain the terrain becomes rockier, with a jumbled
boulder field and very little vegetation.
Surveys for Dotterel and Ptarmigan have been conducted annually on the plateau of Beinn a’ Bhuird
since 2003. The counts take in all of the ground on Beinn a’ Bhuird above 1000 m, a total area of
587 ha (Figure 2). Whilst both Dotterel and Ptarmigan will breed in suitable habitat below this
altitude (Galbraith et al. 1993a, Strowger 1998), the area selected represents that which it is feasible
to cover in a single day at this remote site with the number of surveyors available. Although some
birds may well be breeding lower down the slopes of the mountain, in the interests of maintaining
consistency between years, surveys have concentrated on the most suitable nesting habitat.
The methodology used follows that described in Whitfield (2002), with a single count undertaken
each year during the first two weeks of July. Whilst this methodology was developed primarily to
monitor Dotterel, we considered it appropriate for recording Ptarmigan as well. The systematic
coverage of the ground is as rigorous as the transect walk methods used for surveying Ptarmigan
33:3 (2013) Scottish Birds: 195-205
197
198
in other studies (Watson 1965, Watson ef al. 1998). July is the time when both species are most
visible, as they are reluctant to flee when caring for their young chicks (Holt ef al. 2002a).
Therefore adult birds tend to remain within a small area and it is possible to ensure no double-
counting occurs. Thus, the birds recorded represent the minimum number present that year.
The number of surveyors varies between years, but there are usually between six and ten people
available to undertake the survey. The team of surveyors walks in an evenly spaced line at a
steady pace across the survey area. Starting from the footpath, the survey team walks clockwise
around the area with surveyors aiming to walk within 100 m of every point in the area. Surveyors
stop every 50-100 m to scan the ground both ahead and behind with binoculars, counting each
group of birds seen, assigning status as adult or chick and identifying gender. Counts were only
-conducted when the weather was fine, to both ensure accuracy, and allow surveyors to maintain
visual contact and keep the survey line. Unfortunately, no count was conducted in 2007 due to a
combination of poor weather and other work commitments.
Only adults with unfledged chicks are deemed to be confirmed breeders. Flocks are disregarded from
the following analysis. Whilst this may discount early breeding events where the juveniles have
already fledged, this methodology ensures that the survey avoids over-estimating the number of
breeding birds. In line with previous studies breeding attempts for Dotterel are calculated per male,
whilst those for Ptarmigan are calculated per female (Galbraith et al. 1993a, Cotter 1999). As a
polyandrous species, male Dotterel provide almost all the parental care; the female plays little part
in breeding after egg-laying has finished (Holt et al. 2002b). Whitfield (2002) asserts that any single
male Dotterel seen before the fledging period are likely to be breeding or to have recently failed, and
so are classified as probable breeders. Therefore single male Dotterel without accompanying chicks
are included in the graphs. There is no published information regarding the relationship between
single female Ptarmigan and breeding attempts, and so analysis is restricted to instances of
confirmed breeding when chicks were observed. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated
for each species to investigate temporal trends between years for breeding success.
Calculation of mean brood size was restricted to instances of confirmed breeding where the
numbers of chicks were counted. Brood size was calculated by dividing the total number of chicks
counted that year by the number of adults seen with accompanying young, thus discounting
single adult birds, probable breeding pairs, or flocks which included fledged juveniles. Pearson’s
correlation coefficients were again calculated for each species to investigate temporal trends
between years for brood size.
Access to data from Whitfield (2002) allowed comparison between the Dotterel numbers from 2003
to 2012 with counts from earlier surveys undertaken on Beinn a’ Bhuird between 1988 and 1999,
giving an indication of population changes over a longer period. Based on calibration exercises,
Whitfield (2002) suggests that during a single site visit surveyors will only detect 42% of the total
Dotterel breeding attempts in any one year. This is due to the long breeding season and high failure
rate of Dotterel (Kalas & Byrkjedal 1984). In order to compensate for the low detection rate, Whitfield
(2002) applied a correction factor of 2.38 to the Dotterel counts undertaken between 1988 and 1999.
This same correction factor was applied to the data collected between 2003 and 2012. The earlier
surveys reported in Whitfield (2002) encompassed 10.05 km? of Beinn a’ Bhuird, 42% more than the
5.87 km? covered during this study. Therefore, both datasets were normalised to give the numbers
of breeding male Dotterel per km? and allow direct comparison.
The numbers of Dotterel and Ptarmigan chicks were compared within years, in order to investigate
any correlation between the breeding success of the two species. Pearson’s correlation coefficient
was calculated to investigate the strength of any relationship.
33:3 (2013)
D) ~~
Papers
40 y = 0.2919 x+ 7.3784
R? = 0.0515
@ Chicks
25 @ Adult males
20
Number of Dotterel
UI
io)
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Figure 2. Counts of adult male and young Dotterel on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau, 2003-12. No count was
undertaken in 2007. The number of Dotterel breeding attempts has fluctuated between 2003 and 2012, but
without any trend as demonstrated by the very low r? value of 0.09.
2.5 y = 0.0375 x+ 1.2625
R? = 0.21767
2.0
Mean Dotterel brood size
0.5
0.01 es
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Figure 3. Mean Dotterel brood size on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau, 2003-12. No count was undertaken in
2007. There were no chicks seen in 2004. Mean brood size remained fairly consistent between 2003 and
2012, at 1.3 chicks per cock. The r? value is low, suggesting that there is no clear trend.
33:3 (2013) Scottish Birds: 195-205 | 199
Counts of Dotterel and Ptarmigan on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau, Cairngorms between 2003 and 20]2
8 y = 0.0426 x+ 3.0534
R? = 0.0499
Dotterel breeding attempts per km’
1
Oo OSs A mM. 0): Om OOO KE AM FT © O71 o) eo. A
© © oO) Oo OC) OC) HDD OO GD CO OC O © ©. o.oo 2 ©- 6 CS] =|
DADA A AAA AAA A DOGO GC 90 00080 OO Oo Oo Oo
ee ee re ee as oS ee Se tee Soe CNN ON ONION, QQ QE NNER
Figure 4, Estimated number of Dotterel breeding attempts per km? on the Beinn a’ Bhtird plateau, 1988-2012.
Data for 1988-99 from Whitfield (2002).
100 y = 0.8203 x+ 3.5541
R* = 0.2375
90 Hi Chicks
Adult females
N
oe)
(o>)
©
Number of Ptarmigan
SG,
Or 70
W
S
N
©
10-
Oo +—! ee Prom eel eer
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 £2012
Figure 5. Numbers of adult female and young Ptarmigan on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau, 2003-12. No count
was undertaken in 2007. Ptarmigan numbers also fluctuated quite widely between 2003 and 2012, with the
low r* value suggesting there is no trend in the number of breeding attempts.
200 | Scottish Birds: 195-205 33:3 (2013)
Papers
6 y = -0.1349 x+ 5.0247
R* = 0.24197
Mean Ptarmigan brood size
WN
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 . 2009 2010 2011 2012
Figure 6. Mean Ptarmigan brood size on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau, 2003-12. No count was undertaken in
2007. Ptarmigan brood size has remained fairly steady at a mean of 4.3 chicks per hen between 2003 and
2012. There may have been a decline, but the low r¢ value suggests that any trend is very small.
30 y = 0.3532 x+ 7.1864
R? = 0.101
25
oe)
Percentage of Ptarmigan chicks
Ol
6) ape
6) 5 O 15 20 25
Percentage of Dotterel chicks
Figure 7. Comparison of Dotterel and Ptarmigan chicks counted each year. The numbers of Dotterel and Ptarmigan
chicks show little relationship within years. A year of good breeding success for one species does not necessarily
mean high productivity for the other and Pearson's correlation coefficient gave an 1 value of only 0.10.
33:3 (2013) Scottish Birds: 195-205 | 201
Counts of Dotterel and Ptarmigan on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau, Cairngorms between 2003 and 2012
202
Plate 177. Ptarmigan on Beinn a’ Bhuird, Cairngorms, July 2012. © 7. Bradfer-Lawrence
ca
Results
The numbers of breeding male Dotterel counted between 2003 and 2012 are shown in Figure 2.
This includes probable as well as confirmed breeders. Figure 3 shows the mean brood size for
Dotterel, limited to confirmed breeders where the number of chicks could be counted. Both of
these figures use uncorrected numbers of birds and show actual counts. Figure 4 shows a
comparison of the data from 2003 to 2012 with earlier data from Whitfield (2002) collected
between 1988 and 1999. The figures have been corrected using the calibration factor supplied in
Whitfield (2002), and both datasets modified to show breeding attempts per km/?.
There appears to have been a slight increase in the number of Dotterel breeding attempts between
1988 and 2012. However, the r? value is small and there is considerable fluctuation between years.
The number of Ptarmigan breeding attempts recorded between 2003 and 2012 is shown in Figure
5. Figure 6 shows the mean brood size for Ptarmigan. Data for both graphs is limited to confirmed
breeders where the number of chicks was counted.
A comparison of the numbers of Dotterel and Ptarmigan chicks counted per year as a percentage of
the total number of chicks for each species recorded between 2003 and 2012 is shown in Figure 7.
Discussion
Numbers of both Dotterel and Ptarmigan have fluctuated between 2003 and 2012. The low r?
values demonstrate that there are no clear trends between years in the numbers of breeding
attempts for either species. This is likely to be due in part to the relatively limited time-scale of
this study. Where data exists for Dotterel populations at single sites, it shows that numbers tend
to vary considerably between years (Whitfield 2002). Ptarmigan populations are known to exhibit
cyclic fluctuations over periods of at least ten years (Watson ef al. 1998).
Scottish Birds: 195-205 33:3 (2013)
There are no clear trends between years for the brood sizes of either species. The analysis is
restricted to confirmed breeding individuals and hence represents the minimum number of
breeding attempts in any one year. The actual number of breeding birds is likely to be much
higher, given low rates of detection and clutch losses prior to the monitoring in July. However,
assuming that the birds that are detected are a representative sample of the breeding population,
then the brood sizes reported here should be typical of the whole site.
A study in Norway reported that Dotterel usually lay clutches of three eggs, however predation
rates are high (Kalas & Byrkjedal 1984). Watson & Rae (1987) report a mean of only 0.51 chicks
per adult for a range of Scottish sites between 1970 and 1985. However this figure was per adult
seen, including those without young, so it is not comparable with this data. Strowger’s (1998)
study of Dotterel in northern England report a similar clutch size to Kalas & Byrkjedal (1984), but
a hatching rate of only 1.45 chicks and a fledging rate of 1.07 chicks per brood. This tallies with
the counts provided here, where there was a mean of 1.3 chicks per breeding male. More regular
counts on Beinn a’ Bhuird within years would be necessary to gain full nest histories and allow
a proper comparison between the brood size given here and other reported rates.
Ptarmigan lay much larger clutches than Dotterel, usually of between five and eight eggs (BTO
2013). The mean brood size reported here of 4.3 hatched chicks per hen is within the range
provided by other published studies. Cotter’s (1999) study of Ptarmigan populations in the
Canadian Arctic provides a mean of 6.9 chicks fledged per successfully breeding female, whilst
Wilson & Martin (2010) report a mean of only 3.2 hatched chicks per hen in western Canada. The
variation in chick survival is probably due to a range of site-specific factors, including level of
predation and spring weather conditions.
Before the NTS began annual monitoring, Beinn a’ Bhuird was surveyed intermittently for Dotterel
between 1988 and 1999. Using the data from these earlier counts allows construction of a longer
time series and it is clear that the Dotterel population has continued to oscillate on Beinn a’
Bhuird, with between 1.5 and 7 Dotterel breeding attempts per km? between 1988 and 2012. There
does appear to be a slight upward trend in the numbers of breeding males, but the annual counts
since 2003 show greater variation. There is the possibility that by restricting the post-2003
monitoring to the summit heath above 1,000 m, it may focus on the best quality habitat and
inflate the estimate of breeding attempts. Alternatively, given the low r? value and the degree of
fluctuation, the changes may not represent a genuine trend.
Whilst the factors underlying these population fluctuations have yet to be elucidated in the same
way as Ptarmigan (Watson et al. 1998), merely documenting the extent of the variation is
important. Given the fluctuations in the data presented here, the apparent fall in breeding Dotterel
population between the first two national surveys may simply represent stochastic variation. This
reflects the inherent problems associated with trying to draw population trends from irregular and
intermittent monitoring.
The data from Beinn a’ Bhuird are of limited applicability to informing wider regional patterns as
Dotterel exhibit low site fidelity between years. A low count on one hill is not necessarily
indicative of a widespread decline; the Dotterel may have simply shifted to a different breeding
ground. The graphs in Figure 5 of Whitfield (2002) demonstrate the high levels of variability, even
between geographically proximate sites. However, comparing the trends reported here with data
collected at other sites can complement the national picture provided by the wider-scale but less
frequent monitoring. Whitfield (2002) was able to strengthen the comparison of the national
surveys by analysing data from matched sites, demonstrating a similar pattern to the national
trend with lower Dotterel numbers in 1999. The forthcoming results from the 2011 national survey
will help to place the data presented here in context.
33:3 (2013) Scottish Birds: 195-205 | 203
204
Counts of Dottere! and Ptarmigan on the Beinn a’ Bhuird plateau, Cairngorms between 2003 and 2012
There are limitations to the dataset, particularly regarding the issue of detecting these species.
Despite the rigorous approach to the counts it is probable that birds were missed during the
monitoring. Although the correction factor supplied in Whitfield (2002) can be applied to the
Dotterel data to give a population estimate, comparing the breeding success of the two species is
difficult as this aspect of surveying Ptarmigan has yet to be studied with the same level of detail;
there is no indication of the level of detectability of this well camouflaged species.
There appears to have been no common underlying pattern of Dotterel and Ptarmigan chick
numbers between 2003 and 2012. The variability may have arisen from differences in detectability
of the two species, but if this were the case then any disparity ought to be consistent between
years. Previous evidence suggests that there is a weather-driven synchrony between Ptarmigan
and Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus although they breed in different habitats (Watson et al. 2000).
Despite differences in the ecology of Ptarmigan and Dotterel these two species might be expected
to show a similar pattern because of their shared environment.
Whilst there are numerous factors that will impact on bird breeding success apart from the
weather, Virkkala & Rajasaérkka (2011) have demonstrated that many species in Northern Europe
are sensitive to changes in climate. Weather might impact on Dotterel and Ptarmigan breeding
success in a variety of ways. For example a dry spring can result in low numbers of invertebrates,
depleting the essential food supply of the young Dotterel chicks during their first few weeks
(Galbraith et al. 1993b, Pearce-Higgins 2010). However, chicks of both Dotterel and Ptarmigan are
also particularly susceptible to wet weather when newly hatched, and a single bad storm can
threaten an entire year’s brood. Unfortunately there is inadequate weather data available for Beinn
a’ Bhuird that might be used to evaluate the effect of climate on these montane birds. There are
likely to be very localised weather patterns restricted to the mountain, which lowers the validity
of utilising weather data collected in different areas of the Cairngorms.
A much wider analysis of climate patterns would be necessary to shed some light on the
underlying factors determining breeding success for Dotterel and Ptarmigan in Scotland. There is
currently insufficient evidence to conclude which aspects might be important; wet spring, dry
summer, minimum temperatures, or some combination of these or other aspects. Furthermore,
there may be a lag between weather conditions and changes in bird populations that complicates
any analysis (Watson et al. 1998, 2000). Despite the shared environment, Dotterel and Ptarmigan
display different levels of breeding success within years. This emphasises that reactions to climate
change are unlikely to be linear, and that different species may well respond in different ways.
Regular monitoring is necessary to track population trends and inform the construction of
national patterns, particularly in the face of a rapidly changing climate. This monitoring has
provided a snapshot of the populations and breeding success of Dotterel and Ptarmigan on a
mountain in the Cairngorms between 2003 and 2012. The NTS intends to continue the annual bird
count on Beinn a’ Bhuird to gather further data in the years to come.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to all of the National Trust for Scotland staff and volunteers who have contributed to the
monitoring since 2003. Many thanks to Phil Whitfield for use of his data and helpful comments
regarding this work. Thanks to an anonymous reviewer whose comments on an earlier draft
greatly improved this paper.
References
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Cotter, R.C. 1999. The reproductive biology of Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus in the Central
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Eaton, M.A., Brown, A.F., Noble, D.G., Musgrove, A.J., Hearn, R.D., Aebischer, N.J., Gibbons,
D.W., Evans, A. & Gregory, R.D. 2009. Birds of conservation concern 3: the population status
of birds in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. British Birds 102: 296-341.
Galbraith, H., Murray, S., Rae, S., Whitfield, D.P. & Thompson, D.B.A. 1993a. Numbers and
distribution of Dotterel Charadrius morinellus breeding in Great Britain. Bird Study 40: 161-169.
Galbraith, H., Murray, S., Duncan, K., Smith, R., Whitfield, D.P. & Thompson, D.B.A. 1993b.
Diet and habitat use of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Scotland. [bis 135: 148-155.
Green, R.E., Collingham, Y.C., Willis, S.G., Gregory, R.D., Smith, K.W. & Huntley, B. 2008.
Performance or climate envelope models in retrodicting recent changes in bird population size
from observed climatic change. Biology Letters 4: 599-602.
JNCC. 2001. A6.60 Dotterel Charadrius morinellus - species account for UK SPA. Available online
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Holt, S., Whitfield, D.P., Duncan, K., Rae, S. & Smith, R.D. 2002a. Mass loss in incubating
Eurasian Dotterel: adaptation or constraint? Journal of Avian Biology 33: 219-224.
Holt, S., Whitfield, D.P. & Gordon, J. 2002b. Potential reproductive rates in the Eurasian Dotterel
Charadrius morinellus. Bird Study 49: 87-88.
Kalas, J.A. & Byrkjedal, I. 1984. Breeding chronology and mating system of the Eurasian Dotterel
Charadrius morinellus. The Auk 101: 838-847.
Musgrove, A., Aebischer, N., Eaton, M., Hearn, R., Newson, S., Nobel, D., Parsons, M., Risely
K. & Stroud, D. 2013. Population estimates of birds in Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
British Birds 106: 64-100.
Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2010. Using diet to assess the sensitivity of northern and upland birds to
climate change. Climate Research 45: 119-130.
Rodwell, J.S. (ed) 1992. British Plant Communities volume 3: grasslands and montane
communities. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
SNH. 1997. NVC survey of Mar Lodge Estate. Scottish Natural Heritage, Battleby.
Stillman, R.A. & Brown, A.F. 1998. Pattern in the distribution of Britain’s upland breeding birds.
Journal of Biogeography 25: 73-82.
Strowger, J. 1998. The status and breeding biology of the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in
northern England during 1972-95. Bird Study 45: 85-91.
van der Wal, R., Pearce, I., Brooker, R., Scott, D., Welch, D. & Woodin, S. 2003. Interplay
between nitrogen deposition and grazing causes habitat degradation. Ecology Letters 6: 141-146.
Virkkala, R., Heikkinen, R.K., Leikola, N. & Luoto, M. 2008. Projected large-scale range
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Virkkala, R. & Rajasarkka, A. 2011. Climate change affects populations of northern birds in
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Watson, A., Moss, R. & Rae, S. 1998. Population dynamics of Scottish Rock Ptarmigan cycles.
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Watson, A., Moss, R. & Rothery, P. 2000. Weather and synchrony in ten-year population cycles
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Whitfield, D.P. 2002. Status of the breeding Dotterel Charadrius morinellus in Britain in 1999.
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Tom Bradfer-Lawrence & Shaila Rao, The National Trust for Scotland, Mar Lodge Estate,
Braemar, Aberdeenshire AB35 5Y).
Email: srao@nts.org.uk
Revised ms accepted April 2013
33:3 (2013) Scottish Birds: 195-205 | 205
Plate 178. Great Grey Shrike with headless Field Vole carcass prior to caching, Forest of Ae, Dumfries & Galloway,
oraging ecology and diet of a Great Grey Shrike within a winter home range in Dumfries and Galloway
January 2012. © Brian D. Henderson
206
Dumfries ai
B.D. Henderson
A study of a single Great Grey Shrike on a forest edge in Dumfriesshire from January to March 2012
showed a range size of just over 70 ha, within which there was a core area and five satellite areas.
The preferred daytime habitat and perch type were areas of young coniferous restock (58.1%) with tall
spruce boles (33.7%). Over 1,000 timed observations showed a mean/cumulative sit-and-wait time of
over nine minutes. Diet composition was based on observed prey captures, cached prey, food remains
and pellet analysis. Pellets predominantly contained Field Voles and beetles (18.4% and 40.1% by
number, 85.1% and 7.5% by Index of Relative Importance). Small mammals were the most important
components by biomass contributing 86.8% of the total. Seasonal changes in diet composition were
discernible from February onwards. Feeding patterns and mode of transport following prey capture were
consistent for each prey type. Multiple caching of prey items was rarely observed.
Introduction
Some individual Great Grey Shrikes Lanius excubitor hold winter home ranges and will often return
to the same area over successive years. Occasionally such birds reach Dumfries and Galloway, where
most Great Grey Shrikes are observed from afforested areas (Henderson 2012). Open ground with
scattered perches is the preferred winter habitat with young conifer plantations and clear fell areas
being particularly attractive. Its diet, chiefly invertebrates and small vertebrates, is relatively well
studied, but mainly in continental Europe (see compilations in Cramp & Perrins 1993, Glutz Von
Blotheim € Bauer 1993). An individual that held a winter home range for 80 days on the edge of
the Forest of Ae in Dumfriesshire during 2012 provided an opportunity for quantitative field studies
and comparison with other studies of this shrike in Europe and North America.
206-217 33:3 (2013)
Methods
Field observations
Shrike activity was observed from a nearby road and where necessary from selected vantage
points within the restock area i.e. firebreaks and forestry access roads. Total time spent in the
study area was 308 hours between 7 January and 26 March 2012. Some surveying was deferred
during periods of inclement weather that affected visibility. When the shrike was lost to view I
looked for regurgitated pellets, butchering sites, cached prey and food remains. Details recorded
included all known sit-and-wait durations, habitat type, perch type and height used for each sit-
and-wait duration, all kills and hunting efforts including all apparent efforts to catch vertebrate
prey. Cached prey, species type, height and fixation method, feeding bouts including mode of
transport and butchering observations were also noted. Daily temperature and weather conditions
were recorded and used to compare shrike behaviour and roaming distance with prevailing
conditions. The winter range was measured by GPS mapping the outermost sit-and-wait perches.
Prey analysis
Prey remains found below perches were recorded and any pellets found were removed for
analysis, air-dried for a minimum of two weeks, measured, digitally weighed (+0.01g) and
individually bagged in Pro-loc resealable bags. All portions of invertebrates (heads/mandibles and
exoskeleton fragments), bones, jaws/teeth and feathers of vertebrates were enumerated to the
lowest possible taxon. The minimum numbers of recognizable individuals of each taxon in each
pellet were tallied by counting head capsules, elytra and legs of insects, bones and culmens of
birds, bones and mandibles (or maxillae) of mammals and bones and jaws of lizards.
Study area
The winter range of the shrike was on the north-western edge of the Forest of Ae. The study area
(220-233 m a.s.l.) situated between the Capel Water and Threip Moor comprises mixed-aged
forestry coupes of varying habitat types and areas. There were two coupes of conifer restock in
the winter range, totalling 20.19 ha, both planted during 2008. There were 38.1 ha of clear fell
and 2.62 ha of deciduous plantations.
Results
Foraging ecology
The total size of the winter range in 2012 was 70.90 ha. Movements within the winter home range
showed a core area with five main hunting perches and five satellite areas (Figure 1).
Clear fell areas accounted for over half (53.74%) of the habitat type of the winter range. Mean
satellite area size was 3.01 ha. The core and satellite areas accounted for 25.8% of the total winter
home range size. The amount of time spent by the shrike in the core and satellite areas varied.
The core area was visited daily. Satellite areas were visited periodically, with the shrike spending
between two to six days in each satellite area before moving. Observations showed daytime
foraging habitat preference to be areas of young coniferous restock (58.15%). Areas of clear fell
were little visited by the shrike after 15 February; four visits totalling one hour and 11 minutes
were observed with only a single two-minute visit during March.
One thousand one hundred and seven sit-and-wait timed observations, totaling 170 hours and 26
minutes, were recorded. Cumulative sit-and-wait time was 9 minutes and 14 seconds (+08:36).
Mean sit-and-wait time in the core area was 10 minutes 46 seconds (+10.56) minutes/seconds
(range 1-94 minutes). A correlation was found between long sit-and-wait periods with habitat
and perch type. All sit-and-wait periods exceeding 35 minutes were recorded during the late
afternoon atop of one of the five tall spruce boles in the restock area. As soon as the shrike
vacated the perches it headed straight for a roost refuge, usually just before the onset of evening
twilight. Perches used for sit-and-wait durations were highly variable in respect to type, height
and number of times used. Up to 33 different perches were used daily, mean was 16 (+7.0) range
5-33. Mean minimum daily distance covered was 3.167 (41.99) km (range was 0.72-9.105 km).
33:3 (2013) ‘co ;; 206-217 | 207
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and database right 2013.
208
Diet composition
Seventy-eight prey captures were observed during the study period. Insects, chiefly beetles,
Coleoptera spp. and bees Apidae spp. accounted for 56.4% of all observed prey captures. Field
Vole Microtus agrestis and other rodents followed with 25.6%. Common Lizard Zootoca vivapara
accounted for 14.1%.
Mammals were killed on the ground at the point of capture, by disarticulating the cervical vertebrae,
the head usually being consumed in situ. Only two whole carcasses were observed being taken back
to hunting perches and the shrike was clearly seen to struggle transporting them. The headless
carcass was transported, in the beak, to a high hunting perch, after fixation, a proportion of the
anterior end was immediately eaten. The stomach, intestines and entrails were removed and
discarded. The remaining posterior end of the carcass was taken, in the beak, to a nearby caching
point. Return visits to caches were rarely noted, but usually occurred within an hour or so of the
carcass being initially cached. Insects were eaten whole at the point of capture on the ground or, in
the case of large Carabid beetles, taken to a hunting perch to be consumed. Elytra and other body
parts of large beetles were removed and discarded prior to the edible parts being consumed. Bees
were pursued in flight, often over some distance. Once caught the shrike flew to a nearby perch to
consume the prey. Birds were attacked by surprise from the tall spruce boles. Birds were taken in the
beak to either a hunting perch or a butchering stump after death. The carcass was impaled or
wedged; the head decapitated and consumed immediately. Some plucking of tail, wing and breast
feathers took place before the rest of the carcass was eaten. No bird carcasses were cached for return
visits. Common Lizards were dispatched by repeated strikes to the nape that left noticeable
lacerations. A small proportion was found barely alive with a mass of coagulated blood visible at
the puncture point. Transportation of prey items, via beak then transfers to legs, accounted for 1.3%,
the majority, 98.7%, were transported via the beak only. All avian, reptilian and 94.7% of
mammalian prey were transported in the beak. Sixty-four percent of prey was transported via a two-
step process (long distance) with one-step (uninterrupted distance) processes accounting for 36%.
206-217 33:3 (2013)
Cached prey items were either impaled (61.3%) or wedged (38.7%). Caches were placed at a mean
height of 1.94 (+1.11) m (range 0.85-4.5+ m). The majority (45.2%) was located between 1-1.5 m
above ground. All wedged prey items were positioned between root forks on uprooted stumps. Areas
of restock contained 76.7% of all cached prey. The remainder was located in deciduous plantations
(16.6%) or in areas of clear fell (6.7%). Mean fixation height of cached Field Voles was 2.01 (+1.07)
m (range 0.85-4.5+ m) with 100% of the carcasses being incomplete. All Common Lizards were
impaled between the forelimbs and throat with 63.6% having no tails. Coal Tit, Periparus ater, and
Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes, were the only small passerines species found cached. Most caches
were ‘scattered’ caches and contained single prey items (96.8%). Multiple caching of prey items was
rarely observed with Common Lizards being the only prey species found in multiple caches (up to
three individuals) and entirely on thorns. No impaled or wedged invertebrate prey items were found.
No unnatural substrate type i.e. barbed wire, was used. Several cached prey items (6.6% of total
cached prey), entirely Field Vole, the ones that were most visible i.e. above 4 m on isolated dead
trees, were kleptoparasitisized by Kestrels Falco tinnunculus.
Two hundred and six pellets were collected. Some pellets contained whole tails of Common Lizard
or Field Vole. Freshly regurgitated pellets were darker than those that had lain. Larger pellets
contained more fur and heavier pellets more bone. An increase in length, matrix and fragility was
evident from March: many having considerably more noticeable numbers of beetle elytra and
other insect body parts visible externally i.e. wings of Apidae spp. Some plant remains were
present in 26 (12.6%) of the pellets found. Twelve pellets contained small pieces of grit.
( gg mg
PLP PLA LEP PCat tea rar)
Plate 179. Great Grey Shrike pellets collected February 2012, Forest of Ae, Dumfries & Galloway. © Brian D. Henderson
All prey specimens from pellets were counted, if possible, according to the presence of quanti-
tative body parts such as skulls, beaks, jaws and mandibles. Most mammalian jawbones were
intact enabling positive identification to be made. Detailed examination of the pellets showed the
prey remains, especially the crania, to be fragmentary and the skeletal material incomplete. Partial
consumption of prey items, especially that of mammalian prey, is supported by 100% of all cached
mammalian carcasses found in this study being headless, and the higher proportion of skulls than
pelvises or thighbones found in the pellets. Eighty-five percent of all pellets contained skeletal
remains of small mammals. Field Vole remains were found in 65.5% of all pellets. Results showed
that the shrike rarely ate all of its mammalian prey and that the head and anterior part of the
body were preferred (Figure 2).
209
Foraging ecology and diet of a Great Grey Shrike within a winter home range in Dumfries and Galloway
X
Figure 2. Proportion of different skeletal remains of small mammals found in pellets; (a) skull, (b) anterior part of
body, (c) posterior part of body and (d) tail, based on 175 pellets of Great Grey Shrike, Forest of Ae, Dumfries &
Galloway, 7 January—26 March 2012. © Image courtesy of Warren Photographic Ltd.
The average time from observed pellet regurgitation to subsequent kill was 4 minutes 17 seconds
(+403:50) minutes/seconds (range 00:51-11:25 minutes/seconds). No pellets were observed being
regurgitated in the morning.
From pellet analysis, a total of 377 prey items belonging to 34 taxa (Table 1) were identified. For
each taxon, calculations were made of the percent frequency of occurrence (percent of pellets
containing said taxon) (F), percent of the total number of prey items (N) and percent of total biomass
(B). Mass estimates for each taxon for the study area were obtained from live weights of specimens
collected on-site and from personal records (B. Henderson, unpublished data). The Index of Relative
Importance (IRI) for each taxon was calculated by following Day & Byrd (1989); IRI = F (N + B).
210 Birds: 206-217 33:3 (2013)
Table 1. Prey items by frequency of pellets (occurrence), number, biomass and Index of Relative Importance
(IRI) of Great Grey Shrike, Forest of Ae, Dumfries & Galloway, 7 January to 26 March 2012 (n = 206 pellets).
