Following the HRC annual meeting on February 3rd 2018, the following amendments to the Highland Rarities List (HRC) were agreed:

Smew - added to list, with only 0.9 records per year in the last ten years it falls below the rarity threshold for inclusion.

Sabine's Gull - amendment, only east coast records will be assessed. There is a regular population of over-summering passage birds in the Minch during the summer months. These account for the Broadford Bay records in strong northerlies, and passage to and from this area accounts for the other west coast and ferry route records.

Black Tern - amendment, all records now assessed including adults. Only 0.4 records/yr of adult Black Terns in the last ten years, and only 2.2 records/yr of juveniles.

The full list of species requiring descriptions can be found here.

A look out the window at 6:30AM and I was horrified with what I saw, or rather what I couldn't see. Thick fog sitting all around the village, if it was bad here then the coast would almost certainly be the same. A quick check of various weather forecasts though reassured me that within a couple of hours it would burn off.

So two hours later we were heading down to Fort George to meet with members of both the Highland and Moray SOC groups for the annual joint field trip, this year it was to Whiteness Head & Fort George.
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The thick Haar was still causing problems but events were about to take a surprising and dramatic twist. Whilst driving past the playing fields between Ardersier & Fort George, Kate in the passenger seat suddenly yelled "Stop there's a Slav in the field!" A quick reverse followed by a bit of sprinting from us both resulted in a beautiful adult female Slavonian grebe taken into care a few minutes later. It had become apparent whilst catching the bird that she was unable to take off from the field, presumably only able to take off from the surface of water and in the thick haar must have mistaken the flat playing field for the adjacent sea. As we were meeting the rest of the SOC group less than 10 minutes later a local friend was contacted who was able to come and collect her and weigh her, confirming that she was an extremely healthy weight, there were no obvious injuries and she was released at the coast where she was seen to swim off strongly before taking off and flying further out to sea.

We hoped this was to set a precedent for the rest of the day wondering what other birds of interest the fog may have brought down. There were 20 SOC members in total who turned up, mostly from the Highland area but also a hardcore showing from Moray who were clearly keen to experience birding on the other side of the wall!. The original plan had been to have a look from both sides of Fort George as the rising tide was likely to get the day list off to a good start. Given that we couldn't even see the sea despite being less than 100 yards from us this plan was postponed for later in the day. After a quick introduction as to what the day was hopefully going to entail we climbed back into our vehicles and drove the short distance into the woods at the Carse of Ardersier.
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Here at least visibility was adequate enough to see at least the immediate trees around us. We spent longer in the woods than planned hoping to give the weather time to burn off, alas this didn't happen and very few birds were calling or active with just a mistle thrush and a few chiffchaffs belting out there song refusing to be silenced. A few members of the group were lucky to catch a glimpse of a quick Jay flitting past and even common species like goldfinch and siskin did give themselves up for us but not easily.

We emerged from the woodland onto the MOD ground, this involved a scramble through a gorse covered fence which has been built in recent weeks to prevent off-road bikes accessing the area. Unfortunately the gorse makes it rather birder proof too but the SOC were a determined lot and would not be deterred by a few prickles and braved the pain, keen to see what new birds we could see.

On the heath, again visibility was an issue and there was little activity, despite it now being about 11AM and with no sign of the weather improving we decided to have a look at the marsh. The marsh is usually a hive of activity both on the water and in the scrub surrounding it. Just three pairs of coots on nests, a couple of immature mute swans, a moorhen and a handful of mallard and teal were present. A little grebe put in a couple of appearances but the pair of gadwall and small flock of wigeon which had been present for the past few months including the previous day were nowhere to be seen. It really felt as if the weather really was having the last laugh.

Having exhausted all the other diversions and habitats and with high tide almost upon us we couldn't delay going to the coast any longer so we walked up the track towards the bay, noting on the way the flags which had been up around the firing range earlier in the morning had now been taken down suggesting even the army had been beaten by the poor visibility!

