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