Taxon Occurrence Number Biomass IRI
Birds n % % g % ~~ Total %
Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula @25 0.27 21 O77 026° O01
3
1 1
Coal Tit Periparus ater 3 0.76 5 0180 Qin 20 GID 1-56 O04
Robin Erithacus rubecula 1 @25 1 Oy, 1Si ver 01667") 0124" 0.01
Goldcrest Regulus regulus 2 0.51 2 0.53 12 044 049 0.01
Lesser Redpoll Carduelis cabaret 1 O25 1 0.27 1 O40, 017 (*< 00)
Siskin Carduelis spinus 1 0.25 1 Oy 15 O55) 5-.0:21.*-~0:01
Twite Carduelis flavirostris 1 @:25 1 O27 16 @:59°=0:22) 0.01
Wren Troglodytes troglodytes 2 0.51 D @.53 20" 7 O75 ) 0164) > O02
Unid. Passeriformes 6 153 4 1.06 50 183°, 4:42°...0,)2
Birds subtotal 18 4.58 16 4.24 169 6.19 774 = 0.22
Mammals
Bank Vole Myodes glareolus 4 1.02 2 O53 36 e525 = S883 0.05
Common Shrew Sorex araneus 2 O51 2 O53 18 O66, 7 -O6l),, O02
Field Vole Microtus agrestis 13539494 35 638) 18:04% 1904056975. 5015.5) 85:10
Wood Mouse
Apodemus sylvaticus 2 0.51 2 0.53 43 1580 107 7 0:05
Unidentified Microtus sp. 15 5 Oe 6 1.597) 168 Gilde 29567-20385
Unidentified rodent 17 4.33 8 D2, y 200 7.33 ° 40.87 Is)
Mammals subtotal W544 55 8S) 325.54 12569 1867/8 50895-8719
Reptiles
Common Lizard
Zootoca vivapara 24 6.11 23 610n0-.158 506, 168.12 1.92
Reptiles subtotal 24 6.1] DE CHOe 158 HOS C815 SY
Insects
Abax parallelepipedus 2 © 2 O55s- 014 OO] (O27. OO]
Apidae spp. 21 5.34 SP 8.49 13.44 0.49 47.99 ESS
Carabidae spp. 13 3.51 Ib) SOS" SIS OAS S62." 058
Coleoptera spp. AZ \0:69 682 18:04" 1 13:6 OSORISS:OSi BS:59
Common Earwig Forticula auricularia 9 2.29 16 4240.96. 0.04 . 9.80-:0.28
Devil's Coach Horse Beetle Staphylinus olens 16 4.07 24 6.37 3.84 O14 26.49 075
Dor Beetle Geotrupes stercorarius 7 1.78 7 1.86 2.8 AHO: O49) O10
Lepidoptera spp. 14 5.56 DY HS) LE 0.52) 26:64, -0.75
Pine Weevil Hylobius abietis 1S SZ 2| Seo ESS) OOS? Zl -- OS!
Pterostichus niger S 0.76 3 OS OA OO 2 OT C1Cr
Scarabaeidae spp. 3 0.76 5 O30” OLS C105) 0165" 0.02
Silpha atrata 1 @25 1 OZ = OCT << Os0ll OLOW/ << OO)
Silphidae sp. 2 0.51 2 OSS Ox6 0.01 0.27 0.01
Staphylinidae spp. A 102 A hOGA OG4 0.02) 110" 10.05
Violet Ground Beetle Carabus violaceus 1 0125 1 O27 20:25 OOl== O:07- O10]
Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera 2 ODS! 2 OSS OS OOl . O27 -— OO
White-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus locorum | 0.25 2 0.53 0.84 0.03 ©14°<001
Unidentified insects 20 5.09 20 5.8) 2.0 OCT LSr 2 On07/
Insects subtotal 76 -4478° 250 6631 (53:81 LO SIRS = 1O%7
Plant remains* 26 13S
TOTAL 377 2729.8 3543.6
*Numbers of plant remains are not included in totals.
Insects were the most numerous prey items and found in 103 (50%) of the pellets dissected. One
hundred and seventy-five pellets contained portions of small mammals, which made up the bulk of
the diet measured by both biomass and IRI (86.78% and 87.19%, respectively). Field Vole accounted
for 77.3% of all mammals taken by the shrike. Small birds and Common Lizards were less significant
vertebrate contributors to the shrike’s diet by biomass (6.19% and 5.06%, respectively) and less so
still by both percentage of total number of prey items (4.24% and 6.10%, respectively). Beetles were
5SrS5(2013) Scottish Birds: 206-217 | 211
of a Great Grey Shrike within a winter home range in Dumfries and Galloway
by far the most preyed-upon insects accounting for 60.4% taken. Even though insect prey items were
very small (weighing less than one gram), collectively, they had a high IRI value owing to the large
number taken and were second only to small mammals in order of relative importance.
Seasonal changes to the pattern of observed prey captures were evident; the shrike took more
insects and Common Lizards towards the end of its stay (Figure 3).
60, ——= Birds .
50+ Se ietiee tae Reptiles
om [Sects |
E 40 —— — Mean daytime temperature 3 |
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January February =
Figure 3. Seasonal composition of the number of prey ttems by taxa Class consumed by the Great Grey Shrike in
relation to duration of stay, Forest of Ae, Dumfries & Galloway, 7 January to 26 March 2012.
212
Discussion :
Few studies have been undertaken on the diet and ecology of wintering Great Grey Shrikes in
Scotland (Hewson 1970, Halliday 1970, Love et al. 1971, Tulloch 1970, Watson 1962). Results of
subsidiary fieldwork conducted separately by M. Marquiss and A. Village during the mid- to late
1970s in different areas of Dumfries & Galloway were included in a paper by Henderson (2012).
On 12 April 2010, a Great Grey Shrike was observed nearby (pers. obs., Irving 2011). During 2011,
a Great Grey Shrike was recorded within the present study area in March (pers. obs.) and nearby
in March and April (pers. obs., Irving 2012). The Great Grey Shrike observed during the study may
have been a ‘returning individual’? Radtke (1956) found that some Great Grey Shrikes had an
adherence to specific winter quarters. The study area may be ‘optimal shrike habitat. There
were/are several mixed-aged coupes with large areas of young coniferous restock and clear fell
together with many perches for hunting. These were purposefully left during felling to provide
perches for hunting raptors in order to reduce vole damage to young trees.
Great Grey Shrikes exhibit strong territoriality, and hold exclusive winter ranges of varying sizes
(Lefranc €& Worfolk 1997). Range sizes wax and wane in varying dimensions according to food
supply (Gorbon 2000). The present study range size is intermediate between smaller British and
central European territories (Robson 1954, Blume 1957, Mester 1965, Hewson 1970, Sch6én 1994,
Nikolov et al. 2004) compared to the larger ones in Northern Europe and North America (Olsson
1984b, Atkinson 1993, Karlsson 2001). It is not unusual for large winter ranges to be divided into
smaller hunting and feeding sites. In such hunting areas, the presence of trees/bushes of 3-8 m
in height is very important (Sch6n 1995). Gorbon (2000) found that winter ranges of 69-82 ha
06-217 33:3 (2013)
Papers
were divided into 4-6 small hunting and feeding sites. During the present study, the shrike
regularly utilized six different smaller areas. Times spent by the shrike in these areas, which
comprised 25.8% of total range size, amounted to 50.5% of daytime activity during the shrikes’
80-day stay. Atkinson (1993) found that over one half of the activity of each shrike was confined
to core areas that made up 23.1% of the overall mean range size.
Wind speed had a strong influence on the selection of habitat. Strong winds forced the shrike to
hunt in more sheltered habitats i.e. low-lying clear fell areas, rather than on the more exposed
areas of restock. The shrike avoided the clear fell areas after 15 February, probably as the
remaining stumps that had been extensively used by the shrike for hunting, were cut down.
During the last days of its stay (22-26 March, inclusive) the shrike exclusively used the core area
and the larger of two deciduous plantations.
Great Grey Shrikes are almost exclusively ‘sit-and-wait’ predators (Lefranc €& Worfolk 1997).
Favoured perch type and heights found during the study were dead spruce boles (standing stems)
between 9.1-15.8 m. These were found in the central range and constituted 35.4% of total sit-and-
wait times. Deciduous trees were used more than expected (10.6%), considering the much greater
abundance of conifers available. Uprooted Sitka Spruce stumps were the most common type used
for butchering posts (82.5%) but their use as hunting perches was much less frequent (5.7%). A mere
4.6% of all recorded sit-and-wait times were of a minute or less. Periods over 10 minutes accounted
for 33.9% with periods over 30 minutes accounting for 3%. The cumulative sit-and-wait time found
in this study was similar to the eight minutes and 36 seconds that Olsson (1984c) found during
studies in Sweden (range was six minutes 24 seconds to 11 minutes 54 seconds).
AS is
Plate 180. Common Lizard impaled by Great Grey Shrike on a windsnap branch immediately after having removed
and consumed the tail, Forest of Ae, Dumfries & Galloway, March 2012. © Brian D. Henderson
213
33:3 (2013)
214
wn a winter nome range in VumMirles and Gallowa\
Observed prey captures showed seasonal differences both in type and numbers of prey caught. Voles
dominated prey species type taken during the early months of the study (January to early February),
whereas Common Lizards and beetles dominated the latter part of the study (late February to March).
These results are similar to other studies from temperate Europe (Mester 1965, Gronlund et al. 1970,
Haensel € Heuer 1970, Straka 1991, Wagner 1994, Hromada & Kristin 1996). Common Lizards were
rarely available during January and February due to weather. More successful prey captures were
noted in areas of restock compared to areas of clear fell, especially areas of recent clear fell.
Perch distance to prey capture was highly variable; distances of 50-75 m were common, longest
distance was c.275 m but such distances covered by shrikes are extremely rare. Olsson (1984c)
observed shrikes spotting voles at distances of 250 and 260 m. Time spent on the ground with
rodent prey (killing time) was minimal and brief, usually between 10-20 seconds, with longer
periods up to 48 seconds. Olsson (1984c) stated that the killing of a Field Vole required about one
minute. Post-killing feeding pattern was consistent with type of prey caught. Niethammer (1937)
and Ivanchev (1998) found killing of prey by blows with beak, no mammalian prey were seen
being dispatched in this manner in the study. Olsson (1986) also found that the Great Grey Shrike
rarely ate all of the mammalian prey. Similar neck lacerations were found on cached lizards
during 2011 (Henderson 2012). Pine Weevils, as dietary items of Great Grey Shrikes, appear
undocumented in the literature, though reference is made to the family Curculionidae as dietary
prey items in Swedish and Russian studies (Olsson 1986, Nechaev 1991).
The use of larders or caching of captured prey items are regularly used by Great Grey Shrikes.
Caches are defined as ‘concealed larders’ or ‘conspicuous larders’ (Antazak et al. 2005). In this
study, 3.2% of all captured prey items were cached in concealed larders. Most of the singleton
caches in the study can be defined as ‘conspicuous larders’ as no attempt was made at
concealment. No caches were found around the perimeter of the range during this study
suggesting no need for territorial advertising. ‘Cache scattering’ by the shrike during the study
was widely practiced, 96.8% were ‘scattered caches’ The percentage of impaled prey items (61.3%)
is higher than Olsson (1985) found in Sweden, where 54%, mainly invertebrates, were fixed in
forks (wedged) instead of being impaled. Nikolov et al. (2004) found 91.3% of caches were on
plants and that stored prey items were cached at 1.05 (+0.29) m (range 0.57-1.9 m), of which
31.6% were beetle species (86% Carabidae). During this study, 100% of caches were on plants and
the mean cached height was 54.1% higher.
Cached prey (impaled or wedged) was different from prey consumed. Bank Voles, Wood Mice,
Common Shrew and insects were not cached, but occurred in the shrike’s diet. The shrike seemed
to avoid mice and this is consistent with previous studies that showed Muridae spp. to be a minor
component in the diet (Haensel & Heuer 1970, Straka 1991, Wagner 1994). Analysis of Kestrel
pellets collected from the study area showed that all contained remains of Wood Mice (B.
Henderson, unpublished data). Common Lizards were more often cached than consumed, 61.5%
had no tails or tail-tips. No tails of Common Lizards were seen being lost during capture. Antezak
et al. (2005) found 45% of cached prey uneaten in winter, during this study the figure was 22%.
Occasionally prey items, such as Common Lizards, were cached intact without any sign of them
having been consumed. The relatively low numbers of food remains found during this study might
be part explained by ‘secondary predation’ by nocturnal predators/scavengers, especially of
remains found discarded on the ground.
Many studies have been carried out on the food of Great Grey Shrikes from precise pellet analysis,
which, in this species, is considered a reliable qualitative and quantitative measure of small
mammals eaten (Cade 1967, Olsson 1986, Hernandez 1999). Detailed examination of the pellets
showed the prey remains, especially the crania, to be fragmentary and the skeletal material
incomplete. This suggested that only a portion of each prey item was being eaten, at least at any
217 33:3 (2013)
[Ry ~~, oo -
Papers
f
Dumfries & Galloway, January 2012. © Brian D. Henderson
one time, or that many of the bones were being destroyed in the shrike’s stomach as found by
Glue (1968). The mean pellet dimensions and weights from this study were similar to those
recorded in other parts of the Great Grey Shrike range (Hewson 1970, Huhtal 1977, Bocca 1999,
Kynsh et al. 1991, Nikolov et al. 2004).
In this study, vertebrate prey items accounted for 33.7% of all prey items whilst invertebrates
comprised 66.3%. Nikolov et al. (2004) found the ratio of vertebrates to invertebrates was 1:9 (by
numbers). A comparison between studies in Northern and Central Europe revealed a higher
vertebrate prey range in the north (Karlsson 2002). A study in North America (43°30’N) showed
that vertebrates comprised 36.1% of the winter diet of. this species (Atkinson & Cade 1993).
Haensel & Heuer (1970, 1974), studying Great Grey Shrike pellets in north-eastern Germany, found
few vertebrates (7.3%) in its food composition during winter.
In conclusion, range size was intermediate between that of the range sizes of northern and central
European wintering populations. Invertebrates, mainly beetles, were numerically the most
important prey item of the Great Grey Shrike during this study whilst Field Vole was the optimal
prey to be handled and killed by the shrike. Predation success was higher on invertebrates than
on vertebrates. Vertebrates other than Field Voles and Common Lizards consumed by the shrike
acted as supplementary food, as their contribution to the diet composition was low. This study
showed that, as with other studies in different parts of Europe and North America, Field Voles
together with insects were the main dietary choices in a winter home range with a mild climate.
33:3 (2013) 206-217
Plate 181. Field Vole wedged by Great Grey Shrike between root forks of an uprooted spruce stump, Forest of Ae,
25
216
ind diet of a Great Grey Shrike within a winter home range in Dumfries and Galloway
Acknowledgements
Mick Marquiss and Geoff Shaw are thanked for their assistance with pellet analysis and
subsequent identification of prey items. David Glue, Richard Lyszkowski, Robert Prys-Jones and
Andy Riches are thanked for advice and correspondences regarding entomology and mammalian
identification and for helping in other ways. Dr. Jevgeni Shergalin translated and provided
documents by various Russian authors. Warren Photographic Ltd. is kindly thanked for allowing
reproductive use of image WP26630. Tony Lightley (FCS) assisted with mapping and provided
measurements and planting details of the main study area. Forestry Commission Scotland and
Treetop Forestry Limited are thanked for allowing access into the study area. Adrian Smith assisted
with GPS mapping of the main hunting perches. Helen Wakely (volunteer at Waterston House)
kindly photocopied requested documents held at the George Waterston Library. Duncan Irving and
Richard Mearns commented on earlier drafts.
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of the Great Grey Shrike in the forest-steppe landscapes of Sumy region. Materials of the 10th
All-Union Ornithological Conference, Minsk. Nauka i tekhnika. Press: 281-282 [in Russian].
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Fagelvarld 43: 199-210 [in Swedish, detailed English summary].
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methods. Var Fagelvdrld 43: 405-14 [in Swedish, detailed English summary].
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Var Fagelvdrld 44: 269-283 [in Swedish, detailed English summary].
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Var Fdgelvirld 45: 19-31 [in Swedish, detailed English summary].
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und -Veradnderungen, Kleinstrukturen und Bewirtschaftung. Okologie der Végel 16: 253-495.
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(Lanius excubitor) in South Western Germany. Proceedings of the Western Foundation of
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in eastern Austria. Okologie der Végel 13: 213-226 [in German].
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Brian D. Henderson ¢ Over SEEING Lodge, Courance, By Lockerbie DG11 ITS.
Ema il: b.c Ci
Revised ms accepted May 2013
33:3 (2013) Scottish Birds: 206-217 | 217
218
Plate 182.
Male Merlin at Ring Ouzel nest, Dumfriesshire, June 2007. © Edmund Fellowes 3
The late D.N. Weir
Nesting Merlins on Speyside in 1964-84 preferred woods to moors and the edge of native pine to
other woods. Meadow Pipits formed 79% of prey and were 3.5 times commoner at semi-natural
woods edge than on open moors. There were 35 Merlin territories in 890 km?. Some were
abandoned after afforestation and others probably were new. Ecological overlap was mainly with
Sparrowhawks in moorland plantations, which took many pipits.
Introduction
Merlins Falco columbarius were studied incidentally during 1964-84 fieldwork in Badenoch &
Strathspey District, Highland. Ecological preferences are given for part of Britain where semi-
natural habitats were unusually extensive and varied and upland conifer forestry was widespread
for 350 years. Comparisons are made with Sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus, which colonize
afforested Merlin habitat. Numbers of both species fell and then rose during the study, with levels
of pesticides (cf. Newton 1979).
33:3 (2013)
Study area
The study area was the River Spey catchment upstream of the Rivers Nethy and Dulnain (Figure
1). It covered 890 km? from the lowest point at 200 m a.s.l. to 550 m, which was the upper limit
for nesting Merlins and about the original treeline (Steven & Carlisle 1959). Woods in the north-
east part included the largest Scottish group of native Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris and birch Betula
spp. The south-west part lacked native pine, most birch woods were smaller and plantations more
recent. There was continual woodland change; pines were felled and planted on Speyside on a
larger scale and over a longer period than anywhere else in Britain (Calder & Gill 1988).
In 1984, about 60% of ground below 550 m was open moor or mountain. The rest was a mixture
of farmland, plantations, semi-natural woods and open areas) and human settlement and infra-
structure. Native pine was about 5% and other woods, mainly plantations, about 22%.
Methods
Territories and occupation criteria here follow Newton et al. (1977, 1978). Inventories for Merlin
and Sparrowhawk compiled in 1964 were added to by searches and reports from many residents
and visitors. Over 95% of potential nesting habitat of both species was searched in at least four
of the 21 years and most known territories were checked in 6-10 years. The emphasis was more
on checking occupation than on finding nests.
Tree canopy cover at nests was determined after James & Shugart (1970). The extent of major
habitats was measured in 3 x 3 km blocks centred on nesting territories, using 1:25,000 O.S. maps
and knowledge of the area. Measurements of this, of nearest neighbour spacing, and elevation of
territory centres, were mainly for territories where two or more nests or fledged broods were found.
Altitude (m)
[0-250
| 250 - 550
| 550 - 1,000
1,000+
Figure 1. The 1964-84 Speyside Merlin study area of 890 km2 bounded by the 550 m elevation limit of nesting
and in the north-east by the Rivers Nethy and Dulnain. The Speyside Group of native pinewoods is in the north-
east part of the area.
33:3 (2013) ae
Ecological preferences of Speyside Merlins and relationship with Sparrowhawks
Prey at nest areas of both species was determined after Newton et al. (1984) and Newton &t
Marquiss (1984). When prey remains were collected at a Merlin nest, they also were, if possible,
at the nearest Sparrowhawk nest. Potential moorland prey species were counted in 1981 along line
transects, after Emlen (1971). Other workers counted forest birds in the study area (Newton &€ Moss
1977). Results of statistical tests are in Appendix A, indicated by superscript numbers in the text.
Results
Numbers of nesting territories
A total of 35 Merlin territories was known by 1984, of which 33 (94%) were occupied by at least
one pair in 1964-84 and nests or newly fledged young were found in 29 (83%). All nests in a
territory were within 0.8 km of a notional centre. On this basis, two pairs of territories overlapped,
both of one pair were found occupied in the same year once and both of the other twice. Positions
of some recent nests in 13 territories were within 200 m of nests 15-75 years earlier; these were
all the territories where this could be examined. Only one previously unknown territory was found
in the last four years of the study.
A total of 53 Sparrowhawk territories was known by 1984. Regular spacing applied to maps and
analysis of the spacing sample (below) suggested that 85-90% of all were found. Numbers
increased with afforestation by at least five (10%) during the study. Most territory positions
changed with planting, growth and felling of even-aged conifers. This complicated the cumulative
inventory, but regular spacing tended to maintain local densities. The most stable positions were
in mixed-age native pine. Some nests during the study in two territories were within 200 m of
the 1937-39 sites (late J. Duncan, pers. comm.).
- italy a: <a ; 3 RS
“ - Ve . ae NS ig
» - Si <a me
ihe oS : at ~ ©
Plate 183. Male Sparrowhawk at plucking post, Dumfriesshire, June 2012. © Edmund Fellowes
QT OT OY py See (ea
220 Scottisn Birds:
33:3 (2013)
Territory occupation
Average occupation of 14 Merlin territories was 56% in 1964-68, but most of these were well known
because they were often occupied. Incomplete checks of an increasing sample suggested fewest
Merlins about 1974 and a marked increase from 1979. Twenty-two territories were occupied at least
once in 1979-83; these held 12 pairs (54%) in 1984 and three pairs were found in the other 13 then,
nine of which probably had been unoccupied for 7-25 years. These 15 pairs probably were about
the 1984 total. One pair in 1984 very probably was in a new territory. One ‘abandoned’ territory was
re-occupied, after 22 years, in 1986 (late Lt.-Col. J.P. Grant, pers. comm.).
Occupation of 14 Sparrowhawk territories averaged 75% in 1964-68 and fell to 47% in 1971-73.
It was 75% for a different 11 in 1981-84.
Territory spacing and elevation
Nearest neighbour spacing of Merlin territory centres was about twice that of Sparrowhawks and
far less regular (Figure 2). Sparrowhawk spacing in the area was already known to be regular
(Newton et al. 1977). Interspecific spacing (not shown) was variable; the minimum was about 500
m, in three cases.
5) a) 5) b)
0 1 rau “2 3 4 3 4
Spacing (km) Spacing (km)
Figure 2. Nearest neighbour spacing of Speyside (a) Merlin and (b) Sparrowhawk territories, after Newton et a/. (1978).
Given for territories where two or more nests/broods were found in that and in the nearest neighbour. Four Sparrowhawk
territories were at 1.9—2.2 times the modal 1.8 km; intervening territories may have been missed.
Mean (km) S.e. n
Merlin, native and planted pine 5.7/8 7 0.58 10
Merlin, isolated woods and open moor 4.95 0.45 12
Merlin, all 4.42 0.38 DD.
Sparrowhawk, native pine 2.86 0.29 8
Sparrowhawk, moorland plantation 2.06 0.13 8
Sparrowhawk, all 2.29 0.12 36
The spread of elevation of territory centres was far wider for Merlin than for Sparrowhawk (Figure
3). Limited inter-specific overlap was further reduced by recent afforestation; the three Merlin
territories below 300 m, and others below 400 m, were abandoned (below). Merlin territory distri-
bution was skewed, with 20 (57%) at 350-430 m. Where topography was suitable, the economic
limit of afforestation was 480-500 m (Towers & Thompson 1988).
In adjoining upland areas to the west and the north-east, most of 23 Merlin territories were at
200-500 m, with three at 500-600 m near unusual, base-rich mountain grassland. A very few
Sparrowhawks in moorland plantations of these areas nested up to 400-450 m.
Dispersion and large congeners
No Merlins were found nesting within 1 km of Peregrines F. peregrinus and some in eight
territories (23%) moved up to 1.5 km when Peregrines changed nest cliffs between years, or within
33:3 (2013) Scottish Birds: 218-228 | 221
Figure 3. Elevation of Speyside Merlin and Sparrowhawk territory
Altitude (m)
al preferences of Speyside Merlins and relationship with Sparrowhawks
Number of territories years when their eggs were taken. This
DA S12 0) 2) 155 a S86 accounted tor somenlarseuWieninntcnmtonies:
There were many cliffs, but Merlins nested on
them in only three territories (9%). These
were not Peregrine nest cliffs, but a Peregrine
killed a juvenile Merlin at one (J. Christie,
pers. comm.). Merlins in three cases did not
@ Merlin move when pairs of Goshawks A .gentilis
were within 0.7-1.5 km.
500
Sparrowhawk
The very few pairs of Goshawks may have
reduced occupation” of the’ nearest
Sparrowhawk territories; a Goshawk killed a
hen Sparrowhawk nesting nearby. Peregrines
did not seem to affect Sparrowhawk
dispersion.
Nesting habitat and sites
Merlins significantly preferred woodland
edge to moors, and native pine over other
woods!” (Table 1). Other woods were used
only in the south-west, where there was no
native pine. They were old Scots Pine
plantations or birchwoods’ with no
continuous stand of trees more than 100 m
wide. There was no native pinewood in the
adjoining upland areas; 18 of 23 territories
(78%) were in open moor, significantly more
200/20) than 11 of 35 (31%) in the study area’, if the
adjoining areas sample was representative.
centres. Twelve centres for Merlin are estimated from limited
data; 22 are from at least two nests in each. Five Sparrowhawk Tree nests of Merlins were all in old
centres are omitted because forestry resulted in marked Carrion/Hooded Crow Corvus corone/cornix
elevation change during the study. Average elevation was about nests, in Scots Pine or Birch, 3-15 m above
405 m for Merlin and about 280 m for Sparrowhawk. ground. Canopy cover within 10 m was most
222
often woodland (10-25% cover), and closed
forest (>60%) was not recorded. All ground nests were in Heather Calluna vulgaris , usually long
and on north- or east-facing slopes; snow-lie made these the hardest to burn in spring. Long Heather
was widespread in most woodland edge territories, where burning was risky.
Merlins in at least six woodland edge territories used both tree and ground sites, the latter
sometimes when tree nests were available. This was noted in one of these territories in the 1930s
too (late D. Nethersole-Thompson, pers. comm.). All the birch woods used were over-grazed,
senescent and shrinking. Useable old crow nests tended to be scarce in birch wood because
gamekeepers readily found and destroyed them.
Sparrowhawk nesting habitat and sites are shown (Table 2). They used larger, denser and younger
plantations than Merlins did and site canopy cover was closed forest or open forest (25-60%
cover). Woods in which both species nested were almost wholly at native pine-moor edge.
Surrounding habitat
Extents of main habitats in 3 x 3 km blocks surrounding territories broadly represent hunting
218-22: 33:3 (2013)
Table 1. Types of nesting habitats and nest sites in Speyside Merlin territories, in 1964-84. One to five nests
were found or reported in each of 25 territories. If there was more than type of site in a territory, each was given
equal weight.
Habitat type Number of Nest site type, number of territories
territories Tree Ground Cliff Unknown
Open moor 1] ; 5D 0.5 5
Birch-moor edge 5) $5 | 0.5
Native pine-moor edge 9 4 4 1 O
Plantation-moor edge 8 4 | = 3
Native pine-valley floor 2 - - - 2
Total 35 11.5 ES 2 10
Table 2. Types of nesting habitats and nest sites in Speyside Sparrowhawk territories, in 1964-84. Two or more
nests were found in each of 41 territories. If there was more than one type of site in a territory, each was given
equal weight.
Habitat type Number of Nest site type, number of territories
territories Scots Pine spruces Lodgepole larches birches Other
Birchwood-moor edge 2 0 0 O 0 2 0
Native pine-moor edge 8 US 0.5 0 0 0 0
Plantation-moor edge 13 Y), 3 1 1 0) 1
Plantation-farm edge 12 10.5 16 O 0 0 0
Native pine-farm edge 5 3 5 Or 0:5 0 0)
Mixed wood-farm edge 1 0) @) O O @) 1
Total 41 28 6.5 1 1.5 2 2
Other: one fir, one Alder.
habitat and are summarized (Table 3). Some Merlin territories of three types were abandoned, but
none of two others were. This was significantly related to extents of moorland and of young
plantations in the 9 km? surroundings*?. Abandonment and afforestation were clearly related in
these cases. Not enough was known about three other abandoned territories to examine them in
this way. There was significantly more moorland in the surroundings of Merlin than of
Sparrowhawk territories at native pine-moor edge®. This did not apply between territories of both
at plantation-moor edge. :
Prey taken and available
Merlins mainly ate Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis (Table 4). They were 62% of prey by estimated
weight. Only four other birds each were 3% by number, estimated weight, or both. Woodland/edge
birds formed 6% of prey by number; Merlins took them significantly more often in spring than later’.
Merlins in native pinewood took significantly more Chaffinches Fringilla coelebs than others did®.
About 95% of birds taken weighed 5-40 g and 1% were more than 120 g. Nestlings and juveniles
were not recorded as prey in May, but together formed 35% in June and 60% in July-August.
Sparrowhawks mainly took a wide range of woodland/edge birds (Table 5). Chaffinch, pipits,
thrushes and Robin Erithacus rubecula were most important by number, and Woodpigeon
Columba palumbus, Chaffinch, thrushes and pipits by estimated weight; much pigeon biomass
probably was wasted (cf. Newton €& Marquiss 1984). Plantation-moor Sparrowhawks took signif-
icantly more open country passerines than others did?. About 70% of birds taken weighed
5-40 g and 10% more than 120 g. Nestlings and juveniles together formed 11% of prey in May,
54% in June and 57% in July-August. These relatively small prey samples for both raptors
probably were reliable; composition and seasonal change were like those in much larger samples
elsewhere in upland Britain (cf. Newton & Marquiss 1982, Newton et al. 1984).
33:3 (2013) sttish f 218-228 | 223
224
Ices of Speyside Merlins and relationship with Sparrowhawks
The commonest birds in study area woods were Chaffinch, Coal Tit Parus ater, Goldcrest Regulus
regulus, Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, and Wren Troglodytes troglodytes (Newton & Moss
1977). Woodpigeon, Chaffinch and thrushes were most important by biomass. Density was lowest in
plantations, higher in native pine and highest in birch. Merlins mainly took the commonest
woodland bird. Sparrowhawks took birds more than about 15 g roughly in proportion to their
biomass; four of the five commonest birds were less than 15 g and together formed only 7% of prey.
Transect counts of birds in 1984 were along 49 km x 100 m of open moor and in six small woods
there, representing edge (Table 6). Most were within 3 km of Merlins and Sparrowhawks. The main
species was the Meadow Pipit; numbers/10 ha were 5.4 on moors, compared with 19 at woodland
edge. Merlins selected open country passerines, but not individual species!®".
Table 3. Approximate 1984 extents of main habitats in 3 x 3 km blocks centred on Speyside Merlin and
Sparrowhawk territories. The Merlin sample is 25 territories where nests were found, plus two abandoned valley
floor territories. The Sparrowhawk sample is 37 where nests were found and where position changes due to
forestry least altered the proportions of different habitats in the surroundings. Three Merlin samples show total
numbers minus territories abandoned.
Territory types Average extent of main habitats, as percent of total area
(and sample) Moor, All native Plantations Farmland,
Merlin mountain woods wetland
Open moor (6) 90 5 <5 <5
Birch-moor edge (5) 90 <5 <5 <5
Native pine-moor edge — (9-1) 70 25 5) <5
Plantation-moor edge (5-2) 55 10 30 5
Native pine-valley floor (2-2) 30 30 30 10
Sparrowhawk
Birch-moor edge (2) 30 15 10 45
Plantation- edge moor (11) 65 10 10 10
Native pine-moor edge (7) 45 D5 20 5
Plantation-farm edge (12) 20 20 30 30
Native pine-farm edge (5) 20 40 20 20
Table 4. Prey found at nest areas, in late March to early August, in 14 Speyside Merlin territories, 1964-84.
