*SCOTTISH BIRDS (29) TXT AW - The Scottish Ornithologists' Club

Scottish BirdsEditorialThis issue of volume 29 of Scottish Birds sees the beginning of a new phase in the evolution of SOCpublications, with a major redesign in layout, larger paper size and the wider use of colour. Not onlyhave peer-reviewed papers and Scottish Bird News been brought together, but with the incorporationof Birding Scotland material, Scottish Birds becomes a truly all-encompassing magazine.Scottish Birds first appeared in 1958. Previously Scottish ornithologists had published theirobservations in the Scottish Naturalist. This appeared increasingly irregularly and to fill the gap(at least locally) the Edinburgh Bird Bulletin had been started by SOC members as a cyclostyledsheet in 1950. Writing the foreword to the new quarterly SOC journal the then president CharlesConnell said it would ‘maintain a high scientific standard… but also provide general interest formembers whose outlook is not wholly scientific.’PapersPapersFor some years Scottish Birds published everything pertaining to the club from original papers todetails of events and outings, and from site guides to bird sightings. Past editors were MauryMeiklejohn, Andrew Macmillan, Tom Delaney, Sqdn. Leader Greig, David Bates, Valerie Thom,Nick Picozzi and Anne-Marie Smout; before Stan da Prato took on the job in 1995.Increased ornithological activity in Scotland led to an increase in records and pressure on theScottish Bird Report, which had been an integral part of Scottish Birds, to become a linked,annual publication. Local bird reports have taken this to a new level of detail, now with completecoverage. The next phase in the history of the Scottish Bird Report is in the final stages ofagreement and will involve enhanced use of the SOC website.In the club’s 50th year, 1986, Scottish Bird News was launched to appear quarterly and dealwith topical features, club news and activities – it is now edited by Jimmy Maxwell and IanFrancis; Scottish Birds continued to publish original peer-reviewed material twice a year andthe Scottish Bird Report progressed to become not only a major publication but also a majorundertaking by Ray Murray. Further diversification saw the club publish the Raptor Round Upon behalf of the Scottish raptor study groups.One niche opened and remained unfilled; that providing the birder - a term not used whenScottish Birds started - and those not within the SOC membership with a publication detailingsightings of rare and scarce birds and other related topics. Recognising this gap, BirdingScotland began publication in 1998 under the leadership of Harry Scott, assisted by Ian Phillipsthen Paul Baxter and currently Stuart Rivers. Making full use of advances in digitalphotography, Birding Scotland developed into a highly regarded, well-produced publication.Following the completion of The Birds of Scotland, its editors saw a natural progression tocombine with SOC publications and this was agreed in 2008.The format of this relaunched Scottish Birds is not cast in stone and members’ comments arewelcomed. The changes have been made in the spirit of Charles Connell’s comments in the firstissue of Scottish Birds and we look forward to providing both a visually and scientificallyinteresting journal that meets the approval of as many Scottish birdwatchers as possible.Building on the success of The Birds of Scotland, we hope this new Scottish Birds will enjoysimilar acclaim.Chris Waltho, PresidentPlate 1. Barrow’s Goldeneye, Callander, Forth, February 2007 © Paul Hackett.Amendments to the ScottishList: species and subspeciesTHE SCOTTISH BIRDS RECORDS COMMITTEESOC Council has delegated to SBRC responsibility for maintaining the Scottish List and SBRC hasappointed a subcommittee to carry out this function. The current subcommittee consists of DaveClugston, Dougie Dickson, Ron Forrester, Angus Hogg, Bob McGowan and Roger Riddington.The Scottish List was last published in full in 2001 (Clugston et al. 2001), since when there havebeen three sets of amendments (Forrester 2003, 2004, 2007). This is therefore the fourth update.A full explanation of the procedure for maintaining the list is given in Scottish Birds 22: 33–35.The Scottish List provided both a foundation and a structure for The Birds of Scotland (Forresteret al. 2007), published by the SOC in December 2007.Since the third update, the taxonomic subcommittee of The British Ornithologists’ Union RecordsCommittee (BOURC) has made recommendations all of which have been adopted by BOURC forthe British List (Sangster et al. 2007, Knox et al. 2008). Resulting changes to the Scottish List are:The position of grebes in systematic orderPhylogenetic analyses based on DNA-DNA hybridisation data and other studies suggest that thegrebes are incorrectly placed with the divers and are in fact closer to flamingos. It is recommendedthat they be placed between Ciconiifores and Falconiformes. Grebes should therefore be movedfrom their previous position on the list and placed between Eurasian Spoonbill and EuropeanHoney-buzzard.Grey-tailed Tattler Heteroscelus brevipesMolecular phylogenetic analysis suggests that it should be placed in the genus Tringa.Change scientific name to Tringa brevipes.2Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 3

PapersPapersPallid Harrier Circus macrourus2007 Shetland Loch of Spiggie, Mainland, juvenile, 23 August to 8 September, photo (R.M. Melloret al.) (British Birds 101: 534, plates 288 and 289).11th Scottish record.Little Crake Porzana parva2007 Shetland Burrafirth, Unst, male, 29 May to 19 June, photo (A.I. & S.J. McElwee et al.) (BritishBirds 101: 536, plate 265; Forrester et al. 2007 see page 523). See article on p79–82 of this journal.6th Scottish record.American Coot Fulica americana2005 Outer Hebrides, Coot Loch, Benbecula, 25 February to 6 April (S.E. Duffield et al.) (BritishBirds 100: 709).4th Scottish record.Killdeer Charadrius vociferus2006 Argyll Oronsay, 18 October (M. Sur) (British Birds 100: 710).2007 Shetland Bannamin, West Burra, 1st-summer female, 6 April to 5 May, photo (R.A.Haywood et al.); presumed same Exnaboe and Virkie, Mainland, 14 May to 19 November, photo(R. Riddington et al.) (British Birds 101: 536, 100: plate 142, 101: plate 266). See article on p75–78of this journal.12th and 13th Scottish records.Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva2006 Argyll Bailevullin, Tiree, 1st-summer, 29 August to 2 September, photo (J. Bowler, K. Gillon)(British Birds 100: 711).18th Scottish record.Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla2007 Outer Hebrides Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, juvenile, 12 October, photo (A. & J. Drake)(British Birds 101: 538, plate 268).4th Scottish record.Whimbrel Numenius phaeopusNorth American race N. p. hudsonicus, ‘Hudsonian Whimbrel’2007 Fair Isle Buness, adult, 29–31 August, photo (D.N. Shaw et al.) (British Birds 101: 541, 100:plates 292 and 293).3rd Scottish record of subspecies.Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda2005 Outer Hebrides Liniclate, Benbecula, 3–6 October (S.E. Duffield et al.) (British Birds 100:715; Birding Scotland 8: 175–176).2006 Shetland Norwick, Unst, juvenile, 6 October, photo, (P.V. Harvey, M.A. Maher, S. Mitchell etal.) (British Birds 100: 715; Birding Scotland 9: 100–101).8th and 9th Scottish records.Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus2007 Fair Isle South Harbour, 13 June, photo (P.A.A. Baxter, P.J. Marsh, D.N. Shaw et al.) (BritishBirds 101: 542).11th Scottish record.Plate 3. Terek Sandpiper, Fair Isle, June 2007 © Deryk Shaw.Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius2007 Shetland Lamba Ness, Unst, juvenile, 21 September to 4 October, photo (H. Moncrieff, M.G.Pennington, K.D. Shaw et al.) (British Birds 101: 542).2007 Shetland Burravoe, Yell, juvenile, 25 September to 11 October, photo (D. Preston et al.)(British Birds 101: 542).2007 Outer Hebrides Loch Ordais and Bragar, Isle of Lewis, 1st-winter, 27 September, photo (M.S.Scott) (British Birds 101: 542).2007 Upper Forth Kinneil Lagoon, adult, 24 December to 14 April 2008, photo (G. Owens, R.Shand et al.) (British Birds 101: 542).15th to 18th Scottish records of 19 birds.Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria2007 Outer Hebrides St Kilda, 27–31 August, photo (S.E. Duffield et al.) (British Birds 101: 542).5th Scottish record.Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca2007 Shetland Foula, juvenile, 11 October, photo (E.J. Mackrill, J.P. Shaughnessy, K.M. Wilson etal.) (British Birds 101: 543).8th Scottish record.Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan2006 North East Scotland Ythan Estuary, adult, 21–26 August, photo (R.C. Broadbent, S. Nuttall,M.P. Radford et al.) (British Birds 100: 717; Birding Scotland 9: 130–133).10th Scottish record.Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans2007 Lothian Tyninghame, 1st-winter, 14 October - accepted by SBRC.2008 Clyde Strathclyde Country Park, 1st-winter, 9–14 February - accepted by SBRC.2nd and 3rd Scottish records following the bird at Belhaven Bay and Dunbar Harbour in 2006 (above).10Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 11

PapersAmerican Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus2004 Outer Hebrides Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, juvenile, 6 March to 17 April, photo (M.S. Scott)(British Birds 101: 547).2007 Argyll Gott, Isle of Tiree, 1st-winter, 20 March, photo (J. Bowler); presumed same LochBhasapol, Isle of Tiree 25 May and 7 June, photo (J. Bowler) (British Birds 101: 547).2007 Outer Hebrides Stinky Bay, Benbecula, 1st-summer, 19 June, photo (J.B. Kemp) (BritishBirds 101: 547).3rd–5th Scottish records.Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida2006 North East Scotland Loch of Skene, adult, 5 June (I. Broadbent, D. Dunstan, I. Moig) (BritishBirds 100: 720).2007 Argyll Machrihanish, 9 July (E. Maguire, J. McGlynn) (British Birds 101: 549).3rd and 4th Scottish records.Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura2007 Outer Hebrides Carnach, North Uist, 1st-winter, 29 October to 7 November, photo (A. & A.MacDonald, B. Rabbitts et al.) (British Birds 101: 550).2nd Scottish record.Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra2006 Isle of May 12–17 May, photo (M.A. Newell et al.) (British Birds 100: 727; Birding Scotland9: 61–65).2007 Shetland Baltasound, Unst, 12 May, photo (B.H. Thomason et al.) (British Birds 101: 552,100: plates 189 and 190, 101: plate 278).6th and 7th Scottish records.Blyth’s Pipit Anthus godlewskii2006 Shetland Sumburgh, Mainland, 1st-winter, 12 October, photo (J.J. Gilroy, A.C. Lees et al.)(British Birds 100: 727).2007 Fair Isle Boini Mire, 1st-winter female, 27 October, trapped, photo, died later (M.T. Breaks,D.N. Shaw et al.) (British Birds 101: 553). Specimen at NMS (NMS.Z 2008.115).3rd and 4th Scottish records.Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens2007 Sea area Hebrides 200+ km NW of Outer Hebrides, 19–20 September, died on board ship(in Scottish waters), photo (S. Cook) (British Birds 101: 555).2007 Fair Isle Sukka Mire, 1st-winter, 23–25 September, photo (A.L. Cooper, M.A. Ward et al.);presumed same Vaasetter, 1–7 October, photo (D.N. Shaw et al.) (British Birds 101: 555).2007 Outer Hebrides Borve, Benbecula, 18 October, photo (S.E. Duffield et al.) (British Birds 101: 555).3rd–5th Scottish records after a gap of 54 years since the 2nd.Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope2007 Shetland Foula, male, 5 October, photo (R.G. Hook, K.B. Shepherd, N.D. Wright et al.)(British Birds 101: 557).5th Scottish record.Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus2006 Shetland Westing, Unst, 1st-winter, 13–16 October, photo (D.M. Foster et al.) (British Birds100: 731, 99: plate 367).Papers2006 Shetland Skaw, Whalsay, female or 1st-winter, 21–24 October, trapped, photo (J. Dunn, B.Marshall et al.) (British Birds 100: 731).2006 Shetland Brae, female or 1st-winter, 23 October (G.H. & W.F. Peplow et al.) (British Birds100: 731).2007 Shetland Out Skerries, 1st-winter, 2–3 April, photo (K. & P. Flint et al.) (British Birds 101: 557).2007 Shetland Scatness, Mainland, 13–14 October, photo (J.J. Gilroy et al.) (British Birds 101: 557).16th–20th Scottish records.Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina2005 Orkney North Ronaldsay, 23–29 October, photo (A.E. Duncan et al.) (British Birds 100: 732).6th Scottish record.Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti2006 North East Scotland Meikle Loch, Slains, female or 1st-winter, race undetermined, 21October (P.S. Crockett et al.) (British Birds 100: 733).18th Scottish record, only three of which have been assigned to a specific race.Siberian Thrush Zoothera sibirica2007 Shetland Hametoun, Foula, 1st-winter male, 28 September, photo (P.R. Gordon et al.)(British Birds 101: 560, 100: plate 326, 101: plate 285).4th Scottish record.Swainson’s Thrush Catharus ustulatus2007 Shetland Houbie, Fetlar, 28 September to 4 October, photo (I. Robinson, B.H. Thomason,M.D. Warren et al.) (British Birds 101: 561).8th Scottish record.American Robin Turdus migratorius2006 Highland Glenmore Forest Park, 4 May, photo, (G. Lewis); presumed same, Boat of Garten,6 May, photo (M. Butters) (British Birds 100: 735; Birding Scotland 9: 106–108).8th Scottish record.River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis2006 Fair Isle 15 June, sound recorded (E.A. & N.J. Riddiford) (British Birds 100: 736).2006 Shetland Foula, 3–4 October, photo (J.M. & T.P. Drew, K.D. Shaw, M.A. Wilkinson et al.)(British Birds 100: 736).2007 Fair Isle Observatory, 11 June, trapped, photo (M.T. Breaks et al.) (British Birds 101: 563,100: plate 223, 101: plate 288).17th–19th Scottish records.Savi’s Warbler Locustella luscinioides2006 Shetland Skaw, Unst, 28 May to 3 June, photo (M.A. Maher, S.J. & A.I. McElwee et al.)(British Birds 100: 736, plate 356).9th Scottish record of ten birds.Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillansSouth-east European race S. c. albistriata ‘Eastern Subalpine Warbler’2007 Orkney North Ronaldsay, 1st-summer male, 30 April to 11 May, trapped, photo (P.A. Brownet al.) (British Birds 101: 566).20th Scottish record of subspecies.12Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 13

PapersPapersTable 1. Known occupation and breeding performance of five Long-eared Owl sites, Colonsay, Argyll(Occ - Occupied site, B/n - fledged brood with n young).Year Site A Site B Site C Site D Site E1984 B/2+1985 B/31986 Occ19871988 Occ B/21989 B/319901991 B/1199219931994 B/11995 B/21996 B/11997 B/21998 B/3 B/31999 Occ2000 B/22001 B/3 B/220022003 B/12004 Occ B/32005 Occ Occ Occ2006 B/2+ B/3 Occ2007 B/1 B/2 B/3Plate 6. Long-eared Owl habitat on Colonsay © David Jardine.Table 2. Composition of prey found in 147 Long-eared Owl pellets, Colonsay, Argyll.Prey item Number % of prey Estimated Total % of preyby item Ave mass* weight by weightWood Mouse 99 47.8 20g 1980g 35.1Brown Rat 37 17.9 60g 4255g 39.3Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus 2 1.0 200g 400g 7.1Pygmy Shrew Sorex minutus 16 7.7 5g 80g 1.4Birds 48 23.2 20g 960g 17.0Beetle 4 1.9 1g 4g 0.1Other 1 0.5 -Total 207 100.0 5644g 100.0*adult weights used for Wood Mouse and Pygmy Shrew, immature weights estimated for Rabbit (Corbet & Southern 1964) andfor Rat (Hillis et al. 1988). Bird weight calculated for weights of birds found - Table 3 (Hickling 1983).Table 3. Identified birds found in 147 Long-eared Owl pellets, Colonsay, Argyll.Species Number (total 20) Ave weight (g) (Hickling 1983)Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe 5 26Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis 5 20Phylloscopus warbler 5 8.6Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba 2 22Goldcrest Regulus regulus 1 5.7Spotted Flycatcher Musciapa striata 1 15Song Thrush Turdus philomelos 1 76Prey analysisA total of 147 pellets were collected, mainly during May and June from sites B and E. The meandimensions of pellets were 40.0 (se+ 8.8) x 22.1 (se+ 3.4) mm (n = 107). Wood Mouse Apodemussylvaticus was the most common identified prey item, followed by birds and Brown Rat Rattusnorvegicus (Table 2). Twenty of the birds were identified from feather or skull remains (Table 3) andthese were used to estimate the average weight of bird prey. While only comprising around 18% ofprey items, Brown Rat, on account of its large size, provided almost 40% of the prey biomass.The beetles were of the genus Geotrupes (Dung beetles), possibly G. stercorarius, and the otheritem was a piece of eggshell, which possibly could have been contained in one of the bird prey.DiscussionThere were only five years in this study when occupation was not confirmed and this is believedto be a consequence of observer effort, perhaps exacerbated by the lack of noisy young afterbreeding failure. This suggests a continuous presence of Long-eared Owls on Colonsay for overtwo decades during the late 20th century, and probably considerably longer as they were foundin the same area as early as the 1930s (Loder 1935) and in our opinion the records at the turn ofthe 20th century most probably refer to Long-eared Owls, given that Tawny Owls were much lesscommon at that time, and, being more sedentary, were far less likely to reach Colonsay.Despite the small size of Colonsay (c. 50 km 2 ) continuous occupancy during our study is notable;the small number of birds on the island is likely to be too small to support a self-sustainingpopulation. Specialist vole-eaters, such as Long-eared Owl, can travel big distances during bothnatal and breeding disperal (Wernham et al. 2002) and it may be that the island providesconditions that continue to attract dispersing birds from other islands or mainland populations.18Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 19

PapersFigure 1. The Orkney Islands whichwere surveyed. Thick black linesindicate cliffs and stipple indicatessandy shores. Sections not surveyedare shown as a double line. These weremainly high cliffs.PapersMethodsThe Orkney Islands were surveyed between 28 November 2006 and 3 March 2007, but most of thecounts were carried out between 28 November and 3 December 2006. All the main islands weresurveyed, along with some smaller ones (Figure 1). An attempt was made to survey all the lowlyingshores: flat bedrock, boulder and gravel shores, sandy beaches and muddy bays. Only highcliffs were avoided because they have a small inter-tidal area and are generally avoided by waders(Summers et al. 2002) (Figure 1). Thus, virtually all sections that were surveyed in the 1980s weresurveyed again in 2006/07. Only Auskerry was omitted in this survey.To ensure comparability of the data, the same methods were used as in the 1980s survey, and someof the same personnel were also involved. The coastline was divided into count sections based onbreaks in habitat (e.g. where a sandy beach changed to rocky shore). Each surveyor walked about5–10 km per day. Contiguous sections were walked by a group of observers on the same day tominimise the effect of birds moving between sections. To count the numbers of shore birds (waders,ducks, gulls and passerines) inhabiting the inter-tidal zone, counts were carried out across low tide(half ebb to half flood) and the observer walked close to the water’s edge where waders are concentrated.Birds were counted once the observer had walked past them, or when the birds flew behindthe observer, out to sea or inland. Birds on the sea and in fields adjacent to the shore were alsocounted. The survey was primarily designed to count waders. However, other birds that occurred onthe shore or sea (e.g. gulls and dabbling ducks) were also counted, although it is likely that theirnumbers would fluctuate more than waders in the extent to which they utilised other habitats.Species that occurred high on the shore (e.g. Rock Pipit) or further out to sea (sea ducks and divers)will have been poorly surveyed and the counts are only indicative of the numbers present.Numbers in the text are presented to two significant figures. Population limits for qualification asinternationally important (i.e. over 1% of the West European population) were obtained fromMusgrove et al. (2007).ResultsThe survey took 21 days to cover 732 km of rocky shores, sandy beaches and muddy bays. About140 km of cliffs were not surveyed.The weather during the main part of the survey was stormy. Also, because some days coincidedwith a period of neap tides, many waders and ducks were feeding in grass fields next to the shore.The only waders restricted to the inter-tidal zone were Grey Plover and Purple Sandpiper.1971). As a result, the rock is layered, and splits into large flat slabs, which form shallowsloping rocky shores in many places. Old Red Sandstones are divided into three groupsaccording to their age: Lower (the oldest), Middle and Upper (the youngest). Mainland and thenorthern islands are composed of Middle ORS whereas Hoy is Upper ORS. The latter is redderand harder, so is more resistant to erosion, resulting in the highest hills in Orkney.As well as the outcrops of rock forming the rocky shore, there are numerous bays where either mud(in gentler waters) or sand (on more exposed coasts) form beaches. These are unevenly distributedaround the archipelago, being particularly common on Sanday, Stronsay and Shapinsay.The beaches are important for many coastal birds because they trap washed up kelp and otherseaweeds. These form banks on the high tide line and can be hundreds of metres in length and ametre deep. Large numbers of crustaceans, flies and worms live in the rotting mulch of these beds,and when they are turned over by waves, the invertebrate food is exposed and eaten by waders,ducks, gulls and passerines.The total number of waders counted on the shore was 47,000. The numbers on each island areshown in Table 1. The most abundant species were Eurasian Curlew (14,000), European GoldenPlover (6,100), Ruddy Turnstone (5,700) and Common Redshank (5,100). Mainland had the mostwaders but there were more Sanderlings on several northern isles, and more Purple Sandpipers,Dunlins and Bar-tailed Godwits on Sanday. The total number of waders counted on the shoresplus adjacent fields was 66,000 (Table 5). Including both habitats, the most abundant specieswere the Eurasian Curlew (21,000), European Golden Plover (10,000), Northern Lapwing (7,600),Ruddy Turnstone (6,800) and Common Redshank (5,900).The numbers of ducks counted on the shores and adjacent sea for each island are shown in Table2. There were 32,000 on the shores and sea, and 40,000 on the shores, sea and adjacent fields(Table 5). Mainland had the most ducks for all the common species. The most numerous wereEurasian Wigeon (30,000), Eurasian Teal (3,200) and Mallard (2,700).The numbers of gulls counted on the shores of each island are shown in Table 3. Mainland hadthe most gulls, but South Ronaldsay had more Black-headed Gulls, and Sanday had more Herring24Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 25

26PapersPapersScottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 27Table 1. Numbers of waders on the shores of different islands of Orkney during winter 2006/07.Mainland Lamb Glims Burray South Hoy Westray Sanday Shapinsay Papa Rousay Wyre Egilsay North Graemsay Flotta Stronsay Eday TotalHolm Holm Ronaldsay Westray RonaldsayEurasian Oystercatcher 688 2 5 77 103 868 118 235 40 45 305 36 83 101 24 158 183 46 3117Ringed Plover 342 0 2 12 96 33 104 153 33 108 56 2 8 51 0 31 164 52 1247European Golden Plover 3325 0 1 0 770 0 56 842 700 70 0 0 0 302 0 0 0 0 6066Grey Plover 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 49Northern Lapwing 2451 0 0 189 921 411 22 74 0 55 0 0 111 0 3 1 5 17 4260Sanderling 11 0 0 0 0 0 66 272 0 16 0 0 0 134 2 0 155 29 685Red Knot 1 0 0 0 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11Purple Sandpiper 813 2 10 94 90 2 545 920 44 419 158 6 239 122 8 6 517 159 4154Dunlin 295 0 0 2 77 0 9 372 151 33 0 0 0 11 0 0 257 0 1207Common Snipe 260 0 3 54 80 11 261 192 13 11 15 18 5 40 0 1 316 36 1316Jack Snipe 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5Eurasian Woodcock 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7Bar-tailed Godwit 136 0 0 0 70 72 33 453 11 4 1 0 0 49 0 0 4 0 833Eurasian Curlew 8080 0 0 370 2445 803 33 208 930 129 11 154 2 87 51 83 226 18 13630Common Redshank 1797 1 1 186 581 257 259 356 238 57 128 32 101 151 46 48 695 169 5103Ruddy Turnstone 1593 5 13 152 260 88 448 1238 97 307 257 55 300 261 47 56 403 99 5679Total 19818 10 35 1136 5503 2545 1955 5338 2259 1257 931 303 850 1309 181 384 2930 625 47369Table 2. Numbers of ducks on the shores and adjacent sea at different islands of Orkney during winter 2006/07.Mainland Lamb Glims Burray South Hoy Westray Sanday Shapinsay Papa Rousay Wyre Egilsay North Graemsay Flotta Stronsay Eday TotalHolm Holm Ronaldsay Westray RonaldsayMallard 848 0 2 89 367 112 134 182 2 44 88 34 131 25 25 72 135 84 2374Eurasian Teal 1020 0 0 104 106 4 96 488 7 0 38 0 192 23 0 25 207 26 2336Eurasian Wigeon 10949 8 0 496 3294 377 825 2874 603 96 623 224 572 157 140 169 2504 386 24297Common Eider 462 10 14 82 222 241 49 70 48 69 68 50 36 184 18 48 94 38 1803Long-tailed Duck 409 14 13 49 60 59 17 44 3 8 0 18 24 11 0 0 13 14 756Velvet Scoter 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18Common Goldeneye 14 0 0 16 18 10 3 12 3 0 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 89Red-breasted Merganser 147 3 11 88 57 32 3 19 36 15 17 13 2 0 4 11 16 13 487Common Shelduck 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 9 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 20Total 13867 35 40 924 4126 838 1130 3698 702 232 842 343 959 401 187 325 2969 562 32180Table 3. Numbers of gulls on the shores of different islands of Orkney during winter 2006/07.Mainland Lamb Glims Burray South Hoy Westray Sanday Shapinsay Papa Rousay Wyre Egilsay North Graemsay Flotta Stronsay Eday TotalHolm Holm Ronaldsay Westray RonaldsayBlack-headed Gull 61 0 0 7 162 14 1 3 2 0 5 7 21 0 0 1 5 0 289Mew Gull 5565 10 0 65 368 654 306 90 329 105 74 41 323 181 13 13 62 33 8232Herring Gull 825 2 14 58 62 284 147 1097 488 2 178 17 93 48 2 45 177 31 3570Great Black-backed Gull 511 2 0 47 102 188 149 975 142 86 48 20 60 25 23 28 153 109 2668Iceland Gull 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 7Glaucous Gull 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5Black-legged Kittiwake 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 13 26Total 6968 14 14 177 694 1140 606 2165 964 193 305 85 497 255 38 87 409 186 14797Table 4. Numbers of some other shorebirds on the shores and adjacent sea at different islands of Orkney during winter 2006/07.Mainland Lamb Glims Burray South Hoy Westray Sanday Shapinsay Papa Rousay Wyre Egilsay North Graemsay Flotta Stronsay Eday TotalHolm Holm Ronaldsay Westray RonaldsayGreat Northern Diver 29 2 6 5 8 4 2 1 5 1 3 4 7 0 4 0 2 0 83Red-throated Diver 1 3 0 4 0 3 9 0 8 1 0 3 0 2 0 1 1 0 36European Shag 2102 23 18 107 367 59 202 223 484 76 111 20 49 90 53 63 269 383 4699Great Cormorant 1173 0 0 0 2 1 76 201 5 1 3 2 160 31 1 0 115 81 1852Grey Heron 37 0 0 11 27 17 3 10 2 2 2 7 5 2 4 1 1 6 137Rock Pigeon 462 0 0 0 30 24 23 117 130 0 7 0 0 0 0 27 131 88 1039Rock Pipit 402 4 3 23 82 54 139 180 71 13 27 8 21 22 18 24 227 76 1394Common Starling 1989 0 2 0 88 120 251 1798 41 488 11 80 0 372 0 67 1032 150 6489Common Raven 28 0 0 0 0 4 3 45 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 28 115Hooded Crow 70 0 0 0 3 22 24 5 1 2 9 8 0 0 7 14 17 6 188Rook 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16Total 6309 32 29 150 607 308 732 2580 747 584 173 132 242 521 87 199 1798 818 16048

28PapersPapersScottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 29Table 5. Totals for the shore surveys of the Orkney Islands in winters 1982/83 plus 1983/84 (Summers et al. 1991), 1997/98 (Rehfisch et al. 2003a), and the currentsurvey in 2006/07. Percentage changes are given between the surveys in the 1980s and 2006/07. Percentage changes are not shown where numbers were less than 50.Numbers for Auskerry in the 1980s were removed so that totals are comparable to the current study.WADERS 1980s 1997/98 2006/07 Shore 2006/07 Shore + field % change shore % change Shore + fieldEurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus 2770 3893 3117 3912 13 41Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 1615 3424 1247 1290 -23 -20European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria 2541 6066 10358 139 308Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola 30 49 49Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus 3703 4260 7575 15 105Sanderling Calidris alba 858 1071 685 805 -20 -6Red Knot Calidris canutus 18 11 12Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima 5603 4630 4154 4156 -26 -26Dunlin Calidris alpina 2055 1207 1241 -41 -40Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago 607 1316 1516 117 150Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus 1 5 6Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola 1 7 15Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica 769 833 897 8 17Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata 17729 28877 13630 21334 -23 20Common Redshank Tringa totanus 6938 10639 5103 5924 -26 -15Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres 5961 10392 5679 6768 -5 14Total 51199 47369 65858 -7 29DUCKS 1980s 1997/98 2006/07 Shore 2006/07 Shore + field % change shore % change Shore + fieldMallard Anas platyrhynchos 2058 2374 2702 15 31Eurasian Teal Anas crecca 1594 2336 3201 47 101Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula 23 0 91 -100 296Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope 4846 24297 30410 401 528Common Eider Somateria mollissima 1851 1803 1808 -3 -2Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis 652 756 756 16 16Velvet Scoter Melamitta fusca 13 18 18Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula 382 89 99 -77 -74Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator 254 487 487 92 92Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna 0 20 30Total 11673 32180 39602 176 239GULLS 1980s 1997/98 2006/07 Shore 2006/07 Shore + field % change shore % change Shore + fieldBlack-headed Gull Larus ridibundus 723 289 296 -60 -59Mew Gull Larus canus 8938 8232 11215 -8 25Herring Gull Larus argentatus 2774 3570 3822 29 38Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus 2447 2668 2947 9 20Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides 14 7 7Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus 22 5 5Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla 114 26 30 -77 -74Total 15032 14797 18322 -2 22OTHERS 1980s 1997/98 2006/07 Shore 2006/07 Shore + field % change shore % change Shore + fieldGreat Northern Diver Gavia immer 31 83 83 168 168Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata 7 36 36European Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis 1318 4699 4699 257 257Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 433 1852 1852 328 328Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 94 137 158 46 68Rock Pigeon Columba livia 1230 1039 2187 -16 78Rock Pipit Anthus petrosus 1438 1394 1785 -3 24Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris 11710 6489 12069 -45 3Common Raven Corvus corax 170 115 198 -32 16Hooded Crow Corvus cornix 742 188 341 -75 -54Eurasian Jackdaw Corvus monedula 152 39 65 -74 -57Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus 7 3 3Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus 3 0 2Merlin Falco columbarius 5 3 4

PapersGulls and Great Black-backed Gulls. A total of 18,000 gulls was counted on the shores plus fields,with the Mew Gull by far the most numerous (11,000). Herring Gull (3,800) and Great BlackbackedGull (2,900) were next most abundant (Table 5).There were several other species that occurred on the shore or offshore waters. Totals for sea,shores and fields included 83 Great Northern Divers, 4,700 European Shags, 1,900 GreatCormorants, 160 Grey Herons, 2,200 Rock Pigeons (including feral doves), 1,800 Rock Pipits,12,000 Common Starlings, 200 Common Ravens and 340 Hooded Crows (Tables 4 and 5).Common Starlings were mostly associated with the kelp banks when on the shore. Few raptorswere seen (Table 5).Comparison with earlier surveysThe first survey in 1982/3–1983/4 described only the numbers present on the shore. Therefore,excluding those sections that were not surveyed in both surveys, and examining only the shorecounts, the percentage change is shown in Table 5 for each species. For the waders, there wereincreases in Eurasian Oystercatcher, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipeand Bar-tailed Godwit. By contrast, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin, EurasianCurlew and Common Redshank apparently declined. Some of these declines probably reflect greateruse of fields during the current survey. If we, therefore, make the comparison between the countsfor shore plus field and the 1980s shore survey, to allow for the possibility that a higher proportionof the population was inland in 2006/07, then it appears that only Ringed Plover, Purple Sandpiper,Dunlin and Common Redshank have definitely declined since the 1980s (Table 5).Among the ducks, the huge increase in the numbers of Eurasian Wigeon is remarkable, making itthe most abundant coastal bird in Orkney in winter (Table 5). Mallard and Eurasian Teal alsoincreased, though Mallard increased by only a small amount, as did Long-tailed Duck. CommonEider numbers were unchanged. Red-breasted Merganser numbers almost doubled, and other fisheatingbirds, such as the divers, European Shag, Great Cormorant and Grey Heron increasedsubstantially. Perhaps the winter fish supply was particularly good in 2006/07.Apart from the decline in Black-headed Gull numbers, the changes observed in the othercommon gulls were relatively small and could be accounted for by the counting methods(Table 5). Numbers of birds of prey had changed little between the two surveys.PapersThe comparison between the two surveys has to be treated with caution. The weather conditionsduring the recent survey were stormy on some days and, on exposed shores, there seemed tobe few waders. They probably sought shelter on fields. Therefore, we expected that there wouldbe lower numbers of the waders that readily use fields (Eurasian Curlew, Eurasian Oystercatcherand Common Redshank). However, even accounting for the possibility that waders were usingfields more in 2006/07, there has been a decline in Ringed Plover, Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin andCommon Redshank since the 1980s. The declines in Ringed Plover, Dunlin and PurpleSandpiper reflect national declines as described by the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS). Redshanknumbers are stable (Musgrove et al. 2007).The WeBS data indicate that national duck numbers are either unchanged since the 1980s (RedbreastedMerganser and Common Eider) or increasing (Eurasian Wigeon and Eurasian Teal).Only the Mallard is declining (Musgrove et al. 2007). Therefore, the Orkney survey reflects thesenational changes for some of the species (Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal and Common Eider).Some of the changes in numbers suggest that the weather in 2006/07 was milder than the mid-1980s, because there were greater numbers of species that respond quickly to cold weather. Forexample, there were greater numbers of European Golden Plover and Northern Lapwing. Therewere also more Eurasian Oystercatcher and Common Shelduck, most of which generally migratesouth for the winter. The huge numbers of Eurasian Wigeon may also be due to late depletion ofautumn food stocks in Orkney. By contrast, there were fewer of the Arctic gulls (Iceland Gull andGlaucous Gull), suggesting mild weather to the north.The shores of the Orkney Islands continue to be internationally important (i.e. have over 1% ofthe West European population) for several species: Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, CommonRedshank, Purple Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Eurasian Wigeon and Great Northern Diver. It isconcerning that three of these species (Ringed Plover, Common Redshank and Purple Sandpiper)have declined since the 1980s. The Eurasian Wigeon has joined the list of birds with internationallyimportant populations since the first survey (Summers et al. 1991), so there may be othersites that qualify for protection as SPAs. Currently, there is only one SPA (east Sanday), thoughthere are Sites of Local Nature Conservation Importance: North Ronaldsay, south Westray, southStronsay and north Mainland. However, the latter have no regulatory status.The 1997/98 NEWS also provided data where comparisons could be made for waders (Table 5).Unfortunately, this survey was not as comprehensive as the other two (only half the shore wassurveyed), so that extrapolations were made to account for regions that were not surveyed. Theassumption was made that the surveyed sections were representative of the whole coastline.However, given the high estimates for some species compared to the other surveys (e.g. RingedPlover, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank and Ruddy Turnstone; Table 5), we suspect that thesurveyed sections were some of the better areas for these species, leading to an upward bias onthe overall estimates.DiscussionThe survey has shown that the inter-tidal shores and adjacent fields of the Orkney Islandscontinue to hold large numbers of shorebirds in winter. It is probably the combination of thesetwo habitats that provide such good feeding conditions. Thus, the grass fields provide roostingand feeding opportunities for many species, particularly at high tide, and when the weather isstormy. The fields in winter are wet, so are relatively easy for waders to forage in for wormsetc. They are particularly important for Eurasian Curlew, European Golden Plover, NorthernLapwing and Mew Gull.Plate 8. Purple Sandpiper © Colin Corse.30Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 31

PapersAcknowledgementsThe following surveyors were involved in the counts: Paul Brown, Nigel Buxton, Colin Corse, TimDodman, Alison Duncan, Derren Fox, Ray Hallam, Malcolm Harvey, Paul Higson, Andy Knight,Tony Mainwood, Eric Meek, Andy Mitchell, Mike Nicoll, Brian Ribbands, Dawson Shearer, LeeShields, Ron Summers, Rod Thorne, J. Voaden and Aly Young, The British Trust for Ornithology,Orkney Ringing Group and Scottish Ornithologists’ Club helped to finance the survey.ReferencesBailey, P. 1971. Orkney. David & Charles, Newton Abbot.Buxton, N.E., Summers, R.W. & Nicoll, M. 1985. The populations and biometrics of PurpleSandpipers in the Outer Hebrides. Ringing & Migration 6: 87–92.Dott, H.E.M. 1997. Declines in Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers wintering in south eastScotland. Scottish Birds 19: 101–104.Heppleston, P.B. 1982. The use of Orkney farmland in winter by wading birds. Orkney BirdReport 1982: 52–57.Moser, M.E. & Summers, R.W. 1987. Wader populations on the non-estuarine coasts of Britainand Northern Ireland: results of the 1984–85 Winter Shorebird Count. Bird Study 34: 71–81.Musgrove, A.J., Collier, M.P., Banks, A.N., Calbrade, N.A., Hearn, R.D. & Austin, G.E. 2007.Waterbirds in the UK 2005/06: The Wetland Bird Survey. BTO/WWT/RSPB/JNNC, Thetford.Prater, A.J. 1981. Estuary Birds of Britain and Ireland. Poyser, Calton.da Prato, E.S. & da Prato, S.R.D. 1979a. Wader counting on the rocky shores of East Lothian.Scottish Birds 10: 184–186.da Prato, E.S. & da Prato, S.R.D. 1979b. Counting wintering waders on rocky shores in EastLothian, Scotland. Wader Study Group Bulletin 25: 19–23.Rehfisch, M.M., Holloway, S.J. & Austin, G.E. 2003a. Population estimates of waders on thenon-estuarine coasts of the UK and the Isle of Man during the winter of 1997–98. Bird Study50: 22–32.Rehfisch, M.M., Austin, G.E., Armitage, M.J.S., Atkinson, P.W., Holloway, S.J., Musgrove, A.J.& Pollitt, M.S. 2003b. Numbers of wintering waterbirds in Great Britain and the Isle of Man(1994/1995–1998/1999): II. Coastal waders (Charadrii). Biological Conservation 112: 329–341.Summers, R.W., Atkinson, N.K. & Nicoll, M. 1975. Wintering wader populations on the rockyshores of eastern Scotland. Scottish Birds 8: 299–308.Summers, R.W., Butterfield, D.P., Swann, R.L. & Insley, H. 2005. The decline of PurpleSandpipers Calidris martima in the Moray Firth, Scotland – an effect of recruitment. WaderStudy Group Bulletin 106: 34–38.Summers, R.W., Corse, C.J., Martin, M.W.A. & Meek, E.R. 1991. Shore-bird populations on theOrkney coastline in winter. Scottish Birds 16: 90–105.Summers, R.W., Underhill, L.G. & Simpson, A. 2002. Habitat preferences of waders (Charadrii)on the coast of the Orkney Islands. Bird Study 49: 60–66.Tay & Orkney Ringing Groups 1984. The Shore-birds of the Orkney Islands. Tay Ringing Group, Perth.Wilson, G.V., Edwards, W., Knox, J., Jones, R.C.B. & Stephens, J.V. 1935. The Geology of theOrkneys. Edinburgh.Colin Corse, Email ccorse@aol.comGarrisdale, Lynn Park, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1SLRon Summers, Lismore, Mill Crescent, North Kessock, Inverness, IV1 3XYRevised ms accepted November 2008NotesGrey Heron attracted to injured RabbitOn 21 June 2008, at 03:30hrs, whilst drivingsouth on the A7 near Gorebridge,Midlothian, I was surprised to see a GreyHeron Ardea cinerea land in the gutter ofthe northbound carriageway, about a metrefrom a Carrion Crow Corvus corone. I pulledin to a nearby layby, to see what washappening. There was already anotherCarrion Crow and a Magpie Pica picafeeding on a dead Rabbit Oryctolaguscuniculus lying in the middle of the road.The crow beside the heron - which appeared tobe a juvenile - was in the process ofdispatching an injured, medium-sized rabbitin the gutter, by pecking it on the head. It ispossible that the heron was attracted by therabbit’s squeals and its white ventral fur as ittwisted and turned. The heron sidled alongsidethe crow, which withdrew. The heron stoodover the rabbit, by this time twitching in shortgrass in the verge, and examined it closelywith head tilted, as if about to peck it. At thispoint approaching traffic caused all the birdspresent to fly off.Although I did not see the heron eat any of therabbit, it seems likely that, if left undisturbed,it might have done so. This is the first time Ihave witnessed a heron behaving in this way.Some observations on the behaviour of a maleIcelandic Merlin in GallowayOn 11 December 2007 I watched a maleIcelandic Merlin Falco columbarius subaesalonon an upland moor in Galloway. He wasperched on top of a passing place signoverlooking a large tract of moor.He was noticeably larger by around ten percentand darker than the resident males F. c.aesalon; his mantle and upper wings were verydark blue. He flew along the road for about 600m and landed on top of another sign. Fiveminutes later the Merlin was disturbed by aConcise BWP cites food of the Grey Heron aschiefly fish, amphibians, small mammals,insects and reptiles; occasionally crustaceans,molluscs, worms, birds, and plant material aretaken. Marquiss 2007 (The Birds of ScotlandForrester et al., SOC Aberlady) adds that thespecies hunts small mammals in rankgrassland, and that diet varies with elevation,with fewer species and smaller fish taken athigher sites. Of more relevance to the currentobservation are reports (Marquiss (1993)Herons, Colin Baxter Photography; and M.Marquiss in litt) of a heron foraging on a widemotorway verge presumably for voles inautumn, and of an adult heron feeding off aroadkill rabbit on a minor road in NE Scotlandin late winter.I am grateful to Dr M. Marquiss for assistancewith this note.Tom Dougall, 38 Leamington Terrace,Edinburgh EH10 4JLRevised ms accepted July 2008NotesIn September 2008 the Sun and Daily Mailprinted photographs of a Grey Heron taking ayoung rabbit in Holland. (Ed.)(www.dailymail.co.uk)passing vehicle and flew low over the moor outof sight. On 6 January 2008, a sunny day withclear skies, I again watched the same maleIcelandic Merlin perched on a post on the leeside of a small hill on moorland. He waspreening and had a broad black subterminalband on his tail which appeared longer than theresident males aesalon. The Merlin stoppedpreening and looked up at a Common BuzzardButeo buteo and a Common Raven Corvus coraxwhich flew across the moor just above theMerlin. After shaking his feathers the Merlin32Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 33

Notessat facing the sun with its right wing partlyextended in a loose spread wing posture, sunbasking for two minutes similar to thatrecorded in winter by a Merlin in Galloway(Dickson 1998, Scottish Birds 19: 176).Twenty minutes later a male Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus approached the Merlin andknocked the Merlin from its perch. The Merlinflew out of sight behind a small hill; theharrier turned and flew in the oppositedirection. There are apparently no confirmedrecords of Icelandic Merlins in west Galloway(Dickson 1992, The Birds in Wigtownshire,Wigtown and Forrester et al. 2007, The Birdsof Scotland, SOC, Aberlady).R.C. Dickson, Lismore, New Luce, NewtonStewart, Dumfries & Galloway DG8 OAJRevised ms accepted August 2008Whether a hen Snow Bunting pairs with the same cockfor a second nestA hen Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis ina given summer usually lays one clutch in thehigh Arctic, but often two in Scotland (S.Cramp & K.E.L. Simmons 1994, The Birds ofthe Western Palearctic, 9). When making asecond attempt, she might pair with the cockof her first brood, or with a new cock. Here wegive our data on this, from studies in theCairngorms region, showing that withinsummers, most hens remain paired to the samecocks for successive attempts.Published observations to date haveemphasised instances where a hen was thoughtto pair with a new cock for a second clutch.One case was noted in Greenland (N. Tinbergen1939, Trans. Linnean Soc. New York 5: 1–94),four in Scotland (reported by D. Nethersole-Thompson 1966, p 47, The Snow Bunting, towhich he added ‘There were also others’) andtwo others in Scotland (reported by T.P.Milsom & A. Watson 1984, Scottish Birds 13:19–23, both noted by Milsom).The above cases are open to doubt. No birdswere ringed, so individuals may have beenmisidentified. Most statements were so briefthat misinterpretation of behaviour cannot beexcluded. Bias in reporting has occurredbecause observers omitted to state the numberof second pairs that did not switch mates(though Nethersole-Thompson (1966) didmention a few pairs staying for a second nest).Another snag was that he reported many firstand repeat clutches robbed by egg collectors,with hens laying up to four repeat clutches,and mate switching in one such case. Hence,unnatural disruption confounded the issue andmight have caused switching.In a later study, one of us (AW) sketcheddistinctive plumage to help distinguishdifferent birds within summers (1996, OrnisFennica 73: 137–140). In each of ten closelywatched pairs in 1975–83, he decided that thesame two birds paired for a second nest afterrearing a first brood. In three pairs he saw thehen display to the cock of her first nest beforecoition with him, between bouts when they fedfledglings of the first brood. Coition wasinferred because in each case the hen crouched,raised her tail to allow cloacal contact, andshook herself in post copulatory display. Thechicks had stub tails about a third grown, andwere 11 days from hatching (which in AW’sexperience was when hens became receptive tocoition before a second nesting). One of thethree hens picked up dead grass in her bill andleft it in two spots among boulders. In each ofthe three pairs, an adjacent territorial cock sangfrequently and displayed vigorously near thehen, but she ignored him, as did her originalcock, which sang only twice or thrice in anhour. In three other pairs, a hen incubating asecond clutch flew to sit 5–10 m from her firstcock while he gathered food near her secondnest. Then when he flew out of sight to feedfledglings of the first brood, up to 1 km away,she took wing back to her second nest. Theseobservations were suggestive, but still remainedopen to doubt because birds were not ringed.In 1988–93, RS and MM caught many adults(Smith & Marquiss 1994, Scottish Birds 17:223–234). Of 43 colour-ringed hens that nestedwith colour-ringed cocks and attempted secondnests (41 after successful first broods, and twoafter first clutches had failed in snowstorms), allrenested with the same cocks. The two failedhens reared replacement broods, and thensecond broods, with the same original cocks.Only one change of mate was found. One of the41 hens deserted on 17 July while incubatingher second clutch. She moved 2 km to nest withanother cock that had already reared a firstbrood with a different hen, but this nest failedon 7 August during hatching. Her original mate,however, was not seen after their attempt at asecond clutch had failed, and may have died.Hence, in all cases where both members of apair were colour-ringed and observed to be stillpresent, the hen stayed with the original cockfor a second breeding attempt.On several occasions while hens prospected forsecond nest sites, one to three single cocksattended, singing and displaying vigorously.These included single unmated cocks, andringed cocks known to be paired elsewhere.The paired cocks attended prospecting henseven when their own paired hens came nearbywhile foraging for chicks. In one case, twoneighbouring cocks (one with a nest of smallyoung), attended a cock and hen that werefeeding large nestlings, and persistentlydisplayed to her. One of these cocks attemptedan unsolicited coition while the hen’s mateevicted the second intruder, but the attempt atcoition was unsuccessful.Unusual Common Tern colonyCommon Terns Sterna hirundo most frequentlynest on coastal sand or shingle but also on rockyislands and sometimes moorland (Thom 1986,Birds of Scotland, Poyser) and rough pasture(Bullock & Gomersall 1981, in BWP vol IV).Between 1987 and 2000 numbers decreased inScotland by 29%, significantly inland wheremany colonies have been abandoned. Only tenbreeding pairs were located in Inverness,Badenoch and Strathspey during the Seabird2000 census (Forrester et al., 2007 The Birds ofScotland, SOC Aberlady).NotesIn short, where both members of a pair wereknown to be present after a first brood, everyhen nesting for a second time in a summer againwith the cock of her first nest and brood. Thisoccurred despite opportunities in each case topair with new cocks.A hen would have been able to test the abilityof the cock of her first nest and brood,whereas a new cock would be an unknown toher. This may explain why hens in ourobservations continued with the same cocks.We might expect occasional exceptions. Abigamous hen might be more willing than amonogamous hen to pair with a new cock for asecond clutch, because she would not havereceived undivided attention from her first cock.Interestingly, one of Milsom’s cases of apparentmate switching involved a bigamous hen, but inour observations of bigamy this did not occur.In all six cases of bigamous cocks where a henlaid a second clutch after rearing a first brood(two seen by AW and four by RS and MM), nohen was known to have switched to analternative cock for a second clutch.We thank T.P. Milsom, K. Norris and ananonymous referee for comments.R.D. Smith, M. Marquiss & A. Watson,Centre for Ecology and Hydrology,Edinburgh EH28 0QBEmail riksmith@dsl.pipex.comRevised ms accepted August 2008On 8 June 2008 whilst ringing wader chicksnear Grantown on Spey we noticed severalCommon Terns carrying fish. The birdsappeared to land in an adjacent field so wedrove around to get better views. Watchingfrom the car we were surprised to find an adultfeeding chicks with several other adultsapparently sitting on nests. The field consistedof very flat short grassland used for grazingsheep and cattle approximately 200 m from theRiver Spey at an altitude of 170 m asl.34Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 35

NotesPlate 9. Common Tern © John Anderson.Common Tern is a scarce localised breeder inStrathspey (Roy Dennis pers comm), traditionallyselecting islands and shingle banks for nest sites.When we got out of the car and checked the areacarefully we were amazed to find six nestscontaining nine eggs and four chicks. The siteoffered no protection from ground predators orfrom trampling by domestic stock other thansmall nettle beds where chicks could hide so wewere concerned about the safety of the colony.Red Kites hunting mothsAlthough Red Kites Milvus milvus (hereafterkites) are primarily known as carrion feedersthey are recorded taking a variety of invertebratesamong their diverse diet. The commonlytaken invertebrates are earthworms and beetlesbut grasshoppers, ants and craneflies have alsobeen recorded (Carter 2001, The Red Kite,Arlequin, Chelmsford: p78–81). In June 2005,while carrying out studies on the species inrelation to the construction of the Braes ofDoune Wind Farm, I witnessed kites taking Oak(or Northern) Eggar Moths Lasiocampa quercus.The study area where this work is carried out ison Doune Estate near Doune, Perthshire.Kites had been seen stooping at prey on theground in heathery areas high on the Braes ofDoune during late June 2005. The birds werethought to be hunting invertebrates and thiseventually proved to be the case. On 30 Junefour kites were seen hawking for moths nearUamh Mhor. Initially it was not clear what thebirds were trying to catch, but subsequently theOn 20 June sheep and cattle were grazing inthe field and several Mew Gulls Larus canuswere in the area but despite the level ofdisturbance we only found one crushed eggand managed to locate a seventh nestcontaining two small chicks. Ten chicks wereringed from four clutches of three eggs andthree clutches of two eggs.On our final visit on 8 July at least fivejuveniles were flying with the adults and wefound two large chicks that had almostfledged. Other chicks may have remainedunseen. We were surprised by both the size andlocation of the site and encouraged by thelevel of productivity. We wondered if otherobservers had found similar sites.Brian Bates, Ballinlaggan, DunstaffnageBrae, Grantown on Spey, MorayKeith Duncan, Rivendell, Blairgorm,Nethybridge, Inverness-shireRevised ms accepted September 2008prey was identified when a large moth was seenbeing pursued by one of the kites. Later on thesame day a kite was seen flying low over theground, at a height of less than 2 m, over aheathery area one kilometre east of Uamh Mhor.Its behaviour was reminiscent of that of a HenHarrier Circus cyaneus. Four other kites, two ofwhich were behaving in the same manner, thenjoined it. At least two of these birds landed on alarge rock around 3 m long. After the birds weregone, the rock was inspected and it was foundto be covered in raptor faeces and also thewings of Oak Eggar Moths. Another similarsized rock 70 m away was similarly littered withmoth wings. Live Oak Eggar Moths were presentat both locations where the above behaviouroccurred. The moth-hunting was observedbetween 13:00hrs and 14:30hrs.These large day-flying moths had been veryevident in the area for several days. Otherraptors are known to take moths, includingEurasian Kestrels Falco tinnunculus, (e.g.Village 1982, Bird Study 29: 131) and a kestrelwas seen close to the kites on both of theoccasions mentioned above. One was seenfeeding on one of the large rocks covered withmoth wings. The wings had presumably beenremoved by either kestrels, kites or both.Interestingly, the birds were hunting thesemoths in poor visibility. A westerly breeze wasmoving mist over the area and the maximumdistance I could see varied from 50–400 m.While I watched the kites hunting from adistance of 300 m they were frequently lostfrom view when mist surrounded them. It mayRoosting terns in the 1950s in East LothianMuch excellent historical information isincluded in The Birds of Scotland (Forrester etal. 2007, SOC, Aberlady) and is based onpublished material. For some extraordinaryreason the huge numbers of roosting terns atAberlady, East Lothian, in 1954 to 1957 werenever mentioned in the Edinburgh BirdBulletin in the articles written at the time byF.D. Hamilton and K.S. Macgregor, hence thereason they were not in The Birds ofScotland. One reference was made in 1956 tothe effect that “two more years work wasneeded before it could be written up” Therewere no further counts after 1957 as I leftScotland. This note is, therefore, to put it onrecord albeit 50 years late.Table 1 summarises the counts, but somebackground is helpful. It was noted on 19August 1954 that tern numbers in theafternoon were unusually large and anattempt was made to estimate these. Six dayslater the numbers were even larger. It was seenthat terns were entering the Bay in a steadyflow by flying past Gullane Point in the earlyevening. It was decided to sit in the evening atthe Point with one observer counting andanother keeping a check on the time andtaking down the number at the end of eachtwo minute interval. The terns were usuallyclose and low over the water, though thisvaried, and in a steady stream and so we wereable to count them comparatively easily.Notesbe that the moths are easier to catch in coolerdamper conditions and several were found onmisty days perched on top of vegetation as iftorpid. This behaviour has not been observedin subsequent years, but 2005 seemed to be anespecially good year for Oak Eggar Moths onthe Braes of Doune with few seen in thefollowing summers.Kevin Duffy, Natural Research Ltd,Coachman’s Cottage, Kippenross Estate,Dunblane FK15 0LQRevised ms accepted November 2008It was not possible in the time available todifferentiate between Common Sterna hirundoand Arctic S. paradisaea Terns and, forconvenience, all reference in this note toCommon Terns implies that Arctic Terns couldalso be involved. Sandwich Terns S. sandvicensiswere also counted though generally inmuch smaller numbers.The totals in Table 1 include terns alreadyroosting in the Bay when counting started.On 18 and 19 September 1954, during a visitto the Isle of May, I looked carefully forCommon Terns and up to 1000 were seen offthe north end moving westwards in thegeneral direction of Aberlady Bay in theevening. Then on 1 September the followingyear I checked from a spot overlookingEyebroughty Island from where I could seeboth Gullane Point and the Isle of May. Bylooking towards the May specks could bemade out heading in a westerly direction andthese terns, nearly all Common, came close toEyebroughty and onto Gullane Point.We were aware that terns could be coming fromthe west to roost and, in 1956, an attempt wasmade to count them coming past CraigielawPoint. In 1957 these counts were betterorganised and again were based on two minuteintervals. Interestingly Black Terns Chlidoniasniger were noted coming into roost with theCommon Terns, there being three on 29 August1954 and five on 6 September 1955.36Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 37