On arriving at the bay we were all relieved to at least be able to see the roost on the opposite sand spit, this comprised mainly of sandwich terns and oystercatchers but with a bit of searching we managed to pick out a single common tern plus a handful of dunlin and ringed plover, a number of shelduck were also dabbling about in the shallows.
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We pushed on, crossing onto the track which runs around the back of the lagoon and onto the old fabrication yard. From here we were able to scope across the lagoon and were pleased to see there were some birds here including the missing gadwall pair and wigeon from the marsh. There were also tufted ducks, displaying goldeneye and a pair of adult mute swans on a nest.

By now it had gone midday and hunger was starting to set in so we traipsed across the yard towards the sand dunes which overlook Whiteness spit, as we did so we were all delighted to feel the sun beginning to burn through and watch as visibility gradually began to improve. By the time we nestled ourselves down into the dunes with a suitable vantage point we were able to at least make out the spit and a small amount of sea beyond. During the course of our lunch the mist lifted sufficiently until we could see all of the black isle and in the opposite direction across the invisible boundary just a few hundred meters away into the Moray recording area.
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The sun coming out was great timing and as well as the haar lifting so did our spirits. Here birds were added to the day list thick and fast, highlights being three white-wagtails on the spit, a pair of black-throated divers in addition to several red-throats, guillemot and razorbill, gannets, a few fulmar and kittiwakes. Plenty of mergansers were displaying in the channel below us and smaller numbers of long-tailed and eider ducks were also present including a few hauled out onto the spit itself. The very distant scoter flock way out in the firth was just about visible with a scope. Shags and cormorants were busy fishing in the sea and on the spit itself were a small flock of dunlin and sanderling whilst ringed plover scuttled amongst them. The odd redshank flew past and sandwich terns were present the entire time fishing for their lunch in front of us as we ate ours.

All feeling better for being fed, watered and having the sun on our faces we departed with a spring in our step. We made our way back across the yard, the air filled by the sound of skylarks, there was no sign of any sand martins back at the colony yet but those at the back of the group picked up a wheatear. 

Back at the bay, the tide was going out fast but the sandwich terns were still present and being as raucous as ever, a bar-tailed godwit feeding in the receding water was a new addition. As we made our way back down the track a large flock of well over a thousand pink-feet flew low overhead and landed on the firth just beyond the bay leaving us all gazing in awe at the spectacle. We continued into the willow scrub where our first willow warbler of the year gave out a few bursts of song, it was repeatedly drowned out by much louder, closer and more numerous chiffchaffs but most of the group were able to hear it after a bit of perseverance but it was too far through the scrub for anyone to see.

The rest of the walk back was similar to the walk out but the sunshine making it far more enjoyable. A treecreeper and long-tailed tits were picked up in the woodland and a pair of sparrowhawks displaying overhead was something we all paused to admire.

We returned to the vehicles and headed back to Fort George where the other cars had been left. A few folk departed at this point having long journeys home or prior engagements but the remaining birders made the short walk to view the coast from either side of the fort. By now the tide was a fair way out but a greenshank was a surprise bonus on the Nairn side of the fort. Whilst on the Ardersier side, there were more bar-tailed godwits in the bay , a group of turnstone were picking about in some seaweed and one of the resident magpies was picked up distantly. These being the final additions of the day, brought the combined effort total up to a respectable 83 species. Considering the adverse weather conditions throughout over half of the trip it doesn't seem too shabby.
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With any luck it will have whet the appetite of some people who are unfamiliar with the site and encourage them to come back in their own time to enjoy this diverse and promising site on the edge of the Highlands. Once they have checked the weather forecast first of course...
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Written by Jon Clarke

Below is a table showing the spring migrant arrival dates for the last ten years for the Highland recording area, all dates are taken from the Highland Bird Report. The yellow highlights show the earliest record for that species. n/a means no records for that year, any wintering records are down as "wintering".

The first Osprey has already arrived, but we are still waiting for the first Wheatear and Sand Martin...

