Highland Birds
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26th May

​​Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles  (per BirdGuides).

Skye and Lochalsh: European Storm-petrel, one from Uig-Lochmaddy ferry in Loch Snizort (AW, per Skye Birds). Arctic skua. four Loch Snizort (Bob McMillan).
​
Sedge Warbler, Broadford (Neil Bennett)
25th May

Inverness-shire:
Rough-legged Buzzard by Substation Works, Strathdearn (per BirdGuides).

Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles  (per BirdGuides).

​Lochaber: ​Male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides).

Great Skua eating Red-breasted Merganser, Loch Fleet (Dean MacAskill)
24th May

Lochaber: ​Male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides).
​
 23rd May

Inverness-shire: Unconfirmed report of a White-throated Sparrow at Kiltarlity (per rare bird guides). Garden warbler in full song 1.5 miles east from Struy bridge towards Eskdale on unclassified road south side of River Beauly. Immediately after little cottage with rusty brown gate - opposite side of road. Also Wood Warbler just west of Struy Bridge on unclassified road opposite wooden house Ciolle Na Fearna (Mary Galloway).
​
Graellsii possibly Intermedius Lesser Black-backed Gull, Udale Bay (Blair Whyte).
Graellsii possibly Intermedius Lesser Black-backed Gull, Udale Bay (Blair Whyte).
Graellsii possibly Intermedius Lesser Black-backed Gull, Udale Bay (Blair Whyte).
Whimbrel, Udale Bay (Blair Whyte).
Scaup, Udale Bay (Blair Whyte).
Whimbrel, Udale Bay (Blair Whyte).
22nd May

Inverness-shire: Little Ringed Plover at Alturlie pools (Jon Clarke).

21st May

Badenoch and Strathspey: Stock Dove near Spey Bridge (John Poyner).
​
20th May

Sutherland: Little Egret at Dornoch Point by the last creek (Dean MacAskill).
​
19th May

Sutherland: Iberian Chiffchaff, Balnakeil (Peter Stronach), also 3 Blue-headed Wagtail and 1 Yellow Wagtail there (per S Wotherspoon). Ruff Dalchork Hide (Kev Cuthbert).

Easter Ross: 
 2 Spotted Flycatchers at Tarbat Ness lighthouse plantation, 2 Common Redpoll at Tarbat Ness pond, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 1 Pied Flycatcher at Brucefield plantation. 1 Redstart, 1 Whinchat and another Spotted Flycatcher in hawthorn hedge. Singing Brambling Whitehaven farm house (Bob Swann).

​Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles  (per BirdGuides).
​
Iberian Chiffchaff, Balnakeil (Peter Stronach).
Reed Warbler, Balnakeil (Peter Stronach).
Pied Flycatcher, Craigellachie, Aviemore (Blair Whyte).
18th May

Sutherland: at Balnakeil an unstreaked Acrocephalus warbler, two Blue-headed and female Yellow Wagtail (per S Wotherspoon).

Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles  (per BirdGuides).

Inverness: unstreaked Acrocephalus warbler Merkinch Local Nature Reserve, Inverness (Jon Poyner).

Badenoch and Strathspey:
2 Fieldfares together at withheld site - all such late sightings should be reported as they may refer to potential breeding.

Lochaber: male Ring-necked Duck, Loch nan Eala near Arisaig (Stuart Crutchfield). Male American Black Duck still at Strontian, near river mouth (per Birdguides).
Raven, Luib (Neil Bennett).
Sedge Warbler, Skye (Neil Bennett).
​
​17th May


Sutherland:
Iberian Chiffchaff Balnakeil, also Reed Warbler, Wood Warbler and Blue-headed Wagtail (all Peter Stronach).

Easter Ross:  Ruddy Shelduck Udale Bay (per BirdGuides).

​Lochaber: male Ring-necked Duck, Loch nan Eala near Arisaig (R Dyer).
Wood Wabler at Craigellachie NNR (Mark Ranner).
Wood Wabler at Craigellachie NNR (Mark Ranner).
Wood Wabler at Craigellachie NNR (Mark Ranner).

​16th May

Sutherland: Turtle Dove Melness (per Facebook).