NotesNotesTable 1.Year Date Common/Arctic Terns Sandwich Terns Total Comments1954 19 August c.3500 c.1500 c.500025 August c.7500 c.2500 c.1000029 August 5047 187 5234 Counts started5 September 10418 155 105731955 6 September 6422 0 642211 September 3019 68 30871956 30 August 2282 57 23394 September 4922 29 4951 Counts started at Kilspindie Point.1957 9 August 3588 585 417310 September 5782 1321 7103AcknowledgementsSeveral people helped with these counts whichwere usually cold and uncomfortable sittingimmobile for over two hours. The mainobservers were Keith Macgregor and KathleenHamilton. Others also helped occasionally suchas Guy MacCaskie, the late Bill Birrell and a MrHay: there were others but their names werenot recorded in my notes.Frank Hamilton, 23 Campbell Road,Longniddry, East Lothian EH32 0NPRevised ms accepted December 2008The decline of the Whinchat as a breeding bird in mainland FifeSince the 1960s and 1970s the Whinchat hasdeclined as a breeding species throughoutScotland, particularly in the east (Shaw K.D.2007 in The Birds of Scotland, Forrester et al.,SOC Aberlady) Over the last 15 years manyobservers have commented that this specieshas disappeared from its former breedinggrounds in Fife. The Fife Bird Atlas (Elkins, N,Reid, J.B., Brown, A.W., Robertson, D.G. &Smout, A.-M. 2003. The Fife Bird Atlas,Woodland Studios, Dunfermline) estimatedonly five to ten pairs for the whole ofmainland Fife although Whinchats were seenin 29 tetrads, two-thirds of these being notedas probable or possible breeding.This work was tied in with the first year of theBTO/SOC/IWRC Breeding Bird Atlas so that therewas good coverage of all potential Whinchatbreeding sites. Using Fife Bird Reports, SmoutA.-M. 1986 (The Birds of Fife: an outline of theirstatus and distribution. John Donald, Edinburgh)and the Fife Bird Atlas I mapped all knownWhinchat sites from the last 20 years. I alsoarranged with both the county recorder andAtlas coordinator to be informed of all breedingWhinchats as they were reported during thebreeding season of 2008 so I could follow upevery sighting. Key observers visited all historicWhinchat sites in their local areas.In the early 1980s Smout (1986) described theWhinchat as a local breeder in the west of thecounty. She went on to say there had beenreports of breeding, all from central and westFife and quoted 30+ pairs from the LomondHills in 1984 and 20 pairs from Glen Vale in1983. She mentioned Loch Ore Meadows,Pitcairn, Kirkforthar and Loch Glow asbreeding areas. All these areas were checkedduring the breeding season of 2008 but nobirds were found.So why is Glen Vale still suitable for Whinchatsto some extent and other sites unsuitable? TheWhinchat is a bird of open habitats breeding ingrassland, bracken, mixed low vegetation,gorse, heather and young conifer plantations.Suitable perches for singing and hunting areessential and young conifer plantations particularlyin the upland are significant (Gray D.B.1973, Whinchats on a disused railway, BirdStudy 20: 81–82).Glen Vale provides the open habitat Whinchatsrequire to breed. It is a mixture of heather,bracken and young trees. Fence posts and thetaller young trees provide the essential singingand hunting posts.In the 1990s Whinchats utilized young forestryplantations as breeding habitat in upland Fife.However, when the trees reached the thicketstage the Whinchats were lost. Thus Whinchatswere lost from other sites in the Lomond Hills in2005 and from breeding sites in the Cleish Hillsaround the turn of the century. Ironically the lastCleish birds were recorded on exactly the samesite as the last Fife Black Grouse in 1996.In conclusion there has been a severe decline inbreeding Whinchats in mainland Fife since1980. Young conifer plantations helped thespecies survive into this century but as theplantations reached thicket stage the Whinchatswere lost. The Whinchat’s future in Fife as abreeding species is on a knife edge and for it tosurvive the mixed open areas where the last fewpairs breed must be maintained.I thank Norman Elkins, Dougie Dickson andJeremy Squire who helped at all stages of theproject. Rab Shand was, as always, very helpfulin providing information. Dougie Dickson, TerryMann, Tom and Bryan Moodie and John Nadinassisted with fieldwork. Norman Elkins kindlycommented on the draft. Thanks also to the FifeAtlas fund who assisted with travel.Ken D. Shaw, 42 Lathro Park, KinrossKY13 8 RURevised ms accepted January 2009During the period 2002 to 2007 I and otherobservers checked traditional Whinchat sitesannually, recording presence or absence,breeding success and any significant habitatchange.In the winter of 2007/08 we received a smallgrant from the Fife Atlas fund to help monitorall potential Whinchat sites in Fife during the2008 breeding season to establish the totalbreeding population for the county.A total of six territories were found at two sites.The two breeding areas were Glen Vale wherethree pairs bred, and a site near Rathillet wheretwo singing males were recorded during Atlaswork. In 2008, four male Whinchats took upterritory in Glen Vale and three pairs bred butno birds were seen at any other site in theLomond hills. At the Rathillet site two singingmales were recorded early on 12 June 2008.This is an area of extensive gorse and it ispossible that further pairs were present.Plate 10. Whinchat © John Anderson.38Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 39

NotesArctic Skuas breeding in Wester RossThe Birds of Scotland (Forrester et al. 2007, SOCAberlady) does not record Arctic SkuasStercorarius parasiticus breeding in WesterRoss. I personally confirmed breeding in WesterRoss in the years 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1994.The general locality was the large peninsula ofRubha Mòr lying between Ullapool andLochinver, the specific sites being immediatelynorth-west of Loch na Totaig and, secondly,close to Loch na Ploytach at the north end ofthe promontory. Breeding records were:13 June 1989 at the Loch na Totaig site. A singlepair, dark and light phases, with two eggs.9 June 1991 single pair, light and dark phases,with two eggs at Loch na Totaig 10 June 1991single pair light and dark phases, with twoeggs at Loch na Ploytach.25 May 1993 a single pair, again dark and lightphases, with one egg at Loch na Totaig. Loch naPloytach not visited in 1993.First breeding of Eurasian Spoonbills in ScotlandEurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, hasbecome an almost annual visitor to Dumfriesand Galloway since 1995. Most records involvesingle birds with three immatures together atCaelarverock Wildfowl and Wetland Trust on10 May 1998 being the largest group seen.Colonisation of the UK by spoonbills has longbeen expected. East Anglia would have been theobvious location, where groups of multiple birdsare now frequent. It was therefore intriguingthat in 2000 a single bird was present from21–25 June at Mersehead RSPB reserve and wasfollowed by a pair which arrived on 4 July(Fairlamb, D. 2000 Spoonbills create a stir SBN59: 1). Shortly after arriving they begandisplaying and built four nesting platforms inrushy grassland. Grey Herons Ardea cinereabecame rather aggressive towards the spoonbillsand there was no evidence of egg laying. Bothbirds were absent from 15–17 July and left thearea by 16 August. One of the adults wore aDutch leg ring.23 May 1994 single eggs found at both Lochna Totaig and Loch na Ploytach sites, withsingle pairs of birds (dark and light phases) ateach site.A reliable colleague following my directionsinformed me that two pairs of Arctic Skuaswere breeding at the Loch na Totaig site inMay 2002. Loch na Ploytach was not visited onthat occasion.W.M. Trobe, 26 Swinhoe Gardens,Wideopen, Newcastle upon Tyne,NE13 6AFRevised ms accepted March 2009The maps and tables in The Birds of Scotlandused data from JNCC and there were no recordsfrom Wester Ross. Confirmed breeding wasrecorded in grid square NB91 [Rubha Mòr]during the 1988–91 Breeding Atlas - EditorRecords of spoonbills in Dumfries andGalloway since 2000 are as follows:2000 Single adult Mersehead 21–25 June, thena pair from 4 July–16 Aug2001 Two Mersehead on 4, 6 and 10 June. SingleCaerlaverock WWT 23–27 July2002 Single at Caerlaverock WWT 29 May andreported from Kippford in June2003 Single River Luce 11 Sept2004 no records2005 Single Kirkconnell merse (Nith estuary)20–27 August2006 No records2007 Two Mersehead 18 May, then single, 25,31 May, with another single at Loch Ryan 2June. Two again Mersehead 18–19 June anda single again on the 25 June.In 2008 two spoonbills first arrived atMersehead on the 26 May and were not seenat that site subsequently. Presumably the samepair was then recorded at Balcary some 12.5km to the west on 8 June. A single bird wasreported three weeks later in KirkcudbrightBay on 27 June and no further reports werereceived until 24 July. There then continued anumber of sightings in the area, all of singlebirds, until two were again reported on 18August. I began to wonder if something hadindeed been going on. Remarkably on 23August Keith Kirk reported a family group oftwo adults and three young, feeding out onthe mudflats of Kirkcudbright Bay. The youngwere begging and being fed by the adults, andhad obviously fledged from not far away.Keith was alerted to their presence by GaryMcKie, who takes boat trips out intoKirkcudbright Bay on wildlife watching tours.Gary had seen a single bird in the immediatearea throughout June and July, but thesesighting went unreported. The family groupstayed together throughout September andwere regularly reported from a number oflocations in the vicinity, via Birdguides and alocal birding web site. The family party waslast seen on 20 September. The last reportedsighting in the region was of three on 1October. The birds spent a large part of theirtime feeding out on the intertidal creeks of theSolway. The nest location was not known buta wide variety of habitats from dense scrubbywoodland, Phalaris and Phragmites standsand rank grassland was available in theimmediate area.NotesThis is only the third known (or reported)breeding of Eurasian Spoonbills in the UK inrecent times, the first successful attempt beingon the Ribble Estuary, Lancashire, in 1999,which was the first successful breeding in 330years. In 1998 a clutch of two eggs was laid butpredated in Suffolk.Breeding in 2008 went undetected during theearly stages in a rather remote and inaccessiblelocation. It is remarkable how such large whitebirds were not seen for much of the summer. Ipersonally made three trips to the area andfailed to see the birds. No attempt was made tolook for the nest in case of disturbance.AcknowledgementI thank Keith Kirk for commenting on the draft.Paul N. Collin, Gairland, Old EdinburghRoad, Newton Stewart, DG8 6PLRevised ms accepted April 2009Plate 11. Spoonbill feeding young in Kirkcudbright Bay, August 2008 © B. & D. Henderson.40Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 41

Scottish BirdsPlate 12. Lord Wemyss cutting the first sod forWaterston House with Mark Holling (left) and BillGardner (right) © SOC.OBITUARIESThe Earl of Wemyss and MarchThe 12th Earl of Wemyss and March who diedon 12 December 2008, at the age of 96, was aman whose appreciation of all things beautiful,in nature, architecture and the arts led him todedicate much of his life to their preservationand, where possible, enhancement.After some years in the Colonial Service inBasutoland and then service in the Middle Eastin World War II, Lord Wemyss returned to livein Gosford House in East Lothian. Not contentwith living in the fine Adam Mansion andenjoying its great collection of art over sixdecades Lord Wemyss oversaw a steadyrestoration of the house which had sufferedfrom military occupation during the War and asubsequent fire. His commitment to Scotland’swider architectural heritage saw him serve asChairman and then President of the NationalTrust for Scotland for 45 years from1946–1991. During this time the Trust’sportfolio increased enormously and its facilitiesand service to its thousands of visitors wereimproved imaginatively but always sensitively.A man who believed in the traditional conceptof public service Lord Wemyss held manypublic and charitable offices serving amongstother things as Chairman of the RoyalCommission on Ancient and HistoricMonuments for Scotland for 35 years, Vice-President Marie Curie Foundation, PresidentScottish Bible Society, Lord HighCommissioner to the General Assembly of theChurch of Scotland three times, a Lieutenantof The Queen’s Bodyguard in Scotland (theRoyal Company of Archers), Lord Lieutenantof East Lothian from1967 to 1987, and LordClerk Register of Scotland and Keeper of theSignet from 1974. This last office made himthe titular head of the Writers to the Signetand ever seeking to bring a human face toeven the most formal of tasks he personallyregularly welcomed the new Writers on theiradmission. Lord Wemyss was appointed aKnight of the Thistle in 1966.Lord Wemyss never allowed these high officesto detract from his commitments to theworking of his estates in Peeblesshire,Gloucestershire and of course Gosford. A wellkent figure around the policies of Gosford LordWemyss was a hands-on landowner who wasnever happier than when engaged in thepractical work of the estate, being found atdifferent times cutting timber, clearing ditchesand even climbing scaffolding when into hiseighties to inspect some building work. Anelder in Aberlady Kirk, largely built by hisancestors, Lord Wemyss knew and was knownby many in the village and took an activeinterest in all aspects of village life.One of Lord Wemyss great delights was to walkround the ponds at Gosford and watch theswans and other bird life. Always appreciatingthe fascination and importance of AberladyBay and its nature reserve, it seemed a naturalthing to Lord Wemyss to provide the uniquelyappropriate site for Waterston House, the SOCHeadquarters. From the time he cut the firstsod to begin the work of construction of thebuilding to the time of his death, Lord Wemysshad a personal interest and pride in thedevelopment and the services offered there. Itwould be of huge satisfaction to him that justas the migrating geese return to the bay yearby year so many people now come there tolearn about and enjoy the bird life that was soclose to his heart.John CairnsScottish Bird News Scottish Bird NewsTelevision and Mr TrumpPlate 13. Menie Estate, Foveran Links SSSI © Ian Francis.This article (originally written for theMarch SBN) is based on thepremise that the most influentialreason for the current high level ofinterest in wildlife and its conservationin this country has beentelevision programmes. Millionswatch these films and though somemay get further involved thoughjoining clubs, volunteering forpractical tasks etc a great many donot but do maintain their relativelylightweight interest through thescreens in their living rooms. Thishas led to public support for conservationwhich in turn has influenceddecision makers - rememberMargaret Thatcher putting on agreen outfit and naming a railwayengine the Avocet after learning thatRSPB had more members than allthe political parties.Early standardsWildlife TV was early on the sceneas naturalists realised how welltheir interests could come over onfilm. Series such as “Look” withPeter Scott and “Survival” Angliabecame highpoints of the weekPlate 14. Bloody Cranesbill © Stan da Prato.for many armchair enthusiasts.These early programmes werecharacterised by a wish to informthe viewers about the animals -they were usually animals - thatwere on view. There was aneducational quality to the42Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds43

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird Newsprogrammes - the presenters feltthey had a duty to put overinteresting information about theirsubjects and there was usually astrong conservation message.Not all early programmes were onmammals. I can still recall beinginvited to a school friend’s house towatch Heinz Sielmann’s classic filmshowing the inside of awoodpecker’s nest hole in the1950s. Oxford Scientific Filmspioneered more technicalinnovations with startling use ofclose-up, high speed and timelapse to reveal the extraordinarylives of insects. Improvingtechnology brought colour andfurther insights into the lives of wildcreatures for example by filmingmigrating geese from the air.Inform but do not intrudeThe worthy if somewhat didacticapproach was particularlyassociated with DavidAttenborough’s many series. Therepeat of the “Life of Mammals”over Christmas was instructive andone reason why you are readingthis. It struck me as better madethan so much of what we nowreceive. The commentary wasinformative and never obtrusive.The viewer is in no doubt that it isthe animals that matter. Some ofthese films had end pieces whichdescribed how the films weremade - these brought in thecameramen - and some women -who after the wildlife, are the realstars of these shows.The “Life on Earth” seriesattempted to answer legitimatecriticism that wildlife TV wasdominated by spectacular, largeanimals. Despite the concern thatbirds are given too much conservationattention in the UK as theirlobby is so big, programmes oftenignore them; one striking examplewas a film on wildlife in Israelwhich showed spectacular raptormigration but did not name any ofthe species shown.What technology can now achievehas been demonstrated byamazingly lifelike computergeneratedseries showing extinctcreatures; first dinosaurs, thenearly mammals, then earlyhominids. However some of thewildlife TV shown recentlysuggests that technical progresshas not always beenaccompanied by improvedprogramme quality - some mighteven argue for a deterioration.Wildlife soap operasBBC’s flagship “Big Cat Diary”revisits one area of East Africarepeatedly to look at the samelimited range of large carnivores. Idid not think I would ever tire ofseeing African wildlife until theserecent editions. Part of theproblem is the cult of thepresenter. Viewers areencouraged to look on wildlifecelebrities as conduits for theAfrican experience. Their viewsand prejudices now come overrather than the animals - the bigcats are given human names. EastEnders has come to East Africa.The presenter has his or herfavourites with whom theyidentify. When the cat attacks anantelope it is encouraged, butwhen a prey species turns thetables as with buffalo tramplinglion cubs, this is described asthough it were a human tragedy.Virtually all objectivity has gone.The vast majority of the plantsand other animals that live on theplains are ignored.Personality presentersThe Spring and Autumn Watchseries have two commendablefeatures. They look at Britishwildlife, some of it on people’sdoorsteps, and they don’t just lookat spectacular or cuddly animals.However the programmes alsoseem to me to suffer from themodern day curse of the imposingpresenter; we have to watch themchattering and joking with eachother before seeing the wildlifeand listening to their interpretationof it. Why not talk to the peoplewho have actually studied thecreatures? Further evidence of theway the media has built uppresenters as wildlife gurus is thenumber of adverts for expensiveproducts in which they nowappear. Am I the only person whodeliberately avoids buyingequipment endorsed by TV types?EnvironmentalistsThe notion that we need a selectgroup to tell us about wildlifecontinued in the “Life in theOceans” series also shown lastautumn. Looking forward to whatmodern technology could show oflife under water, I was irritated tofind a select group of yet morewildlife celebs on a boat sailinground the world pontificating onmarine life. The group included anenvironmentalist - who wasregularly introduced as adescendant of Jacques Cousteau -and thus clearly an importantperson, whose words must betreasured by lesser mortals. I havedecided I do not know what anenvironmentalist really is.Someone who talks about thingsthey have not properly studied?Plate 15. “Snakes are fun to hold”.Courtesy of Rodney Service.Grab a geckoThere has also been a movetowards more sensationalreporting. Early explorers cameback with tales of bloodthirstycreatures, death at whose hands,or paws, they had narrowlyavoided. One of the great benefitsof TV was to show that gorillas andeven predators spend most oftheir lives quite peacefully. Severalrecent series have featuredindividuals grabbing hold of things- reptiles are a favourite - andalthough they may beenthusiastic, what is the message- snakes are fun to hold?On the ground in ScotlandWhat has all this to do with therecent controversy over a sanddune system in NE Scotland? Isuggest that the move towardssensational presentation hasprevented the technology nowavailable from showing how evenrelatively inconspicuous things canbe interesting and how ecosystems work. I cannot claim tohave seen all the coverage of theapplication to build a golf course -and lots of expensive houses - butany onsite filming I saw wasalmost guaranteed to make thepublic wonder what all the fusswas about. Typically an‘environment correspondent’would stand in front of somegreen, grassy lumps to say that‘conservationists want to preservethe dunes which they say are veryimportant’. This was thencontrasted with the many jobs etcthat the developers said theywould create. I know that therewere attempts to raise the level ofdebate. RSPB offered a plan toallow a golf course withoutdamaging the SSI but it attractedlittle media attention. I saw noserious attempt by TV to explainwhy the dunes are important orwhat lives among them. Anexcellent film could be made of asand dune system looking at theshifting pattern of the dunes overtime, the stages of colonisation byPlate 16. The ‘Snake-man’ from above - now in birding mode © JimmyMaxwell.plants, the variety of flowering andnon-flowering plants that can livein such a series of specialisedmicro habitats as well as theinvertebrates. The general viewingpublic, which currently knowsmore about the Maasai Mara thantheir own coastline, would haverealised that there is much moreto the green lumps than firstmeets the eye. It may not havechanged the outcome if morepeople had better understood theissue, but it could have pushedthe developers into acompromise. I suggest that theconservation bodies rely rather tooheavily on designations created byfellow conservationists and needto realise the importance of publicopinion in a democracy - and thatopinions are heavily influenced bywhat is seen on TV screens.How it can be doneJust as these thoughts were goinginto the computer, an example ofhow to do a good wildlife film hitthe screen. In January BBCshowed a film on Cuckoos. Itsummarised studies by a fieldornithologist, Nick Davies, whowas actually allowed to speak forhimself. The camerawork was ofthe customary high standard.What differentiated it from somuch of the current output wasthe information that came across.Cuckoo behaviour wasinterpreted in the light of currentthinking on evolution but withoutall the technical detail that goesinto scientific papers. It was fun towatch but not dumbed down,and at the end you felt you knewa bit more about Cuckoos andthe reasons for their behaviour.Heinz Sielmann would have beenproud of it.Stan da PratoFeedback - what do SBN readersthink of these thoughts? If theresponse justifies it, we couldforward a summary to the BBC.44Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds45