Nine SOC members assembled at Burghead Harbour, despite a forecast of persistent rain, and at first it was dry and calm allowing careful scrutiny of the assembled ducks in Burghead Bay. Black specks resolved into numerous Common Scoters but Velvets were more difficult to pin down until they flew, showing their gleaming white secondaries. Long-tailed Ducks were abundant with a few Eiders and a Red-breasted Merganser but a solitary Slavonian Grebe was at the very limits of our visual acuity. We then moved round to the east bay where conditions were challenging – a cold east wind and rain – but were rewarded with a couple of Red-throated Divers, a few Gannets and distant Kittiwakes, Razorbills and two Purple Sandpipers doing their best to hide with the turnstones behind the seaweedy rocks. On sensing that the troops were getting restless - or, more accurately, becoming speechless through cold – I suggested a visit to a nearby coffee shop, a proposal quickly adopted. In the warmth, with tongues quickly refound, I learnt how to tell a nighthawk from a cow pat but have forgotten already which bird resembles black knickers with an embroidered red rose. Sometimes it is the social aspects of birdwatching that tie SOC membership together!.

Rejuvenated, we proceeded to the Lossie Estuary where a superb adult Iceland gull was seen rather distantly but flew in to land and bathe right in front of us. Al McNee then surprised us by finding a Lesser Black-backed Gull but soon we decided that waiting for the mass arrival of gulls coming to roost was a mug’s game in the persistent rain so we headed off to Spynie Loch where we all just managed to squeeze into the hide. Close views were enjoyed of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Long-tailed Tits and a Red Squirrel on the feeders but the legendary Water Rail was just that. A drake Scaup amongst the Tufted Ducks was a bonus but the previous day’s Pochard also remained legendary. Although we’d scrutinised every visible duck several times, it was a pleasant surprise when Al came up trumps again with a female Shoveler. Singing Dabchicks gave a promise that spring is maybe not too far away but the time came when we decided to call it a day. A final stop at Forres on the homeward journey for an “easy” Kingfisher didn’t pay off, leaving a day total of a respectable 60 species which wasn’t bad considering the weather.

Pete Gordon

Highland SOC Outing Sunday 10 December 2017

I know that mid-winter is rather a mad time of year to be holding a bird race, but it is just meant to be a fun activity and not the slightest bit competitive! The short day length will just make it all the more exciting!.

The object of the day is to go out birding – with a friend or with some friends – and try to find as many different species as you can. It is up to you and your team to decide who will drive and where you will go. It is even OK to venture into Moray….

We will all gather at the end of the day for a post-race get together over tea/coffee and a seasonal mince pie at The Snow Goose, where we can collect in the results, present some prizes and have a chat about how your day has been.
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Don’t worry if you are on your own and would like to join a team, as I can put you in touch with other SOC members taking part.

Unfortunately………we have to have a few RULES……..
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• Teams of up to 4 (4 maximum, 2 minimum).
• Race duration – anytime from 0000hrs to 1630hrs (daylight is officially about 0815 to 1550 so it is up to you to choose how long you spend birdwatching).
• Team members must stay together if birding.
• At least 2 of the team members must see/hear each bird species to count it.
• Please use the attached checklist to record species seen/heard.
• No tape luring allowed.
• When a bird is identified to family but not to species level, it can in some cases still be a tick – e.g. a distant auk that might be Guillemot or Razorbill, can be ticked as ‘Auk sp.’, although neither Guillemot nor Razorbill can be subsequently ticked in addition.
• There will be a charge of £5 per team to help cover the costs of the tea & mince pies.
• Bird lists must be submitted to Carol at The Snow Goose by 1630hrs.
• Please register teams with Carol Miller by 6pm on Friday 8th December giving a mobile contact number. People looking for a team to join should also register an interest with Carol and I will try to match you up. Please say if you have a car and are willing to drive. Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries.
• Carol’s email address is carol.miller.09@aberdeen.ac.uk
• Mobile phone number 07901228737
• Or sign up at the indoor meeting on Tuesday 5th December.
• Persons take part in the bird race at their own risk.

Have Fun and Happy Birding!
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​Carol Miller

When it's a Viking Gull!

​The Viking Gull in Mallaig has now returned back to the harbour, now in fifth-winter plumage. The plumage is now virtually identical to an adult Glaucous Gull. The primary pattern is exactly as in an adult Glaucous Gull, the dark markings that were in the outer primaries in it's fourth-winter have now disappeared. The only distinguishing features to tell it's not a Glaucous Gull, is the injured leg, the leg colour and the overall small size. Stood next to a Herring Gull the bird appeared similar in size, rather than bigger as a Glaucous Gull should be.