​​Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles  (per BirdGuides).

​
Lochaber: ​Male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides). Tree Sparrow Canna (per Canna Rangers).

15th May

Easter Ross: Singing Brambling still at Tarbat Ness (Dave Tanner).  Near-adult White-tailed Eagle over Dingwall Business Park (Simon Cohen).

​
Lochaber: ​Male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides).
​
14th May

Easter Ross: singing Brambling still at Tarbat Ness (Dave Tanner).
​
Lochaber: male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides).

13th May

Sutherland:  12 Gadwalls Balnakeil Marsh (per BirdTrack).

Easter Ross: 18 Velvet Scoters Tarbat Ness (Dave Tanner), also possibly as many as 30 Great Northern Divers there - a high count for east coast (Dave Tanner).
12th May

Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles  (per BirdGuides).

Easter Ross:
​singing male Brambling Tarbat Ness (Dave Tanner) - a late migrant.

Badenoch and Strathspey: 
singing male Brambling at withheld location (potential breeder) (per Pete Gordon).
​

Tree-nesting Common Gull, Lairg (Dean MacAskill).
Red-breasted Merganser, Boat of Garten (Pete Gordon).
11th May

Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles  (per BirdGuides).

Lochaber: male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides).
​​
​
10th May

Easter Ross: 10 Swifts Loch Kinellan (Mike Crutch).

Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles  (per BirdGuides).

Lochaber: male American Black Duck still at Strontian - now with a debilitating leg injury (per Birdguides). Yellowhammer again at feeders, Canna, where rare (per NTS Rangers). 
Great Skua, Broadford Bay (Neil Bennet).
Sanderling, Broadford Bay (Neil Bennet).
9th May

Easter Ross: Hobby Avoch (Tim Meredith). Ruddy Shelduck Udale Bay (Blair Whyte). Large movement of birds north past Tarbat Ness, including 400 Gannets, 1500 Kittiwakes, 2000 Guillemots, 1000 Razorbills and 5 Great Skuas (Dave Tanner).

Wester Ross:  Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles - 2 birds reported but male has apparently been paired to a female Shoveler (per BirdTrack).

Badenoch and Strathspey: 2 Swifts Grantown on Spey (Sue Sykes).


Skye and Lochalsh: 3 Whimbrels Broadford Bay (Bob McMillan).

Inverness: 3 Whimbrels Fort George (Colin Leslie).
Nuthatch, Lochaber (Andy Williams).
Whinchat. Isle of Skye (Andy Williams).
Wood Warbler, Lochaber (Andy Williams).
​8th May

Easter Ross: Pomarine Skua flew NE at Tarbat Ness, also 6 Manx Shearwater and 2 Arctic Terns (Dave Tanner).

Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles (per BirdGuides).

Lochaber: singles of Wood Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Common Whitethroat on Canna (per Canna Rangers).
​
​7th May​

Wester Ross:  male Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles (per BirdGuides).

Lochaber: male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides). Yellowhammer at feeders, Canna, where rare (per NTS Rangers). Nuthatch feeding young at Arisaig site where they bred last year - still a very rare breeder in Highland.
​
​6th May

Sutherland: 10 Whimbrels Dornoch (Dean MacAskill).

Lochaber: male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides).

Badenoch and Strathspey: Little Egret at south end of Loch Insh (Steve Broyd).

5th May

Easter Ross:
7 Whimbrel and 2 Arctic Terns north Tarbat Ness (Dave Tanner). Redstart South Sutor (Kevin Davis).

Wester Ross: Blue-winged Teal still at Mellon Charles (Alastair Matthewson).

Skye and Lochalsh: Reed Warbler Uig (per Birdguides).

Lochaber: male American Black Duck still at Strontian (per Birdguides).


Badenoch and Strathspey: Little Egret flew over Broomhill Bridge towards Dulnain Bridge (Pete Gordon).
4th May

Sutherland: Male Black-headed Wagtail ssp at Balnakeil, dropped into reedbed  (S Wotherspoon).

Easter Ross: Pair of Arctic Skua (1 dark + 1 light morph) harassing the Kittiwake off Tarbat Ness (Dave Tanner). 