Scottish Bird NewsNews and NoticesNew SOC MembersWe welcome the following newmembers to the club: CentralScotland Mr D. Perry, Clyde Mr F.C.Gibbons & Ms D. McWilliams, MrG. Mochan, Mr J.G. Monaghan,Dumfries Ms L. Creamer, Mr C.Murray, England, Wales & NI Mr &Mrs C. Bushell, Fife Mrs J.Burkinshaw, Mr C. McNeill, Mr &Mrs T.H. Mitchell, Grampian MrC.M. Wolfe-Murray, Highland Mr A.Williams, Lothian Dr M. Barber,Mrs K. Bidgood, Mr & Mrs S.Corbett, Mr R. Davidson, Ms M.Duguid, Mr R. Flavell, Mr J.Johnston, Mr H.D. MacKenzie, MrB. Riddoch, Mr A. Strock, StewartryMr & Mrs A. Sidaway, WestGalloway Mr T. Greenaway.SOC 200 ClubThe latest prize-winners are:February: 1st £50 Mrs V. McLellan;2nd £30 A. Duncan; 3rd £20 MissR. Davidson; 4th £10 Mrs L.Waterston. March: 1st £30 Mrs D.Melrose; 2nd £20 R.S. Craig; 3rd£10 Mrs P.M. Millar. April: 1st £30D. Boomer; 2nd £20 R.G. Vernon;3rd £10 Mrs J. Jacobs.New members are alwayswelcome. They must be over 18and SOC members. Please contact:Daphne Peirse-Duncombe,Rosebank, Gattonside, Melrose,Roxburghshire TD6 9NH.SBRC MembershipIn November this year AngusMurray will leave the Scottish BirdsRecords Committee, havingcompleted his term of office.Angus has offered the committeeinvaluable service, providing adirect link with most Scottishbirders through Birdline Scotland,and a very high level of expertisegained through many years ofbirdwatching within the country.We wish him well and offer ourthanks as he “retires” to continuewith his work on Birdline Scotland.SBRC’s nominee for membershipthis autumn is an equally highlyskilled birder. John Sweeney is wellknown among the generation ofbirders who cut their birding teethduring the 1980s and whoregularly travelled the length andbreadth of Britain in search of rarebirds. The valuable experiencegained during this period andsubsequent birding trips to Europe,the Middle-East and NorthAmerica, includes every species onthe SBRC list. He has found manyrare and scarce birds aroundScotland, mainly in the NorthernIsles and in his home area of theWest Central Belt. John brings toSBRC a great deal of experience inassessing rare and scarce birds atboth the national and local levels,gained through seven years onBBRC and ten years on the ClydeBirds Records Panel. He willcertainly add a very high level ofenthusiasm and expertise to SBRC.Angus HoggNomination of new SBRCmembers is always welcome, andSOC members are encouraged topropose the names ofexperienced observers they feelsuitable to fill the single vacancywhich occurs each year, beforethe end of October.John Busby receivesprestigious awardThe Leigh Yawkey Woodson ArtMuseum has named Scottishpainter John Busby as its 2009Master Wildlife Artist. He willreceive the award during thepreview opening of Birds in Art on11 September.As the Woodson’s 31st MasterArtist, Busby will be represented inBirds in Art by more than a dozenwatercolors and drawings thatexemplify what he calls his “lightertouch” in depicting birds in real-lifeaction with other species and theirsurroundings. He will speak abouthis life as a birder, educator, andartist on 12 September, during thetraditional Birds in Art opening dayMeet the Artists event.Many congratulations John fromeveryone at the SOC.Do you want to help the SOC?The SOC is your club; its successdepends on the contribution frommembers. This short feature will,over successive issues, highlightsome of the ways you can help. Ifyou wish any further informationplease contact: Wendy Hicks atWaterston House.■ Gift Aid■ Remember the SOC in your Will■ Gifting old bird books■ Attracting/inviting new membersto join■ Getting involved in surveys■ Assisting in branch activities■ Contributing articles for publication- do you have any interestingsightings, photographs orstudies which should reallybecome part of the record ofbirds in Scotland? Please writethem up; the editors will reallywelcome your contributions.The Birds of Scotland FundTwo applications have beenreceived by The Birds of ScotlandFund. These applications havebeen considered by the FundCommittee and in principleagreement has been given to fundthe publication of an Atlas of Birdson Arran around 2011/12. Furtherapplications are welcome.Notification of this fund, which isused to further ornithology inScotland (an in particularpublications), was given in SBN90, and the details are availablenow on the Club Website.Youngsters, wildlife, andsome hope for the future‘Starling Learning’ is a smallorganisation based in the village ofLochwinnoch and has been inoperation since 1996 carrying outa wide variety of work includingecological surveying and wildlifegardening. One of the wings of thiscompany is environmentaleducation, working with schools,nurseries and colleges and avariety of other groups. Oftencontact with people such ascountryside rangers and fieldteachers can inspire young peopleto show an interest in wildlife andthe environment, so as well ashelping teachers to fulfil the needsof the curriculum, it is hoped thatour work with children will helpnurture a love of wildlife. Thisarticle outlines a few of theprojects currently being carried outby “Starling Learning”.One of our contracts involves usrunning the environmentaleducation programme for theRoyal Society for the Protection ofBirds at the Lochwinnoch NatureReserve. For many years childrenfrom Renfrewshire, Ayrshire,Glasgow and far beyond havevisited to take part in a busyprogramme. There are educationprogrammes taking place at manyRSPB reserves now includingMersehead, Vane Farm andStrathbeg. Being the RSPB, manyschools come to study birds,however there are many optionsPlate 18. Birth of a wildlife pond © Liz Parsons.Plate 17. Some busy raft-building © Liz Parsons.ranging from minibeasts, mappinghabitats and woodland studies.Secondary classes even get to do aCommon Bird Census as part oftheir Standard Grade biology. Oftenthey are surprised by how muchthey enjoy the visit and we arecommonly told ‘we thought thiswas going to be boring’. Lettersreceived from pupils most oftendescribe their favourite gory thingssuch as Great Diving Beetle larvaesucking the insides out of tadpolesand Grey Herons swallowing newlyhatched Mallard chicks. One of thecurrent highlights is the smell ofthe dead Otter and dead Badgerboth rotting nicely in the wormery(both road casualties). Just gettingthe children outside is soimportant; many of them havenever even seen a jaggy nettlebefore! So a view of the GreatSpotted Woodpecker at thefeeders is very exciting for them.We also teach slug appreciation.Scottish Bird NewsFor the last few years “StarlingLearning” has been working withRenfrewshire schools assisting withtheir ecoschool programme. Thisproject is being carried out inschools in many countries now andit encourages schools to greenthemselves up, to recycle and avoidwasting energy. One of the mostinteresting aspects of this is theimproving the biodiversity of theschool grounds. There are somefantastic projects in schools thesedays. Gone are the wall to walltarmac playgrounds and in theirplace, trees and hedges to attractwildlife, ponds, nestboxes andteasels and sunflowers galore. Thereare also dreadful looking birdfeeders hanging all around manyplaygrounds made by the pupils outof plastic milk cartons. However thebirds don’t care what they look like,nor do these feeders get stolen.School grounds can now be used totake part in the RSPB Big SchoolBirdwatch, the playgrounds nowattracting a huge range of species.Howwood Primary can now evenboast Kingfisher and many aredoing their bit to help species suchas Swift and House Sparrows.Other ecoschool projects haveincluded making a raft for birds toloaf and nest on at theLochwinnoch RSPB reserve. Thelocal Lochwinnoch Primarygathered many milk cartons andtied them on to poles and coveredthe whole lot in turf and other46Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds47

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird Newsvegetation. This was then floatedout on to the Aird Meadow loch.More recycling took place whentrees had to be removed from theLocal Nature Reserve, PaisleyMoss. The small wetland reservebeside Glasgow airport is beingswamped by willow and birch andthe aim is to restore this marsh.Trees were dug out and then givento many Renfrewshire schools togrow in their playgrounds,benefiting the Jack Snipe at themoss and the Chaffinches ofschool grounds. Schools have theirown eco-committees made up ofpupils, teachers, the janitor andmembers of the community. Theyare always looking for parents andgrandparents or just interestedindividuals, so if you feel you couldhelp in any way with advice onattracting birds or beasties, giveyour local school a phone.One of our other current projects isthe Glasgow Farmland BirdsProject. This is funded by theLandfill Communities Fund and ispart of the Glasgow LocalBiodiversity Action Plan This is anagri-environment scheme withmany improvements being madeto the farmland in an area of southGlasgow and two farms in northGlasgow. Bird cover crops aregrown, supplementary feeding putout, hedgerows improved, pondsdug and monitoring carried out.Local schools in Carmunnock andCastlemilk have joined in, donningmany layers of clothing to visit thesites in winter to put out food andrecord the birds, the favouritebeing the 80 Yellowhammersvisiting the feeding station atWindlaw Farm. This project hasalso benefited other farmlandspecies including Tree Sparrows atMillichen, Linnets and Skylarks.The work is very varied, never twodays the same and very rewarding.Small things make it worthwhilesuch as the boy who promised tonever knock down the HouseMartin nests on his house againafter a visit from one of our staff totalk about migration, and oneteacher has promised to stopspraying wasps that come into herhouse with hairspray! The newcurriculum now present in schoolsis helping to ensure that childrendo get a lot of outside learning. Ifthere is anything you as an SOCmember could do to help yourlocal school and perhaps inspire afew children, please do so. After all,they are the next generation ofSOC members.Liz ParsonsPlate 19. Nesting Herons © Malcolm Muir.From Ash to Yew - thechanging profile of a heronryOne of the largest heronries inScotland is found on the Clydefloodplain near to Hamilton. It islocated in a 300 year oldplantation, reputedly laid out bythe Duke of Hamilton around1720. This is a mixed plantationmainly of deciduous trees -Beech, Ash, Sycamore, Wych Elm,Common Lime, Horse Chestnut,Oak and Poplar. The main routethrough the plantation (a formerdriveway to Hamilton Palace) wasunderplanted on both sides withsome Yew c. 1840.The heronry, dating back to around1800, is first described in the NewStatistical Account of 1835.A large heronry may now be seenin Hamilton haughs. There wereabout thirty nests this season. Theheron seems to prefer the loftiesttrees for building on, especiallythose a little elevated above therest, by the nature of the groundon which they stand. These birdsare frequently attacked by thecarrion-crow on their return fromtheir fishing expeditions, and theprey snatched from them.In 1899 Hugh Boyd Watt wrote:The only other Heronry I know ofon the Clyde was at Hamilton,where up to about fifteen ortwenty years ago nests were verynumerous, both in the Heron Hilland Barmichael Woods (nearBothwell Bridge). They arebelieved to have been introducedby Alexander, the 10th Duke ofHamilton (1767–1852), who hadthem fed for many years in theBasket Hill Wood until they gotattached to the place. His Graceseems himself to have beenattached to these birds, forbetween 1800 and 1810, when helived at Ashton Hall, Lancashire, he“brought some Herons fromHamilton Palace and had them inthe paddocks.”The heronry was in existence fromc1800 to c1880. In the 1954National Census of Heronries, thissite held 34 nests and was thelargest in Scotland. However, by1973, there were only elevenoccupied nests and down to 8 in1975. At the time there was thoughtto be some adverse impact of theM74 construction and the creationof Strathclyde Loch. Since 1975 thisheronry has been monitoredannually by rangers from StrathclydePark and since 1996, by SouthLanarkshire Council. In 1982 therewere 23 nests, 40 in 1983,increasing to 44 in 1989.The last 10 years: From 2000 theheronry has been counted eachyear by Chris Waltho and TomMcGregor as part of the BTOHeronries Census. In addition tocounting occupied andunoccupied nests, we have notedthe number of nests recorded ineach tree species. The heronry hasbeen largely stable over the lastdecade, at around 50 nests peryear (range from 43–54).One veteran Beech tree has heldup to 15 nests in some years andanother Beech up to 12 nests. Insome years these two trees haveaccounted for more than half ofPlate 20. Young Herons wellcamouflaged in a Yew tree top ©Jimmy Maxwell.Plate 21. The previous traditionalnest site © Malcolm Muir.the entire heronry. Indeed, eachtree has supported more neststhan most of Scotland’s heronries.In 2000, the heronry was spreadacross 14 trees, the mostnumerous tree species being Ash,with 14 nests in six trees. By 2006they were no longer nesting in anyAsh trees. Also in 2000, we weresurprised to find four nests in threeYew trees. Each year since, we haverecorded more and more nests inYews. This year, 2009, we havealmost half of all nests (23 out of51 = 45%) now in Yews. Two thirdsof all nesting trees are now Yew (in2009, 16 out of 24). We are notcurrently aware that Yew trees areused in any other heronry.Year on year, the massive, butaging, veteran deciduous trees aresuffering from decay and gales,with many of these giant trees nowblown over. As a result, theunderstorey Yews are nowbecoming the mainstay of theheronry. The immediate future ofthe heronry appears to lie in theYews, but even these arebeginning to blow over. The futurecomposition of this 200+ year oldheronry is one that we willcontinue to monitor annually.Chris Waltho & Tom McGregorThe 2010 Winston ChurchillTravelling FellowshipsApplications are now open forTravelling Fellowships from theWinston Churchill Memorial Trustfor 2010. Each year, the Trustawards some 100 TravellingFellowships to UK citizens to traveloverseas to undertake studyprojects related to their profession,trade or particular interest. The tencategories for 2010 include'Adventure, Exploration & Leadersof Expeditions', 'Environment,Food & Rural Affairs', 'The Arts &Older People', 'Young People' and'Science Engineering & Enterprise'.For further details, including a fulllist of the eligible categories,examples of previous projects, andinformation on how to applyonline, visit www.wcmt.org.uk■ The Trust was established on SirWinston Churchill's death in1965 as a national memorial toperpetuate his memory■ Over 4,530 people fromthroughout the UK havebenefited from these Fellowshipssince 1966■ These Fellowships allowindividuals a unique opportunityfor personal development,overseas travel and above all thechance to make a difference totheir lives by setting themselvesa challenge and achieving it forthe benefit of others in the UK.■ They are available to applicantsof any age and from all walks oflife, irrespective of academic orprofessional qualifications.■ 95 Fellowships were awardedin 2009, with Fellows agesbetween 17 and 79.■ Grants average over £5,000,covering all travel and livingexpenses for an overseas visitof 4–8 weeks.Please support this excellentscheme by passing details on toanyone you know that maybenefit from this opportunity.48Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds49

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird NewsScottish Birdwatchers’ConferencePlate 22. Barony College entrance © Jimmy Maxwell.This year’s SOC/BTO One-dayConference took place in theBarony Centre, Parkgate, Dumfries,a spacious parkland setting richwith a huge variety of trees. Earlyvisitors were thrilled to bewelcomed by the ringing cry of aNuthatch above the mist-shroudedcarpark - apparently there are threepairs now breeding on theproperty and delegates enjoyedwatching them later at the manyfeeders during the Conferencebreaks. Brian Smith headed thethree-way hosting of the event byDumfries, Stewartry and WestGalloway SOC groups on thetheme “From Burns to Barnacles”.Chris Waltho, SOC President,welcomed everyone and outlinedthe main SOC/BTO ventures whichare at present underway. Lookingforward to the day’s content, hereminded us that all the speakerswere “home-grown” - i.e. fromDumfries and Galloway. The firstlectures then proceeded...Chris Rollie - An OverviewChris suggested that the bird life ofDumfries and Galloway was one ofthe most diverse among the Britishregions because of the wide varietyof habitats, from the ‘soft’ roundedhills of Moffatdale to the ruggedgranite terrain of Galloway, theextensive and varied coastline andoffshore islands. In between is alarge extent of farmland andwoodland, especially coniferousplantations.He started by singling out theWillow Tit, for which the region isthe main stronghold in Scotland -indeed the Atlas survey is revealingunexpectedly high numbers insome places. The spectacular aerialdisplay of Starlings arriving to roostnear Gretna is justifiably famous,while flocks of Barnacle Geese onthe Solway coast are a localspeciality. The Short-eared Owl,once a bird that one could expectto see in Dumfries & Galloway, isnow exceedingly rare, due to thepassing of the expansionist phaseof afforestation. Unfortunately theseowls are not making much use ofthe restock areas in our maturingplantations. Black Grouse is also inPlate 23. John Young with ChrisRollie © Lang Stewart.decline but there is more hope thathabitat improvements can be madeto favour this species. Inland, butnot on the coast, numbers ofPeregrine are currently falling,probably due to illegal persecution.One increasing raptor is Red Kite,following its reintroduction to theLoch Ken area. The ‘Red Kite trail’isa great success with visitors as wellas helping the local economy. Arecent novelty is the first breedingof Spoonbill. Among a number ofapposite quotations from RobertBurns during his talk, Chris referredto the Skylark or ‘Laverock’ as still acommon species especially in thewestern lowlands.Chris was not sanguine about thelevel of habitat improvement in theregion during the current financialconstraints but one bright spot is atWood of Cree where thisimportant native broadleavedwood is being enlarged. Finally,and looking forward to thecontinuing Atlas survey, Chrishoped that last year’s breeding ofDotterel would be repeated andthat there would be more sightingsof White-tailed Eagles.Graham PyattJohn Young - 100 years ofDumfriesshire RookeriesIn keeping with the theme of theConference, our second mainspeaker of the day was anotherBurns enthusiast. However, JohnYoung exceeded his brief by takingus right back to the 15th centurywhen “craws” were regarded as apest species and heavilypersecuted. In 1424, James Idecreed that trees used by nestingRooks should be cut down; and 33years later James II brought in anAct requiring each parish toappoint a Rook catcher. In 1796, avery poor oats harvest led to riotingin the streets of Dumfries andshoots were organised in grainfields to protect the harvestedsheaves from Rooks and RedGrouse. The tradition of culling thebirds still survives in some estates,leading to the killing of about 7500each year in Dumfriesshire, thoughRook pies and stews are not sucha feature of country fare nowadays.Dumfriesshire Rooks show adistinct preference for nesting inScots Pine (47%) and Beech(28.4%). Over the period since1908, the average number ofnests per rookery has declinedsteadily from 115 to 36. Despitesome fluctuations, the overallnumbers of nests remained fairlyconstant until recent years.However since the 1980s, thepopulation has declined seriously,and continues to do so. John putthis process down mainly tochanges in agriculture, withmassive reductions in the areas ofturnips, potatoes and cerealsgrown in the county since the1970s, resulting in a halving of thetotal crop area. Grassland nowaccounts for 94% of agriculturalland, including many fields thatreceive heavy nitrogen inputs forsilage production. Such fieldsprobably provide poorer feedingfor Rooks. Against the backgroundof this continuing decline, theannual cull in some estates needsto be stopped, though Johnthought that persuasion might bebetter than “naming and shaming”as suggested by one questioner.Roger HissettBarbara Mearns - Time TravelBirding (own summary)Barbara Mearns (co-author ofBiographies for Birdwatchers andJohn Kirk Townsend seewww.mearnsbooks.com) describedsome of the delights of birdwatchingwith a historical perspective. Shesuggested four approaches:1. Start close to home - withsomeone who knew your parishor county. Barbara explained howthe journals of the great Scottishnaturalist, William MacGillivray, canhelp us realise how dramaticallythe British have changed theirattitudes to wildlife during the last200 years - giving us hope thatattitudes may yet change in otherplaces, like Malta.2. Find out about the history ofone particular species thatinterests you. Who first discoveredit? And where? Barbara recountedthe excitement of seeing her firstEleonora’s Falcons in Sardiniaexactly where they were firstcollected by Alberto dellaMarmora.3. Before you go on holiday, readthe accounts of a pioneeringornithologist in the region. WhenBarbara and her husband, Richard,backpacked around Israel in the1980s they carried photocopies ofH.B.Tristram’s 19th century papersfrom The Ibis to assess how muchthe bird populations and habitatshad changed since his expeditions.4. Do some original research - findout about an interesting, but notwell-known ornithologist. Barbaraexplained how they researchedtheir latest book on John KirkTownsend, one of the firstAmerican naturalists to cross theRocky Mountains, discovering newbirds and mammals that werepainted by JJ Audubon. They visitedmuseums and libraries on bothsides of the Atlantic, metPlate 24. Barbara Mearns ©Jimmy Maxwell.Townsend relatives, and followedin his footsteps. This enabled themto add an up-to-date zoologicalcommentary to Townsend’s ownaccount of his journey.Plate 25. Bobby Smith © LangStewart.Bobby Smith - Sand MartinSummersBobby was immediately into fullflow on his favourite topic - thelong-established homebuilt SandMartin colony in his Applegarthsanctuary near Lockerbie. Thebuilding has an extremely naturallooking façade of concrete nestholes which are accessed easilyfrom behind in the working interior.Fitments are designed to last, withgalvanised screws and car-seatbelthinged nesting boxes, and everyfacility there for immediatemonitoring of the breeding Martins.The building is directly over a pondand this with the surroundingvegetation and nearby tree coverensures a plentiful supply of insectsfor the birds, especially mayflies,one of their main foods.A total of 8,721 Sand Martins havenow been ringed at the site. Theaverage clutch is five eggs but theupper limit has reached seven on14 occasions. The weather affectseach breeding season withtemperature and rainfall fluctuations,but the sanctuary SandMartins of course are not affected50Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds51

Scottish Bird Newsby the usual constant threat of rivererosion of nest sites when waterlevels rise.Bobby listed all the predatorswhich affect his birds.Sparrowhawk is the main culpritwith more than one waiting at theholes for a quick snatch; thenMink, Heron, Carrion Crows, BlackheadedGulls and even HouseSparrows. He had hoped that theSparrowhawk might prey on thevisiting gulls but this neverhappened! One Black-headed Gullwhich had a broken wing fedalmost entirely on young martins,the action seemingly ignored bytheir parents. Many young becameinfested with ticks, and whilesurviving this, they would alwaysneed increased feeding.The colony is well worth a visit forall its wildlife, including the familiesof Swallows which nest inside.Bobby finished with some lovelyshots of their young birds vying forperches while being encouragedout by the fluttering parents.Jimmy MaxwellThe excellent buffet lunch wasserved in two phases allowingeveryone plenty space and thetime to walk around the Centreparkland at leisure. The usual stallswere set out round the auditorium,an arrangement that made it mucheasier for people to contact eachother. Then the afternoon’slectures continued...Plate 26. Time to browse... ©Jimmy Maxwell.The focus now is upon studyingadult birds, the majority ofbreeding birds are under sevenyears old, the bulk are two orthree. The emerging pattern ofbirds moving into ‘better’properties with better territories isfascinating but the true value is inthe length of the study period of aspecies in one area.As for Hen Harriers, 100 years ago,Plate 27. Chris with Edmund Fellowes and Graham Pyatt © Jimmy Maxwell.there were only stuffed specimensin glass cases inside big houses. In Plate 29. Rebecca Johnson ©Edmund Fellowes - Atlassing Geoff Sheppard - Hunters bythe 1960s, Donald Watson and Lang Stewart.Goosanders (own summary) night and dayothers found Hen HarriersSpeaking as Atlas organiser for Secretary of the SOC’s Westreturning to newly forested upland Scotland. Listening to this expertDumfriesshire, Edmund gave Galloway Branch since it wassites, as the plantations matured describing the species, its lifestyledetails of the progress during thefirst two winters and one breedingseason. He asked for contributionsto the Atlas from everyone present.Records of suspected or provenbreeding are very few so far, andare particularly wanted. He thenformed in 1976, Geoff has beenstudying and ringing Barn Owls inthe region for 30 years. The studybegan in the early 80s, but it wasin the 90s that the project waspushed forward with the erectionof a good number of nest boxes. Inthe sites were lost. The birds onthe remaining moors are declining,even in Special Protected Areas.Males appear in spring, but thefemales don’t seem to settle downto breed, maybe a food shortage,but this is uncertain, persecutionand particular habitat preferenceetc rekindled some of my own verylimited memories - first my soleScottish happening several yearsago when I found a single bird atmidday asleep in its conventionalpose, longitudinally perched on ansummarised his recent Atlas the early days, there were lots ofdoes continue to skew field oak branch with heavy brackenrecords of Goosanders which arewidely distributed in the county,derelict farm cottages, but latterly,anything close to a road has beenstudies but the team perseveres. understory on Loch Lomondside.More conventionally and just asbut are at low densities and converted, or a kit house has beenlong ago, I have happyextremely shy and mobile.There followed an illustratedaccount of the flock of Goosandersaround the weir in Dumfries. Thesebirds have become used to peoplebuilt on the site, but some oldbuildings remain.In the old cottages, the typical nestsite would be an empty water tank,or milk churn, or inside old, roofedoverrecollections of pitching my littleVango tent among the whinbushes on Kelling Heath in northNorfolk and listening to the ‘churr’of the birds all night throughcanvas. But apologies and excuses!and have to compete with manychimneys, but especiallyI digress. Rebecca’s Project was toother fish-eating birds, and with successful sites were betweencount and track the species in clearOtters, for the fish. This makes for ceiling boards and the floor above.Plate 28. Geoff Sheppard ©fell areas of the forestry and tovery interesting and easyJimmy Maxwell.study feeding, migration and thebirdwatching. There are seats Horizontal boxes devised werebreeding take up on these felledbeside the river and car parking isimmediately adjacent. The birdsare taking a variety of fish, but thesimple and cheap to make, easy toslide up between the rafters, 3’long x 16” wide x 14” high, cut fromThe richness of such research asthis is, to my mind, the very spineof the SOC’s raison d’etre. Weareas. Mist-netting, tagging andsound-tracking were all used. Inlight of her estimate of the total UKmain attraction is the River 8’x 4’ board. This design followsdon’t just ‘like birds’, we need to population being 4000, theLampreys held up at the weir as from observation of owl preferenceknow more, and that takes the numbers quoted for Scotland werethey move upstream, as Salmon for ‘tunnel’ sites with one end opentime and dedication of men and not impressive and derivingdo, to spawn. When one of theseis caught, hectic action follows untilthe Lamprey has been swallowed.Edmund hopes that any visitingbirdwatchers will have time toto defend by lying back with talonsextended - giving the birds a senseof security.These boxes last very well, butwomen who invest their lives intrue ornithology.Duncan Wattstatistics was decidedly difficult.Some comparison between mapsshowed just how Scottish distributionhas changed over the years.The species has been consideredenjoy this spectacle. (his must be cleaned every two yearsRebecca Johnson - Nightjar unique since very early times withGoosander photographs used to as debris can halve the capacity. Intrackingall sorts of unlikely mythsillustrate this talk were quite superb recent years, the boxes have beenRebecca, an RSPB Species Officer abounding. Even now, mostand a sheer delight for the installed in modern farm buildings,gave us an enthusiastic account of birdwatchers will relate theiraudience. Ed)preferable to a cottage which maysoon be converted.her work - locating, tracking andcounting Nightjars in south-westcontact with the bird with someexcitement and not a little wonder.Scottish Bird NewsCommendably when the creditswere rolled out at the end of thetalk the number of people Rebeccahad recruited into this project wasremarkable. I got the impressionthat in time much more data willbe revealed. With the northwardinflux of Little Egrets andNuthatches, rapid changes indemographics are flavour of themonth - so watch this space.Campbell McLellanRichard Hesketh - Satellitetracking geese and swansBritain is vitally important forwintering flocks of WhooperSwans, Greenland White-fronts,Barnacle and Brent geese. Richard(WWT Caerlaverock) describedwhat happens when they all leaveour shores, where they go, howthey get there and how they stillmanage to be back in the UK forthe following winter.He began by describing the twostudy areas for Whooper Swans inIceland - a fertile lowland valley,and wetlands within higher altitudegravel deserts. The birds, in fullmoult, are rounded up by smallinflatable boat or using volunteerswading through the marshes.Various biometrics and bloodsamples are taken and theirunique bill patterns photographedwith each ring number. Solarpoweredsatellite transmitters arealso fitted on their backs to trackthe flight routes.Plate 30. Richard Hesketh ©Jimmy Maxwell.52Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds53