Prey species ca. 1% Number of items (and percent)
or more of identified birds Five open Five birch-moor or Four native 14 total
moor territories — plantation-moor pine-moor
Red Grouse (nestling) 1 1 6 (3) 8 (1)
Dunlin (adult) 1 2 2 5) (i)
Skylark (adult, juvenile, nestling) 3Q) 14 (5) 5G) 22)6)
Wheatear (adult, juvenile, nestling) 10 (5) 20 (7) IB@ 43 (6)
Meadow Pipit* (adult, juvenile, nestling) 157 (84) 228 (78) 145 (78) 530 (79)
Pied Wagtail (adult, juvenile) 35) 6 @)) O 9 (1)
Chaffinch (adult, juvenile) 8 (4) BG) 9 (5) 20 @)
Unidentified small birds W, 3 S 13
Voles and Pygmy Shrew | 4 | 6
Total invertebrates 195 301 191 687
Other birds taken: Oystercatcher (nestling), Golder Plover (adult, nestling), Snipe (adult, juvenile), Common
Sandpiper, Swallow, Sand Martin, Wren, Coal Tit (juvenile), Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Ring Ouzel (juvenile),
Whinchat, Bluethroat, Willow Warbler, Tree Pipit (juvenile), Starling Guvenile), Twite, Siskin (adult, juvenile),
Bullfinch and Reed Bunting. Moths, beetles and dragonflies were commonly taken in late summer, but rarely
brought to nest areas. * 102 of 103 pipits identified were Meadow Pipits
218-228 33:3 (2013)
Table 5. Prey found at nest areas, in late March to early August, in 27 Speyside Sparrowhawk territories, 1964-84.
Prey species c. 1% or
more of identified items Number of items (and percent)
Eight Six Five Eight
(passerines were mainly plantation-moor native native plantation
of all three age classes) territories = pine-moor _ pine-farm -farm 27 total
Woodcock (adult, juvenile, nestling) 2 (1) eG) 2) 21) TAG)
Woodpigeon (adult, juvenile, nestling) 4 (2) 2 (2) 5 (4) 6 (3) WG)
Skylark 10 (4) 0 1() 3 (2) 14 (2)
Great Tit 1 (4) 3 (2) 76) 5 (3) 26 (4)
Blue Tit 6 (2) O DAD) 2x) 10 (1)
Coal Tit 8 (3) 3 (1) 1Q) 3 (2) 15 (2)
Wren 1 46) 32) 52) 11 Q)
Mistle Thrush 10 (4) 0 4 (3) 7 (4) DS)
Song Thrush 15 ©) a) 11 (8) 18 (10) 50 (7)
Blackbird 8 (3) 1 11 (8) 6 (3) 26 (4)
Wheatear 52) D2) 5 @) B52) 13,2)
Redstart O 7 (6) 4 (3) 1 12 (2)
Robin 23 (9) 6 (5) 5 (4) 10 (5) AA (6)
Willow Warbler Sl) Ea) 5) (4) 22) 13-@)
pipits* 54 (21) 16 (13) 10 (7) 19 (10) 99 (14)
Pied Waetail 4 (2) O 32) 1 8 (1)
Starling 5/2) iG) 4 (3) 4 (2) 14 2)
Siskin 6 (2) 5 (4) 3 (2) 6 (3) 20 (3)
Bullfinch D- Gi) 25) 2) 4 (2) 1 @)
Chaffinch AO (16) A2 (35) 36 (26) 55 (28) 171 (24)
Unidentified small birds 26 v7, 18 20 71
Voles 2 O O 6 8
Rabbit (juvenile) 5 1 0 D2 6
Total vertebrates 283 129 158 215 786
Other birds taken: Teal, chicken nestling, Red Grouse (adult, nestling), Capercaillie (nestling), Oystercatcher
(nestling), Lapwing (adult, juvenile, nestling), Greenshank, Redshank, Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed
Gull, Common Gull, racing pigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Cuckoo, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin,
Jackdaw, Crested Tit, Treecreeper, Dipper, Redwing, Ring Ouzel, Whinchat, Sedge Warbler, Goldcrest, Spotted
Flycatcher, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Waxwing, Greenfinch, Redpoll, Scottish Crossbill, and one House Sparrow
* species of only 20 pipits was recorded. Five (25%) were Tree Pipits, specifically recorded because they were
unusual prey. The real proportion of Meadow Pipits probably was very high.
Table 6. Single line-transect counts of adult birds along 49 km x 100 m (4.9 km?) of Speyside moorland, and
in six small moorland woods, May-June 1984. Moorland densities are adjusted for species differences in
detectability (Emlen 1971). Woodland densities are unadjusted, but omit post-breeding flocks of Scottish
Crossbills, the most abundant bird. The method should give 30-60% of Meadow Pipits and approximate
woodland bird totals (Ralph & Scott 1981). Birds are classed as open country (oc) or woodland/edge (we).
Category Species in moorland
Meadow Willow Wheatear Chaffinch Other Non-
Pipit Warbler Skylark Whinchat passerine passerine Total
oc we Oc Oc we we oc we oc we
All birds counted 267 33 23 14 9 7 2278 $4 5 412
Adjusted birds/10 ha 5.4 1.6 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 ON OME OD traces. 8:0
(and percent) (ey) Or @) (1) (1) (1) Cor ©) @) deo)
Category Woodland type and extent
Mature Mature Birch/mature Mature Tall shrub _ Total/
planted native pine planted birch willow overall
pine2ha 2,3ha pinelOha_ 10ha 0.5 ha 27.5 ha
Woodland-edge birds/10 ha 40 64 22 13 60 28
Meadow Pipit/10 ha 20 8 D2 15 160 1S
Other open country birds/10 ha O 4 2 0 O 2
All birds/10 ha 60 76 46 28 220 49
25 -2\(2015) 218-228 | 225
226
Plate 184. Male Merlin with Meadow Pipit
Side Merllns GNd rerquonsniD WAT SODAITrTOWNAGWKS
ie
: | an ed
prey, Dumfriesshire, July 2006. © Edmund Fellowes
Discussion
Merlins tend to nest on moors in Britain, but at forest edge elsewhere (Bibby & Nattrass 1986).
The present study shows that, where it is available, semi-natural upland wood edge is just as
strongly preferred in Britain; the upper limit of even moorland nests on Speyside was about the
original tree line.
Tree nests were more successful than ground nests in Northumbria, due to less predation, but were
not more successful in Wales (Newton et al. 1986, Bibby 1986). Tree nests were not clearly
preferred at Speyside woodland edge, but prey was commonest there. Merlins in an Alaskan area
nested on the ground, almost all at the upper edge of Paper Birch B. papyrifera woods (Petersen
et al. 1990). These provided no tree sites and relatively little prey, but were only on lower, south-
facing slopes. Merlins there were at the warmest forest edge. The probable advantages of
woodland edge nesting thus vary between regions and need not include tree nests.
There was concern that many British Merlin territories were abandoned after afforestation (Bibby
et Nattrass 1986). This needs to be qualified as the age structure of older planted forest becomes
diverse with time, and some Merlins return (for sources, see Acknowledgments). On Speyside,
major felling of pines began about 1630, and planting about 1760, and the scale is not widely
appreciated; Seafield Estates planted more of the Spey catchment in half of the 19th century than
the Forestry Commission did in two-thirds of the 20th (Calder & Gill 1988). The distinction
between ‘native pine’ and many older plantations became largely a convenient shorthand for
degree of structural diversity (cf. Steven & Carlisle 1959, Calder & Gill 1988). The woodland edge
which Merlins preferred was largely a product of 350 years of upland conifer forestry.
33:3 (2013)
The Sparrowhawks which colonized new plantations took most pipits; those at the older native
pine-moor edge took few. However, afforested Merlin territories were abandoned before the trees
were large enough for Sparrowhawks to nest there (DNW, unpublished). Thus there was
competition, but it was not shown to affect numbers of Merlins.
Numbers of Peregrines evidently affected those of Merlins in Northumbria and Wales, but not on
Speyside (cf. Bibby 1986, Newton et al. 1986). The decline and recovery of the Peregrine was
relatively slight on Speyside (Ratcliffe 1980). Merlins may have been restricted on Speyside too,
but less obviously, because less variably, than in the other two areas.
The inventory of Merlin territories was cumulative, but some probably were wholly abandoned
and others probably were new; uncertainty was due to marked population change during the
study. How many of 35 territories were suitable in a given year thus was unknown; occupation
by 15 pairs in 1984 was between 43% of 35 and 60% of 25. Methods for the latter rate were the
same as for 46% nationally in 1983-84 (Bibby & Nattrass 1986). The more rigorous rate for
nests/territory in the declining Northumbrian population during 1974-83 was 26% (Newton et al.
1986). Occupation on Speyside in 1984 was relatively high, and probably still was increasing.
Occupation was restricted even in an Alaskan mining area where Merlin spacing was five times
closer than on adjacent wilderness rivers (Weir 1988, Petersen et al. 1990). Of all nine territories
in four years, 55% were occupied by pairs with large young. The rate for pairs in spring probably
was about 75%; four territories were occupied irregularly, one only twice in 10 years. These rates
may be high for Merlins anywhere.
Acknowledgments
I thank landowners and their staffs for access and information, and all those who looked for the
raptors, especially H. Burton. Further help in the field, in discussing Merlin studies, by comments
on drafts, or in all these ways, was provided mainly by Drs. C. Bibby, T. Cade, M. Marquiss and
I. Newton, and by B. Little, E. Meek, N. Picozzi and G. Rebecca. I thank the RSPB for supporting
part of the study, and the Editor and Panel of Scottish Birds for their help.
References
Bibby, C.J. 1986. Merlins in Wales: site occupation and breeding in relation to vegetation. Journal
of Animal Ecology 23: 1-12.
Bibby, C.J. & Nattrass, M. 1986. Breeding status of the Merlin in Britain. British Birds 79: 170-185.
Calder, A.M. & Gill, J.G.S. 1988. Forestry in Speyside: its evolution and production. In: D.
Jenkins (ed.) Land use in the River Spey catchment. pp. 128-133. Centre for Land Use, Aberdeen.
Emlen, J.T. 1971. Population densities of birds derived from transect counts. Auk 88: 323-342.
James, F.C. & Shugart, H.H., Jr. 1970. A quantitative method of habitat description. Audubon
Field Notes 24: 727-736.
Newton, I. 1979. Population Ecology of Raptors. Poyser, Calton.
Newton, I. &t Moss, D. 1977. Breeding birds in Scottish pinewoods. In: R. Bunce & J. Jeffers (eds)
Native Pinewoods of Scotland. pp. 26-34. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Cambridge.
Newton, I., Marquiss, H., Weir, D. & Moss, D. 1977. Spacing of Sparrowhawk nesting territories.
Journal of Animal Ecology 46: 425-441.
Newton, I., Meek, E.R. & Little, B. 1978. Breeding ecology of the Merlin in Northumberland.
British Birds 71: 376-398.
Newton, I. & Marquiss, M. 1982. Food, predation and breeding season in Sparrowhawks. Journal
of Zoology, London 197: 221-240.
Newton, I., Meek, E.R. & Little, B. 1984. Breeding season food of Merlins Falco columbarius in
Northumberland. Bird Study 31: 49-56.
33:3 (2013) irds: 218-228
228
Newton, I., Meek, E.R. & Little, B. 1986. Populations and breeding of Northumberland Merlins.
British Birds 79: 155-170.
Petersen, M.R., Weir, D.N. & Dick, M.H. 1991. Birds of the Kilbuck and Ahklun Mountain Region,
Alaska. North American Fauna 76: 1-158.
Ralph, C.J. & Scott, J-H. (eds) 1981. Estimating numbers of terrestrial birds. Studies in Avian Biology 6.
Ratcliffe, D.A. 1980. The Peregrine Falcon. Poyser, Calton.
Steven, H.M. & Carlisle, A. 1959. The Native Pinewoods of Scotland. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh.
Towers, W. & Thompson, S. 1988. The potential for further afforestation in the catchment of the
River Spey. In: D. Jenkins (ed) Land use in the River Spey catchment. Centre for Land Use, Aberdeen.
Weir, D. 1988. Impact of prolonged surface mining on numbers of Alaskan predators. In: Proc.
advanced policy workshop, environmental management and impact assessment, n.p. Centre for
Environmental Management & Policy, Aberdeen.
Appendix A
Results of statistical tests, with numbers as superscript in the text. All x? tests of difference from
expectation are with Yates’ correction for continuity.
1. Number of Merlin territories in woods and on moors vs. total areas of woods and moors,
x2 = 18.54, P < 0.001.
2. Number of Merlin territories in native pine and in all other woods vs. areas of both sets of
woods, x2 = 6.88, P < 0.01. 3
3. Number of Merlin territories in woods and on moors, study area vs. two adjoining areas
combined, x? = 10.38, P < 0.01.
4,5. Area of moor in surrounding 9 km? for types of Merlin territory in which some were
abandoned vs. area for types in which none were abandoned, x’ = 8.08, P < 0.01. Area of
plantations in surroundings in the same way, x? = 17.58, P < 0.001.
6. Area of moor in surrounding 9 km? for Merlin territories at native pine-moor edge vs. area
for Sparrowhawk territories there, x? = 6.20, P < 0.02.
7. Number of woodland/edge birds in Merlin prey before laying (March-12 May) vs. numbers
in three subsequent periods (13-31 May, June, July August), y? = 31.95, p < 0.001.
8. Number of Chaffinches in Merlin prey, native pine territories vs. all others, y? = 4.56, P < 0.05.
9. Number of five commonest open country passerines in prey of plantation-moor
Sparrowhawks vs. all other Sparrowhawks, x? = 6.74, P < 0.02.
10. Number of open country passerines and non-passerines in moorland bird counts vs. number
of each group in Merlin prey, yx? = 15.67, P < 0.001.
11. Abundance ranking of open country passerine species in original data for Table 6 vs. ranking
in Merlin prey, R8 = 0.719, P < 0.05, one tailed test.
The late Hon. D.N. Weir (1935-2000; see obituary published in Scottish Birds 21: 121-123). This
paper, in its present form, was forward to the editors by D.J. Bates who accessed Doug Weir's
papers held at the National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh. An earlier draft had been submitted to
Scottish Birds some years ago and revised by the author before his death. This version has also
been peer reviewed.
33:3 (2013)
R.Y. McGowan, Z. Floody & J.M. Collinson
Introduction
Brunnich’s Guillemot Uria lomvia has a circumpolar distribution and breeds in both the high and
low (sub) Arctic, from north-east Canada, south to the Gulf of St Lawrence, east through
Greenland and Iceland, north Norway, to Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya
Zemlya (Nettleship €& Evans 1985). Birds from colonies in Canada and Greenland winter in the
north-west Atlantic, later joined by large numbers from Iceland, Svalbard, Norway and Russia.
Geographic variation is largely clinal and four subspecies are currently recognised, with nominate
lomvia considered (though not formally determined) as the taxon that occurs as a rare vagrant in
Britain (Cramp 1985, Parkin & Knox 2010).
Recently a comprehensive review of all European records (to August 2006) was carried out,
covering 109 sight records and museum specimens; of these, 37 were from Scotland, including
two ‘at sea’ sightings (Van Bemmelen & Wielstra 2008). That study examined spatial and
seasonal distribution by age and sex, potential origins and trends. For the total sample,
however, very few data existed for sex. Male and female Brtinnich’s Guillemots have similar
plumages and an almost complete overlap in biometrics. Furthermore, corpses have tended to
be emaciated, slightly decayed, or scavenged, thus making inspection of gonads very difficult
or impossible for the vast majority of specimens. From the entire European sample, sex was
only recorded for a total of seven males and six females from at least 52 corpses (Van
Bemmelen & Wielstra 2008).
The first record for Briinnich’s Guillemot in Scotland was a female found dead at Craigielaw Point,
Lothian in December 1908 and the most recent accepted record was one at Scousburgh, Mainland,
Shetland in March 2007, making a total of 38 (Forrester et al. 2007, Hudson et al. 2008). Excluding
the two ‘at sea’ records, 26 of the remaining 36 birds were corpses and 18 of these are held as
skins, part specimens, or mounts in Scottish museums or in private collections. Such was the
generally poor condition of the corpses, only six had been sexed by inspection of gonads.
Modern genetic techniques can be used for the determination of sex of preserved bird specimens
by analysing tiny tissue samples, and this procedure may be used to help fill data gaps in
museum series (Bantock et al. 2008, Frahnert in press). The technique has recently been used to
determine or confirm the sex of two historical bird specimens in National Museums Scotland
(NMS) (McGowan 2011, Collinson & McGowan 2012). In this short paper, we report the use of
this technique on Brtinnich’s Guillemot specimens from Scotland. The aim was to determine the
sex of all available specimens, and to publicise the relative ease of the procedure for unsexed
voucher specimens, i.e. specimens that serve as a basis of study and are retained for reference in
a publicly accessible scientific collection.
Methods
A database was compiled of all 18 Scottish specimens held in museums and private collections
(Table 1). A small tissue sample was obtained from the toes of 14 skins and from a wing and
a head of two incomplete specimens. Due to the inaccessibility of toes on the two mounted
specimens, and to maintain their aesthetic appearance, tissue sampling was from a tarsus of
one, and a few plucked breast feathers from the other. The wing length (maximum flattened
33:3 (2013) Scottis ds: 229-232
229
230
chord) of each specimen was also noted (albeit by different recorders). Although six birds had
been sexed at the dates of preparation, these individuals were also sampled to verify that the
sex assigned at dissection corresponded with the sex diagnosed by molecular techniques. DNA
was isolated from tissue samples using the QlAamp DNA Micro Kit (Qiagen), with elution in
80 pl of buffer. Male and female birds are genetically distinguishable: unlike mammals where
males are heterogametic (XY sex chromosomes) and females are homogametic (XX), in birds
the males are homogametic (ZZ) and the females heterogametic (ZW). Although the Z and W
chromosomes contain many of the same genes, they may be of different size. This can be
diagnosed when the genes are isolated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques using
the CHD1M5/P8 primers described by Bantock et al. (2008). Molecular sexing was therefore
performed using these primers for 40 cycles of PCR to amplify fragments of the CHD1 gene
on the Z and W chromosomes, with annealing temperature 54°C, using Bio-X-Act Short
thermostable polymerase (Bioline). For non-passerines, this is expected in most cases to
produce one PCR product from male birds and two from females. These can be visualised as
bands on a 4% agarose gel which separates DNA fragments by size. The sizes of the bands
however vary between species.
Results and discussion
It was found that using the CHD1M5/P8 primers, male Briinnich’s Guillemots yielded a single
band at approximately 240 bp and females yielded two bands at 240 bp and approximately 265
bp. Genetic sexing was successful at the first attempt for 15 birds. Second attempts using repeat
samples for three birds were successful for two; the single nil result was possibly due to degraded
DNA. Results are shown in Table 1. The six control specimens were confirmed as having been
correctly sexed at preparation.
Of the sexed birds, 13 were female, and four were male. This bias towards females was not statis-
tically significant (chi-square test with Yates’ correction x? = 3.76, P>0.05). If the undetermined bird
was actually a female, the bias would have some slight significance (yx? = 4.5, P<0.05). This skewed
ratio contrasts with the six females and seven males from the overall European sample. Although
the authors were personally unable to measure and age all specimens, eight were assessed as adult
on a combination of plumage characters and culmen dimensions; these were three males, four
females and one undetermined (Table 1). All five birds found between March and July were adults,
as were one in October and two in December. By recording area, four were in Shetland, one in
Orkney, one in Highland (Caithness), one in North-east Scotland and one in Argyll.
With such a small sample, detailed comment on the results is largely speculative. One might
hypothesise, for example, that females are more numerous locally around Scotland and/or that
they suffer disproportionate mortality. In most bird species, females are more dispersive, and
departure from natal areas and dispersal through unfamiliar territory exposes them to greater
risk (Donald 2007). From the analysis of European vagrancy records, Van Bemmelen & Wielstra
(2008) speculated that these Briinnich’s Guillemots were strays from normal wintering grounds
and migration routes south of Iceland at approximately the latitude of the Faeroes and along
the Norwegian coast. The extreme limit is around the coastline of continental Europe and only
two records from England were reported in the European review (in Merseyside, 1960, and in
Northumberland, 1977).
Comparative data from casualties from oil-spill incidents in the North Sea and Irish Sea indicate
a male biased sex-ratio for two species of auk. Following the Tricolor spill in 2003, samples of
Common Guillemot Uria aalge were 65% male and Razorbills Alca torda were 62% male
(Camphuysen & Leopold 2004). After the Sea Empress spill in 1996, samples of Common
Guillemot were 68.9% male and Razorbills 69% male (Weir et al. 1997). The male bias in these
samples possibly reflects the fact that the birds were within their normal ranges.
eas 33:3 (2013)
Conclusion
Tissue samples from 18 Brtinnich’s Guillemots collected in Scotland were analysed and 17 were
genetically sexed. Four (23.5%) were male and 13 (76.5%) female. As data on sex of many vagrants
tend to be lacking, it is important that corpses of rare birds are salvaged and deposited in museums
with permanent collections. Recent DNA analyses have confirmed the sex of an historically
significant specimen of White-billed Diver Gavia adamsii (120 years old) and determined the sex of
recently acquired fresh specimens of first-winter Siberian Blue Robin Larvivora cyane and Rufous-
tailed Robin Larvivora sibilans (McGowan 2011, 2012). DNA investigation has also confirmed the
subspecific identity of Britain’s first Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus (collected by Baxter and
Rintoul in 1913) and also that of Britain’s first Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
plexa/tschutschensis (collected by William Eagle Clarke in 1909) (Collinson €& McGowan 2012,
Collinson et al. 2013). For species such as Briinnich’s Guillemot, even a preserved head will allow
determination of age (from bill dimensions) and sex. Genetic sexing is a fairly straightforward
technique to determine the sex of bird specimens. JMC is willing to sex important voucher corpses
or museum specimens of birds by tissue sampling, whatever the county of origin.
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to the University of Aberdeen, Angus Council Cultural Services (Montrose
Museum), Dundee Art Galleries & Museums and Glasgow Museums for permission to sample specimens
in their care, and to Dennis Coutts and Laurence Simmen for kindly sampling their specimens.
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Final report by the National Museums of Scotland and University of Edinburgh to the Sea
Empress Environmental Evaluation Committee.
R.Y. McGowan, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF.
Z. Floody, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF.
J. Martin Collinson, University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill,
Aberdeen AB25 2ZD.
Revised ms accepted May 2013
Table 1. Specimens of Bruinnich’s Guillemot from Scotland, with collection data, age and sex. (NMS = National
Museums Scotland; MNH = Montrose Museum; ABDUZ = University of Aberdeen Museum of Zoology; GLAMG
= Glasgow Museums; DUNMG = Dundee Art Galleries & Museums).
Accession number Date Locality Age Sex (gonads) Sex (DNA)
NMS.Z 1909.134 10 Dec 1908 Lothian: Craigielaw Point F F
NMS.Z 1968.23 20 Mar 1968 — Shetland: Unst, Norwick ad F F
NMS.Z 1976.67.2. 11 Oct 1969 Argyll: Loch Caolisport ad F
NMSZ1985:503b).--51 Jan: 1976 Caithness: Thurso, Reay F
NMS.Z 2013.19 18 Dec 1977. — Shetland: Sumburgh, Scord ad M M
MNH1979.799 14 Jul 1978 North-east Scotland: St Cyrus ad M M
ABDUZ: 23884 25 Feb 1979 North-east Scotland: Rattray Head F
GLAMGZ.1980.68 9 Feb 1980 Lothian: Kilspindie F
Private collection 9 Feb 1980 Lothian; Ferny Ness i
DUNMG.1981.26.1 25 Jan 1981 North-east Scotland; Johnshaven F
NMS.Z 1997.81.1 24 Dec 1982 — Highland; Golspie F
NMS.Z 1984.39 30 Oct 1983 — Shetland: Mainland, Bannaminn F F
Private collection 7 Feb 1987 Shetland: Mainland, Hamnavoe M
NMS.Z 1988.27.3 9 Mar 1988 Caithness; Dunnet Bay ad M M
NMS.Z 1999.63 12 Feb 1994 — Shetland; Wadbister Voe F
NMS.Z 2002.134.3 21 Dec 2000 = Orkney; Scapa Flow ad F
NMS.Z 2006.107.2. 4 May 2006 Shetland; Yell, Southladie Voe 1, ala not determined
NMS.Z 2012.79 25 Mar 2007 Shetland; Scousburgh ad iz
232 229-232 33:5 Q013)
Great Tit tugging at human hair
Around 10 am on 7 May 2013, I was sitting
very still in my Edinburgh garden enjoying the
sunshine, when a pair of Great Tits Parus major
landed on the fence. One of them flew onto my
knee, hopped onto my leg and then arm before
alighting on my head. It spent around 30
seconds tugging at my hair, but did not
manage to pull any out - my hair is quite fine
and it may have had difficulty getting hold of
it. Both birds then flew away. Food and water
are provided for birds, although I had never
seen the Great Tits in the garden before that
day. A few days later I found a single Great Tit
sitting on my dining room table, having flown
in through the back door! There was no way of
telling whether it was one of the original pair.
Presumably, the bird that landed on my hair
was looking for nesting material.
For over 80 years, Black Wheatear Oenanthe
leucura had a place on the Scottish List, but it
was removed in 1993 along with all the
previously accepted British sightings (BOU
1993). This note summarises what is known of
these two records of ‘black wheatears’ and the
background to their reassessment.
1912 Fair Isle, male, 28-30 September
(W.E. Clarke)
Only limited information is available on this
bird. It was “several times distinctly seen” by
William Eagle Clarke during its three-day stay,
but it was “extremely wary” and “always kept
just beyond gun-range” (Bedford & Clarke
1913). The Duchess of Bedford was also on Fair
Isle at that time, but her diaries make it clear she
failed to see it (Bedford 1938 contra Baxter &
Rintoul 1953). Its exact location is not
published, although “it frequented ground
where cover was entirely absent” (Bedford &
Clarke 1913). It can be assumed to have been
away from the crofts, as the Duchess looked for
it on a Sunday, when her birding was confined
to the non-crofting areas. It was described as an
33:3 (2013)
The Black Wheatear’s temporary appearance on the Scottish List
Alison Graham, Edinburgh.
Revised ms accepted June 2013
Great Tits are one of many species of bird that
use hair - usually from animals - when nest
building. However, we are not aware of any
records of a tit trying to take hair from a person
in the British literature. The Tufted Titmouse
Parus bicolor has been recorded on several
occasions landing on people to pull out hair in
North America (e.g. Bent 1947). Eds
References
Bent, A.C. 1947. Life histories of North
American ‘jays, crows, ..and. {itmice.
Smithsonian Institution United States
National Museum Bulletin 191: 393-406.
“adult male”, but there are no descriptive notes
to explain why. In spite of the adage that
“what’s hit’s history, what’s missed’s mystery”,
this sight record was listed in BOU (1915) as a
second record for Britain. Eagle Clarke was on
the committee that produced this list. It is
unusual that this occurrence was never written
up as a short note, as were most other Scottish
‘firsts. The record was accepted by Rintoul &
Baxter (1913) as a ‘first for Scotland’ (without
further detail) and included in Witherby et al.
(1940), but it was downgraded to a ‘probable’ in
BOU (1952), only to be reinstated in BOU (1970).
1953 Fair Isle, probable female, 19 October
(J.A. Stout, G. Stout)
The following extract from Williamson (1954)
provides all the information available on this
bird: “October 19th [1953]. James Stout of
Midway and George Stout of Field both saw and
reported independently to me a bird which can
only have been a Black Wheatear Oenanthe
leucura, probably a female. George told me
about it when I met him on my early trapping
round; James saw it when returning from an
233
234
abortive Woodcock hunt on the hill, and he
‘phoned north about it when he reached the
Post Office. When I met him later at Vaadal he
told me the bird’s general colouration was a
dark earth-brown (pointing to an exposed peat-
bank), except that the belly and flanks appeared
quite black. The white tail and its coverts were
very striking in contrast. He left his gun by the
road-side and went to Setter croft to borrow
their telescope, but unfortunately the bird
disappeared across Field on his return.
“George saw only the upper side of the bird as
it flitted along the lee of the Setter dyke; he
also spoke of the marked contrast between the
white tail and sooty back and wings. I looked
all over place for the bird in the late morning
and afternoon and was left with the impression
(not for the first time!) that this is a very big
island! Everyone knew about the wheatear by
mid-morning and it was the day’s topic of
conversation. But nobody saw it again.”
This bird occurred prior to the publication of
Baxter & Rintoul (1953) and as a second record
(rather than a first) for Fair Isle, didn’t deserve
an entry in Baxter (1955). It was first officially
accepted by BOU (1970).
Discussion
Dymond (1991) was amongst the first to openly
cast doubt on the records, noting that “the
views obtained and details noted on the [1953]
individual do not preclude the possibility of it
being a White-crowned Black Wheatear”.
After a review by BOURC in the early 1990s,
none of the four then-accepted British records
(including the two Scottish ones) was found
to be sufficiently well documented, partly due
to potential confusion with White-crowned
Black Wheatear O. leucopyga, and the species
was deleted from Category B of the British
List (BOU 1993).
There can be little doubt that these birds were
distinctive and given the undoubted observa-
tional skills of those who saw. them,
presumably lacked white crowns. It must also
be safe to say that they were ‘black wheatears’
rather than melanistic Wheatears O. oenanthe.
In which case, Black Wheatear and (black-
crowned) White-crowned Black Wheatear must
be the most likely candidates. ‘Basalt Wheatear’
O. lugens warriae and ‘Black-bellied Wheatear’
O. (picata) opistholeuca (sensu OSME 2009)
have the same basic plumage pattern, but are
considered less likely to occur. The only
accepted UK record of a relevant species is a
White-crowned Black Wheatear in Suffolk in
June 1982 (Brown 1986), which had a single
white feather on its forehead.
The admittance of any ‘black wheatear’ onto
the Scottish List - a repeat sighting must be on
the cards - will rely on modern knowledge of
wheatear variation and its careful documen-
tation. Lansdown (1997) provides a_ useful
summary of the key identification features.
References
Baxter, E.V. 1955. Review of ornithological
changes in Scotland in 1953. Scottish
Naturalist 67: 98-105.
Bedford, Mary, Duchess of. 1938. A _ Bird-
Watcher’s Diary. (edited by A. Duncan). John
Murray (printer), London. [p. 38]
Bedford, Mary, Duchess of & Clarke, W.E.
1913. Notes on migratory birds observed at
Fair Isle during the year 1912. Scottish
Naturalist 1913: 5-8, 25-29. [pp. 26-28]
British Ornithologists’ Union, 1915. A List of
British Birds. Second and revised edition.
BOU, London. [p. 104]
British Ornithologists’ Union, 1952. Check-list
of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland.
BOU, London.
British Ornithologists’ Union,
Status of Birds in Britain
Blackwell, Oxford.
British Ornithologists’ Union, 1993. Records
Committee: Nineteenth Report (May 1993).
Ibis 135: 493-499.
Brown, B.J. 1986. White-crowned Black
Wheatear: new to Britain and Ireland. British
Birds 79: 221-227.
Dymond, J.N. 1991. The Birds of Fair Isle.
Privately published.
Lansdown, P. 1997. Mystery photographs
[Black and White-crowned Black Wheatears].
British Birds 90: 140-141.
OSME. 2009. The OSME Region List of Bird
Taxa: Part B, Passerines~(version 2.1).
http://www.osme.org/orl/pass_v2.1.pdf
1970. The
and_ Ireland.
33:3 (2013)
Rintoul, L.J. & Baxter, E.V. 1913. Report on
Scottish Ornithology in 1912, including
migration. Scottish Naturalist Extra
Publication No. 2.
Witherby, H.F., Jourdain, F.C.R., Ticehurst, N.F.
et Tucker, B.W. 1940. The Handbook of British
Birds. Volume 2. H.F. & G. Witherby, London.
