Still in the depth of winter but signs spring is on the way
The mild weather of November continued into December with no negative temperatures. December was wetter with about 50 per cent more rain than November.
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Tag: bird notes
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Nightjar are returning to Arran
Hearing a nightjar used to be a not uncommon experience in Arran, but in the latter part of the 20th century there was a decline.
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A male scaup lingered in Brodick Bay
For three days from May 14 to 16, a male scaup was reported from the north end of Brodick Bay. There were good views of this diving duck from the putting green and from Fisherman’s Walk. This occasional winter visitor to Arran seemed to be lingering.
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Siberian chiffchaff is Arran first
On Saturday 13 November in a garden in Sliddery a small bird was trapped, ringed, photographed, identified, and released by licensed bird ringers, Chris Southall and Rachel Dobson.
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Red kites record in month of firsts
October was much wetter than September with 70 per cent more rain.
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Rare Scottish visitors spotted on Arran during migration
Brent geese nest on the boggy Arctic tundra, where the severe climate allows them only about two months of good weather in which to raise a family. By September, they are leaving their breeding grounds, and heading for their wintering areas where they spend the winter feeding on eelgrass in estuaries and on crops in adjoining fields.
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Many birds on the move during migration
The weather in September was almost identical to August in terms of mean temperature and rainfall. In comparison to last September, it was warmer and drier.
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Time to migrate as breeding season comes to an end
August was a little cooler and much wetter than the very dry July. The mean temperature was one degree lower, and the rainfall was five times as much, all at the beginning of the month.
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Yellowhammers still visit Arran in winter
Yellowhammers used to be familiar birds on Arran throughout the year. During the breeding season the distinctive song of the stunning male, sounding like ‘a little bit of bread and no cheeeeese’, was a feature of many hedgerows throughout the island and in the winter, flocks fed in stubble fields.