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird NewsWe then viewed maps whichtracked the birds migrating betweenScotland and Iceland. Some birdsencountered severe cross winds thatforced them to deviate off-course,spending many days at sea, thenregaining their original route oncethe weather improved. However,there was at least one swan whichwas blown so far off that it continuedwestward towards the south coast ofGreenland. This bird was possiblysitting on an ice flow and probablyperished. A flock of about 30 swans,presumed to be Whoopers, wasobserved by an airline pilot inDecember 1967 at an altitude of8,200m off the Outer Hebrides andtracked by radar descending towardsthe coast of Northern Ireland.Current tracking work reveals thatmost of these birds do in fact fly atsea level. Was this a regularoccurrence or just a one off?The birds make their journey to theWWT Caerlaverock Reserve infamily groups, some of the swansbeing caught in the swan decoypipe where, if necessary, theirtransmitters can be removed.Built in 1668 and now ownedby the aptly named Malcolm Duck,it has free wi-fi, is pet friendly andhas a tremendous wine cellar.Main Street, Aberlady EH32 0RE.Tel: 01875 870 682Web: www.ducks.co.ukEmail: kilspindie@ducks.co.ukBarnacle Geese follow the coast ofNorway northwards to Svalbard.They often encounter sea mistwhich they navigate either aroundor over, but, with a following wind,can travel at speeds of up to 110k/hr, making this crossing in undertwo days. The maps tracked boththe Greenland White-fronts fromLoch Ken to Greenland and thelight-bellied Brent that winters nearStranraer and in Ireland, and fliesthe 4,500 km north to breed abovethe North West Passage in Canada.All of these fantastic journeys arenow slightly more understood, butare no less marvellous for that.Jimmy MaxwellChris Waltho then summoned DickVernon from the audience toreceive a very hearty vote of thanksfor all his lengthy time as SOCTreasurer - a period of difficultdecisions through some fairlyeventful times for the Club. Abottle of Black Grouse sealed theceremony effectively. Alan Fox willbe the new Treasurer.A short hop from Edinburgh’s city centre (1/2 anhour by car or 18 mins by train) this exceptional‘restaurant with rooms’ is nestled in the seasidevillage of Aberlady. Aberlady Bay Local NatureReserve is famed for its bird watching, thehighlight of which is in October when the skiesare filled with 20 to 30,000 Pink-footed Geeseflying in each evening to roost on the mud flats.The village is home to the ScottishOrnithologists’ Club HQ, Waterston House - afantastic birdwatchers’ resource centre and artgallery, which is open 7 days to visitors.Amongst the raft of other activities easily withinreach are 22 mostly links golf courses,Glenkinchie Distillery, the Concorde Experienceand a new simulator at the Museum of Flight,indoor and outdoor go-carting (10mins) and theScottish Seabird Centre, with seasonal boattrips out to the Gannet colony on the Bass RockDucks, a landmark restaurant in Edinburgh fortwenty years has migrated to Aberlady.Renowned for its quality, service and customercare, it is now thriving in its new plumage. Lookout for exceptional winter deals on dinner androoms between the end of October and April.Plate 31. Chris Waltho thankingDick Vernon © Lang Stewart.The Raffle raised £326 for Clubfunds, Chris Wenham rounded theday off by thanking everyone whohad worked so hard to make theConference a success, thespeakers, the prize donors and asusual Stephen Hunter, our a/vgenius in the background. The dayby now was sunny and a pleasantjourney through beautiful countrylay ahead for the 180 delegates.Jimmy MaxwellThe decline of theScottish Ospreys- who was to blame?Plate 32. Osprey success today © Lang Stewart.In ‘Osprey anniversary’ (SBN 91),Frank Hamilton drew attention tothe 50th anniversary of Ospreysbreeding at Loch Garten. Hisotherwise celebratory note started:‘By the early 1900s, breedingOspreys were hounded toextinction in Scotland by egg andskin collectors’ - a statement that Ifeel to be a little controversial.Whilst I do not dispute thatpersecution in its broadest senseover a long period had a criticaleffect on the historical status ofOsprey in Scotland, I feel I musttake issue with the contentionthat the responsibility for thespecies’ demise should be laid sosquarely and uncritically at thedoor of egg and skin collectors. Inthis article I shall attempt to putOsprey egg-collecting in contextand touch on other relevantfactors affecting the populationover the period of decline.It is clear that Ospreys, like otherspecies of hawks, falcons and owls,were routinely hunted, trapped andshot over an extended period oftime in Scotland (Gray 1871, Baxter& Rintoul 1953, Newton 1972,Dennis 2008). As well as specificexamples of egg thefts, Baxter &Rintoul note instances of adult birdsbeing shot, for example at LochLomond, Loch Ordie and Loch Insh.With reference to the egg thefts atsome nests, it is at least possible, orindeed likely, that these wereincidental to the shooting of adults,rather than the primary aim. Suchpractice would have been similar tothe current persecution of specieslike Hen Harrier, where birds areshot or poisoned and the eggsdestroyed. Just as the primary aimof today’s persecutor is destructionof the local breeding population,this may equally have been themain motive of persecutors of mostOspreys in the latter half of the 19thcentury; the selling of any eggs to adealer was simply a financial bonus.EggsThere is no dispute that a few wellknownegg collectors were active inScotland, but this period wasactually relatively rather brief. JohnWolley (1823–1859) was activeduring 1847–50, Charles St John(1809–1856) was active in the1840s and Roualyen G. Gordon-Cumming (1820–1866) was activein the 1850s. St John and Wolleywere often assisted by Lewis andWilliam Dunbar in the same period.The first named individuals died inthe 1850s and Gordon-Cummingin the mid-1860s so it is stretchingcredulity to suggest that theyshould be held responsible for theOsprey’s decline in the succeedinghalf century.As a corollary, one might considerthe activity of a number of eggcollectors in the 1960s–90s (andthe RSPB has claimed there are upto 100 active collectors in the UK).They apparently had no significantnegative impact on the recoveringScottish population other thanlessening the rate of populationrecovery. Why then might it besupposed that egg collectors hadsuch a deleterious impact on theOsprey population from1860–1916, a period of more than50 years? Surely ‘persecution’ in itsmore general sense (shooting andtrapping) must have played amore significant part.In fact, there is another morefundamental reason to believethat specimen collectors (ratherthan ‘trophy collectors’) had littleimpact on Scottish Ospreys. If theformer were genuinely a factor,one would expect to find evidenceof this in egg collections, many ofwhich are now deposited inmuseums. For example, NationalMuseums Scotland (NMS),Edinburgh, holds numerous pre-1916 Scottish eggs from speciesthat were prized by collectors; forexample there are 35 clutches ofGolden Eagle from Scotland,compared with just three clutchesfrom other European countries. Incontrast, from a total of 19 Ospreyclutches collected pre-1916, onlythree (possibly four) are Scottish.Plate 33. Osprey eggs, Loch Maree,Osgood Mackenzie © NMS.At Inverness Museum and ArtGallery, the W. Stirling eggcollection holds only two Ospreyclutches (dated 1896 and 1897),but 15 clutches of Golden Eagle54Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds55

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird News(C. Niven, pers. com.). Glasgow’sKelvingrove Museum holds onlyone Osprey egg of unknown originfrom the period (R. Sutcliffe,pers.com.). The Natural HistoryMuseum (Tring) holds 70 pre-1916 clutches of Golden Eaglefrom Scotland, but only seven pre-1916 clutches of Osprey (D.Russell, pers. com.). In one privatehistorical collection, not one from atotal of 30 is from Scotland.It is worth stressing that Ospreyclutches collected ‘pre-extinction’are more likely to survive incollections than other historical eggmaterial. Even if the eggs weredamaged, sets taken from a formerbreeding population would betreasured items and, as such, welllooked after by the possessor.Scottish Osprey clutches incollections, therefore, are not likelyto be ‘under-represented’. Theprincipal collections of Ospreyeggs were at Cambridge University(Wolley) and the HancockMuseum, Newcastle (Dunbar/StJohn/Hancock); this material islargely representative of collectingin the mid-19th century period, notsubsequent years.A more comprehensive analysis ofmaterial in museums would beworthwhile, but these data arebroadly indicative of UK museumholdings. What is most striking isnot so much the fact that ScottishOsprey clutches are surprisinglyfew in UK collections, but that bycomparison clutches from otherEuropean countries and NorthAmerica are so common. Since, ifegg collecting had been rife,Scottish clutches would havebeen readily available in the tradein the latter half of the 19thcentury and therefore they wouldbe expected to be less underrepresentedby comparison withclutches of exotic origin. Thus non-Scottish clutches can not simplybe seen as ‘filling a gap in themarket’ following the subsequentdecline of the Scottish population.It is perhaps worthwhile to considerthe possible impact on thebreeding population. From theliterature and perusal of collectionsit appears that about 22 clutcheswere taken in the 1850s(apparently the ‘peak’ decade foregg collecting). Even assuming thatthis is a conservative estimatewhich underestimates the actualnumbers collected and the realnumber is as much as twice asmany it still only equates to a lossof 4.4 clutches per year. Data for2006 in Scotland show that 143Osprey pairs laid eggs with 111pairs raising young, a nest failurerate of 22% (Etheridge et al.2008). Assuming the existence of20 or so pairs in the 1850s, then(moral arguments aside) theft offour clutches may not have beenany more significant than naturalnest failure. Certainly, these effectswere additive, but we should alsoacknowledge reported instances ofrepeat clutches after egg removal(Box 16, Natural History by Species,Harvie-Brown collection, NMSLibrary). Persistent shooting ofadults, of which there is abundantevidence, must have had moreimmediate consequences.Skins and mountsIf specimens (skins) were obtainedfor collections (rather than astrophies or birds killed for vermincontrol) then one would expect tosee evidence of this in museums.NMS holds one only Scottish pre-1916 Osprey skin (1892), but threespecimens collected in Spain andTunisia. On the other hand,references to birds being shot (fortrophies or otherwise) are notuncommon. During the period1854–1904, the Edinburghtaxidermists Small & Son recordedthe receipt of only four Ospreys(1883, 1887, 1889 and 1892) intheir books. This remarkably lownumber is in sharp contrast withthe figures for Golden Eagles (10),Rough-legged Buzzards (38),European Honey-buzzards (11) andSnowy Owls (9) (Extracts fromSmall and Son’s books, Harvie-Brown collection, NMS Library).There is little here to support thetheory that Ospreys were a particularlyprized item for natural historydealers. The overwhelmingmajority of specimens went toprivate purchasers.Other than that undertaken byJohn Hancock in the 1840s–50s, Iam not aware of any systematiccollecting of Ospreys (and noneprompted by the species’ scarcity).An ‘extensive series of Ospreysfrom various parts of the world’was held at Norwich CastleMuseum (Gurney 1867, Gray1871). However, of the 74 skinsthere, seven were from Norfolkand a single bird was fromShetland (October 1866), thelatter perhaps not even a shot bird,as it was found injured (T. Irwin,pers. com.). On the other hand thepractice of killing Ospreys by estateinterests and as trophies in theirown right was long established inScotland (Baxter & Rintoul 1953,Newton 1972). Preparation oftrophy specimens of birds of preyhelped to sustain two taxidermyfirms in Inverness (Macleay’s andPlate 34. Osprey site at Loch naClaise Carnaich, Sutherland assketched in Oct. 1903 by John Pedderfrom Fauna of the North WestHighlands and Skye © from originalin Harvie-Brown archive, NMS.Macpherson & Son) for a periodapproaching 100 years, with mostspecimens supplied throughpersecution by estate interests(McGhie 1999). Harvie-Brown &Buckley (1895) noted thatMacleay’s ledgers listed Ospreysfrom c. 1856 that had been taken‘very often at breeding sites’.It is worth noting a comment madeby John Wolley on the larger birdsof prey in Sutherland andCaithness; he remarked that the‘combined efforts of sheep-farmers,game-preservers, and so-callednatural history collectors’ werepushing these birds towardsextinction in the district (Newton1860). If we focus only on thelatter factor, we are in danger oflosing sight of the effects of theformer. Nor should other influenceson breeding performance beignored, for example disturbance atnest sites. Such effects, at a timewhen the population was at lowebb, would have a disproportionateeffect. Four examples are: (a) atLoch an Eilean around 1849–52,the birds deserted because of therafts of old timber floating on theloch cut from the slopes; (b) in1890 at the same site, not onlywere eggs stolen, but the birdswere disturbed by tourists ‘peltingthe echo’ (sic); (c) at Loch Luichart‘not many years before 1902’ thebirds deserted either following eggtheft or on ‘account of the whole ofthe heather on the face of the lochbeing set on fire’; (d) the disintegrationor collapse of old trees thatheld nests (Harvie-Brown &Buckley 1895; Box 16, NaturalHistory by Species, Harvie-Browncollection, NMS Library).Unfortunately, the true record hasalso become blurred by misquotationand muddled chronology inotherwise worthy publishedaccounts. Here is an example fromPoole (1989): ‘It is not clearwhether sportsmen like St John orthe local highland gamekeepersthat he blames did the most harmto Scottish Ospreys. Undoubtedlyboth were to blame. The last pairknown to breed in Great Britain(until re-colonisation) was foundon an island in Loch Loyne in1916. As William Dunbar wrote tohis fellow egg raider John Wolley: ‘Iam afraid that Mr St John, yourself,and your humble servant, havefinally done for the Ospreys.’Written as such (as the finalsentence in Poole’s sub-chapter onthe decline and extinction in theBritish Isles), it sounds like anadmission of culpability for thespecies’ demise in Scotland.However, Dunbar wrote this in June1850, at least 60 years before thebirds became extinct (Harvie-Brown& Macpherson 1904). Both Wolleyand St John were dead within a fewyears and Ospreys continued tobreed in Scotland for a lengthyperiod. Dunbar was clearly mistaken.Through misrepresentations such asthis, it is easier to see howculpability shifted away fromgeneral persecution to ‘collectors’. IfPoole’s ‘sportsmen like St John’cannot be blamed for harming thespecies in the latter half of thecentury (at least to the extentimplied), presumably estateinterests played a significant role.Osprey, Hen Harrier and Red Kitewere among the species subject tostringent predator control bygamekeepers from the time thatVictorians built their hunting lodgesand shooting boxes. As predatordestruction worked well (generatinglarge bags of grouse), moor ownerstended to oppose parliamentarybird preservation acts (Tapper1992). Furthermore, during thisperiod management practices forgrouse moors probably increaseddisturbance at some Osprey nestsites, for example through muirburn,as noted above.Egg salesEgg sale catalogues can oftenreveal useful information about thenumbers of clutches being tradedby dealers and collectors. The saleof Leopold Field’s collection in April1895 included seven lots ofOsprey eggs, only one of which - asingle egg - was Scottish (exGordon-Cumming). The sale ofone ‘N. Troughton, Esq. ofCoventry’ in April 1869 had six lotsof Osprey (fetching between 6/6and 8/-), though none was specificallylisted as Scottish (and otherclutches in the sale includedGriffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture,Spotted Eagle and Iceland Falconso we cannot assume that theOsprey eggs were Scottish).Plate 35. Marsden Catalogue © NMS.The priced catalogue of the firm H.W. Marsden (Bath) for July 1889lists Osprey skins at 8/6 to 10/6and eggs at 4 shillings. To supplymaterial at these prices, one cansee how it might have been moreimmediately lucrative for agamekeeper to shoot and sell birdsto a dealer than wait for thepotential appearance of eggs.Nonetheless, information from salecatalogues is difficult to interpretunless one knows the source(country) of the eggs, associateddata and comparative prices ofother species. From the above,Osprey eggs appear cheaper in1889 than they had been in 1869.It was certainly easier for NMS toprocure Osprey eggs fromDenmark, Sweden and NorthAmerican in the 19th century than56Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 57

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird Newsfrom Scotland, and I doubt therewas any selective preference for‘foreign’ eggs. There is little reasonto believe this would be otherwisefor other purchasers.None of the argument of this articleis novel. Almost 100 years ago F. C.R. Jourdain, in correspondence toThe Zoologist, conceded the earlierimpact of egg collecting (andshooting) by St John and hiscontemporaries, but drew attentionto the numbers of Ospreys shot inIreland in spring which he believedwere ‘Scotch-reared birds’ (Jourdain1912). He noted that Scottish eyrieswere deserted serially ‘becauseeither a single bird returns alone andfails to find a mate or both birds failto put in an appearance’. Harvie-Brown (1912) supported this view,pointing out that for 25 years he hadcollected every item relating to rareScottish birds, particularly Osprey,Red Kite and White-tailed Eagle.After acknowledging egg collectingas an ongoing activity, he wrote ‘ButI agree with Mr Jourdain that takingeggs alone would not have reducedour Ospreys to the verge ofextinction; but it is the killing of theyoung migrants in autumn and alsothe birds returning in spring, which Ibelieve - along with Mr Jourdain,and, I may add, with the late Prof. ANewton who has alwaysmaintained the same - has correctlycaused the decrease’. Thesecomments have some resonancewith the fate of the Loch ArkaigOspreys as described by Cameronof Lochiel (Cameron 1943): after1908, only a single bird returned tothe site, searching for a mateannually until 1913; a few years laterCameron of Lochiel saw a mountedOsprey specimen in Ireland, shotthere in 1913, and this he suspectedwas the Loch Arkaig bird.With reference to the tailing-off ofbreeding at Loch an Eilean in the1890s (which confounds Dunbar’sdramatic claim of extinction 40years earlier), Cash (1914)reported egg theft in 1891 followedby young raised in 1894, 1895,1896, 1897 and the eggs and nestdamaged by adult birds in 1899;after single birds only were seen atthe site in 1901 and 1902, recordsstopped. The reoccupation of thistraditional site and its pedigree ofproductivity demonstrate that itwas a high quality site. The patternof decline described here appearsto be more representative ofattrition of locally-breeding adultsthan a symptom of egg theft. ForLoch an Eilean, the consequenceof killing adults was probably moreacute than for other sites.A comprehensive analysis ofmuseum specimens, taxidermyledgers, estate books and dealers’price lists would be a worthwhileexercise particularly if this wasaccompanied by populationmodelling that considered theappropriate variables. I doubtthough that the outcome wouldshow that egg collecting orsystematic collecting of skins werea more significant factor thangeneral persecution - specificallythe ad hoc killing by estates andshooting for trophy specimens. Inall probability the views of theleading naturalists of the day, giventheir close proximity to the subject,were broadly accurate.In conclusion, evidence that theactivities of egg and skin collectorsper se were the critical factor forScottish Ospreys is weak. It seemslikely that the reputation of eggcollecting has allowed this tobecome an easy target in the morecomplex issue of populationdecline. Perhaps the effects of‘sheep farmers and gamepreservers’(as noted by Wolley)and the effect of the shooting ofmigrants (as noted by Jourdain andHarvie-Brown) need to be givendue prominence.I thank various colleagues for helpwith information and comments.ReferencesBaxter, E.V. & Rintoul, L.J. 1953.The Birds of Scotland. Oliver &Boyd. Edinburgh & London.Cameron, D.W. 1943. Recollectionsabout the Ospreys at Achnacarry.British Birds 36: 184.Cash, C.G. 1914. History of theLoch an Eilein Ospreys. ScottishNaturalist 25: 149–158.Dennis, R. 2008. A Life of Ospreys.Whittles Publishing, Dunbeath.Etheridge, B. Holling, M., Riley,H., Wernham, C., & Thompson,D. 2008. Scottish RaptorMonitoring Scheme: Report2006. SOC, Aberlady.Gray, R. 1871. The birds of thewest of Scotland. Thomas Murray& Son, Glasgow.Gurney, J.H. 1867. [letter on] Variationin Ospreys. Ibis 9: 464–466.Harvie-Brown, J.A. & Buckley, T.E. 1895. A Vertebrate Fauna ofthe Moray Basin. David Douglas,Edinburgh.Harvie-Brown, J.A. & Macpherson,A.H. 1904. A Fauna of the NorthwestHighlands and Skye. DavidDouglas, Edinburgh.Harvie-Brown, J.A. 1912. Causes ofour rare breeding birds disappearing.The Zoologist 1912: 112–114.Jourdain, F.C.R. 1912. Causes ofour rare breeding birds disappearing.The Zoologist 1912: 75–77.McGhie, H. 1999. Persecution ofbirds of prey in north Scotland1912–69 as evidenced bytaxidermists’ stuffing books.Scottish Birds 20: 98–109.Newton, A. 1860. Memoir of thelate John Wolley. Ibis 2: 172–185.Newton, I. 1972. Birds of prey inScotland; some conservationproblems. Scottish Birds 7: 5–23.Poole, A.F. 1989. Ospreys: A naturaland unnatural history. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge.Tapper, S. 1992. Game heritage: anecological review from shootingand gamekeeping records. GameConservancy, Over Wallop.Bob McGowan, Senior Curator,Birds, National Museums Scotland.Email: B.McGowan@nms.ac.ukThe following is just a taster from these “Tales” by Keith Martin, who accompanied his father Henry Martinon a trip organised by Tony and Gerda Scott and led by Angus Hogg (all of Ayr SOC branch). (Ed)Tales from the UnitedArab Emirates (8th–16thNovember 2008)Inspired by Arabic phrases fromUnload your own donkey (P.Arander and A. Skipwith, TienWah Press 2002)On our way out of Dubai airport Ipicked up a copy of a small bookof cartoons featuring Arabicphrases and their translations. Itis always amusing to see howclumsily wisdom from oneculture translates to another. Yetit is also intriguing how the truthsbehind them can be so starklystated when the subtlety oflanguage is stripped in theconversion process.Rather than present a diary of ourtime in Dubai, I have used someof my favourite phrases from thisbook as triggers for memories ofthe visit. The links may betenuous at times, but... well, whocares? If you don’t spot theconnection immediately thenread the story and try again.Khalli azzayt fi ajaru, lammantiji as aru (Keep oil in itscontainers until the price is right)It is probably fair to say that myignorant preconceptions of theGulf States were very muchbased on wisdom of this type.Thus when Tony proposed abirding trip to the region, it wasalmost a sense of curiosity ratherthan desire which directed ourdecision to sign up. The scatteringof exotic bird names amongst thehighly familiar on the bird list wascertainly an incentive, but thePlate 36. Khor Dubai reserve, so close to the city © Tony Scott.opportunity to bust the myth ofdusty barren badlands and oilrefineries was probably my mainmotivation.Illi biddu yi mal jammal lazimyi alli bab daru (He who wantsto be a camel driver must raisethe door of his house)At the Ras Al-Khor Dubai WildlifeSanctuary, the cityscape of Dubaiprovides a backdrop to thousandsof migrating waders, roosting onmudflats by the edge of a majorhighway. A flock of Flamingos treadelegantly through the saline pools,watched by a million panes ofglass. The birds do not realisehowever that the city is creepingup behind them. To the south thelagoon is boarded off. TheFlamingo View LagoonDevelopment is coming soon.Dubai is living a dream. The projectseems a massive gamble. It relieson people with money choosingDubai as a future destination. To58Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 59

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird Newslive, to do business, to shop.Probably not to watch birds. Giantbillboards promote the vision inemotive ways (it’s the last one thatworries me the most):Live the possibilitiesBe unlimitedIt’s kind of funto do the impossibleIshtahayna addajajaakalnaha birishha (We sodesired the chicken we ate itwith its feathers)We are on a mission to see CrabPlovers. We all want to see CrabPlovers. Tony put a tantalisingphoto of one on the front of hislast letter to us, but that’s not thereason we are all desperate to seeCrab Plovers. It’s because CrabPlovers are one of these birds thatyou just have to see. They arewhite and black and biggish withstout bills. They’re Crab Plovers.They’re unmissable. Surely?“Is it quite distinctive this CrabPlover?” pipes up Mike in hisquerulous Dundee accent. “Whatdo they eat?”Angus assures us that the CrabPlovers will be there. They arealways there. The only problem,and it really is a problem ofinconvenience rather than ofdashed dreams, is that they mightbe rather far away. Last time Anguswas here he drove right down ontothe beach. Now there are someaccess problems and so we will besearching for them from the hillabove. We’ll look down on our CrabPlovers. We’ll need telescopes.The warnings are all there. Wehear them, but we don’t. Angus,after all, has been on the beachwith Crab Plovers. He has walkedamongst Crab Plovers. We will beabove the Crab Plovers. They willbe small. But they will definitelystill be Crab Plovers.Plate 37. Scoping the distance © Henry Martin.We get off the bus. Game on!There is a short scramble to the topof the dune. “Look out forMenetries Warbler and DesertLesser Whitethroat in the bushes”,suggests Angus, but we only partlylisten because there are CrabPlovers to gaze upon from the top.We each take our own route to thesummit, leaving temporarypunctures in the shifting sand.Driven by Crab Plovers. We reachthe top in a long eager line andgaze out and down...Well, it’s certainly a view. Ahead andvery down is a breakwater leadingto a narrow spit of sand. To the rightand very far away is a lagoonspattered by low islands. It is anaerial view of somewhere whereCrab Plovers might live. Do live,allegedly. They will be here. Angussays that we should search the spit.The very, very far away spit thatshimmers in the heat haze. Thevery, very far away spit thatshimmers in the heat haze and hasa woman in a bikini walking towardsa car that is parked half way along it.At least it is probably a woman in abikini, although it is definitely a car.Maybe she will flush a Crab Plover?A dozen telescopes scan left, scanright. We scan the islands. Whitethings are reported, but they areprobably terns. Angus gets excitedby a Terek Sandpiper close to theshore. This is not a good signbecause we are not here to seeTerek Sandpipers. Andrew thinks hemight have seen a Crab Plover butthen it might also have been aplastic bottle. Fraser has startedlooking for the Desert Whitethroatsin the bushes. This is not good atall. This is not going to plan.Angus suggests that we walk a bitcloser. But walking a bit closertowards something that is very,very far away does not stop thatthing being very, very far away. Itjust makes it less very, very faraway than it was, but still very,very far away. We see someArabian Babblers babbling in theonly tree between the dune andthe lagoon that is very, very faraway (although less than it was byjust a little bit). Tom watches thebabblers through my telescopeand says that they are marvellous.That might be true, but ArabianBabblers are not Crab Plovers.Angus pitches his tripod in thesand as if he is making a last stand.“We’ll probably not see them atany other site” he states, rathernonchalantly in my opinion. Notsee them at any other site? Thepoint is that Angus has seen CrabPlovers before. It is all very well forhim to say such things, but what isabundantly clear is that at this time,on this dune, looking down onsomething very, very far away,Angus has seen a Crab Plover andwe have not. And if we don’t seeone now, then we might never seea Crab Plover. Never ever. It is farfrom clear that Angus understandsthis. Well, maybe he does andthinks that there is nothing he cando about it. But there is somethinghe can do about it. He can find aCrab Plover for us. Even one that isvery, very far away.“There’s a couple of Crab Ploverson the left hand island, off to thefar right”, announces Andrew. NowAndrew is someone to listen tobecause Andrew, unlike Angus,has never seen a Crab Ploverbefore. To Andrew, it matters thatwe see a Crab Plover. “You candefinitely see the black wings,nothing quite like it.” Andrewseems very calm, but deep downhe is probably in Crab Ploverheaven. I scan through mytelescope, following the snatchesof instruction. Scan left from theend of the distant harbour (very,very distant harbour), follow to theend of the second island, pull backto the right and search theroosting curlews.I stare and I stare. At things that arevery, very far away. Could the greysmudge really be a group ofroosting curlews? And then I cansee it! Something white! “There aresix of them, no eight of them,running up and down the sandbar”, says Andrew. “Aye”, saysFraser, “quite distinctive”. Running?Quite distinctive? The white thingthat I can see is not distinctive andnot running. Have I just seen aCrab Plover? “Is the Crab Ploversitting out on its own to the left ofthe curlews?”, I ask, as if the rightanswer to that question will decidewhether I have seen a Crab Ploveror not. “There are quite a few outthere, Keith”, states Angus who hasseen Crab Plovers before. “Youcan’t mistake them” claims Andrew,who had never seen a Crab Ploverbefore and apparently seems quiteconvinced that he now has.At this point I am gently nudgedfrom my telescope by Eleanora,who has never seen a Crab Ploverand is utterly determined that shenow will. In a panic I turn to tryFraser’s telescope, the greatermagnitude of which will surelydeliver a Crab Plover. But in fact all Isee is a haze. Fraser is now usingmy telescope and claims “they aremuch clearer through yours”. Muchclearer? What is he talking about?What are all these people talkingabout who had never seen a CrabPlover before and now claim thatthey just have? Where are thesedistinctive and running about birds?“They’ve got to be kidding”, jokesMike. It seems unbelievable thatMike, who has never seen a CrabPlover, just doesn’t care. He wouldapparently rather still not see aCrab Plover than see one very,very far away! “Tony says weshould be heading back”, saysAngus who has seen Crab Ploversbefore. Tony has already goneback. Tony barely even looked forthe Crab Plover! But we’ve comeall this way...I look through the eyepiece onemore time. And there is a CrabPlover. It is almost distinctivealthough it isn’t running about. Butit is very, very, very far away. Thereis a sense of relief, but not one oftriumph. This is not the view of aCrab Plover that we saw on thephoto in Tony’s letter. This is notthe view of a Crab Plover thatAngus had when he walkedamongst Crab Plovers.Plate 38. Keith gets his bird ©Henry Martin.Nonetheless this is a Crab Plover.Or, rather, was a Crab Plover,because it is already lost in theheat haze.I pack the telescope and walk backwith Andrew and Fraser. We haveall seen a Crab Plover. Not likeMike and Tony. But not like Anguseither, because he once walkedamongst Crab Plovers.“Could it not have been an albinocurlew” quips Mike when we getback onto the bus. There is muchhilarity, but it’s a bigger questionthan anyone dares to answer.After lunch we stop the minibus ata different path up the dune, whichwe hope will provide a lagoon viewthat is less very, very far away. Fromthe top we see Crab Plovers. We allsee Crab Plovers. There are dozensof them. They are distinctive. Theyrun about. They fly closer. They eatcrabs. Even Angus, who walkedamongst Crab Plovers, seemspleased with the view. We all jointhe Crab Plover Club and anydoubts and guilt are blown aside.Keith MartinWe hope you enjoyed this taster ofa “birding holiday with adifference”. SBN may perhapsinclude further excerpts in thefuture. (Ed)60Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 61