Short Notes
lan J. Andrews, 39 Clayknowes Drive,
elburgh EH21 6UW.
g
ae | Cs |
ye
oy
g
la Us
Revised ms accepted July 2013
Letter: rare grebes and water quality
Sir, In his foreword to an issue of Scottish Birds
(32: 194) the President remarks on the decline
of the Black-necked and Slavonian Grebes.
While we used to have nice, easily-accessible
little colonies of each of them in North-east
Scotland, both have now gone, and I remember
no comment on a possible reason. While Ian
Francis and Martin Cook say in The Breeding
Birds of North-east Scotland that they like
eutrophic waters, it seems possible that they
have now had too much of this good thing.
Their pools used to have nice, clear water, but
it is now dirty with much algae (said elsewhere
to be toxic, as at the Loch of Skene, where there
has also been a decline of Tufted Ducks). They
both lie in agricultural land, and it seems
possible that agricultural chemicals and
effluents have made them too eutrophic by
half. It is difficult to see how we can deal with
this, which is not mentioned among the
problems for farmland birds discussed by
Perkins, Maggs & Wilson later in the same issue
(32: 236-244), but it seems possible eutrophi-
cation of local waters should be included.
W.R.P. Bourne, Ardgath, Station Road,
Dufftown AB55 4AX.
=a 2 ear) be oe wet (le Wi
E-mail: wrpbourne82@
=
Stuart Benn comments: “There are certainly
some instances where we believe that eutroph-
ication has led to the abandonment of
Slavonian Grebe sites, but we are only talking
about a couple. Some of the sites currently
being used look pretty eutrophic to me.
Eutrophication may have a role to play, but we
don’t currently believe that to be major and
there is no evidence that it is the cause of the
widespread decline in breeding numbers/sites
of Slavonian Grebes in Scotland.”
33:3 (2013)
Ian Francis comments. “I think the two species
are rather different and can’t be accounted for
in the same way. Black-necked Grebes appear
to be a species at the northern edge of their
range, taking advantage of temporarily suitable
habitats then moving on after a few years at
most sites. They never had a small colony in
North-east Scotland. At Loch of Kinnordy,
Angus & Dundee, abandonment was probably
forced by excessive vegetation colonisation
and predation. The quote about Slavonian
Grebe habitat in North-east Scotland is slightly
out of context. In Francis & Cook (2011) the
Slavonian Grebe account by Charlie Gervaise
and Stuart Benn says they breed “on small,
shallow waters ranging from eutrophic pools
and gravel pits ... to more nutrient poor upland
lochans”. It is not said that “they like eutrophic
waters”. They do, however, use them - perhaps
sub-optimally? With Black-necked Grebes, we
say they breed on shallow eutrophic lochs.
With this species, there is more of a preference
for richer waters so this species does use
‘eutrophic’ water. However, there is a range of
states of eutrophication, from mildly (almost
mesotrophic) to almost hypertrophic. No doubt
there is a point on the scale of continuing
eutrophication that lies beyond the preference
of either species, as waters become turbid and
food declines or becomes harder to find. It may
be that continued landscape-scale eutrophi-
cation of surface waters has influenced these
two birds, but it is likely only to be one possible
factor, and I would say less so for Slavonian
Grebes, based on sites in northern Scotland.”
Ron Summers comments: “A study of loch
selection by breeding Slavonian Grebes
(Summers ef al. 2011) was carried out in
Highland Scotland, including aspects of water
255
Plate 185. Andrew Shepherd, Lunan Bay, Angus & Dundee,
2002. © Bob McCurley
quality. Numerous elements, compounds
(nitrates, sulphates and phosphates) and pH
were measured but there was no difference in
chemistry between lochs used and not used by
grebes. However, lochs that were used tended
to have better clearer water, probably because
it is easier to hunt Sticklebacks (their main
prey) in clear water. Turbidity was partly due
to the organic content in suspension.
Therefore, one can imagine that factors that
lead to poor water clarity would be
detrimental to Slavonian Grebes. For example,
excessive input of nutrients (particularly
phosphates) can lead to blooms of microscopic
Andrew Shepherd (1931-2013)
algae, thereby reducing water clarity. In
addition, decomposition of dead algae reduces
the oxygen content of water and can cause
death of fish. These processes would make
lochs unsuitable for grebes.”
References
Francis I. & Cook M. (eds) 2011. The Breeding
Birds of North-east Scotland. SOC, Aberdeen.
Summers, R.W., Mavor, R.A., Hogg, S. &
Harriman, R. 2011. Lake characteristics and
their selection by breeding Slavonian
Grebes Podiceps auritus in Scotland. Bird
Study 58: 349-356.
Andrew passed away peacefully at home on 3
June 2013 after a long illness, which he fought
gallantly for the past few years. He will be
greatly missed by all who knew him. I
personally have great memories of him on
236 | .
various club outings, in particular visits abroad
to Denver Colorado, and Lesvos, to name but
two. He was a regular attendee at both indoor
and outdoor meetings of the Angus and
Dundee Bird Club (ADBC) and the SOC Tayside
branch. Andrew served as ABDC Treasurer for
years, doing such a good job he was made a
Life Member. For 64 years he was a member of
the Arbroath Racing Pigeon Society. His
greatest achievement was in 1964 when his Red
Pied pigeon ‘Gay Paree’ won a much coveted
Osman Memorial Trophy for a race from Paris.
He will be much missed as will his contribution
to the smooth running of the clubs he
supported so well. On behalf of the SOC and
Angus and Dundee Bird Club, Brian
Brocklehurst and I attended his funeral service
at Parkgrove, Friockheim. We have sent our
deepest condolences to Val and family on
behalf of both clubs. Rest peacefully Andrew.
Bob McCurley
33:3 (2013)
Brian Turner (1920-2013)
TaN PN Een
UDITUGTIES
Brian was born in Quetta, now in Pakistan,
where his father was an engineer with the post
-and telegraph system. Following an earthquake
which destroyed their home, they moved when
Brian was about 15 years old to Nainital. There,
he met his future wife’s family who were friends
of the Corbett family, including Jim Corbett after
whom the Indian national park is named. All
were interested in nature and photography, and
Brian was full of stories of youthful trips to the
nearby jungle where he watched the birds and
even met the occasional Leopard.
He served in Iraq throughout the Second World
War, and, after demobilisation in the UK, came
to Scotland where he _ read Chemical
Engineering at Glasgow and achieved a first
class degree. During this time he had married
Pat and their son Ian was born. He worked for
ICI, first at Ardeer, and then from 1962 in
Dumfries where he bought a semidetached
house. By chance, on the other side of the party
wall lived Harry Russell and his family. Harry
was to become the first Chairman of the
Dumfries SOC branch when it was established
in 1964. Brian was involved from the start of
the branch, and meeting up with Bobby Smith
33:3 (2013)
Plate 186. Brian Turner with Red Squirrel, Penpoint, Dumfries, January 2006. © Edmund Fellowes
and Jim Young formed a distinguished trio of
bird photographers. One of their exploits was to
build, with the help of professional riggers, a
hide at a heronry in tall Scots Pines near Mabie
Forest, not far from Dumfries, and there were
other treetop adventures with Rooks, Long-
eared Owls and Sparrowhawks.
Brian retired from ICI in 1974, and he and Pat
moved to Shinnel Mill near Penpont in
Nithsdale. There they had a few acres bordered
by the Shinnel Water, and which he turned
into a naturalist’s paradise. He had many nest
boxes and there was a long-running nest
record and ringing project for the Pied
Flycatchers. Many of the birds became hand
tame, but as the Sparrowhawk population built
up this tameness was lost. He also loved the
Red Squirrels which came to his feeders, and
which varied greatly in personality.
He continued to photograph birds and travelled
widely with his cameras, leading several trips
to Zimbabwe where his brother had settled.
Many SOC members travelled with him on
what seem to have been extremely jolly jaunts.
Meanwhile he attended every SOC conference
251,
238
where he led the projection team in the era of
35mm slides. When the digital photographic
revolution occurred, Brian was at the forefront
of technology. He sometimes said that he would
have preferred to have met up with Photoshop
at 18, rather than at 81.
As he became less mobile, he embraced the
internet with enthusiasm. Meanwhile, he
encouraged the wildlife to come to him and his
kitchen window sill displayed a smorgasbord of
nuts, fruits and live food. Apart from the usual
suspects, he had at different times, Jays and a
Mistle Thrush visiting the window sill. A few
metres away, the extensive feeders attracted up
to 60 Coal Tits at one time as well as Siskins,
Goldfinches and Redpolls. Nuthatches became
regular as they occupied Dumfriesshire, and
there were always scores of common birds to be
seen. Brian had a love/hate relationship with
the Sparrowhawks and erected wire netting
barriers to make life difficult for them.
Dr John Alan Gibson (1926-2013)
The squirrels were his particular joy and many
of them would come to take nuts from his
hand. They were individuals, some tame and
some not, and some extremely fussy. A
particular favourite would only take Italian
organic hazelnuts from Tesco.
Brian continued to attend Dumfries branch
meetings and his mind remained as sharp as
ever. In late autumn of 2012 he developed a
terminal disease and traced its progress as the
engineer that he was. He died at home cared for
by Ian and Diana, Pat having died two years
before him. We extend our sympathies to them,
and remember Brian as an ever lively and
entertaining SOC friend.
Edmund Fellowes
After a long illness, “Jack” Gibson died on 8
June 2013 in his 87th year. A family doctor in
Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, his main interest
outwith his medical career was natural
history, particularly ornithology. In this field,
he was best known for publishing numerous
check-lists and atlases concerning biological
recording of vertebrates in the Clyde faunal
area. He never really was a field observer,
except during his early years, but he built up
a small network of correspondents, who
provided him with many unpublished records.
He was also a keen collector of Scottish
natural history journals and with these two
sources he was able to compile his published
papers. For ornithology these included Clyde
Birds (1960 & 1981), Birds of Arran (1955),
Bute (1980), Cumbrae (1957) and his beloved
Ailsa Craig (1951). Jack was editor of The
Glasgow & West of Scotland Bird Bulletin
(1952-59), very similar in format to the earlier
Edinburgh Bird Bulletin (1950-58) published
by the SOC Edinburgh branch.
During the late 1970s, he founded The Scottish
Natural History Library, a registered Scottish
charity, in a large, elaborate annex to his
home in Kilbarchan. Here he assembled an
impressive collection of primarily Scottish
books, natural history journals and archive
material. However, gaining physical access for
research purposes was virtually impossible,
for reasons best known to himself. To counter
this shortcoming, he responded in a helpful
and fulsome way by letter to all written
enquiries. About the same time he launched
another journal The Western Naturalist, later
subsumed into the resurrected The Scottish
Naturalist as a means of publishing his own
papers and those of invited authors.
At one time Jack owned eight Great Auk eggs
and several stuffed specimens, which were once
the property of millionaire collector Vivian
Hewitt of Anglesey; their current whereabouts
is uncertain.
David Clugston
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
On Saturday 11 May, one year older and a little
bit rustier, the ‘Golden Chariot’ returned to
Hopetoun House, West Lothian for the second
annual Scottish Birdfair.
Demonstrating an increase on last year's figures,
more than 5,000 nature lovers and _ bird
enthusiasts attended over the course of the event,
which is quickly becoming regarded as one of the
highlights of the Scottish birdwatching calendar.
Over the weekend, attendees were able to take
their pick from a first-class line-up of walks, talks,
demonstrations and workshops and were given
the opportunity to peruse the very latest in
birding technology, clothing, holidays, optics, art
work and literature from over 100 exhibitors.
As one of the major supporters of the Birdfair
and being the largest external event the SOC will
attend this year, we were delighted to be able to
contribute a packed programme of activities to
the weekend events programme and _ take
advantage of this unrivalled opportunity to
showcase our Club, staff, volunteers and
monitoring role to this captive audience of bird
and wildlife enthusiasts.
Novice birdwatchers were introduced to
Hopetoun’s birdlife and the SOC's local branch
network, via three ‘birdwatching for beginners’
walks, ably led by Stan da Prato and David Atkins
(SOC Lothian branch). We were also delighted
to assist our colleagues at BTO Scotland in
33:3 (2013)
Plate 187. Visitors at the Scottish Birdfair, Hopetoun House, May 2013. © Stuart L. Rivers
leading several ‘get involved in bird recording’
walks which provided visitors, with a fun
introduction to the recording their bird sightings
via the online recording tool, BirdTrack (of which
SOC Is a partner).
For the young ornithologist, an owl pellet
dissection workshop took place each day, which
proved great fun for the children, parents and
organisers (Dave Allan and James & Doreen
Main frorn SOC Lothian branch) alike, and for
which we were inundated for both sessions!
Plate 188. Inside one of the marquees, Scottish Birdfair,
Hopetoun House, May 2013. © Stuart L. Rivers
239
240
Articles, News & Views
The Club was allocated two prime-time talk
slots over the weekend: on Saturday, Eric Meek
(SOC Orkney branch) took to the stage and
delighted his audience with an introduction to
the magical island of Fair Isle. On Sunday,
Professor Peter Slater provided a_ highly
entertaining and informative overview of why
birds risk singing in a world full of predators.
Our two workshop slots were similarly chosen
to have broad appeal and tackle some common
identification queries. Stan da Prato delivered a
very popular session on ‘songbirds and their
song’ on Saturday, filled with helpful hints and
tips for identifying and distinguishing bird song
in the field. After the success and popularity of
last year's raptor identification workshop, a
similar session was offered by lan Thomson
(SOC Council member and RSPB Scotland's
Head of Investigations) again this year, given
this group's appeal, and equally the shared
difficulties in identifying them!
Based on feedback from last year's Birdfair, a
digiscoping demonstration was given by Ray
Murray (Borders Local Recorder and SOC Council
member), offering help and advice to enable
attendees to make the most out of whatever
particular digiscoping system they owned.
ue 189. Reese a Neat TG Scottish Agen Lone House, May ; 2013
Plate 190. The popular bird ringing area, Scottish
Birdfair, Hopetoun House, May 2013. © Stuart L. Rivers
Along similar lines, multi-award winning wildlife
photographer Laurie Campbell led a booked-out
nature photography walk around Hopetoun’s
woodlands, much to the delight of those who
managed to get a space on the event!
Keen to establish closer links with Scottish
universities, the Club was thrilled to have
Aberdeen University PhD student Jenny
Sturgeon accompany us on the stand on
Sunday. Jenny warmly engaged with the public
to raise awareness of her study of a population
of colour-ringed Shags on the east coast of the
UK and to encourage members of the public to
report their re-sightings.
© RSPB
33:3 (2013)
Ed
Whilst working to grow our membership base at
the Birdfair, we were equally mindful of the
continued and unwavering support of many of
our existing members and volunteers who'd be
visiting the event that weekend. As such on
Saturday, in conjunction with BTO, we hosted a
joint ‘member and volunteer thank you’ reception
celebrating our supporters, both long-standing
and new. Obviously this required more cupcakes,
which were kindly provided by Cuckoo's Bakery in
Edinburgh, at a deliciously discounted rate!
Being from Scotland, of course we have to
make mention of the weather that weekend,
which was particularly hellish (and_ typically
Scottish!) on Saturday. It was all hands on deck
between the intermittent squalls to repair the
stand, tie down the banners and replenish the
supplies of leaflets which had become airborne
and were now making their way around the site!
Our forward facing stand location, thought to be
integral to the Club’s success last year, was a
source of regret this year as visitors took shelter
from the wind in the enclosed neighbouring
marquees. Such is the gamble and thanktully
the wind died down on Sunday!
33:3 (2013)
Plate 191. The SOC tent, Scottish Birdfair, Hopetoun House, May 2013. © Stuart L. Rivers
Articles, News & Views
The 5
What's in it for you...
Z }
Special thanks go to all the staff and volunteers
who helped on the SOC stand and second-
hand book stall over the course of the weekend
and assisted in the preparation for the event
including Waterston House staff and volunteers
Vicki and Campbell McLellan, Keith Macgregor,
Catherine Cant, Chris Mclnerny and Doreen and
James Main. Yet again, SOC Council was
humbled by the dedication and generosity of
the volunteers who lent their time to the Club
over the Birdfair weekend, whether leading an
activity, or providing cover (or damage repair!)
on the stand. Thank you very much once again
for your support and enthusiasm - It wouldn't
have been possible without you! At close on
Sunday, in spite of the challenging conditions,
we'd welcomed 15 new members to the Club,
caught up with many more existing supporters
we hadn't seen in a while and engaged with
potentially hundreds of future members!
Around £100 was made from the sale of
second-hand books, which has since been
ploughed back into the Club to continue our
work advancing our knowledge of Scotland's
birds. We hope you'll join us again next year at
the 2014 Scottish Birdfair on 10 & 11 May!
Jane Cleaver
241
242
Articles, News & Views
NEWS AND NOTICES
New SOC members
Ayrshire: Mrs E.M. Brown, Borders: Mr & Mrs D.
Janes, Mr J. Osborne, Caithness: Ms L. Oliphant,
Ms L. Rollings, Central Scotland: Mr D. Davis, Mr
P. Lord, MrJ. Robertson, Mr W.A. Thomson, Clyde:
Mr G. Brady, Mr D. Crossan, Ms J. Gowans, Mr R.
Greer, Ms J. Lang, Ms J. Livingstone, Mr R. Logan &
Ms C. Buglass, Mr D. McLennan, Mr W. Mitchell, Mr
S. Mitchell, Mr G. Palmer, Mr M. Smith, Mr E.
Stevenson, Ms S. Wells, England, Wales & Ni: Mr
G. Gordon, Mr O. Yasseen, Fife: Mr C. Andrews, Mr
|. Gourlay, Ms L. Kirk, Ms L. MacLean, Mr R.
Saltmarshe, Ms K. Williams, Highland: Mr J.
Buttress, Mr & Mrs B. Johnson, Mr A.B. Loveland &
Ms J. Main, Mr & Mrs D. McCormick, Ms R. Moore,
Mr & Mrs M. Smith, Mr D. Spencer, Lothian: Mr |.
Brebner, Miss U.C. Croll, Mr & Mrs W.E. Dickinson,
E. Drake, Ms E. Elliot-McColl, Mr EJ. Ellis & Ms PA.
Alderson, Mr B. Garlick, Mr C. Garner, Mr N. Harvey,
Ms L. Hepburn, DrJ. Herring, Ms C. Jardine, Cllr C.
John, Mr A. Keith, Mr & Mrs J. Kerr, Mr & Mrs R.G.
Kinghorn, Mr F.G. Kinghorn, Ms H. McKellar, Ms B.
McKerrow, Mrs J. McNally, A.W. Milan, Mr & Mrs
A.E. Miller, Miss A. Neilson-Dow, Mr M. Nolan, Ms
J. Noltingk, Mr D. Temperley, Mr & Mrs R.
Thomson, Mr & Mrs R. Thomson, Mr & Mrs R.
Thomson, Mr D. Watson, Mrs M. Wright, North-
east Scotland: Mr P. Baxter, Mr J. Fallgren & Mss Y.
Backstrom, Mr G. Green, Mr |. Halliday, Mr |. Hastie,
Mr F. Pain, Mr L. Simpson, Ms A. Sturgeon, Ms J.
Sturgeon, Overseas: F. Martini & D. Bonantini,
Scotland - no branch: Mr A. Dalton, Mr A. Prasad,
F. Sandison, Mr G. Uney, Tayside: Mr & Mrs D.
Bailey, West Galloway: Mrs S. Ramsay.
200 Club
The latest prizewinners are: May: Ist £30 Dr
|.R.Poxton, 2nd £20 Mrs K.Millar, 3rd £10 Dr
W.Morrison. June: 1st £30 David Parkinson,
2nd £20 Donald Wiggins, 3rd £10 Jimmy
Maxwell. July: 1st £30 Mr & Mrs Hogg, 2nd £20
Mrs Wheelans, 3rd £10 J.S.Cross.
Scottish Birdwatchers’ Conference
Saturday 22 March 2014, Aberdeen University
Zoology Dept, Aberdeen. Programme and
booking information will be circulated with the
December issue of Scottish Birds
SOC Annual Conference - ‘Birds & Politics’
25-27 October 2013, The Marine Hotel, Troon.
For more information and to book online, visit
www.the-soc.org.uk/whats-on/annual-conference
Optics Demo
Sunday 13 October, 10 am—4 pm, Waterston
House. A chance to check out a wide selection of
binoculars and telescopes or get some free,
expert advice. We welcome requests for particular
models to be available to try. Contact Dave Allan
on 01875 871330 or dave.allan@the-soc.org.uk
Art Exhibitions, Waterston House
Keith Brockie, 21 September—13 November
Darren Woodhead, 16 November—15 January 2014
Aberlady Goose Watch
Tuesday 1 October and Monday 7 October
2013, 6 p.m., Waterston House. £4 (GOCG
members & children) / £6 (non-members).
Refreshments served from 5.30 pm. An
illustrated talk by Aberlady Local Nature
Reserve warden, John Harrison (East Lothian
Council) followed by the chance to witness
the spectacle of thousands of Pink-footed
Geese coming in to roost on the reserve.
Places limited. Advance booking essential. Call
O1375187 1550:
Car sticker
The SOC’s new car window sticker is now
available to purchase for £1 (plus 50p p&p
charge, if required) from Waterston House. Visit,
or contact us today to get yours.
Scotland's Bird Club ¢ |
: nad bettie suit Gk
Request for information
Sightings of colour-ring Shags
In order to conserve our seabird populations we
need to know where juveniles and adults go at
different times of year. The biggest gap in our
knowledge is the winter when birds are often far
out at sea and very difficult to study. However,
perhaps surprisingly, we still know very little about
33:3 @0iS)
species such as Shags that are potentially easier to
keep track of because they stay closer to the coast.
As part of a major collaborative project
between the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology,
the University of Aberdeen and the SOC we are
using resightings of field-readable colour-rings
to locate Shags in winter and understand why
they go where they do.
Since 2009, Shags at multiple colonies along
the east coast of Britain have been ringed with
a coloured plastic ring engraved with three
letters, allowing individuals to be identified in
the field using binoculars, a telescope or camera
zoom. Colour-ringed Shags of all ages can be
seen throughout the year, including in winter,
when they use coastal roost sites. Colour-ringed
Shags have been seen wintering as far north as
Yell, Shetland, and as far south as Brighton.
This summer, Shags have been ringed at a
record number of colonies and despite last
winters wreck (when over 500 dead Shags
were found) many colonies have had moderate
breeding productivity. Thanks to the amazing
Plate 1
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
efforts of ringers, at least 1,362 Shags have been
colour-ringed across 10 colonies in Scotland:
550 on the Isle of May, 441 on the Forth Islands
(Craigleith, Fidra, Inchkeith and !nchmickery),
136 at Bullers of Buchan in Aberdeenshire, 100
at Badbea in Caithness, 96 at North Sutor in
Highland, 32 on Stroma and seven on Fair Isle.
The total may creep nearer to 1,400 if some late
broods are ringed!
Our next task is to resight as many of these
individuals as possible during the autumn and
winter. We go out as often as we can but
covering all the coast, especially when days are
short and the weather often bad, is a huge
challenge. Thus help with resighting is hugely
useful. Particular areas where we would greatly
appreciate more coverage include Lothian, Fife
and the Highlands and Islands.
We are always grateful to hear of resightings of
colour-ringed Shags. Please email Jenny at
Shags@ceh.ac.uk with resightings (including
date seen, location, three-letter code and ring
colour) and get in touch if you are interested in
getting more involved!
h, J
243
244
Articles, News & Views
Alexander
Wilson
Bicentenary
Celebrations
The March issue of Scottish Birds (33: 54-56)
gave advance notice of all the events planned to
celebrate this important anniversary.
A splendid exhibition at Paisley Museum curated
by Lorna Stark was formally opened during the
evening of 13 June. Zoology Professor Jed Burtt
of Ohio University, who has recently published a
new book about Wilson, gave an account of his
life both in Paisley and North America and this
was followed by a short appraisal by local
councillor Jim Harte. Amongst the cabinet
displays in the exhibition are several original
letters, one written from Paisley's tollbooth,
original drawings of American birds for his
seminal book on American
Ornithology alongside — several
original volumes, his bird-hunting
musket and two fine portrait
paintings of the man_ himself.
Illustrated interpretive display ff
boards provided much yyrinder
; : : : wy USON
information concerning this = 2rvtwe
unsung Paisley-born hero.
Eve > ; :
Yenls (0 celebrate the life ofan u
4
i N wi ) i ~<
Plate 193. Bernie Zonfrillo has his copy signed by Jed
Burtt. © Jimmy Maxwell
tasung Scottish hero |
Plate 194. Paul Walton (centre) with Jed Burtt and Pat
Monaghan. © Jimmy Maxwell
The following evening, a more academic series
of talks was hosted at Glasgow University. This
was chaired by Professor Pat Monaghan, who
again introduced Professor Jed Burtt, who gave
an informative lecture on Wilson's life and his
importance as the very first scientific writer of
American Ornithology. This was followed by Dr
Erma Hermens who concentrated on the early
j Py e@eees
( SP ecccecce
Plate 195. Dr Hermens (right) in conversation.
© Jimmy Maxwell
33:3 (2013)
Al ti icles, /\ VEWS & 2 Views
history of bird art prior to Wilson. Dr Gerry
Carruthers then gave a detailed insight into his
poetry as compared to the admittedly more
accomplished Robert Burns. To round off this
part of the evening, Paul Walton (RSPB)
entertained us with several readings from
Wilson's writings.
Guests then adjourned to the Hunterian Zoology
Museum where an exhibition had been
assembled by Maggie Reilly and her team. This
included cabinet displays of some of his
published books, specimen examples of birds
which he had discovered or had named after
him and many display posters. The opportunity
to buy signed copies of Jed Burtt's book and an
attractive set of postcards depicting some of
Wilson's bird art, and not forgetting a glass of
wine and strawberry tart, rounded off a most
enjoyable evening. Thanks to Jane Cleaver for
her valued support in promoting these events
on behalf of the SOC.
Plate 196. Dr Carruthers (right) cate with audience
David Clugston members. © Jimmy Maxwell
Visit www. eee org. cue or www.savescottishseas.org
to find out more about the proposals and where you can attend regional
consultation events or contribute your views online.
33:3 (2013) scottish Birds | 245
246
Articles, News & Views
Impressions from 80 years
watching birds
W.AJ. CUNNINGHAM
| cannot put a date on the beginning of my
interest in birds. The acquisition of my
grandfather's wartime binoculars when he died in
1929, when | was 11 years of age, may have
nudged me in that direction. What is certain is
that they were nearly the end of my birdwatching.
With them, |, as a schoolboy, was observing a
Treecreeper on a tree in the woods adjacent to
my school in Jordanhill, when | realised to my
horror that one of the school prefects was kissing
a girl behind that very tree. If he had noticed me
first, | might have been persuaded that watching
birds was too dangerous a pastime.
| was alone in knowing no-one with a kindred
interest and only a little book called The
Observer's Book of Birds as my guide, but |
must have persevered for one of my earliest
memories is of a flock of Long-tailed Tits in
trees by Loch Ard in the Trossachs. My father
had bought a car about 1930, which extended
my sphere of observations greatly. | recall also
a flock of Goldfinches perched on a fence in
Crow Road between Jordanhill and Anniesland,
which engendered a letter published in The
Glasgow Herald.
With two or three pals | began to build model
aeroplanes of balsa and oiled silk, powered by
elastic bands. The words ‘camber’ and ‘dihedral
entered our vocabularies and the mystery of
flight regarded as solved. The constraints
imposed upon species of birds by the shape of
their wings were explained and come back to
me now when, confined to my car, | enjoy, for
example, the way of our Fulmars in the air as
they float past me on the upward currents along
the cliff top. | am reminded of the post-war
voyages | made in container ships from Tilbury
to Cape Town, when in my favourite seat right
up in the bows, sheltered by the flare from the
strong wind, albatrosses, Black-browed, Yellow-
nosed etc., soared past me across the bow
almost within touching distance!
While still at school, | took up - for no apparent
reason - a keen, extramural interest in Gaeldom
and the Outer Hebrides. In May 1937, | was
lucky to be chosen for a weekend cruise to St
Kilda in the Anchor Liner Tuscania, chartered by
the Glasgow City Council to take selected pupils
from Glasgow schools to commemorate the
coronation of King George V1. Then, in the
spring of 1939, | joined the old SS Hebrides for
one of her 12-day voyages through the Western
Isles with cargo, as far as Tarbert, Harris. On both
voyages, | enriched my knowledge of sea birds
and passerine species.
On 12 December 1939, | was ‘called up’ into the
Royal Navy and spent the next six years at sea,
mostly as the Navigating Officer of Flower Class
Corvettes. | had already become proficient in
messing about in boats and sailing 12-ft dinghies
on Bardowie Loch in company with Dabchicks
and Great Crested Grebes, and had joined the
junior section of the Clyde Cruising Club, enabling
me to crew at weekends on such beautiful yachts
as Sam Strang's green, nine-metre Torridon.
| am deeply sorry that the stress of convoy work
amid the storms of the North Atlantic and Barents
Sea and the serious efforts by the enemy to sink
us and our charges, overcame my pre-war
Plate 197. The Flower Class Corvette HS Dianella
on which | served. © Peter Cunningham
33:3 (2013)
proclivities. Nevertheless, | remember my first
Iceland Gull in the Denmark Straits in 1941, a
Great Kiskadee in Port of Spain, Trinidad, a
Nightjar in the Mediterranean and a pair of Grey-
headed Kingfishers on our mooring wires in
Lagos, Nigeria. Various nondescript species of
warblers sought refuge on board (there was no
bird book available) and the mind boggles at the
innumerable sea bird species that | must have
seen wherever we went.
Plate 198. lvory Gull on the wall in Stornoway
Harbour, January 2000. © Peter Cunningham
| should like to digress for a moment to recall the
thrill of looking down from the wing of the bridge
on to the broad, spotted back of a Whale Shark,
the biggest fish in the sea, as we slowly overtook
it. Or the fright the look-out and | got when two
phosphorescent tracks were seen to be racing
towards the ship one dark night in the South
Atlantic. Torpedoes, we both thought, until they
turned into our bow wave and revealed
themselves as dolphins having fun. And when on
Morning Watch, at 06:00 on beautiful tropical
days, | used to love paddling in bare feet on the
upper deck while the Duty Watch washed it
down with sea water after | had picked up
enough stranded flying fish for breakfast.
On passage from Lagos to Cape Town, escorting
an injured C Class cruiser, so many of the crew
and | fell ill with fever that we had to return to
Lagos and the Scottish Hospital there. During
recuperation, | woke up in my ward in the forest
one morning to see green lizards running up
and down my walls. | thought delirium had
returned, but they were real!
| was demobbed in May 1946 and rejoined the
Customs and Excise Department of the Civil
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
Service. On 4 May 1949, | stepped ashore from
the RMS Loch Seaforth on to Lewis to realise the
hebridean ambition of my youth. By 1954 | was
married to a sweet, winsome Lewis. lass
(another ambition fulfilled?) and had found a
niche as bird correspondent for the Outer
Hebrides. George Waterston, who became a
great friend, had invited me to join the RSPB
and SOC, enabling me to meet and regard as
friends many prominent professional ornithol-
ogists, who deigned to listen to an amateur. |
was also privileged to meet James Fisher and
Roger Peterson on their visits to Lewis as
George was in the habit of asking me to
conduct parties of ornithologists round the
island. Roger Peterson was kind enough to sign
my copy of his Field Guide.
James Fisher arrived in May 1968 on a Meteor
cruise and during a discussion on local birds said
he had heard a Goldfinch calling in the Stornoway
Woods. Now, | knew that this species had never
been recorded in the Outer Hebrides and had
the temerity to doubt him. Goldfinches
eventually colonised Lewis about ten years later.