For images of it in it's first-winter plumage follow the link here and check the sightings under the 23rd January.

​Peter Stronach

Apologies if you detect a note of disappointment here but the number of these rare summer migrants visiting our shores has dropped again for the third year running. In 2015, we counted nearly 1300 calling male Corncrakes in Scotland and only 860 this year. You can see how numbers had gradually been building up since we started formally counting in 1994 on the graph below and then the recent downward trend. We are investigating the possible explanations for this but the decrease across the Scottish range is worrying.

On Skye, only 14 males were counted – down from 25 last year. As usual, these were found mainly on Waternish and Trotternish. The first Corncrakes on Skye started called on 1st May, on Waternish and on Trotternish and one in Portree! A single bird was heard on the south end of the island so we can only hope that a female found him. Without the help of Skye Birds, I wouldn’t have known about this bird – so thank you!

The Corncrake is a short-lived bird that needs to produce a large number of offspring in order to maintain numbers. It is possible that the past couple of breeding seasons were poor but reasons why this should be are unclear. Their preferred habitat is fertile croft land with enough vegetation for them to hide in – plants that are at least 20cm high, such as nettle, cow parsley, flag iris early in the season, then they move into the hay and silage meadows.

Hiding in vegetation is their mechanism to avoid predation. As you’ll know, this is in short supply in spring on the wild and windswept Isle of Skye. Small pockets of growth are found along dykes and sheltered ditches and some crofters create Early Cover plots specifically for corncrakes to use when they return from Africa.  Silage and hay meadows are very attractive to corncrakes because they can hide in the tall grasses and a vast assortment of their prey (e.g., slugs, worms, insects, and spiders), also live there. However, these fields will inevitably be cut and the Corncrakes are particularly vulnerable then.

Delaying mowing until the Corncrakes have finished nesting and the young are mobile (August) can really improve their chance of survival. Using the Corncrake friendly cutting method (starting the cut on the inside of the field and working towards the edges) will allow corncrakes to run to safety without leaving the protection of tall grass. As croft land is so important to Corncrakes, it is commendable that so many Skye crofters protect these rare birds by cutting in a Corncrake friendly way or delaying mowing where possible.

Your reports are extremely important in making sure we have a record of as many of the corncrakes on Skye as possible so I would like to thank all of you and Skye Birds for your support. If you would like to know more about the work RSPB is doing on Skye for Corncrakes please get in touch.

​Shelagh Parlane, RSPB Corncrake Project Officer, Isle of Skye
Tel: 07771545409
Email: shelagh.parlane@rspb.org.uk 

Dr Mark Avery and Andy Wightman MSP will be among the speakers when Boat of Garten Community Hall hosts Hen Harrier Day Highlands on 6 August, organised by Let's Get Mad for Wildlife who are representing Birders Against Wildlife Crime (BAWC) on the day.

BAWC launched Hen Harrier Day in 2014 to raise awareness of the serious persecution suffered by these spectacular birds of prey. Despite full legal protection since the early 1950s, hen harriers remain absent from vast swathes of the UK. They are now almost extinct as a breeding species in England, and parts of eastern and southern Scotland, primarily because of illegal persecution on intensively managed areas of upland grouse moor.

This year's indoor event will consist of talks, stalls to browse and a raffle with fantastic prizes including a DVD signed by Chris Packham and Sir David Attenborough, signed books and an evening in a Highland badger hide for up to 5 people.  The Hen Harrier Day mascot 'Henry' will also be in attendance for photo opportunities.
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As the hall is situated amongst iconic Scottish pinewoods, a walk around Deishar woods to spot the elusive capercaillie, wood ant nests and crested tit is also recommended to round off your visit.
This free event starts at 1pm on Sunday 6th August, so come along, bring a placard and be a part of conservation history!

For further information please contact Andrea Goddard, BAWC, on getmad4wildlife@gmail.comor visit the facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1880748768809776

​​A couple of years ago I began wondering how many species it was possible to get in a day in the Highlands, I made a few enquiries and it turned out that there had previously been an annual Highland bird race some years ago with several teams taking part and all seemed like jolly good fun.
In 2016 I struggled to rally much enthusiasm to take part mainly due to other birders I knew having work, holiday or family commitments etc. However Peter Stronach and I decided to give it a bash and despite very little preparation and some pretty awful weather on the day we managed a respectable 118 species.