Scottish Bird NewsPlate 39. Golden Eagle hunting Ptarmigan. With many thanks to Mrs. Wolfe Murray. Having spent from 1923 to 1935working mainly at sea, andFish-Hawk (David Wolfe Murray)Our grateful thanks are due toSOC members Peter Holt fromSwitzerland who initially requestedinformation on D.K. Wolfe Murrayin SBN 90, and Bill Bourne in SBN91 who responded, leading us onto the following account of FishHawk by his son. (Ed)My father, Fish-Hawk, was born in1897 and died in London in 1970.Having served in the army in WorldWar I in what was thenMesopotamia and subsequently inIndia, he resigned his regularcommission. Soon after this hewas taken on by the Mission toDeep Sea Fishermen and sent onan intensive two-year medicalcourse which included six monthsin the theatre. He was then put incharge of a small hospital set upon a partially converted trawleroperating with the long sincedefunct North Sea Steam TrawlerFleet. This meant being at sea ineight-week spells for nine monthsof the year, sailing mainly out ofLowestoft and Great Yarmouth.So far as hospital care wasconcerned, his most graphicepisode was of a man beingtransferred to his trawler totallyunconscious for no known reason,having been found lying on thedeck. A very thorough check founda hollow in the top of his head. Myfather opened up his scalp to findhis skull looking like the top of aboiled egg that had been hit with aspoon. He took out the centralpiece, prised up the remainderwith a sterile teaspoon handle, putthe main piece back and stitchedup the scalp. Having beenoriginally hit on the head with afalling block and tackle, the manthen recovered and lived to be 85.At some time his trawler andanother were riding out a full NorthAtlantic gale, and out of the gloomahead appeared a gigantic wave.My father was up on the bridgeand seeing this wave, knew theywere in trouble. The wave hit themand all he could see in thedarkness was water, with the shipshuddering and groaning underthe weight. Eventually theysurfaced, but never saw their sistership or any trace of it again.Plate 40. North Sea Steam Trawler “Walter Paton”. With thanks to theFisheries Museum Anstruther .Plate 41. Fish-Hawk (left) at the BBC with Percy Edwards © BBC archive.lecturing about it all when ashoreto help raise money for the workof the Mission, he then left to joinBBC Television. He was the firstPublic Relations Officer that BBCTV had, and we had a TV in ourhouse in 1938 so that he couldentertain people and demonstratethat a TV set did actually work in aprivate house!In 1936 he had his first artexhibition in London which waswell-reviewed in the Country Life ofthat time. Over the next three yearshe illustrated various articles,keeping his pseudonym of “Fish-Hawk” which he had taken up as acover, because the Mission had notwanted him to do anything otherthan their work. After returning fromthe war, he did the illustrations forthe Penguin Series by James Fisherentitled “Bird Recognition”. Thisseries was really his first in themodern style of bird books, butsadly it was almost immediatelysuperseded by the Collins book incolour, so the fourth volume wasnever published and theillustrations for it, so far as I amconcerned, have disappeared.After his retirement from the BBC,Fish-Hawk did a great deal ofillustrated lecturing as well asdrawing and painting. Gradually ashe grew older he gave up thetravelling and confined himself topainting. The highlight of his yearwas always the Game Fair, forwhich he built up a considerableportfolio. In 1970, in early July, hehanded this over to me as he didnot think he was well enough tocope. So it proved to be, for hedied a week later.Soon after his death, my motherwas contacted concerning thewhereabouts of his diary that hehad kept when he was at sea.Sadly I had had no knowledge of itas I would dearly have loved todiscuss it with him. It has sincebeen put on record and I have it inmy possession.Plate 42. Red Grouse.Scottish Bird NewsThe main area for the ship tooperate in was the Dogger Bank,so it was seldom less than 240 kmfrom land and sometimes over320. He notes that he sawmigrants in every month of theyear, but it was not until March thatbirds were seen every day, and inJanuary and February, sightingswere almost entirely of Fieldfares,Starlings and Skylarks. Recordswere in greater numbers in theautumn than in the spring andsome species almost entirelyconfined themselves to one or theother. It was noticeable, apparently,that large numbers of GreenlandWheatears were seen in theautumn, but never in the spring,and with Redstarts it was the otherway round. He notes that one ofthe stranger cases was of a Wrencoming on board 320 km fromland, in good heart, having a drinkfrom a pannikin of water in thefo’castle before feeding on minutemarine creatures on the trawlropes and in the scuppers.Goldcrests too were regularly seenon their amazing 645 km crossing.Small birds driven down near tosea level had to run the gauntlet ofconstant harassing by gulls, inparticular Herring and Blackbacked.Being a falconer, he oftenkept the hawks that he caught asthey rested on the ship, finding thatthey did well on raw fish. He alsoknew from their behaviour whenthey were seeing birds overhead,but even with good binoculars, hecould never spot what they wereseeing, except once. He had aSparrowhawk, and on oneoccasion she became extremelyagitated. Scanning as a result ofthis, he picked out with binocularsa very large hawk far above themand presumed it was a Goshawk.The number of birds of prey seenon passage varied greatly - thecommonest were Kestrels, often inparties of up to a dozen. All theothers travelled singly and onlyonce did he see either a Peregrineor a Golden Eagle.62Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 63

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird NewsPlate 43. Moorland bird of prey.With thanks to David Hunter forpermission.Woodcock cross the sea inthousands every year, yet he sawthis species just once and thenwithin 48 km of the Yorkshire coast.Wood Pigeons too come to thiscountry in hundreds of thousands,or did, but were seldom seen. Theoddest entry for him was a BarheadedGoose seen near the HornReef Lightship. He presumed it wasan escape from a Danish Zoo.I have selected some of the moreinteresting diary details andcomments as follows:1927May 5th Pied Flycatcher,Redstart, Garden Warbler, RingOuzel, 6 Lesser Whitethroat,Peregrine, Meadow Pipit (Lat 55Long 7, light NNE).Oct. 9th 50–60 Chaffinches,30–40 Bramblings, 10–20Goldcrests around all night (Lat 55Long 4 mod NNW). (This year hekept a special record of theCrossbill “invasion”, seeing themon 12 days in July, two in Augustand one in September. He caughtseveral, but most died from lack ofsuitable food. He released eight inGreat Yarmouth which may wellhave been the founders of thecolony recorded there in 1928).1928May 17th Alpine Accentor (Lat 57Long 4 wind light).June 17th Nightjar (Lat 56 Long 3wind SW).August 4th Corncrake (Lat 55Long 4 no wind) (Total absence ofGoldcrests noted).1929 the year I was born!Sept. 16th Water Rail (Lat 55 Long4 wind light) (This bird wasskinned and sent to the S.Kengsington Museum).Oct. 16th 5 Tree Sparrows.1930Sept. 14th Golden Eagle - flyingsouth at about 1,000 ft (Lat 54Long 3 wind light). (About thistime he was in touch with TACoward who he regarded asprobably the greatest bird artist.Sadly none of the correspondencesurvives that I can find).Sept. 23rd 8 Lapwing (Lat 54long 4 wind moderate). Note; TACoward reported vast numbersarriving from the east on theNorfolk coast on this date.1932Aug. 30th 3 Wheatears (amongstother species). One Wheatear wasapproaching the ship low over thewater, and was taken in full flightby a Tunny fish.Oct. 10th Shot a very darkthrush, possibly Hebridean. Note;southward migration started afull three weeks early, but thewinter was not severe until lateJanuary 1933.1933May 7th and 8th (The former datewas the best day since he had kepta diary, but this was then exceededon the 8 with the same species,but now including) - 3 Red-spottedBluethroats and Siberian Chiffchaff.(Lat 58 Long 1 light).8th The numbers werespectacular: 60–100 WillowWarblers, 20–30 Redstarts. Note -1933 was the most wonderful yearwith unparalleled numbers andfour new species including BlackRedstart and Grasshopper Warbler.Aug. 28th (Really his last voyagein the trawler which had almostbeen his mobile home in theNorth Sea.) White Wagtail, HouseMartin, Swift, Dunlin, Greenlandand Common Wheatear, MeadowPipit, Willow Warbler,Oystercatcher, Golden Plover,Turnstone, Heron, Redstart andGarden Warbler. (The monthbefore this he also commentedthat the Tunny arrived on July 13thand a Lesser Rorqual was seenclose to the ship.)Plate 44. Woodcock sketches.In closing, I count myself so luckyto have had such a father and onlywish I had appreciated him evenmore when he was alive. Hetaught me to fish, as he was anexpert, and to shoot; to love thecountryside, and most importantof all, not only to look but to see. Ifthe almighty were to grant me awish to see any person I haveknown in my varied life of 80years, my choice would be that ofmy father, Fish-Hawk.Michael Wolfe MurrayNotes and CommentHooded Crow’s reactionto Sparrowhawk killWhile out walking, I had beenwatching a Robin at the roadsideahead, feeding on insects in thegrass verge. As I walked on past, itflew up and sang in the woodsbehind me. However its soft fluentwarble stopped abruptly in anominous silence - then a numberof loud, high pitched cries of fear -then again silence.Looking back, I could just see amale Sparrowhawk mantled overhis tiny meal in the long grass atthe woodland edge. The eventhowever was not yet over. AHooded Crow that had obviouslywitnessed the kill, burst from thedense vegetation nearby andlunged at the startled raptor. Aftera few seconds of thrashing wingsand squawking, the Sparrowhawkflew off and the Crow retired to thebranch of a nearby tree where itcawed defiantly at the retreatinghawk. The smaller and lighterSparrowhawk had managed tohang on to its prey though, leavingan agitated corvid to vent itsfrustration by pecking andsnapping off some small twigsfrom its treetop perch.In winter Sparrowhawks are solitarybirds, hunting from concealedperches and roosting alone indense conifers or thick hedges.They normally catch and kill theirprey on the wing by exploitingcover and gliding silently close tothe ground, along a hedgerow ordown a woodland path. Onehunting adaptation that has beenhighlighted recently is a reportfrom England concerning fourcases of Sparrowhawks drowningtheir victims. Interestingly, in two ofthe incidents, the birds that weredrowned were a Jay and a Magpie,both members of the Crow family.Initially I thought the Sparrowhawkwas lucky to avoid the HoodedCrow’s powerful bill but after thislatest revelation, perhaps it was theCrow that had escaped beingcarried to the closest bay or riverand drowned - if the Sparrowhawkhad been female this may wellhave been a possibility.Frank StarkNestbox NuthatchIn a conventional Blue Tit nestbox,camera-equipped and sited atabout 12’ high, right next to theOsprey-viewing hut at Kailzie, nrPeebles - a Nuthatch has movedin. The birds had been using thenut-feeder adjacent to the hut(Plate 45) and were thenobserved partially filling the treemountedbox with pine bark flakes.With no actual formed nest made,the female then proceeded to layher clutch which she later broodedby shuffling round and round,presumably to establish a hollowand position her brood patch onthe eggs (Plate 46, I photographedfrom the TV screen). Each time thebird left the nest, the eggs werecovered with the bark flakes,making counting the number ofeggs difficult (Plate 47). Theyhatched on May 9 and we nowsee that the nest contained sixyoung (Plate 48) which werelooked after solely by the female.The brood was ringed on May 25.It will be interesting to see whetherthe young remain in the area orappear elsewhere next year.Campbell and Vicky McLellan(The Nuthatches at Dalzell Estate,Motherwell also used Scots Pinebark flakes and this nest-site is 12feet high in a Birch (Plate 49)).Plates 45–48. Selected TV photos© C. & V. McLellan, Plate 49 ©Lang Stewart.64Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 65

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird NewsPlate 50. Eiders displaying to a female © Phil Kirkham.How well do you know yourlocal birds?Since 2009 will be characterisedby all-round belt tightening, mostof us may have to curtail our travelplans a tad. Perhaps this really isthe year to get to know old friendsmuch better.These thoughts have beenstimulated by Lars Jonsson, now Ithink Europe’s foremost birdartist. His new book, BIRDS[London: Christopher Helm] isreplete with beautiful paintings,and pages from his sketchbooks,as well as his personal notes andcommentaries. A linking themethroughout is the joy of staying inone place observing individualbirds for long periods.The Eider is one of his favouritebirds - he lives on an island in theSwedish Baltic, and it is also one ofmine - I live on the Isle of Bute. Hereports that he never tires ofwatching them as individuals.I quote: “the Common Eider hasalways fascinated me as asubject... the male is faceless ashis eye disappears in a blackcrown, his shape and plumagecreate different abstract patternsdepending on the angle ofobservation and what he is up to.The unusual greenish hue in hisflow of ‘hair’ has a mystical quality...it has the quality of marzipanwhich is caused by both featherstructure and colour... The female,on the other hand, has eyesresembling currants, which radiategood-naturedness, like a fairygodmother.. Her facial expressionreinforces the picture.”My Bute Eiders also show anothersubtle colour, the salmon pink thatsuffuses the breast of the males. Itis not always obvious, as muchdepends on the angle of the lightfalling on it. I understand that thecolour is food-dependent, derivingfrom the carotenoids present intheir diet. Mussels, the principalfood of the Eider may carry tracecarotenoids. Eiders also scavengearound salmon farms, of whichthere are several in Loch Striven,taking the pellets that have missedthe cages. These pellets containcarotenoids to improve the colourof salmon flesh. I also note thiscolour on the breasts of someHerring Gulls, and Bob Furness,ever helpful on the food of theEider, tells me that Kittiwakes inShetland may also show pink ontheir breasts.While you are closely watching thenext group of Eiders that youcome across, not only will youfeast on the range of newlydiscovered colour, but you will, atleast in spring and autumn, beserenaded by the cooing of themales whilst they are a-wooingthe females - A-hOOO, A-hOOO,carrying over the waves.So, instead of “EIDER 6, [4 male, 2female]” appearing in yournotebook, stay for longer, enjoythe marzipan and the salmonpink, and the currants, and thefairy godmother.Michael ThomasMore reflective behaviourIn SBN 90 we witnessed theinterest of a Dipper in its ownreflection. The two photos here,show a similar reaction, this timewith a cock Chaffinch and aPeugeot car mirror. The sender,Jack Arrundale, informs us that itworked itself into a frenzy on theVolvo next door as well!Plates 51–52 (top). Interestaroused... (bottom) ...thereaction! © Jack Arrundale.ReviewsThe Birds ofTurkey. Guy M.Kirwan et al., 2008.Helm 978-1-4081-0475-0 hbk £40.00This book, whichhas the imprimaturof the OSME, hastaken the best partof 20 years to puttogether. Turkey is a large country, agood deal of it quite remote, withvery few birdwatchers. Henceinformation is not easy to gatherand a lot remains uncertain. Giventhese inherent difficulties there is alot in the book.There are introductory chapters onmodern ornithology in Turkey, gapsin knowledge and a description ofthe eco-regions of the country (witha set of colour photographs of birdsin typical habitats). These lead intobrief accounts (each around apage) of the 463 species acceptedonto the Turkish list with a shortermention of some species claimedto have occurred but not as yetaccepted. Each account covers therelevant subspecies, distribution(with a small map) and breedingwhere relevant. The maps wouldnot be much help in finding birds(this is definitely not a “Where toWatch” type book) but are none theless useful - it is possible, forexample, to confirm that it would bereasonable to see Great Bustardsover breakfast on the Istanbul-Ankara sleeper, or that huge flocksof Calandra Lark are to be expectedin winter/spring in central Anatolia.There are indications where dataare particularly deficient and anextensive bibliography is included.This is clearly a useful book foranyone with an interest in Turkeyand the birds to be found there andgiven the difficulties inherent in itsproduction, it is likely to remain thestandard work for many years. It isnot the sort of book to carry aroundin the field but is undoubtedlyworth a look (in the SOC library?)for anyone proposing to visit, evenon a trip that is not primarily a birdwatching one.John DaviesThe MigrationEcology ofBirds. by IanNewton, 2008.AcademicPress, London.ISBN 978-0-1251-7367-4.976 pages.Illustrated by KeithBrockie. Hardback, £60.99As each book on migration ispublished (and there have beenmany over the years), it is clear thatresearch on this important subjectgoes from strength to strength. Thislatest review is produced by one ofthe all time greats in Britishornithology who always writes in anexceptionally readable style. Todescribe this massive book asbrilliant is almost anunderstatement, with the 111 pagesof references testimony to the depthto which the author has researchedhis subject. The content is trulyglobal, with an abundance ofexamples from all parts of the world.After two introductory chapters, thebook is divided into five parts: TheMigratory Process, The Timing andControl of Migration, Large-scaleMovement Patterns, Evolution ofMovement Patterns and MigrationSystems and Population Limitations.Each part has several chapters, 28in all, each with concluding remarksplus a summary.The first part consists of chapters onmigratory flight, weather effects,fuel, incredible journeys, soaringmigrants, speed and duration,navigation and vagrancy. The nextcomprises annual cycles andcontrol mechanisms followed bygeographical patterns, breedingseasons, sex and age differences,variations in migration, dispersaland irruptions. The final two partsinclude evolution, recent and pastchanges, distribution patterns,global migration systems,population limitations and massmortality. All are illustrated withcopious clear diagrams, tables andmaps and some very evocativeartwork by Keith Brockie. With sucha wide-ranging subject, there is avery necessary, useful and comprehensiveglossary. The whole isentered into at an extraordinarydepth and, despite great advancesin technology, the author frequentlyhighlights poorly understoodaspects of the subject.If I chose personal highlights, thefirst would be the author’sexplanation of the variety oftechniques used to study migration,especially progress in the latestscientific methods. Another veryintriguing chapter is that on fuellingmigratory flights. An individualseems to be able to regulate itsfeeding habits and food accordingto the duration of its migration,route and the terrain over which itflies by adjusting the food intake,this also varying across populationswithin a species and betweenseasons. The author describes howthe evolution of vagrancy has led tonew wintering and breeding areas,some of which we are seeing firsthand in Britain, while developmentof migration routes in the distantpast has led to inordinatelyprotracted journeys. These last aredescribed in a chapter whichportrays the incredible flightsundertaken by some migrants.Explanations of weather effects andclimate change bring home thesurvival problems faced by themajority of migrants and thecontinual adjustments they make tomigration timing and routes.66Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 67

Scottish Bird NewsScottish Bird NewsThe very few minor errors that Ifound (for example, winds blowanticlockwise round North Atlantichurricanes, not clockwise) do notdetract from this masterful work,which every migration enthusiastshould read, despite the author’sclaim that it is intended primarily forresearch students. Althoughexpensive, it is certainly value formoney and will stand pride of placeon my bookshelf. It is likely toremain the seminal work on thesubject for many years.Norman ElkinsRaffles’ Ark Redrawn. H.J. Noltie(2009) The British Library and theRoyal Botanical GardenEdinburgh ISBN 978-07123-5084-6 Natural History Drawingsfrom the collection of Sir ThomasStanford Raffles, Paperback, 180pages, price £20.00This beautifully illustrated cataloguetells the story of 123 natural historydrawings of the Raffles FamilyCollection acquired by the BritishLibrary in 2007. Sir Stamford Rafflesand his wife set sail for Britain in1824 on the ill-fated Fame with hiscollection of drawings made duringhis six year stay on the IndonesianIsland of Sumatra. The drawingsnumbered into the thousandstogether with Malaysian manuscriptsand living animals including atamed Tiger. A veritable Noah’s ark(hence the title)! Tragically the Famecaught fire with the loss of all thecollection. During the next tenweeks until the next boat sailed, aChinese and a French artistmanaged to replace some 80 of thedrawings, including some madeearlier on the island of Penang andthese form the core of thecollection. Henry Nolte, ataxonomist at the Royal BotanicalGardens in Edinburgh, used theextensiveLibrary atthe SOC,Aberlady, toh e l pindentifythe birds for this book. I am sure thereader will enjoy this well-writteninformative book not only for itsbeautiful illustrations but also for hisknowledgeable writings of the birdsand plants.D.H. MasonBirdwatcher: The Life of RogerTory Peterson. Elizabeth J.Rosenthal 2008 The Lyons Press,Guilford, Connecticut 437 pagesISBN 978-1-59921-294-4(hardback)£19.99The AmericanRoger ToryPeterson(1908–1996)was one ofthe truly greatornithologistsand conservationistsofthe 20th century, who probably didmore than anyone else to promotethe popularity of birdwatchingworldwide. With the 1934publication of his ground-breakingField Guide to the Birds (of easternUSA), in which he pioneered thePeterson System of using pointers toindicate distinguishing features onhis illustrations of related species, heeffectively invented the field guidein its modern form. Peterson,Mountfort and Hollom’s Field Guideto the Birds of Britain and Europe(1954), using this same system ofidentification, was the first of its kindin Europe and has only recentlybeen bettered.Gifted and obsessive, Peterson wasa complex character whose interestsextended to all forms of wildlife, andwho cared passionately about theenvironment. His first two marriagesended in divorce, yet he attracted aloyal band of close friends whichincluded Britain’s James Fisher, andtogether they collaborated on twobooks. He was a prolific writer,illustrator and photographer, whowas also much in demand as alecturer and travelling expert onLindblad Explorer trips. His skill asan illustrator is evident in his manyfield guides, but it was the constantrevision of these guides overdecades that limited his output ofmore “painterly” art.This new comprehensive biographyby Elizabeth Rosenthal is in fact thethird to be written about Peterson,and the second since his death. Ihave a copy of the first of these,which is good, and the other onealso received favourable reviews.So, despite it being Rosenthal’sstated aim to write the “definitive”biography, I cannot say more thanthat her book undoubtedly containsnew information and newphotographs, which should be ofinterest to Peterson fans, and that itis an enjoyable read. Basedextensively on material gatheredfrom interviews with an amazing112 of his friends, colleagues andprotégés, it is sometimes disjointed,repetitive and eulogistic, and,disappointingly, it shows very little ofhis excellent artwork.John SavoryA Field Guide to the Birds ofthe Indian Subcontinent. KrysKazmierczak (Illustrated by Bervan Perlo); 2008; ChristopherHelm; 978-1-4081-0978-6; SoftBack; £17.99Birds of Pakistan. RichardGrimmett, Tom Roberts and TimInskipp; 2008; Christopher Helm;978-07136-8800-9; Soft Back;£23.74The Indiansubcontinenthas ar i c hdiversity ofhabitatsranging fromthe subtropicalandm o i s ttemperate foreststo the dry alpineregions of thewestern Himalayas. These habitatssupport an equally rich avifaunawith some particularly exoticfamilies such as pittas, minivets,drongos and trogons. These twoHelm field guides provide aninvaluable aid to their identification.A Field Guide to the Birds of theIndian Subcontinent includesover 1,300 species and coversBangladesh, Bhutan, India, theMaldives, Nepal, Pakistan and SriLanka and is good value for money.This is a reprint of the field guidepublished in 2000 with 96 colourplates illustrating every species,distinct subspecies, femaleplumages, as well as some juvenileplumages. The text is opposite thecolour plates for ease of use, andprovides concise information onfield identification (including voice)with details on habitat, altitudinalrange, status and abundance. Over1,300 colour maps illustratespecies distribution. When dealingwith such a confusing range ofdifferent families, I felt that thequick index to plates by family wasparticularly useful.The Birds of Pakistan covers over670 species, approximately half thespecies covered in the previousguide, and includes all the breedingspecies, regular visitors andvagrants. This guide contains 93excellent colour plates, illustratingevery distinct plumage for eachspecies, with text easily referencedon the facing page. Six hundreddistribution maps in colouraccompany the text. Like theprevious field guide, the inclusion ofa quick reference section to familiesbefore the main plates makes thisfield guide easy to use. Both thesehandy field guides have been wellproduced and would makewelcome companions to birding inthis part of Asia.Mike ThorntonWings and Rings - A history ofbird migration studies inEurope. Richard Vaughan.Isabelline ISBN 978-0-9552787-4-7. Softcover. 228 pages.(mikann@beakbook.demon.uk)£19.95 (incl UK postage)The contributions of the pioneers ofscientific bird migration study areillustrated here in fascinatingaccounts of their lives, richly supplementedby quotes from contemporaryaccounts.In his 60 years on tiny Helgoland,Heinrich Gätke documented thehuge flows of migrants over thatisland, together with incrediblerarities from both east and west.There are fascinating insights intothe ingenious methods of captureadopted, on land and sea. One ofmany small birds routinely broughtdown in flight with a pebble wasretrospectively identified asGermany’s first Pallas’s Warbler.Immediately following Gätke’sdeath in 1899, Danish schoolteacher Hans Christian Mortensencommenced his bird ringingstudies which provided a muchmore quantitative approach. Hesoon had success, with 38%recovery rate for Grey Heron and20% for Teal and Pintail - one ofthe latter being recovered dead onLough Neagh on 15 April 1909,constituting the first record of theBTO ringing scheme.Visible migration wasadvanced by JohannesThienemann, whoestablished the firsttrue “bird observatory”at Rossitten on theBaltic coast. Insightswere gained viaexperimental ringing,e.g. with capturedWhite Storks, release dates beingbroadcast on the newly availableradio. It was not long before a ringwas returned, from Rhodesia, withstork still attached!The industry and adventure ofWilliam Eagle Clarke in documentingthe sometimes “unbelievablenumbers” of birds attracted tolighthouses is described, featuringvarious Scottish sites. Many birdswere caught, e.g. on one occasion15,000 Sky Larks on Helgoland,including 440 taken with the barehands by Gätke himself.The book concludes with briefaccounts of the furtherdevelopment of bird observatories,specifically Heligoland and RybachyBiological Station at Rossitten. It isnoted that the “quite remarkableassemblage of exact data in birdmigration” - for example over 50years of detailed records from theDanish lights - “has lain virtuallyunused for more than a century” -how could this now be exploited? Achallenge for the future remains.Stephen WelchHow about a weekend escapeto the Border Hills■ only 30 miles from Edinburgh but could be 300!■ warm and cosy 3-star guest house accommodation■ AA awarded wholesome home cooking■ home of the Glenholm Wildlife Project■ 5% discount to SOC membersTel: 01899 830408 www.glenholm.co.uk68Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 69