In The Sunday Times of 21 January 1962, James
Fisher began an essay on “The Great Coloniser’
dealing with the spread of Collared Doves, with
the words “On 2 June 1960, an experienced bird-
watcher, Mr W.AJ. Cunningham, saw a strange
bird in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. It was the most
north-westerly collared dove that anyone had
seen anywhere.” Incidentally, Maury Meiklejohn
visited me after my report and spotted one near
Stornoway, but typically admitted that mine was
farther north-west than his!
Plate 199. A Wryneck, very lucky to be brought home by
a domestic cat, unharmed, August 1992. © Peter
Cunningham
247
248
Articles, News & Views
Thanks, perhaps, to my Nature Notes in the
weekly Stornoway Gazette, | was becoming
known in the Outer Hebrides as one who, if
he didn't know the answer to a bird query,
quickly found it.
| had a phone call one morning from the
police to say that a fierce, big, black bird had
landed on Bayhead, a busy thoroughfare, and
was holding up the traffic. Could | do
something about It? | took gloves and a sack
and went down to see what | could do. It was,
as | suspected, a young Gannet or Guga in its
juvenile plumage of jet black feathers
spangled with silver darts. It had been blown
inland in the night and, being a Gannet, was
unable to take off from a flat surface in the
absence of wind. | bundled it into the sack
and took it to the harbour. Standing on the
pier | threw It up into the air and off it went to
join its peers in the South Atlantic for a year or
two. A man standing nearby expostulated at
my action, saying that he, being a Nessman,
could have eaten it.
In order to raise funds for the local unit of the
Sea Cadet Corps with the 65-ft MFV we used for
sea-training | ran, | landed, and disembarked a
fortnight later, a team of 12 Nessmen on.the
barren rock of Sula Sgeir 40 miles north of the
Butt of Lewis, to cull about 2,000 young Gannets
for food as had been done for countless
generations. The mess left by 2,000 oily Guga
carcasses in the hold put a stop to it after a
couple of years. A less unpleasant job was
carrying some shepherds from Swainbost to the
neighbouring, fertile island of North Rona, with
their dogs and rams, where they grazed a large
flock of more or less wild sheep. It was a
wonderful experience to sit on deck at night with
countless Storm and Leach’s Petrels passing
overhead to their nests ashore, while Grey Seals
around the vessel discussed what we were
doing in their patch. On one trip, | allowed a
- passenger to take the wheel only to find that he
had been sick into the leather, velvet-lined case,
which had held my grandfather's binoculars. It
was never the same again.
There have been many changes during my
time in Lewis. | still shudder when | pass an
islet on a fresh-water loch near Stornoway
because, about 60 years ago at this time, it
would have been white with nesting Common
Terns. When Nigel Buxton, the local NCC
Officer, and | visited it one day, we found it a
hideous shambles of broken eggs, dead chicks
Plate 200. White-tailed Eagle, near Stornoway (named in
Rum, Gregor), November 1982. © Peter Cunningham
a ia “ eo mee
Plate 201. New Gannet colony on the Flannan Isles -
found in 1969. © Peter Cunningham
and adult terns. That was our first sight of what
a mink or two could do in a night to a colony
of ground-nesting birds. It was to be repeated
ad nauseam for a long time. Mink may not be
wholly to blame for the damage done to our
ground-nesting birds; introduced hedgehogs
must bear much responsibility together with
feral cats and mechanised agriculture. Less
corn is planted than heretofore and hay stacks
have been replaced by silage. Fewer sheep
graze the common land and moors, so less
carrion. New species of birds of prey have
33:3 (2013)
colonised Lewis; White-tailed Eagles,
Sparrowhawks and Kestrels now breed there,
having found presumably niches to suit them,
but the status of Hen Harriers is uncertain
although seen more often than of yore. Last
April | traversed a quiet, single track road across
Lewis and did not see a single bird. Fifty years
ago at the same time of year | should have
seen ten or more species.
My work took me to every township and
occupied island in the Outer Hebrides where
my spare time was devoted to the natural
history at all times of the year. | was therefore
very well placed to act as bird reporter for the
nascent annual Scottish Bird Report.
As already mentioned, in 1954 | took over the
Stornoway Sea Cadet unit and persuaded the
Admiralty to provide us with a 65ft “self-drive”
MFV for sea training. We were able thus to visit
nearly all the off-lying islands, including North
Rona, Sula Sgeir and the Shiants and record
their birds. Our annual summer cruises included
Northern Ireland and Brittany.
| paid two more visits to St Kilda. In the course
of a Royal Naval Reserve training cruise round
the Western Isles we were entertained by the
Army unit and | was taken up Conachair in a
jeep. On a later, private visit | stayed in the
factors house with the RSPB Warden, who
showed me my first Laughing Gull, which was
surviving on Army sausages.
| spent many enjoyable English springs with
hospitable cousins in Sussex. They generously
enabled me to watch Choughs in Pembrokeshire,
Hawaiian Geese in Slimbridge, nothing unusual
Plate 202. Laughing Gull, St Kilda, June 1980 -
survived on Army sausages! © Peter Cunningham
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
on any of the Scillies, Hobbies at Pulborough,
Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at Rackham,
Nightingales at Selbourne and Stone-curlews in
Norfolk plus innumerable unfamiliar species.
Much to my surprise | was given the Scottish
RSPB President's Award in 2007, a handsome
model of an Avocet. Its value was enhanced for
me when | discovered that it had been made of
African wood in Knysna, one of my favourite
places in the Cape.
After retirement my wife and | took advantage of
modern facilities for air travel to visit friends in
Australia and New Zealand and observe their
bird life. Of all the wonders | came across a few
stand out: a Pacific Golden Plover, which fed
beside us in Kapiolani Park, Hawail; a very rare
Black Stilt on the opposite bank of a stream in
New Zealand, where | was fishing for rainbow
trout, and the colonies of Royal Albatrosses and
Yellow-eyed Penguins near Dunedin.
Plate 203. Hoopoe, angry at being nearly run down
by my car in Lewis, May 1994. © Peter Cunningham
As a lonely widower, | sought birds in British
Columbia and South Africa, where | couldn't
record new species quickly enough. My final
adventure had a double purpose, to revisit the
waters | ploughed during the battle for Norway in
1940 and those with convoys to and from Russia
in 1943 and to look for Arctic species | had seen
only as vagrant individuals. | was rewarded,
during the Hurtigen Cruise in the Lofoten with
flocks of King and Steller's Eiders and the sound
and sight of a pair of White-tailed Eagles mating.
Having spent so much time afloat in the
Mediterranean, | was keen to see more of
Gibraltar, so | flew out one April. Gibraltar is
249
Articles, News & Views
really a wonderful place for a bird-watcher.
Everybody speaks English and uses our money;
a great variety of birds are easily accessible and
although | had passed between the Pillars of
Hercules many times, | was enchanted to sit on
Europa Point and look across to Africa with
migration in full swing overhead.
| joined an SOC Group on another occasion to
visit Majorca. It was entertaining, instructive
and the company, on the whole, convivial. |
lost my notes and photos on the way home,
but | think we went to all the right places and
saw all the right birds, including vultures and
Eleonora’s Falcon.
In conclusion, let me mention briefly some
landmarks in this story; With Stewart Angus,
NCC Officer in Stornoway, | founded the Outer
Hebrides Natural History Society. It is still active
under a less prolix name.
A selection of my Nature Notes in the Stornoway
Gazette was published locally by Acair Limited in
1979, illustrated by Andrew Millar Mundy.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Nature
Conservancy Council convened a symposium in
1979 on the Outer Hebrides, at which | was
invited by DrJ. Morton Boyd to read a paper on
its terrestrial birds and birds of prey.
ig
ee. * - 8,
Plate 204. The royal couple and m
Scottish Birds
Professor Wynne-Edwards of Aberdeen
University kindly introduced my Birds of the
Outer Hebrides in 1983 with drawings by Roger
Lee. When Prince Charles and Princess Diana
visited the Outer Hebrides in 1985, |, as Deputy
Lord Lieutenant, was given the task of looking
after them while on the island of Scalpay. | took
the opportunity of handing a copy of my book
personally to HRH, knowing his affection for our
islands. Birdwatching in the Outer Hebrides was
commissioned by Saker Press in 1995 from Tim
Dix and myself, and illustrated by Philip Snow.
Once upon a time when birdwatching was an
enjoyable and innocent pastime and | found an
unusual bird, tt was more than a week before it
became public knowledge, thanks to my
weekly ature Notes in the Gazette. Nowadays,
the feet of a rarity scarcely touch the ground
before it is reported world-wide and its identity
argued by experts in DNA.
Peter Cunningham
We would like to wish Peter many more years
to enjoy wildlife on the islands. Eds.
)
1
f.
Lee eee
"ty
‘fs
#z
*
HH, My,
rte
yself on Scalpay in 1985. © William Lucas
33:3 (2013)
“e,
File
zs Ad 3 be
aD
Plate 205. Cluster all caught - six of six, Windlaw Marsh, Glasgow, November 2011. © Adam Cross
Articles, News & Views
2012 - an exceptional autumn for
Jack Snipe in the Clyde area
|. LIVINGSTONE
As part of our long-term studies into bird
migration through the Clyde recording area,
members of The Clyde Ringing Group have
been catching and ringing Jack Snipe for many
years. The current project has been running
since 1994, has involved many different sites,
but more recently has concentrated on two,
highlighting the national importance of the
Clyde area for wintering and migrating Jack
Snipe. The counts made in the autumn of 2012
have been the highest since those of 2007.
Background
Due to their habit of sitting tight, Jack Snipe are
able to be caught by placing a net over them
during the day, the birds then being flushed up
as the net is checked and removed by the
ringers. Not knowing where the birds are when
you arrive Is always the tricky bit, but once you
know the site, things get a bit easier. In theory,
it sounds simple, but in practice while
successful most of the time, it is hard work and
can be very frustrating as you often just miss
33:3 (2013)
birds. The process however can be really good
fun and produces good quality data rarely
available anywhere else in the country.
Originally, we used a standard 9x3 m mist net,
but over time and with experience we have
progressed to using larger ones and currently
use a 20x20 m net kindly supplied by Glasgow
City Council. In the early years, we typically
caught 6-10 birds a year, but as we have
improved our technique and located better
sites, we regularly catch this number in a day!
This is very much a winter activity, and unlike
most other forms of ringing, which is very
weather dependent, catching Jack Snipe can be
undertaken in all but extreme weather conditions.
This helps to keep us busy over the winter, but
can mean we frequently find ourselves wet, cold
or both. Falling through the ice over ditches or
pools into freezing water is the norm and
occasionally having to swim or be pulled out by
giggling colleagues, after you have handed them
the Jack, is all part of the enjoyment.
251
Articles, News & Views
Results
These have shown that autumn migration
begins in late September with very early birds,
but the main passage starts in early October
peaking mid-month and lasting well into
November in most years. Small numbers of
birds stay to winter, but there are always new
birds coming through even in the middle of
winter. The spring return is not as obvious, but
mid to late February produces the highest
spring counts, last records being typically in
early April. Between October 1994 and the end
of 2012, we have caught and ringed 434
different birds, including one Dutch-ringed bird.
There have been no recoveries reported back to
us from BTO, but we have re-trapped several
birds returning in later winters (5%) and
interestingly have only ever re-captured two
birds moving between local sites (2 km).
The highest count we have ever recorded was
at a site near Kilmacolm, when on 11 November
2007 we flushed 34 birds, catching 22 of them.
Most of our time has been spent in Windlaw
WSS
Plate 206. John McKellar and Gillian
Glasgow, February 2012. © /ain Livingstone
Dw.
SAO MGI SS SSS
Dinsmore extracting a Jack Snipe
Marsh, Glasgow, where from February 2003 we
have concentrated our effort, visiting the site
most weeks from October to April. Typical
counts in the autumn period are 10-18 in
October and November with about five birds
overwintering, then peak spring counts of 6-12
in February. In the spring of 2007, some
management work, which helped improve the
site for other species, damaged the core area for
the Jack Snipe and the raised water levels
pushed birds out early in the autumn. However,
with some restorative work on the water level
management, the site has improved dramat-
ically for Jack Snipe. The autumn of 2012
produced very large numbers of the species
both here and at another site near Motherwell,
North Lanarkshire. Counts at Windlaw Marsh
peaked at 21 on 23 October, but continued high
until mid-November when 20 were flushed on
13th. Similarly, the Motherwell site had a peak
count of 29 on 21 October, but fewer after that
until, during a period of hard frost on 2
December, it held a minimum of 15 individuals
- our highest ever mid-winter count anywhere.
SS
indlaw Marsh,
NS
WW SS S SEAS S
from under the net, W
SSS
. 7
SS ~
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
=e 207. Ten of 15 Jack Snipe aes over ae ree Ei ihe net eainkin Marsh SWT reserve Glasgow,
November 2010. © Kim McEwen
Conclusions
So why was this autumn so good and why afe
these sites so good? The first part Is fairly straight-
forward to answer, because we were catching the
birds. Once in the hand, it is possible to age most
_of the birds accurately using plumage character-
istics, which can tell us the age ratios between
adult and first-winter birds. In the autumn of
2012, only 36% of the birds were adults - the
average is 38%, but we have recorded up to
42% in some years where we have large enough
samples. This would suggest that Jack Snipe had
a better than average breeding season in
Northern Europe that year, producing propor-
tionately more young to migrate here.
The second part is a bit harder, but can be
explained when we look at some site selection
within the Clyde recording area. Prior to starting
this project, | thought of the Jack Snipe as a
special bird requiring specialised habitats,
perhaps managed to suit them, but this is not the
case. Jacks seem happy to use a wide range of
general habitats, at least to the human eye, but
within these sites they clearly have very specific
requirements and typically concentrate on certain
small areas of high quality. The site at Windlaw ts
a well-established marsh, typically containing
patches of dense rush, with open areas of sedge
and drainage ditches. You would perhaps expect
33:3 (2013)
to find Jack Snipe widespread here, but they are
very much limited to small parts of the site.
The other area near Motherwell is a ‘brown-
field’ site, a moonscape of crushed concrete
blocks in rough ground, which at a glance would
not be worthy of a second look, but a tiny
stream 30 cm wide wanders through it
producing high quality marsh and sedge beds in
places, which the Jacks have managed to find
while passing through the Clyde area.
What made this autumn particularly good for us
was that for once we had a bit of extra luck and
on a number of occasions we managed to place
the net down over clusters of Jacks, which
resulted in a single catch of six birds being
successfully held (Plate 205). We had other
occasions where we had up to 14 birds under
the net, but inevitably some got out, as we had
too few ringers and helpers to prevent this.
Overall in 2012, we ringed 58 Jack Snipe out of
a Scottish total of 67 - a significant contribution.
So, if you are at a loose end next winter, would
like to see this stunning little bird up close and
don't mind getting cold and wet, please get in
touch, you would be very welcome!
lain Pa ees
noalemail.com
~
Val
g( (aUgooc MiP iGii,Cu
f
ry i = ial, le) C.
MG. 1c ri Vi f
[2255
Articles, News & Views
BOOK REVIEWS
ws published in Scottish Birds reflect the views of the named reviewers and not those of the SOC
The Birds of Bute: A Bird
Atlas and Local Avifauna.
Ronald W. Forrester, lan
Hopkins & Doug Menzies,
2012. Buteshire Natural
History Society and The
Scottish Ornithologists’ Club,
ISBN 978-0-905812-23-6,
hardback, 360 pages, £12.00.
| The Island of Bute
is often overlooked
as a birdwatching
destination.
| Perhaps its
1 location in the
Firth of Clyde is
too accessible
compared _ to
other Scottish
in many minds
islands, and
remoteness equates to better
birding prospects. But thanks to
this superb new avifauna we now
know that Bute should be
regarded as an_ ornithological
treasure house. It may not host the
spectacular seabird colonies found
elsewhere in Scotland but there is
a rich and diverse species ist
reflecting the wide range of
habitats contained in what is a
relatively small island.
Nothing illustrates this better than
the roll call of breeding species,
which includes Red-throated Diver,
Shelduck, Shoveler, Water Rail,
Black Grouse, Hen Harrier, Osprey,
Peregrine, Black Guillemot, Long-
eared Owl, Short-eared Owl,
Nightjar, Grasshopper Warbler,
Wood Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher,
Twite, Lesser Redpoll and Crossbill.
The list of non-breeding and
occasional species is also
impressive, ranging from Whooper
Swan, Brent Goose, Long-tailed
Duck, Great Northern Diver and
Manx Shearwater to Grey Plover,
Purple Sandpiper, Black-tailed
Godwit, Greenshank, Jack Snipe,
Whimbrel, Sandwich Tern, White-
tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Marsh
Harrier, Merlin, Dipper and
Chough, while the records of
vagrants prove that almost
anything can turn up. All this on an
island roughly 24 km long with an
average breadth of 6 km.
The book is largely the product of
Bute Bird Group's participation in
the national Bird Atlas 2007-11,
and could not be more exhaustive
thanks to the analytical and organi-
sational skills of Ron Forrester, a
lead editor of that milestone of
Scottish ornithology The Birds of
Scotland (2007). Ron's energy
and depth of experience have
produced for his adopted home
island what must surely be the
yardstick by which all future local
avifaunas are measured. In this
task he has been aided by two
fine local ornithologists, lan
Hopkins and Doug Menzies. lan is
well-known in Scottish bird circles
for his wildfowl counts and raptor
group activities, and his personal
bird records going back over 40
years make The Birds of Bute all
the more comprehensive.
Until now resident and visiting
birdwatchers were served by The
Birds of the Island of Bute (1927)
by John Morell McWilliam, first
Honorary President of the SOC.
McWilliam’s — book — (recently
republished in eBook form) was
typical of the period, with a
conversational writing style and
few illustrations, but this new
volume ts very different. As a state-
of-the-art avifauna it has species
maps, tabulated population lists,
and numerous colour
photographs. The depth of detail
given for each species makes it a
delight from start to finish.
Roger Ratcliffe
The Mating Lives of Birds.
James -Patry, 2012) New
Holland, London, ISBN 978-1-
84773-937-7, hardback, 160
Dele, 12 ISOS).
This beautifully illustrated book
covers the reproductive habits of
birds from the initial establishment
of territory and search for a mate
to the departure of the young
from the nest. Discussion of the
roles of song, plumage and
courtship practices leads on to
analysis of the nature of pair
relationships. There are accounts
of the various different types of
nests and the variety of eggs and
the procedures of incubation,
hatching and feeding.
Each topic is 5
introduced
in a brief |
headline
paragraph,
and then
developed
In more
detail, with
discussion
of the variety of
practice between different species.
The text provides a thorough
treatment of the different topics
and is comprehensively illustrated
with photographs of the highest
quality. It is clearly written and
intelligible to the general reader
and the more technical terms are
explained in a useful glossary.
i
\T IN
IVES ©
ir BIRDS
James Parry
Informative and attractive, James
Parry's book is a valuable account
of this important subject.
lan Ebbage
33:3 (2013)
Peregrine Falcon. Patrick
Stirling-Aird, 2012. New
Holland, London, ISBN 978-1-
84773-/69-4, hardback, 128
pages, £14.99.
Reaching
speeds in
excess of
200 miles
per hour, the
Rereonine
raleom 1S
m famous as
A the world’s
fastest bird.
penchant for
However, _ Its
choosing inaccessible places to
breed, feed and roost mean that
few people are well acquainted
with tts habits and behaviour. This
book offers a window into that
rarely seen world, thanks to a
combination of high quality
images and beautifully written
text, with chapters on subjects
such as hunting, raising young and
how populations around the world
have rallied against the threat of
extinction and are now prospering
once again. The birds are further
brought to life through a series of
personal anecdotes from the
author and photographers, which
are woven into the text. If you
wish a concise summary of the
biology and ecology of this
charismatic bird of prey, which is
not too scientific, | would very
much recommend this book.
Mike Thornton
Partridges. G.R. Potts, 2012.
Collins, London, ISBN 978-0-
00-741871-8, 464 pages,
hardback £50, paperback £30.
Cu tems | was introduced
Partridges to the New
oo Naturalist series
ia of books back in
2007.1 had read
some of them
at university,
(via but had no
33:3 (2013)
idea how ground-breaking the
series was and this new addition ts
no exception. Here, partridges get
a tome all to themselves and the
knowledge of expert Dick Potts
shines through, whilst still making it
an easy read. All aspects of
partridge life are covered and the
information clearly shows how
much of a barometer for
biodiversity the species is in our
countryside. | found in particular
the chapters on parasites and
predators interesting and intriguing.
It's not all doom and gloom,
however, as the chapter on the
Norfolk Estate case study shows.
Overall, it shows just how much
affect we as a species have on the
environment around us and this is
a book that will keep you thinking
even when you have finished.
Hayley Anne Douglas
Owls. Marianne Taylor, 2012.
Bloomsbury, London, ISBN
978-1-4081-5553-0, hardback,
224 pages, £25.00.
Owls evoke a peculiar mystery and
attraction for us. Their hold on our
imagination ranges from. their
prominence in early mythologies
to the role of Hedwig in Harry
Potter. This book falls into two
parts. The first part is a natural
history of owls dealing with their
classification, anatomy, behaviour,
life cycle and status in the modern
world. In the second part, there
are species accounts of the forty-
one owls of the northern
hemisphere. Each is copiously
illustrated and includes a
description, and covers their range
and habitat, and breeding and
behavioural specialisms.
The style of writing, the
explanations of technical terms and
the inclusion of a glossary make
the text accessible to the non-
specialist reader, but the level of
detail will engage the more
experienced and knowledgeable
Articles, News & Views
bird-watcher.
The book has
a compre-
hensive
index which §
gives easy |
access to
TOPICS "Of
interest.
The page
of references directs the reader to
more specialised articles, books
and web-sites for further study.
The photographs, all in colour, by
four leading wildlife photographers,
are of outstanding quality and
illustrate not just the distinctive
visual characteristics of each
species, but also aspects of
behaviour and anatomy. They make
this a most attractive book as well
as a highly informative one that can
be very strongly recommended.
lan Ebbage
The Firth of Forth: an
environmental history. T.C.
Smout & M. Stewart, 2012.
Birlinn, Edinburgh, ISBN 978-1-
78027-064-7, softback, 306
pages, £14.99.
The theme of |
this book Is j
the interrela-
tionships
between
people and ™
biodiversity iby,
Chr OU gh AWenvinonmenra co
time. The TC. Smout and Main sy a
co-authors,
Chris Smout and Mairi Stewart,
take the reader through a
fascinating history of the area
through the eyes of an environ-
mentalist. There are chapters on
inshore fishing, oysters, herring,
line fishing and traps/nets, and
then pollution and land
reclamation. The book concludes
with chapters on Bass Rock, the
Isle of May and seals.
255
Troubled
Articles, News & Views
Although not concentrating on
birds, there are some _ intriguing
insights. What were the — gull
populations like in the 1930s?
Photographs show fish laid out for
sale in full view of any Herring Gulls
there may have been; so, it Is
argued, there were presumably very
few. Also, the extent to which the
Firth was polluted is an eye-opener.
The description of the ‘irrigation
meadows’ at Craigentinny conjures
up an image of an amazing bird
habitat in the mid-1800s, but there
was nobody to record what was
there. | should add that this habitat
was formed by irrigating the coastal
dunes with raw sewage! And a rare
flash-back reminds me that Dr
William Evans described Yellow
Wagtails still nesting in this area in
1888-96 UJ. Kirke Nash, 1935. The
Birds of Midlothian).
If | were to say anything negative,
it would be to wish there were
more illustrations and maps. What
photographs there are, do so
much to bring the history to life.
A recommended read, whether by
a local seeking to learn more of
the area, of someone wanting a
case history of the misuse of the
local wildlife through boom and
over-exploitation.
lan Andrews
Troubled Waters: trailing the
albatross, an artist’s journey.
Bruce Pearson, 2012. Langford
Press, Peterborough, ISBN
978-1-904078-48-7, hardback,
136 pages, £58.00.
mmm «Another superb
um ne) addition to the
_ Langford Press
» — Wildlife Art
wa Series, this is
artist naturalist
Bruce Pearson's
haunting and
personal
account of the
impact commercial fisheries have
had on seabird populations (partic-
ularly albatrosses) in the remote
Southern Ocean over the past 30
years. They were thought to be
unthreatened and stable when he
worked from 1976 to 1978 as part
of a British Antarctic Survey group
studying feeding ecology of
breeding Grey-headed, Black-
browed and Wandering albatrosses
on Bird Island off South Georgia. By
the early 1990s, however, it was
estimated that longline fisheries for
tuna off South Africa and South
America were causing the deaths of
up to 300,000 seabirds (about a
third albatrosses) each year, due to
accidental hooking and drowning.
High mortality was also caused by
pelagic trawling where large
numbers of seabirds following
boats discharging offal are
vulnerable to collisions with cables
and trawl nets.
The situation has
somewhat as a result of conser-
vation measures initiated in 1997,
2000 and 2005. But unregulated
“pirate vessels” are still operating
beyond reach of international
treaties and boundaries, and 19 out
of 21 species of albatross are still
considered threatened. So Bruce
was given the opportunity to return
to South Georgia and later work on
fishing vessels off South Africa,
annually from 2007 to 2011, thus to
realise his vision of combining art
and conservation with the aim of
enthusing new audiences in
support of albatross conservation.
Bruce's lovely watercolours and
pencil drawings which _ richly
illustrate this book were all done
outside, often in extreme weather
conditions. They capture the
rugged scenery, the “jizz” of the
birds and the action around the
fishing vessels perfectly. This is an
important and unique record of an
ongoing conservation crisis and |
highly recommend tt.
John Savory
improved
The Mandarin Duck.
Christopher Lever, 2013. T. &
A.D. Poyser, London, ISBN 978-
1-4081-4963-8, hardback, 192
pages, £50.00.
Don't be too quick to dismiss this
invasive species as beneath your
dignity to give serious attention to
reading about. Apart from anything
else it could have a serious claim
to being regarded as re-introduced,
as sharing a zoogeographic
Pleistocene record in Europe with
another Far Eastern species, the
Azure-winged Magpie.
A quarter of the pages on_ this
essentially naturally occurring
Japanese, Chinese and Russian
species are devoted to considering
its presence in the UK; covering
introduction, spread, distribution and
status. A little disappointingly,
relatively little space is given to life
cycle and biology. | admit though
that | turned immediately to the
section covering the bird in Scotland,
thinking back to those heady days in
the early 1980s and placement of
my numerous nest-boxes on the Tay
at Springland (only to have Stock
Dove and Grey Squirrel take up
occupancy) when the Mandarin
population near Perth may have
reached 30 pairs. The history and
recent status of the species in
Scotland has been thoroughly
reviewed. Christopher Lever is to be
congratulated on the care he has
taken to research not only written
sources, but to have assiduously
pursued contact with a very compre-
hensive range of local contacts, as
evidenced by the unusually large
number of ‘pers. comm.’ references.
Coming from the Poyser stable,
there is a pleasing familiarity with
the look and feel of this volume,
though at £50 for 192 pages
perhaps most would be readers
might look to~ borrow from our
Waterston House Library, rather
than purchase. After | have finished
reading and returned it, that is!
Mike Martin
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
RINGERS’ ROUNDUP
If you have any interesting ringing recoveries, articles, project updates or requests for
information which you would like to be included in the next issue, please email to Raymond
Duncan at Raymond @waxwing.fsnet.co,uk. Thank you very much to the British Trust for
Ornithology (BTO) and the many ringers, ringing groups and birders who provided the
information for this latest round up. Thanks also to the many bird watchers who take the
Puffin wreck, age and origins
of birds involved
The last issue of Scottish Birds (33: 157-159)
featured an article about last winter's major
Puffin wreck along the east coast of Scotland
and northern England. Mike Harris has very
kindly provided a summary of the ringed birds
recovered during the wreck.
A total of 50 dead ringed Puffins were reported.
Of the 35 ringed in south-east Scotland (mainly
Isle of May with a few from Craigleith and
Inchkeith) 25 came from between Fraserburgh
and the English border with the rest from north-
east England. The youngest birds were aged
three years (one bird) and four years (two), but
most had been ringed as full-grown adults
(6/8), so we can be fairly confident that most
will have been of breeding age when they died.
The oldest were two birds that had been
breeding when ringed in 1982, so would likely
have been in their late thirties (given that most
Puffins do not breed until 6-7 years old). The
other 15 were ringed on the Farnes and Coquet,
SIX were recovered in south-east Scotland and
nine others recovered in north-east England. So,
all the evidence ts that this was a very local
wreck involving the local population.
Mike Harris
Slamannan Taiga Bean Geese tracked to
their breeding grounds
The previously unknown breeding grounds of
Scotland’s only Taiga Bean Goose flock have
recently been revealed through GPS tracking. In a
joint venture with SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage)
and WWT (Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust), six geese
were caught and ringed by Carl Mitchell and
colleagues in October 2012 at their wintering site
on the Slamannan plateau near Falkirk.
Subsequent tracking of the birds followed them
33:3 (2013)
time and trouble to read rings in the field or find dead ringed birds and report them.
across the North Sea to a staging site in Denmark,
before they headed north up through Scandinavia
to their breeding grounds in the Dalarna region of
western Sweden. Further information and a map
can be found at the following link wbms-ea.k-
hosting.co.uk/carl/b3an.htm.
Such a discovery is not only very exciting, but is
of course also extremely valuable for the future
conservation of this declining species. This and
future information on staging areas and
migration routes can hopefully be used to
mitigate potential threats such as proposed
wind turbine developments. Interestingly (as
Alan Knox pointed out) three of the birds
appeared to pass through the proposed wind
farm off Aberdeen!
Record Black-tailed Godwit
influx on Tiree in April 2013
The Inner Hebridean island of Tiree is an
important staging post for many birds migrating
to and from their breeding grounds in Iceland
and Greenland. Each April, the island sees an
influx of northward-bound Black-tailed Godwits
to the wet grasslands around its lochs, although
the numbers observed fluctuate considerably
from year to year depending on weather
conditions. This year, the first three Black-tailed
Godwits arrived a little later than normal on 4
April and numbers remained low in the
prevailing cool conditions until 22—24 April,
when some 150 birds were present, increasing
to 250 birds on 27 April. This is a typical spring
peak number for Tiree, but strong persistent NW
winds held birds back on the island and
numbers continued to increase with flocks of
530 birds at Loch an Eilein and 130 birds at Loch
a’ Phuill recorded the following day. On 29 April,
there were flocks of godwits scattered all around
west Tiree and a concerted count by myself and
Graham Todd found a minimum total of 1,520
257
Plate 208. Colour-ringed
Articles, News & Views
birds at seven sites, by far the highest count ever
recorded in Argyll and smashing the previous
record high count on Tiree of 550 birds on 25
April 2007. Coincidentally, the same count also
found a record Argyll total of 11,320 Golden
Plovers around west Tiree, presumably also
being held back by the same weather
conditions. The influx on Tiree was not an
isolated event, as there was also a record day-
count of 891 Black-tailed Godwits at Loch
Gruinart on Islay on the same day James How
pers. comm.) and there were also large
numbers recorded in the Outer Hebrides at the
same time. Numbers rapidly declined at the end
of April although there was a further arrival of at
least 300 birds in the first week of May.
The large flocks on Tiree allowed a good sample
of colour-ringed and leg-flagged birds to be
identified. A total of 30 individually colour-
ringed birds was recorded on Tiree during the
late April/early May influx and thanks to the
ringers concerned we have a detailed picture of
their ringing and wintering sites. These involved
eight birds ringed on the breeding grounds in
Iceland and 22 birds ringed elsewhere in the
wintering range. The birds came from a diverse
spread of wintering locations including two from
Portugal, nine from France, one from Belgium,
one from the Netherlands, one from Ireland,
two from Northern Ireland and 12 from
wintering sites in England, including the Dee
hy
2013. © John Bowler
258
Scottish Birds
Plate 209. Colour-tinged Black-tailed Godwits, Tiree,
April 2013. © Christian Verstraete
Estuary, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Essex, Suffolk,
Norfolk and the Humber Estuary. The latter bird
was ringed at the Montrose Basin in September
2007 and although it winters on the Humber, it
has also been recorded at Dundalk in County
Louth, Eire in March 2008 and at Ardnave Loch
on Islay in April 2010; both records hinting at Its
spring migratory route to Iceland.