Our bench mark was now set but even more importantly our appetites were wetted. We had really enjoyed the day but knew with a bit more hard work and preparation plus some luck we could improve on that score.
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And so over the last few months we have been recce-ing sites and planning routes in an attempt to streamline and fine tune our attempts on the day. We had laid down a few ground rules last year and we stuck to these being that we were sticking only to the Highland recording area and also that at least two people had to record each species by either seeing or hearing it.

We recruited another couple of members to the car, Sandy Davidson from RSPB Insh Marshes and my wife Kate, who had run a competing bird race team last year with her family but at a more sedate pace including coffee and cake stops, meeting friends for lunch and a leisurely start time but still achieving a substantial 80 plus species.

The weekend dawned and all the essential preparations were made, ensuring cars were in good order and filled up, optics polished and most importantly preparing piles of food! Only one issue, the weather forecast for the planned date, Saturday 27th May included a weather warning for rain across much of Scotland during the afternoon. So we took the decision to postpone to the following day Sunday 28th. The night before the big day the team assembled at Peter's house near Grantown, a few last minute preparations and tweaks to the itinerary and it was off to bed. One final check of the weather forecast revealed to our dismay that the rain which had yet to arrive had now been pushed back to overnight and the early hours of the next morning...
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Alarms were set for 02:45 AM and at 03:15 bird number 1 was added to the list, a woodcock roading over Peter's house. We set off and went to a black grouse lek which could be seen from a road, it was just beginning to get light when we arrived, as the light improved we tried turning dark lumps into black grouse but alas these all turned into clumps of juncus or pheasants. The amount of sheep across the lek site were thought to have put them off. In the half light we still managed to add a number of wader species such as lapwing, curlew and snipe plus, greylag, common gull, cuckoo and a song thrush belting out and a surprise dipper.

An emergency change of plan and we were off to a different lek site, with a brief pause to add a redshank feeding on a roadside pool. Common species including house sparrow, blackbird, robin, woodpigeon and mistle thrush were also ticked off en-route plus the common corvides and a slow drive across Broomhill bridge yielded grey heron, sand martin and goldeneye. The backup lek site didn't let us down and we added some very welcome black grouse as well as red-legged partridge. Nearby we clocked up a good number of species in quick succession near to Nethy Bridge at a variety of habitats, highlights here included crested tit, wigeon, teal, little grebe, crested tit, plus some common finch species. A buzzard near Grantown was our first raptor of the day at about 6:20am and this was shortly followed by tree pipit and starling.

As we headed through Cromdale a grey wagtail on the bridge over the river was a bonus and house martins were also added here, the resident barnacle geese were also ticked off, asking no questions about their credentials...

Along the river Spey near Grantown a common tern and a flyby merganser were something of a surprise but swallow and common sandpiper were more predictable. Next a couple of minutes at Dulnain bridge notched up swift, blue tit and long-tailed tit.
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Redstart, common crossbill and treecreeper were amongst a few other birds found in another local woodland before we moved onto a well known loch for slavonian grebe, as well as this target species we also managed to add reed bunting and moorhen here.

Then it was off to Craigellachie nature reserve at Aviemore, as we turned into the car park at least three ospreys were seen circling over the fish farm. In the nature reserve plenty of spotted flycatchers showed well as well as a pied flycatcher, wood warbler and more common species. The local peregrine also flew in carrying prey.
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Next to scope out Loch Insh where distant tufted ducks, goosanders, mute swans and others were added while a sedge warbler and whitethroat were much closer additions. We continued further up the spey valley via a quick stop in Kingussie  to grab coffees to top up our caffeine levels as we had been on the go about seven hours by this point. Next stop was supposed to be a guaranteed site for kingfisher as Peter had found a nest site and had seen the adults bringing food in regularly just two days prior. Despite spending about an hour here we had no luck, it appeared they had successfully fledged at some point during the previous day and a half...great news for the kingfishers, not so great for us!
 
