A Week on the Isle of Arran

Sue and I decided to spend a week on the Isle of Arran, one of the islands off the west coast of Scotland.  We were joined for a couple of days by my younger daughter and her partner.  While a family holiday, I did mange to squeeze a bit of birding in. 😃

We stayed in a very nice cottage in the south of the island at Kildonan.  The garden had the remains of Kildonan castle in it and also had good views of the sea, so I managed a bit of sea watching every day.

I did mange to see the "Big Five" on Arran. That is Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier, Red Deer, Red Squirrel and Otter.  All except Red Deer only gave brief views and the deer were distant, so my photographs cover more of the common birds on Arran.

A few general impressions on the birds of Arran. There seemed to be birds everywhere (far more than in Buckinghamshire!), mainly common species but with a few "nice" ones thown in to keep it interesting. Some species are really common and you come across them in almost any suitable habitat.  These include  Blackbird, Song Thrush, Chaffinch, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper, Swallow, Carrion Crow and Hooded Crow.

So what were my top sightings.  Certainly Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Otter are right up there.  I saw Red Squirrels several times in the cottage garden but always on the move and unphotographable, but super animals all the same.  Black Guillemots were memorable owing to the superb prolonged views.  However, the rarest bird I saw was an un-streaked Acrocepalus Warbler.  So take makes it a Reed, Marsh or Blyth's Reed Warbler.  With no records of the first two on Arran, and only one for Blyth's Reed Warbler (per Jim Cassels the island recorder), that would make this a mega for the island!  While I had a good view it was very brief and I could not re-find the bird.  The toss up was in trying to note the ID features of the bird or get a photograph.  I opted for the latter but unfortunately it ducked into thick cover a couple of seconds too soon.  So the one that got away.

Hopefully my photos will give a good impression of the birds of Arran.  Click on the photos to view full size..

Black Guillemots - I was surprised to see two Black Guillemots flying low over the road on the NW coast of the island.  They landed on a cliff of loose rocks on the land side of the road (top photo).  Before I could photograph them they flew back over the road onto the sea and joined four others.  Two then flew onto some rocks allowing some photos to be taken. Great views and one of the birding highlights of the holiday.
I saw other Black Guillemots on a daily basis flying out to sea off of Kildonan and two in Brodick Harbour where the ferry docks.

Manx Shearwater - These rather poor photos were taken from the Ardrossen to Brodick (Arran) ferry.  I was fortunate enough to see this species every day as we were staying in a cottage on the south coast at Kildonan.  When the winds were strong South Westerlies I could see dozens passing offshore.  Apparently they breed on the island of Sanda which is about 30Km South West.

Gannet and Manx Shearwater - A common sight along the coast.

Gannets - Just off of  Blackwaterfoot - About 100 birds were sat on the water and small groups flying up into the air and plunge diving onto an obvious shoal of fish.  Within 15 minutes the group had dispersed.  Gannets were extremely common and seen in good numbers every day.  They breed on the island of Ailsa Criag, which is impressive even at 14 miles offshore.

Oystercatcher -  A very common species around the coast, clearly breeding on many of the shingle/rocky beaches.  I enjoyed photographing these with the pebbly beaches and  breaking waves.

Ringed Plover - Another common species breeding around the coast.

Rock Pipit - Also very common on the beaches.  Note the ring on the top bird.

Common Sandpiper - It surprised me that so many were apparently breeding on the beaches, or were they already on return passage?

Pied Wagtail - Really common on the island.
Many flushed from the road verges, by streams, beaches, etc.

Hooded Crow - Perhaps as common as Carrion Crows.
The above photographed  scavenging on Kildonan beach.

Whinchat - The above bird photographed near the Machrie standing stones.  Also seen on high ground on the Link Road and The Ross road.

Linnet - On the beach at Kildonan.

Siskin - This juvenile was at Kildonan but seen or heard in other places.

Goosanders - These birds were seen just north of Brodick but also seen elsewhere where rivers fed into the sea.

Common Gull - Common around the island.
Note the yellow ring on the top bird.  This was probably ringed on the island of Pladda which was viewable (about a mile away) from where the photo was taken. However it should apparently have some ID letters/numbers.

Sand Martin colony.  This in a fenced off quarry area at the bottom of Glen Sannox.

Apart from the birds already mentioned, some of the other birds seen or heard during the week were:-

Shag

Eider

Fulmar

Sparrowhawk

Buzzard

Curlew

Whimbrel

Guillemot (possibly Razorbill)

Cuckoo

Barn Owl  (Young seen poking their heads up in the entrance to a nest box.  Note that Tawny Owls are not present on Arran).

Raven

Willow Warbler  (Common)

Whitethroat  (Fairly common)

Sedge Warbler

Grasshopper Warbler (A scarce bird on Arran)

Bullfinch (Fairly common)

Black Adder

I never realised just how black an Adder can be until today when I came across one at Stoke Common.  I was with our dog Alfie, who was fortunately on a lead, when we came across an Adder in a small open area close to taller undergrowth.  I managed to get a few photos before it slithered away.  Unfortunately some of these were out of focus due to the undergrowth in front of the snake.

A female Adder 

Apparently it is the female Adders that are very dark.  In this case the usually distinct pattern along the back was almost hidden.

I have been visiting Stoke Common a few times a year for perhaps 40 years and this is the first time I have seen an Adder there!  Hopefully I won't have to wait as long for my next sighting!!

There is an interesting article on the management plan for the site at this link.

Little Marlow - Early June

A short visit to the lake to see what was happening with some of the breeding birds.  It was nice to see a Redshank on the sand spit, asleepinitially and then preening.  Also present was a Little Ringed Plover, hopefully breeding in the area.  Young Coots, Greylag and Egyptian Goose were obvious and a Great Crested Grebe was sat on a nest on one of the small islands.  Most importantly the Common Terns are doing well with young birds being fed on most of the five rafts.  Hopefully they will manage to fledge successfully.

Redshank asleep on the sand spit.
The bird did not move at all for some time until it was disturbed.
Note the Pochard in the background.  A scarce bird here in summer.

The bird eventually started preening, before going back to sleep..

A charming party of Coots by the islands on the west bank.