It seems the Tiree influx involved birds from all
over NW Europe, which had congregated on this
small Hebridean Island as a result of the unusual
spring weather, whilst they waited for better
migratory conditions to head on up to Iceland. By
all accounts, the weather was even worse in
Iceland this spring with very cold temperatures
and late snow cover, so only time will tell how
well the godwits breeding season went this year.
Sightings of these colour-ringed Black-tailed
Godwits are really valuable for the long-term
studies of this population - please report all
sightings to Dr Jennifer Gill at; j.gill@uea.ac.uk
John Bowler
SOC Research Grants
Generous grants can be acquired annually from
the SOC Endowment Fund to help support a
wide variety of Scottish ornithological amateur
research projects. Applications have to be in by
the end of January each year for consideration.
Lots of ringing projects have been supported in
previous years, so why don't you apply to if you
think your project merits some financial support
from the SOC. Go to the following link for
further details: www.the-soc.org.uk/get-
involved/research-grants.
33:3 (2013)
Sightings of colour-ringed Curlews wanted
During the summer of 2013 Grampian and
Orkney Ringing Groups between them have
individually colour-ringed 95 Curlew chicks in
Orkney and Aberdeenshire. This is the start of a
longer term project to look at chick survival,
dispersal and site fidelity to build up a locally
marked population around key breeding areas
of this declining species. Any sightings of these
birds please send to alan.leitch@rspb.org.uk.
Alan Leitch
Plate 210. Colour-ringed Curlew chick, Orkney, June
2013. © Alan Leitch
Colour-ringed Coot in Fife
Well done to Keith Avery for spotting only the
second colour-ringed Coot to be seen in
Scotland out of around 1,700 colour marked in
north-west England since 2009 in a project
coordinated by Kane Brides. Keith
photographed it on 10 March 2013 in Beveridge
Park, Kirkcaldy. It was ringed at Southport
Marine Lake in Lancashire during the very cold
snap of December 2010, but hasn't been
resighted since. It may have still been on
passage to elsewhere as Keith commented that
it was continually being chased out of the water
by the resident Coots and spent much of its
time resting on the footpath during its two-day
visit. Any sightings of colour-ringed Coots,
please send to kanebrides@googlemail.com
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
Waxwings
Amidst the doom and gloom of last winter's
rotten weather and seabird wrecks it shouldn't be
forgotten that we had yet another large invasion
of Waxwings into the country to brighten up our
cities and gardens. What made tt extra special
this time was the large amount of birds which
remained with us throughout the entire winter, in
contrast to the last large invasion in 2010 when
cold, snowy weather and subsequent berry
depletion in late November/early December saw
most of the birds head further south into
England. This time round the rowan berry crop
lasted long enough to sustain a lot of the birds
until they could move onto the very abundant
but later ripening tree cotoneaster. Once this
happens there's every chance they will move
onto apples provided in gardens as winter
progresses and natural berry supplies decline.
Many people enjoyed this pleasure last winter,
none more so than Wendy Anderson in Culloden
and her novel and richt braw Scottish presen-
tation of apples to her Viking invaders (Plate 212).
Most of the flock was whoosh netted next day by
Hugh Insley and colleagues.
As usual though many of the early birds
continued south fairly rapidly. One ringed bird
from Orkney and an unprecedented four from
Grampian ended up in Ireland whilst other
Grampian ringed birds were in Wales, southern
England, the Netherlands and Germany before
Christmas. A bird ringed on Fair Isle on 4
November 2012 was retrapped in Aberdeen 11
ai >
© Keith Avery
Plate 211. Colour-ringed Coot, Kirkcaldy, Fife, March 2013.
1 Birds | 259
Articles, News & Views
Plates 213-4. Waxwing (Green, Green, Yellow) in Aboyne,
NE Scotland, November 2012. © Harry Scott. Then in Co.
Antrim, Ireland a month later. © Cameron Moore
260 7 S¢
Plate 212. Waxwing antler, Culloden, Highland, March 2013. © Wendy Anderson.
days later, then in mid-Wales on 9 December, just
over three weeks later. With invasions more
frequent and larger nowadays it's good to see our
southern neighbours also enjoying and making
the most of this spectacle. Tony Cross and
colleagues colour-ringed 100 birds in mid-Wales
in November/December with subsequent
movements in all directions, but pride. of place
goes to a resighting in Geneva, Switzerland (a first
BTO record) on 9 March 2013. Peter Alker in
Wigan risked divorce and bankruptcy to sustain a
flock of up to 250+ Waxwings on apples in his
garden from January to May, but was well
rewarded with a bird ringed in Estonia on 17
October 2012 turning up (another BTO first) as
well as a couple from Aberdeen and several from
neighbouring areas. Although some _ birds
remained into May, return passage or birds
crossing back over the North Sea begins a lot
earlier. One bird ringed in Aberdeen hit a window
in Denmark on 23 February 2013, while another
ringed on 27 March and last seen 6 April was
retrapped in Barstadvik, SW Norway just over two
weeks later. A bird ringed in Wigan on 30 March
2013 was retrapped in Pandrup in northern
Denmark on 24 April.
| believe 1991 was the last time we saw
significant back-to-back invasions, but you
never know.
33:3 (2013)
It was Peter Osborn who started this exciting
chain of events. Prior to his discovery of a White-
billed Diver off Portsoy in April 2011, the species
was classed as a vagrant to the region. It had
occurred only on 20 or so previous occasions,
and with the majority being birds recorded
passing at sea it was a difficult species for local
observers to catch up with. Peter Osborn
contacted Hywel Maggs, who was at the time
county recorder, to say that he had seen what he
thought could have been a White-billed Diver off
the harbour mouth at Portsoy, off the north coast
of Aberdeenshire. The sighting was certainly well
worth checking out. After work on 25 April, HM,
along with CG, drove up to Portsoy to follow up
this report. They arrived to find a flat-calm sea and
perfect viewing conditions. Much to their
amazement, they counted five White-billed Divers
in the bay, mostly in or approaching summer
plumage. Wow! They were all rather distant, but
unmistakable with their ivory ‘tusks’ gleaming in
the early evening sunshine. The distance involved
meant that photographs were impossible, so field
notes and sketches were taken (Figure 1) and
local birders alerted to the incredible news of the
spectacle unfolding on their doorstep.
PAAB went up at the weekend, just four days
later, but no birds were present. So, what was
going on? Were the five birds just a freak one-off
event, or were White-billed Divers present off
33:3 (2013)
Plate 215. White-billed Diver, Portsoy, North-east Scotland, April 2013. © Chris Gibbins
=—
Portsoy each spring, perhaps in a rather narrow
window? Or perhaps they were present all
winter? The spring passage of White-billed Divers
on the Outer Hebrides is of course rather well
known (Scott & Shaw 2008) - could we be
seeing a similar pattern off the north coast of
Aberdeenshire. To build further on this, the three
of us agreed to start going up to Portsoy regularly
to try to establish what the true situation was.
For the remainder of spring 2011 and over the
following two winters we made regular trips to
Portsoy and the immediate area. However, we
Plate 216. White-billed Diver,
April 2013. © Tim Marshall
|
Portsoy, North-east Scotland,
261
Articles, News & Views
only had a single bird in the winter of 2011/12
(from 17 March until 17 April, a bird in active
wing moult) and there was certainly no clear
evidence of a spring peak. In the 2012/13 winter
the first bird was not seen until 18 March, when
three winter-plumaged individuals were present -
incredibly, we had discovered the species in
three consecutive spring periods and it seemed
that the species status was about to change,
literally overnight. Could White-billed Diver really
become a scarce, but regular spring visitor?
From the time of the first sightings In 2011, we
had discussed the possibility of chartering a
boat, so after the three birds in March 2013,
PAAB made contact with Gemini Marine
Charters at Buckie (a harbour just west of
Portsoy) and made plans for some offshore
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forays. Two trips were arranged on the MV
Gemini Explorer initially (one on 14 April and
another on 21 April), with a different group of a
dozen birders on each one. All available places
were taken on each trip, and each had an
entirely different group of birders. The three of
us were scheduled to be on the first trip, but
unfortunately this was cancelled due to bad
weather. The second trip (i.e. on 21st) therefore
became the first, but as it was already full there
was no room for us! There was nothing we
could do but reschedule our trip and wait to see
what the others saw on 21st. It is probably safe
to say that what they encountered exceeded
even the most optimistic of expectations, with
between seven and 10 birds seen in the bay
just off Portsoy harbour. It was gripping stuff - up
to 10 White-billed Divers in one spot in North-
Figure 1. White-billed Diver, Portsoy, North-east Scotland, April 2013. © Chris Gibbins
262
33:3 (2013)
east Scotland! To add even more excitement to
the events, Hugh Addlesee, who had been on
that boat trip, had a double figure count when
returning to the area and viewing from land,
immediately following the boat trip. His count of
12+ birds was thought to contain different
individuals to those seen from the boat...
Our trip was rescheduled to 28th so we waited
nervously for news of the weather. The weather
for 28th was not looking good so the trip was
changed, on the advice of the skipper, to a narrow
window in the early afternoon of 27th. As tt
turned out, this window could not have been
better - we had 13 birds over the course of the
32 hour trip. The majority were close to full
summer plumage so it was a spectacular day,
although the rolling sea made viewing and
photography a challenge. The photos were little
better than record shots, but we managed to
complete a looped survey route and secure GPS
co-ordinates for the birds. A third trip visit was
undertaken on 12 May, and was attended by 15
local birders. As we had thought would happen,
only four White-billed Divers could be found
(three in almost full summer plumage and a
single fully winter-plumaged bird) and it looked
like the majority of birds had moved on following
acquisition of breeding plumage. It was valuable
information however, and added further to the
knowledge of the species in the region.
On all boat trips the birds were concentrated
into a remarkably small area; all 13 on the trip
of 27th were in the area between Logie Head
(just east of Cullen) and Portsoy. We have
checked the coastline a few miles either side
of Portsoy on several occasions and not seen
any birds, so it does seem that all the action Is
concentrated around Portsoy. The relatively
small number of birds seen on our mid-winter
visits suggests that It is primarily a spring
passage phenomenon, but for the moment
we do not know what is so attractive about
Portsoy Bay to these birds, nor how long into
the Spring and early Summer they remain. A
record of a single bird just west of Portsoy by
Dave Pullan in June does perhaps hint at the
possibility that birds linger for longer than
expected, or even possibly summer? Whether
this is a new phenomenon or whether birds
have been overlooked in the past also
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
Plate 217. White-billed Diver from the
Portsoy, North-east Scotland, April 2013. © Paul Baxter
remains unclear. Prior to our regular visits to
look for divers the area of coast around Portsoy
was very underwatched, at least relative to the
areas further west (towards Spey Bay) and
east (around Banff and Fraserburgh) so divers
may always have been there in spring.
Alternatively, their presence may be a recent
phenomenon caused by changing environ-
mental conditions elsewhere. We simply don't
know. However, what we know for sure is that
‘discovering’ that White-billed Divers occur in
such numbers off our coastline has been a
great experience, and thanks to the boat trips,
has been shared by many members of the
local birding community.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Davey and Iris of Gemini
Charters for being such understanding and
flexible hosts and for contributing to the magical
experience that all the participants experienced.
Davey’'s knowledge of the area was instrumental
to the success of these trips.
References
Baxter, P., Gibbins, C. & Maggs, H. 2013.
White-billed Divers off Portsoy, North-east
Scotland: discovering a new birding spectacle.
Cied joy Metin “Gere On ~ ns
birdingfrontiers.com blog, posted 6 May 2013.
Scott, M.S. & Shaw, K.D. 2008. The status of
White-billed Diver in northwest Scotland.
British Birds 24: 241-248.
Paul Baxter, Chris Gibbins and
Hywel Maggs, Aberdeenshire.
V Gemini Explorer,
263
Deemer
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: ie KM : HAR AY) RVEY (& eR: = ul IDE YIN
oils
Plate 218. Pacific Diver, Grutness, Shetland May 2 2013. ©
Roger Riddington. Some structural similarities to a Red-
throated Diver, with relatively short and slim bill and well-
rounded head. At times, the nape could appear quite full.
Black-throated Diver can often appear more Great
Northern Diver-like, although they can also appear slim-
billed and round-headed. Although the structure of this
bird supports identification as Pacific Diver, it may not be
diagnostic in Its own right.
A brief stop at Geosetter on the way home from
work on 16 May 2013 produced enough
common migrants to persuade me (PVH) to give
tea a miss and head out for some birding. Roger
: Riddington (RR) was at Quendale, so | decided to
head to Sumburgh. | parked my car at the large
quarry and proceeded on foot around the farm
and then down to Grutness, where at about
19:20 hrs local resident and soon to be octoge-
narian Andy Flaws was emerging from his garden.
He asked me what | had seen and | replied that
it was fairly quiet. Andy's house overlooks the bay
at Grutness and he told me that he was fairly sure
he had seen a Black-throated Diver from the
window earlier in the day. He described tt as
having a very pale buff neck, but offered no more.
Black-throated Diver is a pretty rare bird in
Shetland - | have seen less than a dozen in 30
Plate 219. Pacific ven Grutness, Shetland, May 2013. ©
Roger Riddington. Again showing the steep rounded
forehead and relatively fine bill. The number of chin spots
has also been mooted as a possible feature. This bird
appears to have seven; Black-throated Divers often show
more, but there is an overlap.
264 | Scott:
years and only two of those were in summer
plumage - so | pushed Andy a bit more. ‘What
was Its back like?’ | asked ‘big white spots’ he
replied. | told him it sounded pretty good and that
| would look out for it. | had taken literally just a
few more paces when up it popped, little more
than 100 m away. It did indeed have a very
striking pale nape, the colour of pale ash with
even a hint of sandy or beige about it, but at this
point | just checked the scapular spots and black
throat. It dived after just a few seconds and |
turned round to tell Andy how impressed | was
that he had identified it correctly. He smiled,
justifiably pleased with himself.
My next step was to text Gary Bell, Rob Fray and
RR - all of whom live close by and might be
interested in a stunning summer-plumaged
Black-throated Diver. The next time it surfaced it
had moved left and was further out and into the
light. | moved along the road a little to alter my
position against the light and it surfaced a
couple more times, moving slightly further
afield on each occasion. Despite looking for it, |
just could not see a thigh patch and the nape
did seem very pale. At this point | began to
wonder if this just could be a Pacific Diver
although my natural reaction was to try and
dismiss the idea. My scope was in the car some
way away and | had a choice - go and get it or
phone a friend. | was fairly sure RR would come
for a look at the mention of an apparent
absence of thigh patch and also knew that he
would have a camera with him. | already have
too much digital technology in my life, so don't
carry a camera! So at 19:25 hrs | phoned him.
He answered the call with the quip ‘so It's a
Pacific is it?’ - his attempt at some humour!
‘Well it's funny you should say that’ | retorted
‘because | cannot see any thigh patch!’ He
didn't need a second invitation and said he
33:3 (2013)
Plate 220. Pacific Diver, Grutness, Shetland, May 2013.
© Roger Riddington. Here the bird is almost rolling,
confirming that the anterior thigh is indeed dark.
would be along soon. | phoned Gary Bell too.
He had just got my text and was heading south
from Lerwick - Black-throated Diver was a patch
tick for him. | suggested he might want to move
a bit faster as it could be significantly more
interesting than a Black-throat!
The bird was now 200-300 m away on the far
side of the voe and despite my best efforts there
was no flank patch to be seen and the nape
continued to flash pale but that was all | could do
with it in the absence of a scope. After what
seemed like an age, RR arrived and we had a
quick look through his scope. Initially, he was a
little underwhelmed, but we decided that we
~ needed two scopes to try and sort it out, and he
drove me to my car. Reunited with my car and
scope | decided to watch from the south side of
the voe while RR headed around to the north side,
where the light was better for photography. Once |
got my scope on the diver, just before 20:00 hrs,
| was gobsmacked at just how small, weak and
slim the bill appeared - and how rounded the
head was - showing a steep forehead but then
neatly rounded, with at times a rather full-looking
nape. It preened, flapped its wings and generally
Articles, News & Views
‘re-organised itself’ but never showed a_ thigh
patch. This lack of thigh patch seemed genuine as
the bird always sat high in the water and at times
a small pale area could just be seen above the
water in the mid-flank area. Surely, if this area
appeared pale then any pale thigh patch, if
present, would have been clearly evident? |
couldn't really assess the relative widths of the
black and white neck bars and spent most of my
time concentrating on the thigh area and the head
shape. At one point when it was preening |
thought it was going to expose its vent; it didn't
quite do that, although it did show a marked area
of dark encompassing the hip joint/femur on
either side, these extending well down towards
the vent. At one point, the bird took off and circled
the bay before returning and in flight it showed a
neat dark border along the flanks, dropping slightly
at the rear to encompass the ‘hips’ but again |
couldn't establish the precise vent pattern. What
was evident, however, was that it did not show
any indent up towards the rump, where a pale
thigh patch should have been. Unfortunately, at
20:12 hrs the bird flew off strongly south, just a
few minutes before Gary Bell arrived.
At this point RR drove back to join me and we
discussed the bird. He too had been struck by the
bird's structure and its lack of thigh patch.
Amazingly, he had managed to secure some
images with his scope set at x60 and his camera
zoomed to maximum. We hastily replayed them
on the back of his camera and they seemed to
confirm everything | had noted. We were,
Plate 221. Even though this Black-throated Diver is sitting
relatively low in the water, the white thigh patch Is still
evident. © Laurie Campbell
Plates 222-223 (above). Pacific Diver, Grutness, Shetland,
Articles, News & Views
oes
May 2013. © Roger Riddington. Despite sitting high enough in
the water to show some white in the mid-flank area, there is
not even a hint of any white in the anterior thigh area. The dark
anterior thigh would seem to be the single diagnostic feature.
The relative widths of the white and black neck-stripes have
been mooted as a useful feature with Pacific showing narrower
white stripes. The width of the black does at least seem to
match that of the white in the Grutness bird.
266
however, acutely aware that this would represent
the first summer-plumaged individual seen in
Britain and that identification in this plumage was
tougher than at other times of the year. Our
emotions were a curious mixture of panic, elation,
frustration - and no small concern that it had
departed before we had got anyone else there.
The inevitable soul-searching as to whether we
should have put some sort of half-baked news
out more quickly mingled with the general feeling
of what should we do next.
We decided to head back to RR’s place where we
downloaded the pictures and pulled out all the
reference material we could lay our hands on.
Some of the published photos looked a dead-
ringer for the Grutness bird. We texted the bird out
as showing features of Pacific Diver, cobbled
together a couple of e-mails and released five of
the better pictures to the world on Martin Garner's
Birding Frontiers blog (birdingfrontiers.com) with
an invitation for comments. Since then, the
response has been overwhelmingly positive and
it looks as if RR's grainy digiscoped images might
be enough for acceptance of Scotland's first
Pacific Diver and the first British record in this
plumage. The key clinching feature would appear
to be the dark anterior thigh.
Cremttich Rirs fe
ICOCiSN BITas
Plate 224. Pacific Diver, Grutness, Shetland, May 2013.
© Roger Riddington. Showing the dark anterior thigh.
The pale nape Is also apparent in this picture, although
the photograph doesn't quite capture the very pale ash-
grey that it initially appeared under field conditions.
Pacific Diver was first recorded in Britain in 2007,
when a remarkable three birds turned up: a
juvenile in Yorkshire in January, another juvenile in
Pembrokeshire in February and an adult in
Cornwall, also in February. There have been just
two accepted new arrivals since then - both in
2009, an adult in Cornwall and another adult in
Avon, both in November - although three of these
five have reappeared in at least one subsequent
winter (the Pembrokeshire one and both birds
from Cornwall). The Shetland bird, if accepted,
would be the first for Britain in breeding plumage,
as well as the first for Scotland.
Acknowledgments
We are particularly grateful to Martin Garner for
commenting on the bird on the first evening, and
for releasing the photos that evening on the
Birding Frontiers site; and to Killian Mullarney for
his detailed comments and analysis of the
photographs. We should also like to thank all those
observers who responded to our request from
comments on the Birding Frontiers website, and in
addition we thank James McCallum and Martin
Scott for their helpful comments on the bird.
Useful references
Birch, A., & Lee, C-T. 1995. Identification of
Pacific Diver - a potential vagrant to Europe.
Birding World 8: 458-466.
Birch, A., & Lee, C-T. 1997. Arctic and Pacific Loons:
field identification. Birding 29: 106-115.
http://www.ruf-rice.edu/~ ctlee/BirchLeeLoonBir
ding.pdf
Lopez-Velasco, D. 2011. Identification of the first
Pacific Diver for Spain. Birding World 23: 14-19.
Paul Harvey & Roger Riddington, Shetland
33:3 (2013)
re a was lost behind a
was a virtually black rear view
: ark for ae Swift, even from
E ( ae pie sure it was a large swift,
: on briefly mentioned the possibility of Alpine
_ Swift, or (in some disbelief) White-throated
eC sd | Needletail!. Having made the classic mistake of
r leaving our binoculars in the car (whoops!), | ran
back to get them.
‘Thankfully the bird flew over our heads at 15:50
in good light, some 30—40 feet up. As soon as |
got the bins on it | knew what it was and called
_ “needletail”, with Mark immediately concurring.
Other than the bulk and power of the bird, the
_ feature that stood out first was the white
horseshoe under the tail, and we also noted the
white throat. After a few pats on the back and
a ailh Harts, Outer Hebrides, June 2013. © Josh Jones
Plates 226-227. White-throated Needletail, Harris, Outer Hebrides, June 2013. © Chris Batty
268
expletives had been exchanged (with Mark
saying “You wanted a rarity, now that's what | call
a rarity"!) we immediately tried to relocate the
bird, at first without success. We walked up the
hill to get a better view over the town, and then
agreed to split up but keep in mobile contact.
Mark gained further height, climbing the hillside
above Main Street, whilst | stayed on the higher
road overlooking the town and the bay. | put the
news out immediately and also left another
voicemail message for Brian Rabbitts, beginning
“You probably won't believe this, but...”
With no further sign of the bird, | soon had calls
from Birdguides and RBA, as well as Tim
Cleeves, who was staying with Brain Rabbitts.
Tim's first words were “how jammy are you
two?" and he immediately set about re-
arranging his travel plans, as he had been due
to leave the islands the following day. Eventually
at 16:38 | relocated the bird over two white
cottages and small plantation just south-east of
Tarbert. For the rest of the afternoon the bird
moved between that area (towards Loch
Direcleit) and Tarbert, proving hard to keep in
view for more than 1—2 minutes at a time. |
noted five more sightings and at 18:28 it was
back over the town. A few birders already on the
islands arrived during this time. These included
Dick Myatt and his wife, who had seen an
unidentified large swift (clearly the same bird)
the day before. They had reported the sighting
Scottish Birds
to BirdGuides, but the news was not put out, as
it was thought inconclusive (we were totally
unaware of this report prior to our sighting).
We returned to Tarbert the next morning (26th)
soon after 09:30. A group of at least 15 worried-
looking birders (including Tim) were along the
road just south-east of the town - the bird had
not yet been re-located. Mark and | decided to
search from the top of the low hill between
Tarbert and Loch Direcleit, giving good views in
both directions. There was an agonising wait
and anxiety levels were rising! With intense
relief, | picked the bird up flying towards the loch
at about 10:20. | phoned Tim, and within three
minutes all the birders had raced up the road
and were watching the Needletail performing
well over Loch Direcleit. Mark captured the
mood later in his Guardian ‘Country Diary’ on 8
July: “one friend (went) from gibbering anxiety
to exultant delirium” in seconds. At one breath-
taking point, the bird passed within 5-6 m of a
few of us, prompting the comment that it felt a
bit like being buzzed by a skua (such was the
awesome power of the bird). In the afterglow of
seeing one of his ‘most wanteds’ Tim compared
the bird to a small aerial Orca!
In contrast to its behaviour on the preceding
day, the Needletail spent the next 50 minutes or
more hawking over the loch (and sometimes
going higher), not spending time back over the
33:3 (2013)
NRE frig om ER
SE et
MINE SANT SS a
Te eS
town. By 11:15, there were some 25-30 birders
getting excellent views (and shots) of the bird,
and Mark and | decided we were not going to
get better views than we had already had, and
decided to leave for Stornoway and west Lewis,
where we had arranged to stay with friends. In
retrospect, perhaps we should have stayed
longer, but neither of us really enjoy large
crowds of birders, and weren't too sure how
many folk would be en route.
| had a couple of appreciative texts from those
who had seen the bird, with the last at 15:25,
saying it had been ‘relocated further south’
having gone off the radar for a couple of hours.
That was the last we heard as we were then out
of mobile reception on the far west coast of Lewis
until the morning of 28th. It was then that | picked
up a text saying “Thanks for great bird - pity about
ending.” A phone call from my wife followed; she
was on the London tube and had read about the
sad end in the Metro. At first it was hard to take
in the news (as for so many others also), but
then we were left with a deep sense of sadness
that this fabulous bird had flown so far, to end up
in a million-to-one collision with the only wind
turbine in that particular area.
The events after we left the bird have been
widely described elsewhere (both in birding
sources and in the popular press - including
making the front page of the Scottish Sun), but
Mark Golley has kindly allowed me to quote
from his fine account for Rare Bird Alert:
ne
Plate 228.
White-throated Needletail, Harris, Outer
Hebrides, June 2013. © James Hanlon
33:3 (2013)
Articles, News & Views
Plate 229. White-throated Needletail twitch, Harris,
Outer Hebrides, June 2013. © James Hanlon
“After a couple of hours, until around 1230, the
Needletail departed south and went missing for at
least two hours... this in ttself wasn’t unusual for
the species, certainly not in terms of previous
island vagrants - the Shetland bird of 1984 and
the Orkney bird of 1988 did exactly the same
thing, lost for hours on end, increasing the heart
rate and stress levels for anyone present. Just
before 3 o'clock, the Harris 2013 bird was refound
a little further to the south, over the moorland to
the west of Loch Drinisadair, where it continued to
perform through the afternoon. At around 5.20
pm, a pager message went out, mentioning the
following: “W. Isles. White-throated Needletail still
4.30pm Harris c3mis SSE of Tarbert + north of
Scadabagh over Loch Plocrapol near small wind
turbine at end of “Golden Road”. No one could
have predicted that less than half an hour later,
that “small wind turbine” would have such a
significant impact (in every sense) on so many
people. The White-throated Needletail had been
involved in a deadly collision with the local
community turbine and for all those present - or
who had been there through the day - an epic day
took a sour, and desperately sad, turn for
something beyond the worst. Almost immediately
(almost inevitably), with little by way of facts to
hand, many people (who weren't on site) began
to rail against wind farms and everything they
stand for. There was also a_ remarkable,
269
Plate 230. White-throated Needletail composite, Harris, Outer Hebrides, June 2013. © Josh Jones
270
unparalleled outpouring of grief for the newly
departed mega, the like of which has never, ever
been seen before (not for a lost, vagrant wanderer
of a bird at least). For those lucky enough to have
connected with the Hebrides bird this week, tt
instantly became “the best bird ever". That
sentiment rings true for all those who twitched the
Loch of Hillwell bird in 1984 and the Hoy bird in
1988. If you see one, It simply will become the
best bird you'll ever see on these shores. There Is
just nothing to compare with this awe-inspiring
powerhouse flyer. ...the question now of course
is “how long until the next one?”
Apart from great sadness at the bird's tragic
ending, | am left feeling very fortunate that we
were simply in the right place at the right time, and
to have been able to share the bird with those
who were able to get there within 24 hours of our
first report. Having been to south-west Siberia six
times (at first searching in vain for nesting Slender-
billed Curlew), and never seen a Needletail, it is
astonishing to have connected with the species so
much closer to home. | am left wondering how
many such birds may go unseen or unreported
(particularly in the more remote parts of the UK
with few birders). Following up unconfirmed and
inconclusive reports (perhaps through local
recorders and other contacts) could play an
important part in some cases, though the fear of
erroneously triggering a major twitch is clearly
significant for the bird news services. If Mark and |
hadn't been held up that morning by bad weather
and had just driven through Tarbert, would the bird
have been picked up by others - and how long
might it have already been on Harris for? Not long
before the events described above, the Pacific
Swift at Trimley, Suffolk on 15—16 June had caused
a much larger ‘twitch’ - is it possible both birds
might have arrived on the same weather system?
Adam Gretton
Email: Adam.Gretton @naturalengland.org.uk
This record is subject to acceptance by the
British Birds Records Committee.
Plates 231-232 (opposite). White-throated Needletail, Harris, Outer Hebrides, June 2013. © James Hanlon
33:3 (2013)
Plate 233. White-throated Ne
Articles, News & Views
The status of White-throated Needletail
in Scotland
This Eastern Palearctic species has separate
breeding populations in the Himalayas (which is
resident) and from south-central Siberia and
Mongolia east to Sakhalin and south to north-
east China, Korea and northern Japan. The
eastern population is migratory and mostly
winters in Australia, with smaller numbers in
New Zealand and New Guinea.
There have been seven accepted records in
Britain to the end of 2012 with four of these
in Scotland:
1983: Orkney - one South Ronaldsay, 11—12 June
1984: Shetland - one Quendale, 25 May—6 June
1988: Orkney - one Isle of Hoy, 28 May—8 June
1991: Shetland - one Isle of Noss, 11—14 June
edletail, Harris, Outer Hebrides, June 2013. James Hanlon
The 1991 Shetland bird is now considered to
be the same as one seen at Maidstone, Kent
on 26 May, at Blithfield Reservoir,
Staffordshire on 1 June and near Belper,
Derbyshire on 3 June that year. It is also
considered possible that the 1983, 1984 and
1985 sightings could refer to a returning
individual (or two). The other British records
are: one at Great Horkesley, Essex on 8 July
1846, one near Ringwood, Hampshire on 26
or 27 July 1879, and one at Fairburn Ings,
Yorkshire on 27 May 1985. There has also
been one in Ireland at Cape Clear Island, Co.
Cork on 20 June 1964. All accepted records
fall within a 63-day period in late spring to
mid-summer, and the Harris bird occurred in
the middle of this period.
Plate 234. The 2013 Harris White-throated Needletail skin at the National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh. The bird was
confirmed as a male during preparation of the skin. © NMS/S.L. Rivers
272
33:3 (2013)
Sunday 26 May 2013 was the last full day of my
two-week birding expedition to Westray,
Orkney. The day had started well, as at 07:00
hrs | had woken to the sound of a Common
Rosefinch singing outside my room at the
Pierowall Hotel. Although the bird had
disappeared by the time | got dressed and
dashed outside with binoculars, the encounter
had a major influence on the rest of the day.
After breakfast, | changed my_ carefully
constructed plans of the previous night, and
spent a while searching the gardens of Pierowall
in case the rosefinch was still around. Although
unsuccessful, the search took me over the
— nearby golf course where, at 11:00 hrs, a
routine scan of the fence lines led to discovery
of a stunning male Woodchat Shrike!
Woodchat Shrike was a UK ‘self-found lifer’ for me,
so | had a brief period of celebration (fist pumps,
quiet cheering) before settling down to get a
series of record shots and field notes. The bird
was initially quite distant, but closer views soon set
off alarm bells in my head as the closed wing
looked remarkably plain. At rest there was no sign
of a white patch at the base of the primaries and
in flight it only showed very restricted pale bases
to P5—8 (just visible on photos). It soon became
obvious that | was dealing with a Balearic
Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator badius, some
2000 km north of its normal range!