We began heading back north again, pausing for a brief stop at Insh marshes to tick off Canada goose and a bonus great spotted woodpecker flew over the car park. Alas there was no sign of the reported shoveler. Our next stop was due to be Cairngorm car park to head up the funicular and try and scope out some montane specials plus ring ouzel en route. Unfortunately the low cloud meant that visibility would be appalling from the cafe so this was scrapped from the agenda, saving us some time certainly but with it several species which we wouldn't be able to get elsewhere.
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The risky part of the plan came next by travelling up the A9 from Speyside to the coast in two cars, the lead car had a Jay fly over it and later what was almost certainly a ring ouzel at Slochd. A detour was made to try and bag golden eagle but with no joy, however a few other species were added including ring ouzel seen by all, red kite and stonechat before continuing in convoy to Alturlie.

Here we all got back into one car with Kate now behind the wheel, just as she was pulling off she pointed to a falcon flying overhead saying what's that? A hobby was the answer, it circled around over the firth before heading in land towards Inverness, against the sun but a hobby none the less.

​At the point itself the reported brent goose didn't play ball but a surprise long-tailed duck was a bonus, the eider and shelduck were more predictable as were yellowhammer and ringed plover.
A kestrel on a telegraph post was a drive by tick near Castle Stuart and the summering whooper swan was scoped out on the sea distantly from Ardersier. At Fort George the high tide roost held bar-tiled godwits and knot plus linnet and guillemot also fell here but the resident magpies wouldn't reveal themselves.

Next stop was Whiteness, would the time spent on the long walk there and back be worth it for number of species added? It was 1600hrs already so time was slipping away from us but waders here added dunlin, sanderling and a surprise grey plover whilst other species included sparrowhawk, wheatear, coot and Great-black backed gull at last. Sea watching was unproductive other than a distant flock of kittiwakes.

The farmland species were next, always tricky but we had to give them a try, tree sparrow was straight forward enough but corn bunting, grey partridge and stock dove eluded us although Peter scoped a stock dove which flew before any of the rest of us could get onto it.

We then tried a site on the river Nairn for mandarin which had been very reliable in previous weeks but it wasn't to be on this occasion, to rub salt into our wounds Sandy had a magpie which didn't hang about for anyone else to see.
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After really struggling to find our targets over the last couple of hours and morale starting to drop we desperately needed some new species. A bit of a trek to the far tip of the Black Isle, South Sutor produced the goods, scoping out the seabird cliffs at North Sutor didn't let us down with fulmar, razorbill, shag being added in quick succession as were some pelagic gannets.
  
Despite the tide now being way out and the light beginning to fade a group of pink-footed geese were still hanging about in front of the hide at Udale bay. A visit to the tern colony near Alness added arctic tern plus a more authentic barnacle goose amongst the moulting Canada goose flock meaning we didn't need to feel guilty about the earlier resident birds on our list. Then it was a dash to Merkinch in Inverness to try for a reported gadwall, by this time it was about 2300 and virtually dark and unsurprisingly the gadwall didn't show so with an hour left it was into night mode we went. Young long-eared owls giving their squeaky gate calls were very welcome and would have been a great way to finish at 23:30 but after coming this far we weren't going to give up with half an hour still to go. Back to Alturlie and at four minutes to midnight a water rail made its presence known calling in the moonlight.

As always with bird races we had some very frustrating misses throughout the day and wasted a lot of time on species which just didn't co-operate on the day but I guess it's the unpredictability of birding that helps make it so much fun. We had a number of birds which we just simply ran out of time for and couldn't afford to go to the sites we had for them. These included obviously the montane species on Cairngorm, plus black-throated diver, short-eared owl and whinchat. The biggest dips of the day were as already mentioned mandarin, magpie, kingfisher both eagles and some of the farmland species. Other birds which we just assumed we would pick up along the way but didn't connect with included sandwich tern, grasshopper warbler, raven, lesser-black-backed gull and bullfinch!
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However on the flip side 21 hours birding produced a grand total of 124 species recorded by at least two members of our team. It was a super day and great fun but goes without saying we were all absolutely knackered by the end of it! There were lots of highlights throughout the day but hobby certainly took the prize of best bird. Already thinking about next year's attempt, you never know we may even have some competition...do get in touch if you fancy it!

Written by Jon Clarke