Scottish Bird NewsBirdSpot - Oh no, it’s a Commic Tern!When I first mooted the idea ofdoing a BirdSpot item for SBN,Jimmy Maxwell immediatelysuggested the subject ofseparating Common and ArcticTerns - so here goes. The task ismade easier by the superbphotos taken by Bob Furness inShetland.The return of the “sea swallows”to our coastlines means spring isreally here. Their elegant flightand loud calls brighten up anyday. But sometimes the doubtover knowing which speciesyou’re actually looking at can takethe edge off the enjoyment ofwatching these wonderful, fartravelledcreatures.The secret to successful IDHow best to tell them apart? I’lllet you into the secret at the end.But first, it is essential to armyourself with one of the “new”generation of Bird ID books -these will provide just about allthe information you need. Thetwo that I use most are LarsJonsson’s Birds of Europe, andthe Collins Bird Guide byMullarney et al. The latter is lightyears ahead of the field guidesmany of us were brought up on.What a great start the youngstersof today have! I prefer the largeA4 format version, whichalthough too large to take out inthe field, does provide (almost)enough space to do justice to thewonderful illustrations - which inthe pocket version are socrammed together as to bealmost confusing. Or is it just thatmy eyes need all the help theycan get these days?Next do a bit of revision BEFOREyou go out in the field. Timespent in reconnaissance isseldom wasted! Try to rememberthe key features that you shouldbe looking for: Common Tern -dark wedge on the upper side ofthe primaries, shorter tail andlonger legs when perched;Arctic Tern - Translucentprimaries with no dark wedge(but with a dark line along thetrailing edge), longer tail andshort legs, often with a greyishwash on breast and belly.Then find a place to watch yourterns. It’s best not to go to acolony where the melee oftwisting and chasing birds makesidentification difficult. Better topark yourself on a headlandsome way from a colony and pickthem off one by one as theycome and go. Common Ternsgenerally fish closer inshore thanArctics, and so are often theeasier of the two to get prolongedviews of. To see Arctics you mayneed to visit a more exposedheadland close to tidal rips.One of the problems with“commic tern” ID is that thebrightness and angle of light canmake the plumage featuresdescribed in the field guideseither glaringly obvious orimpossible to see! So it is best toconcentrate on structure andshape, particularly that of thehead and neck and the shape ofthe wings.Common TernSlightly longer head and neckthan Arctic, flatter crown andlonger bill give a slightly “mean”appearance. A useful plumagefeature that is only mentioned inpassing in the field guides is themore extensive wedge of whiteon the lores (between the billgape and the eye) of CommonTern, which further emphasisesthe long-headed/long-billedappearance (to my eyesreminiscent of a miniatureCaspian Tern!).The head end thus projects wellforward of the leading edge ofthe wings - which in combinationwith the shorter tail gives thewings a more central position onthe body. Primaries tend to havea more convex trailing edge,giving the wings a fullerappearance. Flight a little strongerand more stable than Arctic, andwhen fishing, hovers and divesdirectly into the water.Arctic TernShorter bill and shorter and morerounded head appears sunk in tothe shoulders. In combinationwith the long tail, this takes thebirds centre of gravity furtherforward than on Common. Trailingedge of primaries tends towards aconcave outline, giving the wingsa sharp appearance, especially atdistance. Flight generally dancing,bouncy and erratic, perhaps themost graceful of any British bird.However, beware of the CommonTern’s display flight (withexaggerated deep wing-beats)which is extraordinarily elegant.Finally, the Collins Guidedescribes their distinctive fishingbehaviour well: “often dives with‘stepped hover’, dropping a shortdistance and hovering againbefore final plunge”.Hopefully you’ll be able to seemost of these features in thephotos. If not, the illustrations ofCommon and Arctic Terns in flightin the Collins Guide show allthese features well.And finally the secret - practice,practice and more practice.Clive McKayPlates 53–56 (above). Arctic Tern © Bob Furness & Clive McKay.Plates 57–60 (below). Common Tern © Bob Furness & Clive McKay.Scottish Bird News70Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 71

Birding in ScotlandScottish BirdsPlate 61. Black-throated Thrush, Isle of Bute, February 2007 © Phil Kirkham.Black-throated Thrush, Isle of Bute,January–March 2007R. FORRESTERMcMillan’s kitchen window, although it oftendisappeared for long periods of time. AlthoughI was keen to release the news, there wereobvious access difficulties, as the garden couldnot be viewed from a public right of way andIna McMillan did not want a continual string ofbirders in her kitchen. I discussed the situationwith Angus Murray of Birdline Scotland and itwas agreed that information could be releasedlate on Sunday 28 January, thus avoiding apossible large influx of birders over theweekend. There was public access to an openarea of ground 40m to the rear of Elmlea andthe initial announcement on Birdline Scotlandadvised that the bird might possibly beviewable from there, but Elmlea was notpublicised as the exact location where the birdhad been seen. The bird was seen on theMonday by visiting birders and over the nexttwo months at least 200–300 birders visitedthe island and saw the bird, which continued tofrequent Elmlea, but probably spent more timein a large garden to the rear and which wasBirding in Scotlandpartly visible from the public right of way.Visiting birders all behaved very well and noneof the residents voiced any complaints. In factit proved an excellent public relations exercise,with Ina McMillan very generously invitingmany birders to view from her kitchen window.The bird was last seen on 26 March.DescriptionThe bird was similar in size and structure toCommon Blackbird, a species often nearby fordirect comparison. It was fairly uniform greybrownabove, with light edging to tertials andcoverts. The underparts had a light grey washwith dark flecking, particularly on flanks. Thethroat and upper breast feathers were blackwith pale edging, giving a ‘scalloped’appearance. There was a yellow base to thelower mandible, with the rest of the billblackish. Dark legs. Dark eye.Ron Forrester, The Gables, Eastlands Road,Rothesay, Isle of Bute PA20 9JZ.Ina McMillan who lives at Elmlea, Minister’sBrae, Rothesay on the Isle of Bute feeds birdsin her garden each day. She knows the regularspecies, but does not claim in any way to haveany expert knowledge of birds. On 18 January2007 she saw an unfamiliar bird in her gardenthat she could not name, although shebelieved it to be a species of thrush. As shecould not find it in her book of garden birds,she visited the local library, which by chancehad a copy of Simms’ Thrushes, from whichshe identified the bird as a Black-throatedThrush Turdus ruficollis.There was some disbelief of her claim by theinitial persons she contacted, but fortunatelyher insistence and persistence paid off. It wasnot until the evening of 23 January that shecontacted a local birdwatcher, Ian Hopkins, andhe visited her house early the next day. Seeingthe bird briefly and believing that the identificationwas correct, he telephoned me andasked if I would check it out to confirm identification.I arrived at her house and saw the birdfor 2–3 minutes at 10:15hrs at a distance of10m when it was perched in a Eucryphia tree.Identification was straightforward and easilyconfirmed as a 1st-winter male Black-throatedThrush. I saw the bird again on 25 and 26January at distances down to 25ft (8 m),although it proved elusive and was only visiblefor 2–3 minutes on each occasion.Up to that time the bird had only been seen inthe small garden of Elmlea, a mid-terracedhouse and it had only been viewed from InaPlate 62. Black-throated Thrush, Isle of Bute, February 2007 © Tom Marshall.72Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 73

Birding in ScotlandBlack-throated Thrush- its status in ScotlandAt the time this individual was found thisspecies was still considered to be one of twodistinct races of Dark-throated Thrush (Turdusruficollis), with the nominate form having a redthroat(T. r. ruficollis) and the other, westernform a black-throat (T. r. atrogularis).Intergrades between the two were known tooccur, but despite this several authoritiesconsidered these to be separate species, andthis position has very recently been adopted bythe British Ornithologists Union (37th BOURCReport, 2009), in the light of recent studiesfrom the hybrid zone.Black-throated Thrush breeds in Russia fromthe northern Ural Mountains eastwardsthrough western Siberia and northern-mostKazakhstan towards Lake Baikal and NWMongolia. A few birds remain in Kazakhstanand Central Asia, but the majority of these birdswinter from southern Iraq eastwards throughIran and Pakistan to northern India and fromsouthern Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan towestern China and the Himalayas.There is only one accepted record of RedthroatedThrush in Britain - a 1st-winter maleat Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, present from 29September to 7 October 1994. All of the 65other records in Britain to the end of 2007relate to Black-throated Thrush, with the Buteindividual being the 28th bird recorded inScotland (It was followed by a 1st-winterfemale on Fair Isle on 23 April 2007).The first Scottish record (2nd British) was animmature male, shot near Perth, Perth &Kinross, in February 1879 and the second wasnot discovered until nearly 80 years later whena male was present on Fair Isle from 8December 1957 to about 22 January 1958 -encouraged to remain on the island with adaily offering of food from the Observatory. TheNorthern Isles have had a virtual monopoly onScottish records since then, accounting for justover 89% of sightings to the end of 2007 (14on Shetland, eight on Fair Isle, three onOrkney), with the only records elsewhere beingthe Perth bird, the Isle of Bute individual above,and an adult male found along the coast nearPrestongrange, Lothian on Christmas Day1989. The distribution of records elsewhere inBritain is notably widespread, with most foundin the well watched counties of Yorkshire,Norfolk and Scilly/Cornwall, but with singlerecords from at least a dozen other counties.There has been a notable rise in the number ofbirds being found in Scotland, from three in the1970s, five in 1980s, 11 in 1990s and eightalready from 2000 to the end of 2007. Thismay simply be the result of the greater numberof observers searching for migrants andvagrants on the Northern Isles in recent yearsrather than any increase in vagrancy. The mostseen in a year is two, a total achieved on sevenoccasions: 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997,2003 and 2007. All records refer to single birdsexcept in 1994, when two 1st-winter maleswere present on Fair Isle at the same time - theonly multiple occurrence in Britain. The Isle ofBute bird is the longest-staying individualrecorded in Scotland - present for at least 68days, followed by the 1957/58 Fair Isle bird (45days), with others remaining for 10 days (Foula,Shetland 2003) and nine days (Loch of Hillwell,Shetland 1977) but none of the others hasstayed for more than four days.All Scottish records have been between 23September and 27 April, and the pattern ofBritish records overall fits with birds arriving onthe east coast in autumn among flocks ofRedwings and Fieldfares, then moving furthersouth and inland to over-winter, and withrecords the subsequent spring along the coastagain - presumably relating to birds headingback NW towards the normal breeding areas.In the mid to late 1990s several birds werefound over-wintering in suburban areas incentral England, which raised hopes that a birdmight similarly be found somewhere in centralScotland, but this series of events did notcontinue, hopes faded, and it increasinglylooked like mainland-based Scottish birderswould have to travel to the Northern Isles if theyever wanted to see one in Scotland. This madethe Isle of Bute individual all the more welcome!Plate 63. Killdeer, Banna Minn, Shetland, April 2007 © hughharrop.com.The Killdeer on Shetland 2007/08R. HAYWOODOn Friday 6 April I decided on impulse to gobirding after work, as the weather was fairlycalm for a change. I headed for the island ofBurra which lies to the west of south Mainlandand which is my winter ‘patch’. The area has anetwork of small lochs and sheltered voes thathold small numbers of wildfowl and gulls. Ibirded my way south down the island andmade my way across Banna Minn beach andthen onto the isolated headland of Kettla Ness.This is a spring staging area for Great NorthernDivers, and I saw a summer-plumaged WhitebilledDiver off here in April 2006, so I hadbeen visiting the area regularly since mid-February hoping for a repeat performance.Scottish BirdsHowever, only a few Great Northerns wereoffshore and as it was getting late now, and aband of snow was approaching from the southwest,I started the long walk back to the car.As I got back to Banna Minn beach I suddenlyheard a loud, ringing ‘kii-deee’ call fromsomewhere overhead that, thanks to severalNearctic trips, I immediately knew could only bea Killdeer Charadrius vociferus! Looking roundfrantically I saw three birds land on the beachin front of me - two Ringed Plovers and astunning Killdeer! The Ringed Plovers appearedto be a territorial pair and seemed mightilyagitated by the interloper.74Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 75

Birding in ScotlandSurely I must be hallucinating? I checked andre-checked but there was no doubting thebird’s identity. I hurriedly grabbed my cameraand took a few record shots, then reached formy video camera and recorded a shortsequence, which on reviewing later turned outto be useless as the bird was back-onthroughout and the image significantly blurredas I had been shaking so much withadrenaline! I then left the bird and ran up thehill to get a mobile signal and put out thenews of the bird. My message urging localbirders to hurry now seems ironic since thebird turned out to be Europe’s longest-stayingKilldeer ever by some distance!A few birders duly arrived and got good viewsof the bird though I was anxious some southMainland birders would not arrive in time asthe light was starting to fade now and I knewKilldeer would be a county-tick for manyShetland birders. At around 18:45hrs the birdflew north onto a hillside and we followed itsmovement until it was out of sight. Morebirders now arrived and a subsequent searchof the hillside relocated the bird, which wassitting in a short grassy area. As dusk fell thebird was lost again and could not be found,despite a very thorough search by manybirders the next day.I made almost daily visits to the area throughearly April to search through the variousdivers offshore, though by now I wasconvinced the Killdeer had moved on.However on 15 April, while on Kettla Ness,the Killdeer flew over my head calling as itheaded-off south down the headland. I putthe news out but, frustratingly, and despitemany observers searching, the bird was notseen again that day. However next morningthe Killdeer was found in the area north ofBanna Minn beach and showed well to mostwho made the effort to see it. Most birdersconnected with it easily enough, although Iknow of some who were unlucky and had tomake half a dozen visits before connecting!Although it could be very elusive and mobile,the Killdeer was faithful to the same area forthe next few weeks and was last seendefinitely there on 4 May.Remarkably, on 14 May the Killdeer wasrelocated at the small valley of Clevigarth,which is about 19 kilometres SSE of KettlaNess and lies just to the north of Exnaboe.The bird commuted between Clevigarth andthe nearby Pool of Virkie until it was last seenon 19 November, allowing many holidayingbirders to add it to their lists.Due to the presence of 1st-winter feathers theKilldeer was aged as a second calendar-yearbird, and since it was paired with a (thesame?) male Ringed Plover at both BannaMinn and Clevigarth it was tentatively sexedas a female. Interestingly, it was also seenengaging in territorial distraction display atboth Banna Minn and at Clevigarth - surely aunique sight on this side of the Atlantic?This bird’s stay of over seven months wasunprecedented and this is the first Killdeer tosummer in Britain (Europe?). This individualwas only the second to be found on Shetland,the previous record being a bird at Hillwell,South Mainland on 13 to 20 March 1993.The bird made a return appearance in spring2008. It was seen, again with Ringed Plovers,at Virkie on 6 and 7 March but then becamemuch more erratic, being seen on Mousa on2 April and on Noss on 11 April - though it wasnot seen thereafter.DescriptionLike a Ringed Plover on steroids! Larger,longer-legged and longer-tailed than RingedPlover. V-shaped orange rump very obvious inflight. Tail blackish with white outer feathersalso two or three blackish traverse bars acrossouter tail feathers. Upperparts a shade darkerbrown than Ringed Plover. All mantle andscapular feathers were neatly edged buffishwhich probably indicates a 1st-winter bird.Underparts very clean white. Double breastbar utterly distinctive though I thought theupper bar was a little bit more distinct thanthe lower. The head pattern was quite like awinter-plumaged Ringed Plover, but with anoticeable white crescent below the eye. Thebird had an orangey-red eye-ring but this wasvery difficult to see in the field, and is notvisible in all photos of the bird. Like RingedPlover it had a full white collar and chin area.Bill longer than Ringed Plover with a fairlydeep base tapering to a finer tip and blackishin colour. Legs long and pinkish-brown. At restit looked long-winged, but the primary tips stillfell well short of the tail tip. In flight it showeda broad white wing bar across primaries andsecondaries. Primaries and primary covertsotherwise blackish. Call was a loud ringing ‘kiideee’rising on the second syllable (I am veryfamiliar with this call from several Nearctictrips) although during its stay the bird washeard to give a variety of calls on that themeincluding a quite buzzing, almost Twite-like,‘du-weeez’ and other calls reminiscent of bothGreen and Common Sandpipers.Russ Haywood, ‘Lamnaberg’, Wester Quarff,Shetland ZE2 9EZ.Plate 64. Killdeer, Pool of Virkie, Shetland, October 2007 © hughharrop.com.Birding in ScotlandKilldeer - its status in ScotlandThis is an American species with threesubspecies. The nominate form occupies ahuge breeding range from the Pacific to Atlanticcoasts, from southern Alaska and the centrallatitudes of Canada throughout the USA toCentral Mexico. The other races are resident inthe West Indies and the coasts of Peru andnorthern Chile. The northern elements of theNorth American population undertake broadfrontoverland migrations in spring andautumn, and winters from southern BritishColumbia and western USA, and acrosssouthern USA south from New York to Floridaand Mexico.Though generally scarce on coasts duringmigration, this species is prone to northwarddisplacement up the Atlantic seaboard by76Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 77

Birding in ScotlandScottish Birdsstorms and hurricanes in late autumn andwinter and it seems likely that most, if not all, ofthe birds encountered in NW Europe haveresulted from these events.The first British record was of one nearChristchurch, Hampshire in April 1859, andthere have now been 50 birds recorded inBritain to the end of 2007, nine of these inScotland, with at least 16 more in Ireland. Thefirst Scottish bird (2nd British) was shot nearPeterhead, NE Scotland in 1867, but it wasanother 116 years until the second: the longstayingBo’ness bird which was the subject of aBirding Scotland ‘Blast from the Past’ article in2002 (Shand, 2002). The Scottish records priorto the 2007-08 Shetland bird are as follows:1867 NE Scotland: one shot, Peterhead,(no month or date)1983 Upper Forth: one, Bo’ness, 16January–20 March.1983/4 Outer Hebrides: 1st-winter,Askernish, South Uist, 30 December–7January 1984, and at Kilvaley, South Uist,22 January 1984.1984 Argyll: one, Colonsay, 7–8 January.1984 Ayrshire: one, Portencross, 21 January.1990 Outer Hebrides: one, Eoligarry, Barra,10 October.1991 Outer Hebrides: one, Balranald,North Uist, 5 May.1993 Shetland: one, Loch of Hillwell andBrake area, 13–20 March.1995 NE Scotland: one, Loch of Strathbeg,13–15 April.2004–05 Outer Hebrides: 1st-winter,Knockintorran, North Uist, 25 Decemberto 8 January 2005.2005 Lothian: one, Musselburgh Lagoons,22 January.2006 Outer Hebrides: one, Clachan Sands,North Uist, 16 October.2006 Argyll: one, Oronsay, 18 October.The Scottish records occur between 10 Octoberand 5 May, while British records overall fallbetween 28 September and 5 May with slightpeaks in late autumn/early winter and earlyspring. Despite several one-day birds theaverage stay for birds in Scotland is 11 days,and the Bo’ness individual remained for 64Plate 65. Killdeer, Clevigarth, Shetland, May 2007 ©Rob Fray.days - which up until the 2007-08 Shetland birdwas the longest stay of any of the Britishrecords. Individuals on the Isles of Scilly in1963/64 and 1979/80 each remained for 58days, though the average stay for birds inBritain overall is also 11 days. The recordedduration of the 2007-08 Shetland bird’s stay -227 days in 2007 from 6 April to 17 November,and a further 37 in 2008 from 6 March to 11April (a potential total of a year and five days ifthe bird over-wintered undetected on Shetland)is quite astounding by comparison.The Isles of Scilly have proven the mostproductive area for this species in Britain, with12 individuals, though the remaining recordshave a wide geographical spread indicatingearlier arrival and wandering of birds prior todiscovery. By contrast, most Scottish recordshave been from the west and north as wouldbe expected for a trans-Atlantic vagrant.ReferencesCramp, S. & Simmons, K.E.L. 1978. Handbookof the birds of Europe, the Middle-East and NorthAfrica: the birds of the Western Palearctic (BWP).Vol. 3: p143–146. OUP, Oxford.Rabbitts, B. 2005. Killdeer on North Uist, OuterHebrides, winter 2004/5. Birding Scotland 8:19–21.Shand, R. 2002. Blast from the Past: Killdeer,Bo’ness, Central, 16 January–20 March 1983.Birding Scotland 5: 39–40.Sibley, D. 2000. The North American Bird Guide.Pica Press, East Sussex.Plate 66. Little Crake, Burrafirth, Unst, June 2007 © hughharrop.comLittle Crake, Burrafirth, Unst,Shetland, May–June 2007- the sixth Scottish recordA.I. McELWEEMy brother Stefan and I were taking our annualspring trip to Unst on Shetland with highhopes. As we are both teachers we have nochoice but to go in the May half-term holidaybut the weather charts looked good for later inthe week and the hoped for south-easterlieswere due around Wednesday.The first full day on Monday 28 May was spentlooking around the usual haunts in a coldnortherly and unsurprisingly only a singlemigrant Chiffchaff was found. Although the windmoved to the north-east on the Tuesday it stillfelt very cold and no new migrants were seen.To try something different on the 29th wedecided to go to Burrafirth in the afternoonwhere we had never seen much but Iremember our friend Micky Maher saying theburn there could be very good. With very littleobvious cover I thought I would go andinvestigate where the best places would be forlater in the week when the birds might bemore plentiful. My brother lacked myenthusiasm and he decided to have a sleep inthe car and gave instructions for me to shoutto him if I found anything unusual.78Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 79

Birding in ScotlandBirding in ScotlandA walk down to the beach alongside the cliffsrevealed some bracken-covered, shelteredinlets which I thought looked good, and then awalk back along the burn, which on one sidewas quite well vegetated in places, took meback in the direction of the car. My concentrationhad started to wane and I was imaginingflushing a Bluethroat or Thrush Nightingale frommy feet when just a couple of metres away Iheard a splash in the burn and I glimpsed awing of a bird. I was very intrigued as neitherMoorhen nor Water Rail was to my knowledgeexpected on Unst. I could not view the bankfrom my side of the burn so I sat on the bankabove where the bird was and gently slid myfoot along the water’s edge. Almostimmediately a small rail or crake flew frombeside me to a few metres up the burn!The bird showed stripey upperparts and for thenext few adrenaline-fueled moments I did nothave a clue what species I was about to see. AllI knew was that it was no Moorhen or Water Rail!My heart was starting to pound and it increasedfurther when I saw the bird had bright bluishgreyunderparts, and a smallish lemon-green billwith a reddish patch at the base of the bill. Iwatched the bird for a few seconds walkingquickly along the bank until it disappeared into asmall hole in the vegetation. I knew I was lookingat either a male Little Crake or Baillon’s Crake,but I couldn’t remember which one had the redbill base. So I extracted myself from the sceneand ran back to the car to wake my brother up.He had seen me running and hoped I hadfound a Marsh Warbler or something to kick startthe holiday. In the time it took me to tease himwith the statement “I’ve got a Little or a B” hehad answered crake and was running backdown the road with his heavy duty camera tiedto his back! He reminded me it was a LittleCrake Porzana parva with the red bill base andplainer underparts than the Baillon’s.Plate 67. Little Crake, Burrafirth, Unst, June 2007 © Tim Loseby.Although I knew this was a very rare bird, Stefansuspected this was almost unheard of in termsof Shetland and Scottish birding. A phone call toRoger Riddington confirmed as much, andseveral Shetland birders were soon catchingferries on their way up to Unst.Plate 68. Little Crake, Burrafirth, Unst, May 2007 © Stef McElwee.Unfortunately the bird was not seen for quitesome time and it was much to my relief whenlocal birder, Mike Pennington, refound the birdclose to where I had seen it three or so hoursearlier. A small friendly crowd of twelve or sopeople watched it until dusk including agrateful Dennis Coutts - it was a new Shetlandbird even for him.The bird continued to show well for theremainder of our trip and well into June. Thehoped for south-easterlies came as well,giving us Blyth’s Reed, Icterine and MarshWarblers plus Common Rosefinch and RedbackedShrike, making it my favourite weekbirding I’ve ever had.IdentificationThis was relatively straightforward given mybrief but good views. My initial impression as Iflushed the bird was of a smallish crake withbrown wings (a little smaller than a Water Rail),but unlike that bird it had a thick blackish stripedown the back with two thickish beige stripesalongside. On alighting I saw a small crake withplain bluish-grey underparts right down to thearea level with the legs and up to the crownwhich was brown. Also the smallish, straight billstood out as it was a bright yellowy-green withan obvious red patch at the base of the bill. Thered iris was of a similar colour to the bill base.The long primary projection was also noted,giving the bird a longer slightly rectangularshape compared to the squarer more ‘wrenlike’shape of a Baillon’s.The upperparts gave a striped effect but whiteflecking was noted in lines down the mantle,along the tertials, and sparingly on some of thecoverts. The tertials and coverts had blackcentres with thick brown edges. The rump anduppertail coverts were brown. White flecks on agrey background started to be visible behindthe legs on the flanks, and onto the vent, butthese were not obvious, particularly whenviewed from side-on. The striking undertailcoverts were black with heavy white flecking.The legs were green with large green feet.This bird stayed until 19 June, proving popularwith both resident and visiting birders despiteits remote location. Remarkably it was thesecond record for Unst.Ashley McElwee80Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 81