33:3 (2013)
} Plate 235. Balearic Woodchat Shrike, Westray, Orkney, May 2013. © Russell Wynn
The shrike was evidently settled, and spent
most of its time feeding on bumblebees and
other insects (it stored several of the bees on
barbed wire larders). After watching and
photographing the bird for an hour or so |
quickly returned to the hotel to check the online
literature and satisfy myself that the identifi-
cation was correct. Photos confirmed the
relatively chunky bill, narrow black forehead,
and pale orange tone to the crown, three
additional features supporting the identification
as badius. There was a slight brownish cast to
the primaries, possibly hinting at immaturity, but
this was inconclusive. | subsequently put the
news out, allowing a handful of Orkney
islanders and visitors to connect with the bird.
i
acd
2013. © Russell Wynn
Plate 236. Balearic Woodchat Shrike, Westray, Orkney, May
Plate 237. Balearic Woodchat Shrike, Foula, Shetland May
Articles, News & Views
In the afternoon | went on to find a smart Red-
backed Shrike a few hundred metres away at
Loch of Burness, making a nice shrike double.
The Woodchat was still present when | returned
to the site in the evening, but the south-east
wind had increased and | wasn't expecting the
bird to linger at such an exposed site overnight.
Sure enough it was not present when | quickly
searched the area early the next morning, and It
was not seen on the island again.
This is the first Orkney and Scottish record of
this distinctive subspecies, and was certainly not
a bird | was expecting to encounter in the
Northern Isles!
This record is subject to acceptance by the
British Birds Records Committee.
Russell B. Wynn, Southampton
Email: row] @noc.ac.uk
What was almost certainly the same bird was
seen on Foula, Shetland on 28 May by Donna
and Geoff Atherton, Amanda Coia and Ken D.
Shaw. It was first spotted by DA at 10:20 in the
Ham Valley, while the observers were trying to
relocate a Rustic Bunting. It was seen by all four
observers for about 15 seconds before it flew
off down the valley. Woodchat Shrikes have a
reputation for disappearing on Foula, but there
were two further brief sightings, the last being
at the teacher's house in the early evening,
when KDS got six rather poor images (Plate
237). This constitutes the first record of the
subspecies for Shetland.
| ci.)
2013. © Ken Shaw
274
The status of Balearic
Woodchat Shrike in Britain
Balearic Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator
badius is one of four races of Woodchat
Shrike found in the Western Palearctic and
breeds on the western Mediterranean islands
of Ibiza, Formentera, Majorca, Minorca,
Corsica and Sardinia. All forms are migratory,
with badius mainly wintering in West Africa
from Cote d'Ivoire east to western Nigeria
and north to 10°N.
In adult plumage, badius differs most
noticeably from other subspecies in having
no (or very minute) white patch at the base
of the primaries, a_ stronger-looking bill,
narrower black band on the forehead, paler
tone to the crown and nape, and less-evenly
spaced primary tips in the folded wing (Small
& Walbridge 2005).
There have been nine accepted records of
Balearic Woodchat Shrike in Britain prior to the
Westray bird:
1980: Suffolk - male, Sizewell, 15—18 June
1986: Dorset - adult male, Portland, 10 May
1995: Norfolk - male, Great Cressingham,
2-6 July
1995: Kent - adult female, Dungeness, 15-21
July
1999: Isles of Scilly - one, St Agnes, 21—27 April
2005: Avon - first-summer, Uphill, Weston-
super-Mare, 11—13 June
2007: Cornwall - first-summer male, Nanyizal,
5—10 May
2008: Somerset - first-summer female, North —
Hill, Minehead, 29-30 June
2010: Cornwall - first-summer male, Windmill
Farm NR, 10—11 April
The find dates of the Westray/Foula bird fall well
within the window of previous records which
have all been between 10 April and 15 July.
Small, BJ. & Walbridge, G. 2005. From the
Rarities Committee’s files: a review of the
identification of ‘Balearic’ Woodchat Shrike,
and details of three British records. British
Birds 98: 32—42.
33:3 (2013)
The Long-tailed Skua passage
in Scotland in spring 2013
Plate 238. Long-tailed Skuas, North Ronaldsay, Orkney, May 2013. © Simon Davies
In spring 2013, observers witnessed an
exceptional passage of Long-tailed Skuas in
Scotland between 4 May and 9 June, with an
unprecedented total of birds seen across the
country on 21—23 May. The majority of records
came from the Outer Hebrides, but there were
sightings at several locations which indicate that
there was also a substantial NE movement of
birds across mainland Scotland during the
period. Many areas and/or sites noted record-
breaking numbers of birds.
Spring migration of Long-tailed
Skuas in Scotland
Long-tailed Skua breeds in the Western
Palaearctic on tundra above the tree-line from
southern Norway north-east through central
Scandinavia to Arctic Siberia. These populations
winter in the southern Atlantic off South
America and South Africa, with migration
typically occurring well offshore (Olsen &
Larsson 1997).
The historic status of Long-tailed Skua in
Scotland (and Britain) was that It was a
rare/scarce migrant, more regularly seen in
autumn than spring. There were only six birds
recorded in spring in Scotland between 1958
and 1967, with a further 21 from 1968 to 1975;
all records were of single birds (Sharrock 1974,
Scottish Bird Reports 1968-75). From 1976
this status changed considerably, with the
discovery of a regular spring passage of birds off
Aird an Runair/Balranald, North Uist on the west
33:3 (2013)
coast of the Outer Hebrides (Davenport, 1979).
Observations of this passage were initially
confined to this site, but subsequently sites
elsewhere on the Outer Hebrides and on the
west mainland of Shetland, and more recently
in North Ayrshire, have provided regular
sightings in spring (Davenport 1991,
Pennington et a/. 2004, McManus 2007, Byars
et al. 2009, Darlaston 2012). There are
relatively few spring records from sites
elsewhere in west Scotland and it is notably rare
on the east coast at this season. It is now
classed as an uncommon, but regular, passage
migrant in Scotland, noted in variable numbers
(Forrester et a/. 2007).
Initial sightings in 2013
The first skua movements in Scotland in spring
2013 were noted off the Outer Hebrides from
16 April, when Aird an Runair, near Balranald,
North Uist had 12 Pomarine Skuas, six Arctics
and 63 Great Skuas when the wind veered from
S to WSW Fe—7.
The earliest report of Long-tailed Skuas was of
eight off Balranald, North Uist (OH) on 4 May
during a seawatch from 13:00 to 16:45 in SW
F4—5 winds. Birds appeared following a period
of cloud, some rain causing moderate visibility
mixed with sunny intervals and slightly stronger
F5—6 winds. Many of the subsequent sightings
here and at other sites followed on from the
passage of weather fronts creating local offshore
squalls and strong NW, westerly or SW winds.
Articles, News & Views
The initial sightings on 4 May came following a
NNE moving weather system on 2-3 May. A
‘High’ (anticyclone) in the Atlantic off NW Spain
stretching across to the North Sea on 2 May
weakened and moved to the Bay of Biscay and
SW England on 3rd promoting northward
migration, while a ‘Low’ (cyclone) developed
centred on the Irish Sea. By 4 May the High had
reduced further and Lows had formed over S
Norway and S Iceland which produced strong W
winds over the north of Ireland and the Scottish
west coast. By 5 May, the Icelandic Low had
moved slightly NW and the wind speeds had
reduced, and markedly so by 6 May.
The first wave
On 8 May, a Low started to develop off western
Ireland, moving east on 9th to produce NNW
winds west of Ireland, and these strengthened
and backed west on 10th as Lows were in place
over NW Scotland and in the northern part of
the North Sea. By 12th the Low NW of Scotland
had moved towards Iceland and westerly winds
nee H 3 i
1022 a. coe
ANA | Crown Conyeigr
Figure 1. Weather systems in the North Atlantic as on (a)
11 May 2013 OOhrs and (b) 22 May 2013 OOhrs. The charts
are derived from information supplied by the Met Office.
276
occurred up the entire length of the British Isles,
and on 13th a tight Low was NNW of Scotland
level with Shetland producing WNW winds. This
Low progressed towards Orkney and Shetland
on 14th with a new one forming WNW of
Ireland, and winds turned to N and ENE off the
west coast and SE off Shetland.
There were no further sightings of Long-tailed
Skuas on 5—9 May as the weather system south
and west of the British Isles dissipated, but on
10 May conditions were again suitable to push
birds close enough to the west coast for
sightings to resume, and 20 Long-tailed Skuas
were noted at Aird an Runair between 12:15
and 19:10 as initial SSE F2—4 winds veered
round to WSW.
On 11th, sightings were more widespread, with
one over Gruinart, Islay (Arg), at least 91 birds
off Ardvule, South Uist (OH) from 06:30 to
14:00, 57 off Balranald between 07:00 and
14:00; a single adult was present for a while on
the grassy area beside the lighthouse at Butt of
Lewis, Lewis (OH); three were seen off the Isle
of Skye (High) from the Lochmaddy (North
Uist, OH) to Uig (Skye) ferry, and one in Orkney
from the Kirkwall to Westray ferry.
On 12th, 265 were seen off Aird an Runair from
14:00-19:45, one flew over Aird Kenneth,
South Uist, and 28 were noted on the Ayrshire
coast. Larger numbers were observed on 13th,
with totals of 21 at Saltcoats, 26 from Stevenston
Point and a report of 17 at Ardrossan (all Ayrs -
some overlap of counts likely here); 30 flew
north past Strathaird Point, Isle of Skye (High),
and 415 past Aird an Runair.
Sightings fizzled out again on 14—19 May as
weather conditions became less favourable,
with the only sightings a flock of four flying
north off Neist Point, Skye (High) on 14th, two
seen heading inland at Ullinish, Skye on 17th,
and three on Orkney, including two from North
Ronaldsay on 18th. None were reported on 19
May, but weather conditions were changing.
Build up to the main movements
On 19 May, a Low had developed in the South-
west Approaches of the English Channel and
light NE winds over the west coast gave way to a
33:3 (2013)
SW F2-3 breeze. By 20th, there was a High in
the Atlantic promoting northward migration, and
weak Lows had formed off SE Greenland and
NW Iceland fostering westerly winds on the west
coast, which veered NW, and became NNW by
evening. On 21st, the Atlantic High was still SW of
Ireland, a Low was sitting between Norway and
Iceland, and WNW F2-—3 winds were occurring
on the west coast of the Outer Hebrides.
Conditions on 20 May brought 51 Long-tailed
Skuas within sight at Ardvule, South Uist (OH)
between 08:15 and 10:50 and 209 passed Aird
an Runair, North Uist (OH) in a five hour watch
later in the day. A total of 27 were logged at
Saltcoats (Ayrs) in the evening, a flock of 40
birds flew over Loch Assapol, Ross of Mull (Arg);
one was seen in misty conditions flying west
across The Ouse, Westray (Ork), and two were
seen off Sumburgh, (Shet).
On 21st, a total of 40 birds were seen at Aird an
Runair, with 102 logged at Aird Breanais, Lewis
(OH), 147 at Mangersta, Lewis, and one at
Smerclate, South Uist that evening. Elsewhere
14 birds flew over The Oa RSPB Reserve, Islay
(Arg); there were 21 at Saltcoats; six flew north
between Eigg and Rum seen from MV
Shearwater; another two were east of Staffin
Bay, Skye seen during a Hebridean Whale Cruise
trip; 153 flew NE past Noup Head, Westray (Ork)
in 72 hours; four were off Scatness, South
Mainland (Shet), 68 passed Wats Ness (Shet),
and 35 flew over Belmont, Unst (Shet).
33:3 (2013)
Plate 239. Long-tailed Skuas, North Ronaldsay, Orkney, May 2013. © Simon Davies
Articles, News & Views
The big days - 22-24 May
On 22 May the Atlantic High was still SW of
Ireland, and a well-developed Low was now in
place NE of Iceland producing increasingly
strong WNW winds from Iceland to Ireland
reaching F5—6. On 23rd the High was still in
place, and a strong NNW airflow was present
over Scotland, though by 24th the High was
dissipating and a Low was building west of
Iceland with another forming over southern
England and wind speeds in Scotland were
variable and much reduced.
On 22 May, the Outer Hebrides had its largest
totals of the year, with 105 logged at Rubha
Ardvule, South Uist, an amazing 1,450 at Aird an
Runair, North Uist, and c350 at Mangersta,
Lewis. At Aird an Runair the first large flocks were
noted from 12:15 and the bulk of the movement
from 14:00—18:30, with a single flock of 460
birds noted at 17:55. All three sites are on the
west coast of the island chain, and birds seen at
Aird an Runair would include most seen at
Ardvule and Mangersta - it has the advantage of
greatest projection into the Atlantic for detection
of birds following the leading line of the coast.
The lower numbers seen at Mangersta, which
lies about 44 miles NNE of Runair, may be
explained by birds taking a ‘short-cut’ north-east
through the Sound of Harris into the Minch and
hence to the waters north of mainland Scotland
rather than continuing along the west coasts of
Harris & Lewis before veering ENE towards
Orkney and Shetland.
278
Articles, News & Views
Sites elsewhere also recorded high counts on
22nd, with 61 at Saltcoats and at least 15 at
other sites in Ayrshire; eight off Cairns of Coll,
north-east of Coll (Arg); flocks of 16 and 19
headed north past Mallaig (High) into the
Sound of Sleat in late afternoon; 33 flew N past
Noup Head, Westray (Ork) in 62 hours, and
three were seen off North Ronaldsay (Ork).
On 23rd, winds were N F5—-6 on the Outer
Hebrides; such conditions are considered poor
for watches off the Uists, and less effort was
made. As a result just six were noted at Rubha
Ardvule and 50 at Runair, however 242 were
seen off Mangersta from 05:00-—19:00, though
only a few of these occurred before midday.
Elsewhere, there were signs that the stream of
birds following the NE passage route had
shifted somewhat to the east, with notable
counts from sites on the west mainland, Argyll
islands, Inner Hebrides and Orkney. There were
52 at Saltcoats; seven in the Sound of Gigha,
Kintyre (Arg); 32 in the Sound of Jura, seen
near Crinan (Arg); 25 seen from Colonsay
(Arg): nine flew past West Hynish, Tiree (Arg),
and at least 10 past Treshnish Point, Mull (Arg)
- though many birds were distant here and up
to 100 may have been involved; 67 were
reported flying north between Rum and Eigg
(High), and flocks of nine, 14 and c20 were
noted from Mallaig during early and late
watches. The most remarkable counts came
from the Corran Narrows (High) where a total
of 834 birds were noted heading north-east up
Loch Linnhe during the afternoon, with a
further 250 passing through in the evening. On
Orkney, there were totals of 12 off Marwick, 46
nearby off Brough of Birsay, 45 at North
Ronaldsay and a phenomenal total of 542 flew
NE past Noup Head, Westray (Ork) in 72
hours. Four flew north over Tingwall Airport,
Central Mainland (Shet). There were also a
series of east coast sightings on 23 May - dealt
with separately below.
On 24 May, there were no counts from the
main Outer Hebrides watch points, but a total of
44 birds were seen in Harris waters in the
morning from the Tarbert, Harris to Uig, Skye
ferry, and a further count of 44 was made from
the Lochmaddy, North Uist to Uig ferry later in
the day. Elsewhere there were 24 at Saltcoats;
72 off Treshnish Point, Mull, and two at North
Ronaldsay. In addition, several birds were noted
on the east coast - see below.
East coast sightings
There was a narrow window of Long-tailed Skua
sightings on the east coast on 23—24 May. On
23rd, c.25 flew over Loch of Skene (NES); one
was off Portknockie (M&N); 29 at Inverness
(High); counts of seven and 20 at Fort George
(High); seven past Chanonry Point (High) and
14 nearby at Fortrose. On 24th, there was one
off St Abbs (Bord); nine off Girdle Ness, one at
Collieston, another nearby at Cotehill Loch (all
NES); one off Lossiemouth (M&N) and two at
Chanonry Point.
Last sightings
There was much less evidence of Long-tailed
Skua movements after 24 May, and it appears
that most birds must have passed through by
then. A count of 66 birds was reported from
Aird an Runair, North Uist on 25 May, with six
there the next day.
One was noted off Seafield, near Annan (D&G),
one off Baleshare, North Uist (OH) on 27 May,
and one off Neist Point, Skye (High) on 31 May.
In June, there were singles at Traigh lar, near
Balranald, North Uist on 2nd, and on South Uist
on 7th and 9th. On the east coast, there were
two at Collieston (NES) on. 1 June, one off
Slains Castle, Port Erroll (NES) on 6 June, and
one at Peterhead (NES) on 9 June.
Record counts
The total of 1,450 Long-tailed Skuas seen at Aird
an Runair, North Uist (OH) on 22 May
constitutes the highest day count for Scotland.
The previous highest day total was of 1,250
noted at Aird an Runair by David Davenport on
18 May 1993. Elsewhere on the Outer Hebrides
new site count records were also established in
2013 for Rubha Ardvule, South Uist with 105 on
22 May, and at Mangersta, Lewis with c.350
seen also on 22 May.
In Argyll, the 72 birds seen from Treshnish Point,
Mull on 24 May is a new record day count for
the region, while the counts of 14 on Islay on
21st, eight off Coll on 22nd, 25 off Colonsay on
33:3 (2013)
23rd and nine off Tiree on 23 May were all
record totals for the respective islands, and the
32 seen near Crinan on 23rd was the highest
day total for a mainland site.
In Highland, the astonishing total of 1,084 birds
witnessed at Corran Narrows/Loch Linnhe on
23 May is a new record day total for the region
and mainland Scotland. The 30 birds seen off
Strathaird Point, Isle of Skye on 13 May Is a new
record count for the island
On Orkney, the tremendous total of 542 birds
seen from Noup Head, Westray on 23 May is a
new record site/day count for the islands, and
the 45 logged at North Ronaldsay on 23rd is a
record count for that island. The previous best
Orkney day total was of c.70 birds on 22 May
- 2006, and included the best site count of 40+
at Churchill Barrier No. 1.
Totals seen in other recording areas during the
2013 spring migration of Long-tailed Skuas did not
exceed previous highest counts at this season.
é
The distribution and number of Long-tailed
Skuas noted in this and previous springs
indicates that the great majority of birds pass to
the west of the Outer Hebrides, with fewer
passing on the east side and up through The
Minch, and presumably fewer still occur along
the west coast of the mainland and the closer
offshore islands. Knowledge of relative
numbers involved and the effect of different
Overland passage of birds
33:3 (2013)
Plate 240. Long-tailed Skua passage, Aird an Runair North Uist, Outer Hebrides, May 2013. © Gavin Thomas
weather conditions on routes followed is limited
by a lack of information. This is to be expected
given the relatively few observation points
visited and the remote nature of much of this
region and, of course, the corresponding lack of
observer coverage across these areas.
A number of sightings in spring, and particularly
in 2013, have highlighted the use, or potential
use, of overland passage routes by Long-tailed
Skuas in spring. Birds migrating in a generally NE
direction and wishing to cross from the west to
east sides of Scotland seem to have no aversion
to travelling across land to reach the North Sea
and subsequently progress to Scandinavia or
further east. Three routes appear to be (most)
used, presumably because they are orientated
on a SW to NE axis and represent the shortest
distances between west and east coasts. These
are: the Inner Solway to Borders/ northern
Northumberland, North Ayrshire (Saltcoats area)
to the Firth of Forth (or Tay), and the Great Glen,
with a funnel of entry to the latter in the south-
west through the Firth of Lorn and Loch Linnhe
and at the NE end at the Moray Firth.
The sightings of birds on the east coast of
Scotland in 2013 could all relate to birds that had
passed overland by one of these three routes.
The birds seen at Inverness, Fort George and
Chanonry Point certainly fit best with this notion.
With the others it is possible that they may be
birds that had travelled through the English
Channel and up the North Sea into Scottish
waters. However, the reported sightings in
279
280
Articles, News & Views
England in 2013 included none from the south
coast counties or East Anglia, and spring sightings
in these areas have always been very rare
(Brown & Grice 2005, county bird reports), and
the possibility exists that birds reported from
Spurn to Northumberland in 2013 (and previous
years?) between 23 May and 7 June could
themselves have made a similar land-crossing
from waters off south-west England to the North
Sea, possibly at altitudes beyond normal visibility.
Further considerations can be made for birds
using Scottish overland routes. With the Solway
route it seems more sensible that birds would
have headed north up the Irish Sea rather than
have deliberately travelled SE through the North
Channel between south-west Scotland and
north-east Ireland and then turning ENE, all
adding extra distance to their journey. This may
(partly) explain why numbers observed in the
Solway are always fairly low. Birds seen at
Saltcoats and/or Stevenston Point and
Ardrossan in Ayrshire could also originate from
the Irish Sea, but seem more likely to have been
displaced by strong westerly winds from the
seas north of Ireland. Certainly, straight westerly
winds are the most productive local conditions
for birds to arrive on the Ayrshire coast Gason
McManus pers. comm.).
The Great Glen route is a more obvious funnel
for birds to move into, with the north-west coast
of Islay and Jura acting as a lead line for
migrating birds and the south-east side of Mull
serving to further channel birds into the Firth of
Lorn. Birds may only use this route in larger
numbers following eastward displacement from
prolonged periods of W to NW winds, but for
birds moving north past the north-west corner
of Ireland this appears to be the most straight-
forward overland route to take.
Future observations each spring at sites along
the Firth of Lorn, Loch Linnhe, and at headlands
on Skye such as Neist Point and Rubha Hunish,
and on the north-west mainland of Scotland
such as Rubha Reidh, Point of Stoer and Cape
Wrath, should help to shed further light on
routes taken during the spring passage of Long-
tailed Skuas in Scotland.
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Hugh Addlesee for
providing details of east coast records, and to
Jason McManus for details of his sightings at
Saltcoats, Ayrshire. Jim Dickson (Argyll) and Jim
Williams (Orkney) also helped with requests
for information.
References
Brown, A. & Grice, P. 2005. Birds in England.
Poyser, London.
Byars, T., McManus, J. & Lambie, R. 2009.
Unprecedented spring passage of Long-tailed
Skuas over Saltcoats during May 2006.
Scottish Birds 29: 128-129.
Darlaston, M. 2012. Spring skua passage off
Aird an Runair, North Uist re-visited, May 2012.
Scottish Birds 32: 275-279.
Davenport, D. 1979. Spring passage of skuas at
Balranald, North Uist. Scottish Birds 10: 216-220.
Davenport, D. 1991. The spring passage of
Long-tailed Skuas off North Uist in 1991.
Scottish Birds 16: 85-89.
Forrester, R.W., Andrews, 1I.J., McInerny, C.J.,
Murray, R., McGowan, R.Y., Zonfrillo, B.,
Betts, M.W., Jardine, D.C. & Grundy, D.
2007. The Birds of Scotland. SOC, Aberlady.
McManus, J. 2007. Skuas at Saltcoats in 2006.
Ayrshire Bird & Butterfly Report 2006. SOC,
Ayrshire.
Olsen, K.M. & Larsson, H. 1997. Skuas and
Jaegers: A Guide to the Skuas and Jaegers of
the World. Pica Press, Mountfield.
Pennington, M., Osborne, K., Harvey, P.,
Riddington, R., Okill, D., Ellis, P. & Heubeck,
M. 2004. The Birds of Shetland. Christopher
Helm, London.
Sharrock, J.T.R. 1974. Scarce Migrant Birds in
Britain and Ireland. Poyser, Berkhamsted.
Brian Rabbitts, North Uist
eh oe Par, i ee
Email: rabbitts @nebrides.net
Stuart L. Rivers, Edinburgh
Email: s/r.bee-eater @blueyonder.co.uk
33:3 (2013)
Scottish Bird S
S.L. RIVERS
Records in Scottish Bird
Sightings are published for
interest only. All records are
subject to acceptance by the
relevant records committee.
The following abbreviations for
recording areas are used: Angus
& Dundee - A&D; Argyll - Arg;
Ayrshire - Ayrs; Borders - Bord;
Caithness - Caith; Dumfries &
Galloway D&G; Highland - High;
Lothian - Loth; Moray & Nairn -
M&N; North-East Scotland - NES;
Outer Hebrides - OH; Perth &
Kinross - P&K; Shetland - Shet;
Upper Forth - UF.
The delayed arrival of many
summer migrants was resolved in
April once the grip of wintry
weather gave way to more typical
spring conditions. Late April and
early May saw the discovery of
unprecedented numbers of White-
billed Divers off the Moray and
north Aberdeenshire coast. Any
disappointment created by the
slow start to spring migration was
more than compensated for by the
wide range and _ exceptional
numbers of migrants which
occurred in May and June.
Uncommon and rare waders were
well represented, and there was a
record-breaking passage of Long-
tailed Skuas. Rare and scarce
passerines could be found all the
way up the east coast, but as usual
the Northern Isles accounted for
the vast majority of sightings.
Bewick’s Swan: one was at
Ruthwell on the Inner Solway
(D&G) on 1 April. Snow Goose: a
white-morph bird was _ at
Hougharry, North Uist (OH) on
2-3 April; a white-morph bird was
33:3 (2013)
near Glenbarr, Mull of Kintyr (Arg)
on 3 April; a blue-morph bird was at
Water of Ae, near Lochmaben
(D&G) on 2-3 April; two blue-
morph birds were at Balmedie
(NES) on 8 April, with presumably
the same two near Burghead
(M&N) on 24-26 April. Vagrant
forms of Canada _ Goose:
Richardson's [race hutchinsii] - one
was still in the Loch Gruinart area,
Islay (Arg) to 26 April at least; one
was still near Caerlaverock (D&G)
on 29 April; one was at Balranald
and then Solas, both North Uist
(OH) up to 21 April at least, with
two further birds near Loch Hosta,
North Uist on 20 April, and one still
on 24th; one was in the Balranald
area on 16-26 May. Todd's [race
interior] one remained at near
Loaningfoot/Carlaverock (D&G)
from March to 10 April; one was at
Rhunahaorine, Kintyre (Arg) on 2
April. Red-breasted Goose: an
adult remained on Islay from March
to 19 April; the adult was again near
Loaningfoot (D&G) on 9-14 April.
American Wigeon: drakes were at
Udale Bay (High) to 3 April; on
Loch of Stenness (Ork) on 19-21
April; at Twechar Marsh, Clyde from
21 April; at Loch Magillie, Stranraer
(D&G) on 3 May; Bridgend Farm
Pool, Kirkintilloch, Clyde on 5-11
May; at Loch of Hillwell (Shet) on
19-23 May. Green-winged Teal:
single drakes were noted as
follows: at Loch a’ Phulill, Tiree (Arg)
again on 7—20 April, with another
at Loch an Eilein, Tiree on 9-15
April; at Noup, Westray (Ork) on 21
April; at Loch Stiapabhat, Lewis
(OH) on 29 April; on Colonsay
(Arg) on 4—6 May; at Daliburgh,
South Uist (OH) on 15 May, with
presumed same at Smerclate,
Articles, News & Views
ightings
South Uist on 16-21 May; at
Guardbridge, Fife on 16 May; at
Loch of Kinnordy (A&D) on 19
May; at Loch of Hillwell (Shet) on
20-23 May; at Loch Paible, North
Uist (OH) on 30 May; at Eela
Water, Northmavine (Shet) on
9-13 June. Black Duck: a drake
was at Hillwell (Shet) on 11 June
and at Boddam (Shet) on 16-18
June. Garganey: good numbers
reported from all parts of Scotland.
On Shetland drakes were at
Scatness on 5 May, Loch of Spiggie
on 6—7th, a pair at Baltasound,
Unst on 8—11th, three drakes at
Boddam on 12 May with singles
there onl4 May, at Scatness on
16th, and at Spiggie on 18 May. On
Orkney a drake was at The Loons
RSPB Reserve on 12—31 May, and
a drake was on Egilsay on 31 May.
On the Outer Hebrides a pair was
at Fivepenny, then nearby at Loch
Stiapabhat, Lewis (OH) on 8-11
May, with one still noted again
15th and 20th; a drake was at
Loch Mor, Benbecula on 12th and
15-17 May; a drake was at Loch
Sandary, North Uist on 19th and
26-28 May. A drake was at Loch of
Strathbeg RSPB Reserve (NES) on
7 May, three drakes and a female
on 15th, two there on 18th and
one again on 27 May at least; a
drake was at Logie Buchan (NES)
on 17 May. Two pairs were present
at Loch of Kinnordy RSPB Reserve
(A&D) on 28 April. In Fife a drake
flew west at Inverkeithing on 21
April, with one at Letham 21-28
April, and another on 8 May; a
drake was near Rossie Bog on 30
April and 6th and 9 May; one was
off Dalgety Bay on 2 May; a drake
was on the Eden Estuary,
Guardbridge on 21 May; a pair
were in Inverkeithing Harbour on
281
Scottish Bird Sightings
26 May, and a pair were at Morton
Lochs on 8 June. One was at Lake
of Menteith (UF) on 29 May. In
Argyll a drake was at Loch Gruinart,
Islay on 12 May, one at Ruaig, Tiree
on 13 May, and a pair at Loch a
Phuill, Tiree on 4 June. In Ayrshire,
a pair was at Tarryholme, Irvine on
7 “May, and a drake. near
Kilmarnock on 24—25 May. A drake
was at Wigtown (D&G) on 7 May
and another at Caerlaverock WWT
Reserve on 16 June. Blue-winged
Teal: a drake was at Barry Buddon
(A&D) on 17 May; a drake was
seen at Bridgend Farm pool,
Kirkintilloch, Clyde from 5-11 May
and 1—5 June.
Ring-necked Duck: a female was
on Lochs Grogarray/Scaraidh,
North Uist (OH) throughout April: a
drake was at Loch Kinardochy, near
Tummel Bridge (P&K) on 16-17
April; a drake was at Meikle Loch
(NES) on 27-28 April. A female
was on Islay (Arg) on 1—2 May; a
female on Forfar Loch (A&D) on
18-23 May; a drake was at Loch of
Tingwall (Shet) from 3-24 June at
least, with presumably this bird also
on Loch of Clickimin, Lerwick on 17
June; a drake was at White Sands
Quarry, Dunbar (Loth) from 22
June into July. Lesser Scaup: the
drake remained at Auchendores/
Leperstone Reservoirs, Clyde from
March to mid-May; a drake was at
Soulseat Loch (D&G) on 29 April,
and a drake was at St John’s Loch
(Caith) from 10-27 May and 7-11
June at least. Harlequin Duck: the
immature male was present off
Traigh lar, Balranald, North Uist
(OH) from March to 25 April, then
present again 24 May to 1 June.
King Eider: a drake was off
Symbister, Whalsay (Shet) from 8
April to 8 May; a drake frequented
the Ythan Estuary (NES) from 24
April to 27 June at least, and was
also seen about five miles to the
south off Blackdog on 12 April and
4th & 18 May and 6-8 June; a first-
summer male was at Tresta Voe
(Shet) on 16 June. Surf Scoter: a
Plate 241. King Eider, Ythan Estuary, North-east Scotland, May 2013. © Harry Scott
drake was at Seton Sands/Gosford
Bay (Loth) from March to 9 April,
with two present on 5—6th, and
one again on 27 April; a drake was
off Rerwick (Ork) on 13 April; a
drake was off Musselburgh/Joppa
(Loth) from 25 April to 23 May; a
drake was off Embo Pier (High) on
8-9 May; two adult drakes, an
immature male and a female were
seen off Murcar/Blackdog (NES)
during June, with probably one of
these drakes off Girdle Ness,
Aberdeen on 19 June; a male and
female were in the Sound of Harris
(OH) on 14 June, and a drake was
off Rhunahaorine Point, Kintyre
(Arg) on 26-27 June.