Skye and Lochalsh: 6 Whimbrel at Traigh (S MacDonald) and 3 Whimbrel at Pool Roag (Bob McMillan).  11 Pink-footed Geese at Traigh, Morar (S MacDondald), 2 Great Skua heading south overland on shoulder of Ben Suardal, Strath (Neil Bennett). 
​
3rd May

Wester Ross: Blue-winged Teal displaying to female Shoveler at Mellon Charles (Adam Betty).

Lochaber: Little Egret still at Arisaig (various sightings).

Sutherland: Adult Little Gull at Brora along with 3 Whimbrel, circa 120 Long Tailed Duck and 11 Velvet Scoter. Whimbrel, White Wagtail, 5 Purple Sandpiper and drake eider with 'sails' (Dean MacAskill).

Badenoch and Strathspey: Drake Shoveler out from Lookout at Insh Marshes (Dave Pierce). 
​
1 of the 6 Whimbrel at Waterloo, Skye (Bob McMillan).
2 of the 6 Whimbrel at Waterloo, Skye (Bob McMillan).
1 of the 6 Whimbrel at Waterloo, Skye (Bob McMillan).
Whitethroat at Brahan (Andy Williams).
Swallow at Rhue (Andy Williams).
Pair of Shelduck in Broadford Bay (Neil Bennett).
2nd May
​

Sutherland: Blue-headed Wagtail at Balnakeil  (S Wotherspoon).

​Easter Ross: 2 Whimbrel on Cromarty beach, Common Whitethroat nearby and Sedge Warbler at the mouth of the Red Burn just outside Cromarty on Jemimaville road (Kevin Davis).
Dunlin back on breeding grounds in the Monadhliath (Peter Stronach).
Osprey in Invernss (Les Stuart).
1st May

Inverness-shire: 2 Barnacle Geese at Lettoch Farm Loch, North Kessock (Gary Deplacido). 

Easter Ross: 1 Spotted Flycatcher at Redcastle woods and 1 Grasshopper Warbler singing at the back of Rosemarkie beach near the fallen rusty gate (John via SOC bird news group). 

Sutherland: 2 Grasshopper Warblers near Bettyhill also lots of Cuckoos and Sedge Warblers in the area (Rob Hughes).

Coloured ringed Twite ('hot pink' over white on left leg, yellow over BTO metal ring on right leg) visiting feeders at the Point of Sleat, Skye. This bird was ringed at Montrose Basin by Ben Herschell sometime between the 6th of November 2018 and the 6th of February 2019.

Yellow  = North East Scotland Twite Project all years, WhIte = Montrose Basin ringing site all years and 'hot pink' = winter 2018/19, previous years will have different colours above the white ring on the left leg. This project has been running since winter 2008/09 with many movements of Twite from the east coast wintering grounds to west coast and western isles breeding territories so keep an eye out for colour ringed Twite and report them via the BTO website (https://app.bto.org/euring/lang/pages/rings.jsp​) or directly to Ben Herschell at [email protected].

  
Grasshopper Warbler, Bettyhill (Rob Hughes).
Grasshopper Warbler, Bettyhill (Rob Hughes).

Picture



​Looking after Highland's birds


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  • Recording
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      • Highland SOC Species Focus 2021
      • Gazetteer
  • Blog
  • Events
    • Evening talks
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  • Where to go
    • Inverness-shire >
      • Fort George and Whiteness
      • In and around Inverness
    • Badenoch and Strathspey >
      • Speyside in general
      • Badenoch and Strathspey
      • Northern Cairngorms
    • Easter Ross >
      • Easter Ross in general
      • Chanonry Point
      • Tarbat Ness
    • Wester Ross >
      • Ullapool and Gruinard Bay
      • Gairloch, Loch Ewe and Loch Maree
      • Loch Kishorn
    • Lochaber >
      • Fort William
      • Canna
      • Eigg
      • Rum
    • Skye and Lochalsh >
      • Lochalsh
    • Sutherland >
      • Southeast Sutherland
      • Melvich
      • Kyle of Tongue
      • Assynt
      • Loch Eriboll
  • Gallery
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  • Contact
    • Join the SOC
  • Links
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  • AGM MinutesApril 2023