Pacific Diver: a breeding-
plumaged bird was at Grutness
(Shet) on 16 May - the first for
Scotland once accepted (see
pages 264-266). White-billed
Diver: the now-expected passage
of birds off NW Scotland and the
Northern Isles included a long-
staying adult off South Ronaldsay
(Ork) from March to 12 May, one
off Skigersta, Lewis (OH) on 1
April; two off Port Nis, Lewis on
1—2 April, with another there on
5th; one was off Tiumpan Head,
Lewis on 8th; one at Gairloch
(High) on 9-10th; two off
Skigersta on 10th, another there
on 11th, and seven between Port
Nis and Skigersta on 12th; one
was in Gruinard Bay (High) on
11th, with two there on 13th; one
at Loch Ewe (High) on 15th; one
was off Skigersta on 19-20 April;
one off Mull (Arg) on 19—20th;
one off Papa Westray (Ork) on
26th; an adult flew north past Aird
an Runair, North Uist on 28 April.
In May one was off Evie (Ork) on
9th; one flew north past Aird an
Runair on 20th and one was seen
off Butt of Lewis, Lewis on 29th.
Somewhat less expected was a
sequence of sightings in the Moray
Firth (see pages 261-263): eight
to 10 birds from a charter boat
from Portsoy (NES) on 21 April and
at least 13 on 27th, with a further
seven noted from shore at Portsoy
and four at Sandend (NES) also on
21st; at least five were off Portsoy
26 April to 4 May. In May up to 8
were seen from the coast between
Portsoy and Buckie (M&N) up to
7th, with five still to 12th and one
off Burghead (M&N) on 15 May;
one was off Knock Head, just west
of Banff (NES) on 14 June.
Cormorant: one of the
Continental race sinensis was at
Loch of Hillwell (Shet) on 8-19
May. Bittern: wintering birds
included singles on the River South
Esk on 1 April and Carnoustie
(both A&D) on 5 April. Little Egret:
sightings included five at Wigtown
Bay (D&G) on 1 April; one at
Creetown (D&G) on 1-7 April, with
two there on 2 May; one at Ardbeg,
Islay (Arg) on 19 April; one at
Likisto, Harris (OH) on 24 April,
with it or another at Bayhead, North
Uist (OH) on 25 April, at Loch
Aonghais, North Uist on 26th, at
Howmore, South Uist (OH) on 1st
and 5 May and then at Geocrab,
33:2 (2013)
Harris on 7th and 18 May; one at
Cruden Bay (NES) on 19 May,
then on the Ythan Estuary or Loch
of Strathbeg RSPB Reserve (NES)
on 24-27 May at least; two at
Portgordon (M&N) on 30 May; in
Fife one was at Kilrenny Mill on 30
May, with it or another at Morton
llochsy on <8- June: «and at
Guardbridge on 21-26 June; in
Lothian one was seen regularly at
Tyninghame throughout April and
May to~ 12 June, one was_ at
Aberlady on 15 April, with it or
others at Seafield Pond on 24 April,
4 May and 3 June and Barns Ness
on 16 May. Great White Egret:
one was at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB
Reserve or nearby on the Ythan
Estuary (NES) on 12-28 May.
Black Stork: one was reported
flying over Coullabus, Islay on 10
May; one was at seen at Gruinard
Bay (High) on the afternoon of 26
May, and presumably the same
bird flew over Fanmore and then
Dervaig, both Mull (Arg) on that
evening. Glossy Ibis: one was
reported at Dervaig, Mull (Arg) on
26 May. White Stork: one flew
west over Carsebreck (P&K) on 4
May. Spoonbill: one was at Irvine
(Ayrs) 30 May, and then nearby at
Hunterston on 2—11 June; one was
at Tugnet (M&N) on 18 June; one
was at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB
Reserve (NES) on 11-22 June;
then possibly the same at
Balmossie (A&D) on 23 June; and
at Guardbridge, Fife on 24—26 June.
Honey-buzzard: one was seen on
Fair Isle on 28 May. Black Kite: on
Orkney one flew north over
Dounby on 1 May, with presumed
same over Kirkwall Airport on 9
May, at Quanterness (Ork) on 3
June, and over Stronsay on 4 June;
one was seen at Bernisdale, Skye
(High) on 21 June. Pallid Harrier: a
male flew north over Forfar Loch
(A&D) on 19 April; a ringtail was on
Fair Isle on 3 June; a male was at
-Drimfern, near Inverary (Arg) on 4
June. Rough-legged Buzzard: one
was still on Fetlar (Shet) from
March to 3 April and again 13 April,
Scottish Bird Sightings
with presumed same at Snarravoe,
Unst (Shet) on 9 April; one was a
few miles east of Breasescleit,
Lewis (OH) on 27 April. Hobby:
one was at St Andrews, Fife on 23
April; singles were on the Isle of
May on 10 May; on North
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 13 May, with
another there on 11 June; one was
near Kirriemuir (A&D) on 25 May;
one flew south over White Sands
Quarry (Loth) on 28 May; on Fair
Isle on 29 May; at Hope, South
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 30 May; at
Papdale Plantation, Kirkwall (Ork)
on 2June; one was just east of Crail,
Fife on 7 June; one in Glen Lethnot
(A&D) on 8th; one at Leuchars
Airfield, Fife on 15th, and one was
at Hillwell (Shet) on 12 June and
nearby at Quendale on 15—16 June.
Gyrfalcon: on mainland Orkney
one was at Orphir Bay on 20 April,
Birsay Moors on 25th and Marwick
on 30 April.
Spotted Crake: one was heard at
Loch of Strathbeg RSPB Reserve
on 30 May; one on North
Ronaldsay on 1-2 June at least;
one was heard overnight on Tiree
(Arg) on 17 June; one was at Loch
of Kinnordy RSPB Reserve on
26-27 June. Crane: four flew over
Inverness (High) on 2 April: one
flew west at Aberlady Bay (Loth)
on 12 April: one flew over Stirling
(UF) on 13th; one was reported in
Morayshire the same day; one was
reported intermittently at Loch of
Strathbeg RSPB Reserve (NES)
from 5—22 April, with two there on
16-19th, three on 30 April and
four on 2 May, and these flew
south over Longforgan (P&K) on 6
May; a first-summer was on Unst
(Shet) on 23-28 May and seen
intermittently to 30 June; one was
seen at Westerfolds (M&N) on 6
June; one was on Fair Isle on 6—9
June, and another on 18-19 June;
one flew over Forres (M&N) on
11th; one was at Loch of Strathbeg
RSPB Reserve on 15 June; six flew
over the Sound of Raasay (High)
on 16 June; one was near
Kilmacolm, Clyde on 23-28 June.
283
284
~—atHich Rird Ciqhbtinnac
SCOlUSN BIA Sightings
Avocet: one was still at Skinflats
(UF) on 1 April; one was at Loch of
Strathbeg RSPB Reserve on 9 April;
three were at Musselburgh
Lagoons (Loth) on 17-18 April.
Stone-curlew: one was at Loch of
Brough, Bressay (Shet) on 4 June
with presumably the same _ bird
then on Noss (Shet) on 19 June.
Little Ringed Plover: notable
overshoots included one at Loch
Gorm, Islay (Arg) on 1 May - the
second record for the island, and
one at Hillwell (Shet) on 27-29
May. Dotterel: away from breeding
areas there was one on North
Ronaldsay on 16 April, and eight
there on 8 May. American Golden
Plover: a breeding-plumaged adult
was at Ardvule Point, South Uist
(OH) on 12 June. Temminck’s
Stint: singles were present at
Grutness (Shet) on 7 June; on Fair
Isle on 7—8 June; at Meikle Loch
(NES) on 15 June; at Letham Pools,
Fife on 23-29 June. White-
rumped Sandpiper: one was at
Findhorn Bay (M&N) on 10-14
June, with two present on 11th.
Pectoral Sandpiper: three were at
Loch of Strathbeg RSPB Reserve
(NES) on 6-8 May; one on Fair Isle
on 6 May; one at Eoligarry, Barra
(OH) on 13 May; two on Foula
(Shet) on 25-28 May; one at
Hillwell (Shet) on 27 May; one on
North Ronaldsay (Ork) on 27-31
May, with two there on 29th, one
again on 4 June and a third
individual on 22—24 June; one at
Loch Sandary, North Uist (OH) on
2 June; one at Findhorn Bay (M&N)
on 2 June; one at Logie Buchan
(NES) on 4 June; one at Meikle
Loch (NES) on 7-9 June; one at
Loch Paible, North Uist (OH) on 11
June; one on North Ronaldsay on
20 June. Buff-breasted
Sandpiper: one was at Loch
Gruinart RSPB Reserve, Islay (Arg)
on 22-23 May; one was at
Clevigarth/ Exnaboe (Shet) on 24
May; one was at The Reef, Tiree
(Arg) on 3 June. Long-billed
Dowitcher: one was at Port Nis
and then Loch Stiapavat, Lewis
(OH) on 29 April’ one was at
Ardnave, Islay (Arg) on 1 May.
Lesser Yellowlegs: one was at The
Loons RSPB Reserve, NW Mainland
(Ork) on 29 June. Red-necked
Phalarope: sightings away from
breeding areas included two at
Broadford Bay, Skye (High) on 23
May; one on Fair Isle on 23 May,
and a male was on Tiree (Arg) on
28 June. Grey Phalarope: one flew
past Saltcoats (Ayr) on 23 May.
Pomarine Skua: passage occurred
from mid-April to the end of June,
with the majority in mid- to late
May. The earliest sightings were of
12 off Aird an Runair, North Uist on
April 16, with 17 there on 23rd, 53
on 28th, and 34 on 29 April:
singles were noted off Troon (Ayrs)
on 22 April and at Dunnet Bay
(Ork) on 30 April. The peak count
in the Solway was 100+ past
Newbie, near Annan (D&G) on 10
May. Highest counts elsewhere
were of 37 at Saltcoats (Ayrs) on
14 May; 12 from Treshnish Point,
Mull (Arg) on 24th; 13 were seen
from Strathaird Point, near
Glasnakille, Skye (High) on 13
May; at least five at Noup Head,
Westray (Ork) on 21 May, with
over 60 on Orkney during the
month, and 13 were seen from
Watsness, West Mainland (Shet)
also on 21st. Highest totals came
from the Outer Hebrides with 220
at Aird an Runair/Balranald, North
Uist on 10 May, 685 there on 11th,
356 on 12th and 455 on 13th. The
latest sightings were at Burrow
Head (D&G) with one noted on
26 June and four on 29th.
Long-tailed Skua: passage
occurred from early May to early
June, with the majority in mid- to
late May. The earliest sighting was
one at Aird an Runair North Uist
(OH) on 4 May, followed by a gap
to the next movement on 10-11
May. There was a further gap
before the main pulse of birds in
the west and north from 21-25
May. There was a narrow window
of sightings on the east coast on
23-24 May and NE Scotland
provided the last sighting, with one
off Peterhead on 9 June. Highest
totals came from the Outer
Hebrides including record day/site
and flock size totals for Scotland,
while many other parts of the
country also posted new record
totals. See article in this issue for
full details (pages 275-280).
Bonaparte’s Gull: the adult
remained at Castletown/Thurso
(Caith) from March to 6 April; a
firstsummer was at Traigh nan
Gilean, Tiree (Arg) on 18 June.
Ring-billed Gull: a first-
winter/summer was still in the
Scalloway area (Shet) from March
to 16 June, and a first-summer was
regularly seen in the
Quendale/Hillwell area from 12
April to 23 May; a second-summer
was at Balephetrish Bay, Tiree (Arg)
on 5-8 June; a first-summmer was
near Loch Sandary, North Uist
(OH) on 22 June. Yellow-legged
Gull: one was at Troon Harbour
(Ayrs) on 12 April, and a_first-
summer there on 1 May. Iceland
Gull: Late-staying birds included
one at Sumburgh (Shet) on 17
June; an immature on Fair Isle on
3-4 June; an immature on South
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 1 June, and a
second-summer bird at Toab (Ork)
on 7 June; a first-year at Loch
Stiapabhat, Lewis (OH) on 5 June.
Kumlien’s. Gull: a second
calendar-year bird was around the
Ardivachar area, South Uist (OH)
from 13 April to 8 May at least.
Glaucous Gull: Late-staying birds
included a first-summer on North
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 21—23 May; a
first-summer at Fivepenny, Lewis
(OH) on 1 June; a first'summer at
Holm (Ork) on 7 June ; one at
Eoropie, Lewis (OH) on 15 June,
and one at Lerwick (Shet) on 19
June. White-winged Black Tern:
an adult was seen in the Sound of
Harris (OH) on 25 June.
Bruinnich’s Guillemot: one was
seen off the north end of lona
(Arg) on 6 May. Little Auk: late
birds included two in the Pentland
33:3 (2013)
Firth (Ork) on 6 May; one flew
past Watsness (Shet) on 22 May;
one was off North Ronaldsay
(Ork) on 23 May.
Turtle Dove: on Shetland singles
were at Quendale on 7-8 May,
24—25th and 29 May, at Scatness
on 9th, on Foula on 28 May, and
one at Tingwall on 1 June; one was
on North Ronaldsay (Ork) on
12-14 May, with another there on
16-21 May; one was at Finstown
(Ork) on 15-19 May. One was at
Bragar, Lewis on 8 May. One was at
Balemartine, Tiree (Arg) on 13 May,
with two at Crossapol on 12 June
and one at Mannal (both Tiree) on
19 June, and one was at Rattray
Head (NES) on 26 May. Snowy
Owl: the male near Ben Macdui,
Cairngorm (M&N) remained from
March to 5 April; an often elusive
male was seen on the machair near
Solas, North Uist (OH) from 1-6
April, and between there and
Grenitote from 13 May into June; it
or another was on Hirta, St Kilda
@i)ron 12th: and- 20: June:
Nightjar: one was on the Isle of
May on 15-16 May; one was on
North Ronaldsay (Ork) on 14-19
Plate 242. Nightjar, Isle of May, May 2013. © Harry Scott
June. White-throated Needletail:
one was present at Tarbert, Harris
(OH) on 24—26 June, moving a few
miles south to Plocrapol on the
latter afternoon where it met an
untimely end through collision with
a wind turbine. Bee-eater: one was
on Stronsay (Ork) on 24-30 May.
Roller: one was seen briefly on Fair
Isle on 11 June. Hoopoe: one was
at Doonfoot (Ayr) on 25 April: one
was at Balranald, North Uist on 8
May, with it or another at Carloway,
Lewis the next day (both OH); one
was at Melvich (High) on 23-24
May. Wryneck: in May singles were
on North Ronaldsay (Ork) on 9th
and 15th; on Fair Isle on 11—18th
with another on 19 May; one a mile
east of Crail, Fife on 19—20th; at
Sumburgh (Shet) on 20th, and on
Foula (Shet) on 25-28 May.
Golden Oriole: female-type
individuals were at Kergord (Shet)
on 2nd and 6 June, with a male
there on 9 June; a female-type was
on Fair Isle on 9 June; a
female/immature was on North
Ronaldsay (Ork) from 12 June, a
second bird from 15th, two there
on 20th and one still to 1 July, with
three birds involved in the sightings.
Scottish Bird Sightings
Great Grey Shrike: one was near
Tayport, Fife on 15 April. Red-
backed Shrike: amazingly up to
130 birds were seen in Scotland
during May. The first arrivals were
singles at Sumburgh and Virkie
(both Shet) on 9th, a female on
Fair Isle on 9-13 May, and a male
on North Ronaldsay (Ork) on
9—10th. There were around 40 on
Shetland in May; 12 on Fair Isle,
with seven there on 25th; at least
10 were on North Ronaldsay (Ork)
in May, with up to 12 more
elsewhere on Orkney. Elsewhere in
May sightings included: a mass
arrival in NE Scotland on 19th, with
a female at Kineff , and males at
Stonehaven, Balmeddie, and
Forvie, with a male also at the latter
site on 20th, and a further male
nearby at Collieston on 28th, and a
male at Girdleness, Aberdeen on
27 May; four were found in Angus
on 20 May including two at Ethie
Mains Farm; a male was at
Balcomie, Fife Ness (Fife) and
another nearby at Kilminning on 19
May, with another there on
20—21st, and a female on 24th; a
female was at Barns Ness (Loth)
on 18 May, with a male there on
Plate 243. Icterine Warbler, Dinnet, North-east Scotland, June 2013. © Harry Scott
286
19th and a female on 27 May. In
June, there were up to nine on
Shetland between 1—25th; seven
on Fair Isle during 2—25th; seven
on North Ronaldsay between
1—22nd; one was at Hope, South
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 13 June.
Woodchat Shrike: one was at
Balephuil, Tiree (Arg) on 19-21
May (first island record); one on
Foula (Shet) on 28 May; a male on
the Isle of May on 31 May to 1
June; one was at Baltasound, Unst
(Shet) on 1 June; a male of the
Balearic race badius was seen at
Pierowall, Westray (Ork) on 26 May
- the first record of this subspecies
in Scotland, with presumably the
same bird then present on Foula
(Shet) on 28 May (See pages
273-274). Magpie: one at Gorn,
Shapinsay on 19-20 April and
then at Moaness and Quoyness,
Hoy from 3-16 May at least was
only the 15th record for Orkney
and the first since 2003. Short-
toed Lark: one was on Foula
(Shet) on 16-18 May, and another
there on 29 May; plus singles at
Aird an Runair, North Uist (OH) on
19-20 May; Sumburgh Head
(Shet) on 25-29 May, and North
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 26 May.
Shorelark: three were near
Killinallan, Islay (Arg) on 5 May.
Red-rumped Swallow: one was at
Hillswick (Shet) on 29 May; one
was at Asta (Shet) on 13 June.
Greenish Warbler: one was at
Quendale (Shet) on 1 June. Arctic
Warbler: one was at Skaw, Whalsay
(Shet) on 23 June. Subalpine
Warbler: a first-summmer male of
the Western subspecies cantillans
was at Cruden Bay (NES) on
14—16 May; a female on Fair Isle on
25 May was trapped & ringed and
assigned to the Eastern subspecies
albistriata; one was at Scatness
(Shet) on 28 May; a male Western
was on Fair Isle on 3-14 June,
another was present on 17—27th,
with a female also noted on 25
June; one was on Foula (Shet) on
19 June. Sardinian Warbler: a
male was at St Abbs (Bord) on 30
June. River Warbler: one was on
Fair Isle on 5-6 June. Icterine
Warbler: there were seven on
Shetland between 15-29 May,
with further birds at Wester Quarff
on 2 June and Funzie, Fetlar on 14
June; five occurred on Fair Isle
between 8-29 May, with one there
on 13—15 June and two present on
14 June; singles were on North
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 15th and 19
May; at Cruden Bay (NES) on 19
May; at Melvaig (High) on 26 May;
one on the Isle of May on 30 May
to 1 June; one was at Dinnet (NES)
on 1 June, and five on Shetland
between 1-16 June. Melodious
Warbler: one was on Fair Isle on
16 May. Paddyfield Warbler: one
was on North Ronaldsay (Ork) on
20-24 May; one was on Fair Isle on
16 June. Blyth’s Reed Warbler:
singles were on Fair Isle from 27
May to 2 June, at Everland, Fetiar
(Shet) on 29 May, and at Swinister
Burn, Sandwick (Shet) on 30 May.
Marsh Warbler: exceptional totals
noted this spring - up tol6 were
noted on the Northern Isles in May;
elsewhere a singing male was at
North Loch Eynort, South Uist (OH)
on 24 May. In June there were up
to 10 on Shetland between 1-21
May; there were 10 Marsh Warblers
on Fair Isle, including a record day
count of five present on 26th; one
on North Ronaldsay (Ork) on 9th
and 20th; one at Lochmaddy,
North Uist (OH) on 16 June; a
singing male was at Uig, Skye
(High) on 16—26 June. Great Reed
Warbler: one was on Out Skerries
(Shet) on 31 May.
Nuthatch: one on a feeder in a
garden on Kerrara (Arg) on 4 May
was notably beyond the core
breeding range. Waxwing: birds
were still widespread in April and a
few were still present in May,
including five at Newton Stewart
(D&G) on 6 May; singles at
Askernish, South Uist on 7th, at
North Loch Eynort, South Uist on
14th and Castlebay, Barra on 19th
(all OH), one was on North
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 9 May, one at
Fea, Stenness (Ork) on 10th and
singles at Kirkwall and The Loons
RSPB Reserve (both Ork) on 12th;
three were at Monifieth (A&D) on
10 May; one at Mossbank (Shet)
33:3 (2013)
on 13—21 May, with one in Lerwick
(Shet) on 15th; one on Fair Isle on
14-23 May; and two very late
birds were in Edinburgh on 23
June. Rose-coloured Starling: an
adult male was at Finstown (Ork)
and then Harray from 19-22 June.
White’s Thrush: one was belatedly
reported at Glen Feshie (High) on
5 May, and follows on from
remarkable news that emerged of
one filmed by a remote camera set
to record Wildcats at Ledmore &
Migdale Woods Woodland Trust
Reserve, near Bonar Bridge (High)
on 31 January this year. Thrush
Nightingale: one was on Fair Isle
on 8-10 May, with two there on
29 May and one still on 30th; one
was at Virkie (Shet) on 30 May.
Common Nightingale: one was
at Straiton Pond (Loth) on 17 May.
Bluethroat: about 30 were seen
in Scotland in May, including at
least seven on Shetland including
four on 10th; a singing male at
Girdle Ness, Aberdeen (NES) on
10th; four on North Ronaldsay
(Ork) between 11—29th; a female
at Barns Ness (Loth) on 18-19
May; a male at Sand Loch, Forvie
(NES) on 19th; a female on the
Isle of May on 29-30 May. In June
a male was on North Ronaldsay on
11 June. Red-breasted Flycatcher:
on Shetland a male was at
Grutness on 8 May, then singles at
Scatness on 28 May, at Lower Voe
on 30th and one at Papil, Burra on
31 May; one on Fair Isle on 12-14
May and 18 May; a female/first-
year at Rattray Head (NES) on 11
May; one St Fergus (NES) on 19
May and one on the Isle of May on
28 May. In June there were singles
on Fair Isle on 2nd and on Foula
(Shet) on 22nd. Collared
Flycatcher: a male was at Skaw,
Whalsay (Shet) on 10-16 May; a
female was trapped and ringed on
Fair Isle on 9 June; a male was at
Stoer Lighthouse, near Lochinver
(High) on 12 June.
Yellow Wagtail: birds of the Grey-
headed race thunbergi included
singles at Scatness, Grutness and
Exnaboe (all Shet) on 10 May; NES
and two were on North Ronaldsay
(Ork) on 16-18 May; singles at
Skaw, Unst on 17-18 May,
Baltasound, Unst on 18th, and
Haroldswick, Unst (all Shet) on 19
May; at Letham Pools, Fife on 24
June. Birds of the Blue-headed
Plate 244. Bluethroat, Girdle Ness, North-east Scotland, May 2013. © lan Hastie
Articles, News & Views
race flava included two males at
Seafield Pond (Loth) during 21-29
April, and a female there on 4—5
May; two at White Sands Quarry
(Loth) on 27 April, and a male at
Barns Ness (Loth) on 30 April and
9 May, with two there on 18 May;
one was at Craignure, Mull (Arg)
on 24 April; one was at Meikle
Loch (NES) on 2 May; one at
Kinnordy (A&D) on 4 May; two
were at Auchenharvie (Ayrs) on 8
May, with one still there on 9th;
one at Brow Marsh (Shet) on 19
May; a female on North Ronaldsay
on 24 May to 5 June and a male
there on 27 May to 5 June; one
was at Tayinloan, Kintyre (Arg) on
5 June; one was at the Churchill
Barriers (Ork) on 26 June. It Is
worth noting that several of the
males seen/photographed in
Lothian appeared to show some
hybrid characters, although none
were classic ‘Channel Wagtails’.
Citrine Wagtail: a female was at
Balranald, North Uist (OH) on 22
May. Tawny Pipit: one was on
North Ronaldsay (Ork) on 25 May.
Water Pipit: one remained at
Barns Ness (Loth) to 14 April.
a
= iN me
> Plate 245. Hawfinch, Stonehaven, North-east Scotland, May 2013. © /an Hastie
288
Hornemanni Arctic Redpoll: one
was at Loch Gruinart RSPB
Reserve, Islay (Arg) on 19 April; a
singing male was on North
Ronaldsay (Ork) on 4-7 May.
Two-barred Crossbill: a male was
on Eday (Orkney) on 29-30 June.
Common Rosefinch: around 20
were seen in Scotland in May. On
Shetland, a red male was on Papa
Stour on 28 May, one at Exnaboe
also on 28th; one on Foula on
29th; two were at Sumburgh on
29 May with one still on 30th; one
at Baltasound, Unst on 29th, with it
or another at Uyeasound, Unst on
30 May; one was on Out Skerries
on 31. May.: Elsewhere, a
female/immature was at Kinloch,
Rum (High) on 17 May; a red male
on North Ronaldsay (Ork) on 18
May, with a brown individual there
on 24th; one near Balcomie Farm,
Fife Ness, Fife on 19th; singles on
Burray (Ork) and at Auchmithie
(A&D) the same day, a male near
Loch Sween (Arg) on 28 May; one
at Tullos Hill, Aberdeen on 28th; a
male at Lochdon, Mull (Arg) on
29th, and a male at Lodge
Gardens, Isle of Eigg (High) on 30
May. In June one was at Carnoustie
(A&D) on 5th; one at Virkie (Shet)
on 8th; one at Loch Steiabhat,
North Uist on 10th; one on North
Ronaldsay on 13th, another there
on 20th, with two on 21—23rd
including a new bird on latter date,
then one still to 27th; a singing
first-summer male was at Crosshill
(Ayr) on 11 June; one at Carinish,
North Uist on 15 June; one at
Baltasound, Unst (Shet) on
16—17th; one at Castlebay, Barra
(OR) on 17th, and “one at
Askernish, South Uist (OH) the
same day; a red male was at
Tressait, near Loch Tummel (P&K)
from 12 June into July; a male was
at Burravoe, Yell on 19th, and a
first-summer male was on Fair Isle
on 19-21 June. Hawfinch: away
from breeding areas there were
five on Shetland in April, up to nine
in May and one at Scalloway on 6
June: there were singles on Fair Isle
on 21 April, 10 May and 15 May;
on Orkney there were singles at
Deerness on 14 April, Stenaday on
21st and on North Ronaldsay on
21 April and 16 May; on Stronsay
on 3 May, with two on Westray
(Ork) on 11 May. On the Outer
Hebrides, singles were noted at
Gramsdale, Benbecula and at
Snishival, South Uist on 31 May,
and at Langass Lodge Hotel
garden, North Uist on 2—11 June.
One was at Whiting Bay, Arran
(Ayrs) on 28 May, and one at
Stonehaven (NES) on 31 May.
Lapland Bunting: late birds
included at least five at Westport
Marsh, Kintyre (Arg) on 30 April to 1
May; nine on North Ronaldsay
(Ork) on 30 April, with four there on
2-3 May, six on 4th and three still
on 5 May; a female at Butt of Lewis,
Lewis (OH) on 1 May, with two
birds there on 10th; four at Rattray
Head (NES) on 1 May; a female
near Glen Brittle, Skye (High) on 14
May; one on Oronsay (Arg) on 16
May; 1+ female at Aird an Runatr,
North Uist (OH) on 20 May, with a
male there on 26-27 May. Ortolan
Bunting: one was on Fair Isle on
12-19 May, with another there on
10-14 June; one was on Foula
(Shet) on 17 May. Rustic Bunting:
one was on Fair Isle on 19 May, with
another there on 3 June; a male
was on Foula (Shet) on 28-29
May. Little Bunting: one was at
Skaw, Unst (Shet) on 28 May.
Black-headed Bunting: a male
was at Mainsriddle (D&G) on 22
June, and then 20 miles further to
the west at Gatehouse of Fleet
(D&G) the next day.
33:3 (2013)
SOC Branch Secretaries
Ayrshire: Anne Dick
Rowanmyle House, Tarbolton, Mauchline KA5 5LU.
Tel: 01292 541981
Email: Anne.Dick@sac.ac.uk
Grampian: Hugh Addlesee
31 Ashtree Road, Banchory AB31 5JB.
Tel: 01330 829 949
Email: grampian.secretary@the-soc.org.uk
Borders: Graham Pyatt
The Schoolhouse, Manor, Peebles EH45 9JN.
Tel: 01721 740319
Email: d.g.pyatt@btinternet.com
Highland: Kathy Bonniface
Alt Dubh, North End, Tomatin,
Inverness-shire IV13 7YP.
Tel: 01808 511740
Email: kathybonniface@aol.com
Caithness: Angus McBay
Schoolhouse, Weydale, Thurso KW14 8YJ.
Tel: 01847 894663
Email: angmcb@btinternet.com
Lothian: Doreen Main
Seatoller, Broadgait, Gullane EH31 2DH.
Tel: 01620 844532
Email: doreen.main@yahoo.com
Central: Roger Gooch
The Red House, Dollarfield, Dollar FK14 7LX.
Tel: 01259 742 326
Email: roger@dollar11.plus.com
Orkney: Colin Corse
Garrisdale, Lynn Park, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1SL.
Tel: 01856 874 484
ie Email: ccorse@btinternet.com
Clyde: vacanc
: , Stewartry: Joan Howie
60 Main Street, Dalry, Castle Douglas DG7 3UW.
Dumfries: Pat Abery |
Tel: 01644 430 226
East Daylesford, Colvend, Dalbeattie DG5 4QA.
Tel: 01556 630483
Email: eastdaylesford@onetel.com Tayside: Brian Brocklehurst
146 Balgillo Road, Broughty Ferry, Dundee DD5 3EB.
Fife: Alison Creamer Tel: 01382 778 348
52 Balgarvie Crescent, Cupar KY15 4EG.
Tel: 01334 657188
West Galloway: Geoff Sheppard
Email: alisonhcreamer@yahoo.co.uk.
The Roddens, Leswalt, Stranraer DG9 OQR.
Tel: 01776 870 685
SOC Local Recorders
Angus & Dundee: Jon Cook
01382 738495
1301 midget@tiscali.co.uk
Argyll: Paul Daw
01546 886260
monedula@globalnet.co.uk
Ayrshire: Fraser Simpson
recorder@ayrshire-birding.org.uk
Borders: Ray Murray
O1721 730677
ray 1 murray@btinternet.com
Caithness: Sinclair Manson
01847 892379
sinclairmanson@btinternet.com
Clyde: lain Gibson
01505 705874
laingibson.soc@btinternet.com
Clyde Islands: Bernard Zonfrillo
0141 557 0791
b.zonfrillo@bio.gla.ac.uk
Dumfries & Galloway:
Paul N. Collin
01671 402861
pncollin@live.co.uk
Email: geoff.roddens@btinternet.com
Fair Isle: David Parnaby
01595 760258
fibo@btconnect.com
Fife: Malcolm Ware
07753 991040
malcolm.ware 12 @talktalk.net
Forth (Upper): Chris Pendlebury
07798 711134
chris@upperforthbirds.co.uk
Highland: Peter Gordon
01479 821339
gordon890@Dtinternet.com
Isle of May: lain English
01698 891788.
l.english.t21 @btinternet.com
Lothian: Stephen Welch
01875 852802
lothianrecorder@the-soc.org.uk
Moray & Nairn: Martin Cook
01542 850296
martin.cook99@btinternet.com
NE Scotland: Nick Littlewood
07748 965920
nesrecorder@yahoo.co.uk
Orkney: Jim Williams
01856 761317
jim @geniefea.freeserve.co.uk
Outer Hebrides: vacancy
c/o Brian Rabbitts
01876 580328
rabbitts@hebrides.net
Perth & Kinross: Scott Paterson
01577 864248
scottpaterson 12@yahoo.co.uk
Shetland: Mark Chapman
01806 242401
msc.1 @btinternet.com
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