Birding in ScotlandLittle Crake- its status in ScotlandThis species breeds patchily through Portugal,Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, andnorthern Italy, and then more extensivelyeastwards from Germany and Austriathroughout Eastern Europe, north to thesouth-east Baltic and Finland, and south toTurkey and across the Caucasus to theCaspian sea, and across Russia andKazakhstan into Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan andnorth-west China. Its wintering areas arepoorly known, with most records indicatingareas from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistanand north-west India and western-mostChina. Most European breeders probablywinter around the Mediterranean and souththrough Egypt into East Africa, and into theArabian Peninsula, with occasional individualsfound further north into the Low Countriesand even Britain.The first British record was of afemale/immature bird obtained at Catsfield,near Battle in East Sussex on 29 March 1791,although the true identity of the record didnot come to light until one hundred yearslater (Palmer 2000). Around 63 individualswere recorded in Britain prior to 1950, butonly three of these occurred in Scotland. Thefirst Scottish record (about 29th individual inBritain) was of an adult male picked up deadbeside the River Isla at Thornton, Banffshire(Moray & Nairn) on 12 March 1852. Thesecond was not until 1909 when one wascaught exhausted on a boat in GirvanHarbour, Ayrshire on 29 March, and the thirdwas of one caught, and later released nearLoch Scammdale, a few kilometres south ofOban, Argyll on 29 September 1911.From 1950 to the end of 2007 there havebeen a further 37 birds recorded in Britainwith just three of these in Scotland includingthe Burrafirth individual above. There was agap of nearly 50 years before the fourthScottish record - a male picked up dead onthe shore at Uyeasound, Unst, (Shetland) on10 April 1959, while the fifth was a maletrapped on Fair Isle on 11 May 1970, butfound dead the following day. Given themarked rise in observer numbers since theearly 1960s the lack of an equivalent rise inLittle Crake records is notable, andpresumably reflects the decline of the speciesthroughout Europe in this period. Records inBritain had actually been showing a dropfrom 11 in the 1970s to six in the 1980s andjust two in the 1990s, but with six alreadyfrom 2000 to the end of 2007 there has beensomething of a reversal of this trend.The Burrafirth bird continues the bias forspring records in Scotland (83.5%) whereaselsewhere in Britain there is a fairly even splitbetween spring and autumn find dates andbirds have been recorded in all months. Thethree records from the Northern Isles areparticularly notable given that the greatmajority of records come from the southerncounties of England, and only seven havebeen found in Wales. The Burrafirth bird is theonly long-staying individual in Scotland (21days), and one of the longest in Britain,exceeded only by an adult male atOughtonhead Common, near Hitchin,Hertfordshire in 1953 which stayed 66 daysfrom 23 January, a male present at Brinton,Norfolk for 61 days from 15 November 1959into 1960, one at Sutton Coldfield,Warwickshire from 7 November to 12December 1974 (36 days), and one seen atLodmoor, Dorset on four days over a 31 dayperiod from 8 November 1975. Virtually allother records are of one-day birds, many ofthe earlier occurrences falling victim to acollector’s gun.ReferencesPalmer, P. 2000. First for Britain and Ireland. AHistorical account of birds new to Britain & Ireland1600–1999. Arlequin Press, Chelmsford.Plate 69. White-tailed Lapwing, Caerlaverock, Dumfries & Galloway, June 2007 © Harry Scott.Scottish BirdsWhite-tailed Lapwing, Caerlaverock,Dumfries & Galloway, 6 June 2007- the first Scottish recordR. HESKETHFollowing a long dry spell of weather, WWTCaerlaverock was experiencing a drought. Thewet meadows were drying out and low waterlevels were causing some concern, as thebreeding birds there were becoming vulnerable.Waders nesting on the islands in the flasheswere in danger of losing their moat-likeprotection, for which the solution was to divertsome water from the nearby Lochar Water, thesmall river which runs through WWT’s holdings.To achieve this, on Wednesday 6 June I fired upour trusty Lister 3-inch diesel pump and thewater level in ‘The Flood Ground’ (also knownlovingly by its compartment code ‘OW39’) wassoon rising back to what was desired.With the water levels restored I then casuallylooked over ‘The Flood Ground’ to check theLapwings, Oystercatchers and ducks, butwhilst viewing the expected birds, my gaze litupon an unusual one. It was obviously a largepale plover, and my first thought was SociableLapwing. Having done some birding in Oman,where my father had worked in the past, Iknew enough to quickly dismiss this option,as the bird obviously had bright yellow legs,and I wondered if Oriental Plover might bethe answer...Plainly I needed to sort it out in a hurry, so Idashed back to the centre, grabbed a ‘scopeand belted back to Avenue Tower for betterviews. It didn’t take long to relocate the bird,82Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 83

Birding in ScotlandBirding in Scotlandstill among the Lapwings, and to get it in the‘scope. My initial thoughts were that it may bean Oriental Plover, but something wasn’t rightabout the bird in the scope for that species. Iwas now able to examine the bird’s featuresthrough the scope; long yellow legs, whitishbelly mixed with buffier elements, andmerging into a darker brown and welldemarcatedlower breast that continued overthe neck and mantle. The head showedwhitish markings, particularly around the chinand ear coverts, and the tips of the tertialsappeared whitish, as did the outer part of thefolded wing. The most striking features of theplover were the leg length and coloration.I then contacted Brian Morrell (WWT’sLearning Manager), who promptly materialisedwith a camera and subsequentlymanaged to secure a few useful shots. At thisstage we didn’t know the identity of the birdbut realised the potential significance of whatwe were watching and so phoned BirdlineScotland and got the photographs to them.The identification was quickly established asWhite-tailed Lapwing Vanellus leucurus and anenormous sense of excitement ensued.The bird was next seen by one of ourvolunteer reserve workers, Jess Florey, and acall was put out to Dr Larry Griffin (WWTCaerlaverock Research Officer) who arrivedshortly after. The bird was still on show, and itdid not take long to confirm its identity as aWhite-tailed Lapwing. We broadcast the newsimmediately, and very soon after birders beganto arrive; the first of some 1,600 destined tovisit the reserve during that and the next fewdays. The twitch went very smoothly, and wewere pleasantly surprised to see how manybirders were fully paid-up WWT members! Ourregal guest remained on site for three days,and was still present late on the Friday night,but Saturday 9 June dawned to dense fog. Asthe mists eventually cleared, it becameobvious that the bird had departed, unfortunatelyfor the weekend birders. A subsequentsighting of the White-tailed Lapwing inLancashire (at Leighton Moss RSPB, to thesouth-west of Caerlaverock) on 10–17 June,albeit often elusive, at least gave these birderssome hope that they may yet catch up withthis handsome bird.Previous British recordsWhite-tailed Lapwing breeds in Iraq, Iran,southern Russia and Kazakhstan, and sporadicallyin Turkey. There are two main winteringareas - in northern India, and in the Sudanregion of East Africa, with smaller numbersalso found in the Middle East. In Europe it hasappeared as a vagrant in Sweden, Finland,Poland, Romania, Austria, The Netherlands,Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, France andBritain. Prior to the Caerlaverock WWTindividual there had only been three othersrecorded in Britain, with the last of these alsoseen at two different sites during its stay. Thefirst British record was at Packington GravelPits, Warwickshire, from 12–18 July 1975, andwas seen by several hundred birders; thesecond was at Chesil Bank, Dorset, on 3 July1979, the bird being filmed briefly as it circledand settled adjacent to the reeds toward theAbbotsbury end of the Fleet; the third wasinitially found at Cleadon, County Durham, on21 May 1984, but received considerableharassment from a local Lapwing and onlyremained for just over an hour. What ispresumed to be the same bird was thenrefound just north-west of Telford, Shropshire,where it was present from 24 May to 3 June,though it was on private land and news of thebird could not be released at the time.With 28 years since the only widely availablechance to see this species in Britain, there islittle surprise that the Caerlaverock bird attractedsuch huge interest.Richard Hesketh, Caerlaverock WWTReserve, Eastpark Farm, Caerlaverock,Dumfries DG1 4RS.Plate 70. White-tailed Lapwing, Caerlaverock, Dumfries & Galloway, June 2007 © Darren Robson.Plates 71–72. White-tailed Lapwing in flight,Caerlaverock, Dumfries & Galloway, June 2007 ©David H Hatton (www.kowapower.com).Plates 73–74. White-tailed Lapwing on ground,Caerlaverock, Dumfries & Galloway, June 2007 ©Darren Robson and Phil Jones.84Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 85

Scottish BirdsBirding in ScotlandPlate 75. White-tailed Eagle being released in Fife © Andy Hay (rspb-images.com).East Scotland Sea EaglesC. SMITHEast Scotland Sea Eagles is a five-year projectwith the aim of returning White-tailed Eagles toEast Scotland. In a partnership project betweenRSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage andForestry Commission Scotland, the first 15 birdswere released from a site in Fife in August 2007.For the third phase of the White-tailed Eagle reintroductionin Scotland, birds are collected aschicks aged five to eight weeks old, by membersof the Norwegian Ornithological Society (NOF, aBirdLife partner) from an area stretching 200 kmfrom Bergen to Alesund, over 500 km south ofBødo where west coast birds originate from.The birds aged three and a half months andweighing 4–6 kg are released in mid-August. Afood dump is maintained on the aviary roof forthem (to mimic the dropping off of food byadults) and the birds can take anything from aweek to three months to disperse from therelease site.Now that we have released two batches of birds,it has been interesting to see the similaritiesbetween the areas they are seeking out. Birdsreleased in 2007 formed communal roosts inStrath Braan (five birds for six weeks) and fourfemales and a male roosted on the south sideof Loch Tay between February and September.On one occasion three of these birds wereobserved engaging in an aerial fight with twojuvenile Golden Eagles. The 2008 birds startedto form a roost in the Carse of Gowrie inSeptember, which built up to hold eight birds inJanuary and was still being used by three birdsin May 2009. Birds from both cohorts showed atendency to move south-west into the ForthValley, Strath Earn and Strath Allan in Februaryeach year, showing great interest in ducks andgeese. Released White-tailed Eagles haveshared roosts and carrion with Red Kitesthroughout the year in central Scotland with fivedifferent birds being recorded at Argaty Red KiteCentre, the first in February 2008, a year after awandering juvenile White-tailed Eagle visitedfrom the west coast. In February 2009, onefemale did not stop at Stirling but kept headingsouth-west as far down as the Solway, and evenpopped into England for a few hours atBowness-on-Solway before returning to theKirkcudbright area.Plate 77. A released bird returning to the food dumparea in Fife © Andy Hay (rspb-images.com).Two birds have visited the Isle of May: the firstof these was a 2007 male which lingered for sixweeks in winter 2007/08, a period coincidingwith the end of seal-pupping and Rabbit die-off,while the second was a 2008 male whicharrived there 10 days after release in August2008, and was seen taking some late fledgingFulmar chicks and young gulls. In October thisbird then moved up the coast to St Fergus andLoch of Strathbeg, enjoying the abundantRabbits and wildfowl at the latter site - as a2007 male had done the previous autumn.Four birds have gone west to Mull, Skye andArdnamurchan, but have been returning eastevery few months.Four birds from the 2007 release are known tohave died. Two of these were electrocuted, onewas allegedly persecuted, and there was onewhere the cause of death was unknown.Plate 76. Taking blood samples from newly arrivedchicks © Andy Hay (rspb-images.com).The birds are flown to Scotland in late June andundergo extensive health and pollutant screeningin conjunction with Edinburgh University andNatural Research, before being held in largeaviaries for two months. During this time, theyhave minimum human contact and are fed amixed diet of fresh and frozen fish, venison andrabbit, through a small hatch and using a fabricsleeve. Prior to release all birds are fitted withradio backpacks with five-year battery lives, whichshould allow tracking up until birds settle onhome ranges, signals can be picked up 40 kmaway. In 2007 birds were fitted with wing tagsand in 2008 colour-rings.Plates 78–79. Newly released White-tailed Eagles, Fife © Andy Hay (rspb-images.com).86Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 87

Birding in ScotlandBirding in Scotland2008 chicksIn 2008 a further 15 chicks (eight males andseven females) were imported, fitted withcolour-rings and radio backpacks and releasedbetween 10 and 18 August. The release of fourbirds on the 14 August was broadcast live on theBBC Breakfast programme and the BBC radionetwork. In March, birds were still being seenthroughout Fife and into Lothian.The first observed encounters between birdsfrom the releases in 2007 and 2008 occurredwhen three females from the 2007 cohortmixed with birds from 2008 near the releasesite, over Milnathort and at Loch of the Lowes, inAugust and September 2008.The first casualty of the 2008 release was foundin recent weeks, a large female weighing 6 kg,was hit by a train near Carsebreck lochs whereshe had spent the past few months. She was ingood physical condition, flying over Tentsmuirforest over 72 km away only a couple of daysbefore death and had reached a year old. SeaPlate 80. Ring 94 (Ralf) photographed at RSPB Lochof Strathbeg Reserve, NE Scotland © Duncan Goulder.Eagles are train casualties in Norway andGermany and it is a fate that befalls other carrionfeeders such as Red Kites in Scotland.On the 11 April, tag 7, a female, from the 2007release was spotted flying over North Ronaldsayand then Shetland. She took 35 minutes to getbetween North Ronaldsay and Fair Isle and thenonly another 35 minutes to reach mainlandShetland, slightly faster than the last Sea Eagle tovisit the islands! She had been on Mull sinceDecember, but had popped into the communalroost on the 29 March before heading north. Atthe time of writing in mid-May she was still islandhopping, visiting Foula.On 21 April a three year old west coast bird wasspotted over Loch Leven, identified by its yellowtags, three weeks later a three year old male,fledged from the Loch Frisa pair on Mull in 2006,yellow ‘O’, was seen over Loch Davan nearDinnet, NE Scotland. It is unclear whether thesewere the same individual as the tags were notread on the first bird, but it is great to see birdsmoving in both directions, a step closer torestoring a Scotland wide population.East Scotland Sea Eagles is a partnership projectbetween RSPB Scotland, Scottish NaturalHeritage and Forestry Commission Scotlandwho host the release site. We would like tothank the Hutchison Family, Mrs Thomas andArdmore Highland Single Malt for their kindsupport of the project.Many thanks to everybody who has submittedsightings - these help us considerably to buildup a picture of the birds’ movements andsurvival.Sightings can be reported to Claire Smith ateastscotlandseaeagles@rspb.org.uk orphone 01738 630783.UpdatesYou can keep up to date with the project’sprogress on the blog:http://blogs.rspb.org.uk/eastscotlandeagles/default.aspxClaire Smith, East Scotland Sea EagleOfficer, RSPB Scotland.BirdlineScotlandREVIEWcompiled byAngus Murray & Stuart Rivers09068700234Bringing you all the latest birdsightings from around ScotlandAll records refer to the period 1January–31 July 2007 unlessotherwise stated.Records in BirdLine ScotlandReviews are published forinterest only; their inclusion inthis article does not implyacceptance by the relevantrecords committee.Weekly updates of Scottish BirdNews are provided by BirdlineScotland on the SOC website:www.the-soc.org.ukRecords for inclusion in futureBirdLine Scotland Reviewsshould be phoned in on theBirdLine Scotland Hotline01292 611994.January to June 2007The long list of rare and scarcewildfowl that had graced Scotlandat the end of 2006 were allpresent into 2007. The start of theyear also proved a good period forrare and scarce gulls, with anotable influx of Iceland andGlaucous Gulls around 21 January.The usual early migrants in springwere on the whole around twoweeks later than normal arriving,and only low numbers were seenby the end of March. Migrationremained slow from March intoApril, but all common migrants barSpotted Flycatcher had beenreported before the end of Aprilwith some early dates for most ofthe later moving species.Grasshopper Warblers and LesserWhitethroats were again noted inespecially good numbers. Bycontrast not many new scarce andrare wildfowl were discoveredduring the usual springmovements in April. May waslargely disappointing for rare birds,except for a purple patch on Unst,Shetland, and the totals for scarcepassage migrants were similarlypoor for most areas. An impressiverange of rare and scarce wadersoccurred during June, with pride ofplace going to Scotland’s firstWhite-tailed Lapwing.Taiga Bean Goose: away fromthe Central Scotland flock a singlebird was again in the Bavelaw area(Lothian) on 2–14 January atleast. Tundra Bean Goose: fourbirds were seen in February - twoon East Mainland, Orkney from24, with single birds seen withPink-feet in NE Scotland and inAngus. Snow Goose: five werenoted in January - two whitemorphs still in Orkney, whitemorphs in Argyll and Moray &Nairn, and a blue morph nearBeauly (Highland) on at least 13.Five were also reported inFebruary, with the birds remainingin Argyll and on Orkney, and twobirds noted in Dumfries &Galloway. During March singlewhite morph birds were in Argyllstill and near Burghead (Moray &Nairn) on 27. Four white morphbirds flew past Balranald, NorthUist (Outer Hebrides) in June,adding themselves to a longintriguing line of midsummerrecords of flocks of this species.Canada Goose: presumedvagrants included the Taverner’sCanada Goose in the WWTCaerlaverock area (Dumfries &Galloway) from 2006 throughoutJanuary, a Todd’s type, forminterior, was at Montrose Basin(Angus) on 6–7 January and fivebirds were reported from Islayduring the month. The Taverner’sCanada Goose remained in theWWT Caerlaverock area (Dumfries& Galloway) throughout February,with a Richardson’s noted there aswell on many dates. Eightpresumed vagrant birds werereported in March - six in Argyll,including five on Islay, and two stillwith the Barnacles in the WWTCaerlaverock area (Dumfries &Galloway). Red-breasted Goose:an adult was with Pink-footedGeese at Haugh of Blackgrange(Upper Forth) on 3–12 February,and again on 15 April - it isinteresting to speculate as towhether it could possibly be thesame bird later seen amongstPink-feet in eastern Iceland on 7May. One was at Balnakeil Farm,Sutherland (Highland) on at least24–25 May. American Wigeon:single drakes remained at Alness(Highland), Wick (Caithness) andLoch Bee, South Uist (OuterHebrides) throughout January, andone was on Tiree (Argyll) on 18January. In February the adultdrakes were still present on theOuter Hebrides, Caithness andHighland, while a 1st-winter drakewas noted at Campbeltown Loch(Argyll) from 6. Four drakes wereseen in March - in Argyll,Caithness and the Outer Hebridesstill, plus one on Hoy (Orkney) on1. Black Duck: one was seen atLoch Sunart, Highland on 16–17June. Green-winged Teal: six88Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 89

Birding in Scotlanddrakes were reported in January,seven in February, and six inMarch. Seven were noted in April,including three on Orkney.Garganey: a drake was at HirselCP (Borders) from 12 March, and11 were noted in the last fortnightof April. Good numbers were seenduring May with 45+ widelyscattered reports. Lesser Scaup:at least three different 1st-winterdrakes were on Benbecula andNorth Uist (Outer Hebrides)during January, and a female atCaerlaverock WWT Reserve(Dumfries & Galloway) lingeredfrom 2006. Seven were noted inFebruary, with four different drakeson the Outer Hebrides (all onNorth Uist and Benbecula), plusthe female at WWT Caerlaverock(Dumfries & Galloway) presentthroughout the month and twodifferent drakes on Loch Leven(Perth & Kinross) from 14 and 25.Remarkably eight birds were seenduring March - three differentdrakes on the Outer Hebrides still,two drakes at Loch Leven (Perthand Kinross), two different atWWT Caerlaverock (Dumfries &Galloway), the female still up to13 with an adult drake alsopresent on 12, and a 1st-winterdrake was at St Margaret’s Loch,Holyrood Park, Edinburgh from 30- the first record for Lothian. Atleast four drakes were seen inApril - singles in Holyrood Park,Lothian (to 16) and Loch Leven(Perth & Kinross) and at least twoon the Outer Hebrides up to 19. Adrake was at Loch of Toftingall(Caithness) on 12–13 May. Twodrakes were reported in June -one at Hogganfield Loch, Glasgow(Clyde) on 2 and another atStoneybridge, South Uist (OuterHebrides) on 24. Ring-neckedDuck: a female was present atDrimsdale, South Uist (OuterHebrides) throughout January,and the drake still remained atLoch of Tingwall (Shetland), whilsttwo drakes were at Loch Riaghain,Tiree (Argyll) on 5–8, with onebird still present there on 10January and presumably one ofthe same then nearby on Coll on19–22 January. In February sixwere reported including twodifferent drakes seen in bothCaithness and on Tiree (Argyll).Four drakes were noted duringMarch - from Caithness, Shetlandand two on Tiree (Argyll). Fourbirds were seen in April - includinga female at Loch Melldalloch(Argyll) on 17–24. A drake at Lochof Lintrathen on 10–13 May wasonly the second record for Angus.King Eider: the drake was againoff Peterhead (NE Scotland) from2006 to at least 6 January whilsttwo drakes were seen on Shetland- off Whalsay on 1 and MousaSound on 2–16 January. The latterwas presumably the bird seen inMousa Sound (Shetland) on 25February at least; more unusualwas a drake at Clachtoll(Highland) on 7–12 February. Theonly bird reported in March was adrake off Whalsay (Shetland) on17. No fewer than seven drakeswere reported in April - single 1stwinterdrakes at Burghead (Moray& Nairn) from 7 and on NorthRonaldsay (Orkney) on 3–14,three on Shetland, one again atPeterhead (NE Scotland) whichstayed to 22, and one at Ormsary(Argyll) on 1 April. The 1stsummerdrake was still atBurghead (Moray & Nairn) up to23 May at least, with an adultdrake off Machrihanish, Kintyre(Argyll) on 12 May, whichremained up to 12 June at least.Harlequin Duck: a true highlightwas the drake seen off St Kilda(Outer Hebrides) on 18 June - thefirst adult male seen in Britain forover 40 years. Surf Scoter: onlytwo drakes were reported duringJanuary - in Largo Bay (Fife) and atTankerness (Orkney), bothremaining throughout, whilst inFebruary the drake remained inLargo Bay (Fife) throughout andfour (two drakes) were seen in theSound of Taransay (OuterHebrides) on 18. Three drakeswere seen in March - in Fife,Orkney and the Outer Hebrides. Sixbirds were reported in April - fromMoray, Fife, Orkney and the OuterHebrides (3). Eight were reportedduring May including a female atRonachan Point (Argyll) on 3, anda female on Fair Isle on 21–25 -the first record for the island. Sixbirds were reported in June -drakes in Angus and the OuterHebrides and at least three drakesand one female at Blackdog-Murcar (NE Scotland).Bufflehead: the drake remainedon Unst (Shetland) from 2006 to20 January. A 1st-summer malewas at Ardnamurchan (Highland)on 7 June, and amazingly wasthen relocated at Loch na Muilne,Lewis (Outer Hebrides) on 8–9June. The Unst bird was only thePlate 81. Surf Scoter, Fair Isle, May 2007 © Mark Breaks.Birding in ScotlandPlate 82. Black-browed Albatross © Dods Macfarlane. This bird was still present among the Gannets on theremote island of Sula Sgeir, (part of the Outer Hebrides) for at least its third year in 2007. Despite its remotelocation, over 65 km north of the Isle of Lewis, it was successfully twitched by three boatloads of birders on8–10 May. Sadly there were no sightings in 2008. Given that albatrosses can live for over 50 years it is justconceivable that this is the same individual which took up residence on the Bass Rock (Lothian) in 1968–69,and that seen at Hermaness, Unst (Shetland) from 1972–1995, or even the bird seen on St Kilda (OuterHebrides) in 2002. The more likely possibility would seem to be that several birds have been involved in thesightings around Britain, and that seabird colonies on the islands around Scotland, and NW Ireland andScandinavia, are playing host to albatrosses on a fairly regular basis.third record for Scotland, soanother so soon after isremarkable - these constitute onlythe 12th and 13th birds found inBritain. Barrow’s Goldeneye: thedrake at Callander/Loch Venachar(Upper Forth) was present from2006 throughout the first fewmonths of 2007 and was lastreported on 27 April - only thethird individual seen in Britain.Smew: only 11 were reported inJanuary, at least 4 of them onLoch Leven (Perth & Kinross),while 12 were noted in Februaryincluding at least three on LochLeven (Perth & Kinross).White-billed Diver: one was seenoff Kirkabister (Shetland) from 21January with two present there on31 January. Two were again seenon Shetland in February - an adultstill off Kirkabister and a juvenileoff Unst on 18–25, while on Lewis(Outer Hebrides) at least two, andup to four, were found at the endof the month with two offSkigersta on 24 and then two offTiumpan Head on 25. Two werestill off Lewis from 3 March, withtwo different birds on Shetlandfrom 17, and one at Sound ofArisaig (Highland) on 22 March.The relatively calm weatherconditions in April probablycontributed to the high count ofbirds seen in spring. At least 18different birds were noted from 6April to 6 May, again mainly offLewis (Outer Hebrides), where atleast five were noted, andShetland, where at least ninedifferent birds were recorded. Alsoin the last week of April two birdswere seen off North Ronaldsay(Orkney) and an adult was seenbetween Mull and Staffa (Argyll)on 3 May, with one on 6 May pastAird an Runair, Balranald, NorthUist (Outer Hebrides). Most of thebirds seen were adults, many infull summer plumage and mirrorsa similar passage off SW Norwaythat peaks at the end ofApril/beginning of May. As yet thewintering grounds of these birdsare unknown but somewhere offSW Britain and SW Ireland seemslikely. Black-browed Albatross:the adult returned to the Gannetryon Sula Sgeir (Outer Hebrides)and was successfully twitchedthere on 8, 9 and 10 May, with afurther report from 3 June.Balearic Shearwater: one flewpast Barns Ness (Lothian) on 27May. Leach’s Storm-petrel: sevenflew past Uisaed Point (Argyll) on18 March, and one was also seenoff Stonehaven (NE Scotland). Fivewere seen off Aird an Runair,South Uist (Outer Hebrides) on 19May, with one the next day.Eurasian Bittern: one was atSullom Voe, Shetland on 23 April.Black-crowned Night Heron: anadult, of unknown origin, wasreported at Bavelaw (Lothian) on14 February. Little Egret: two90Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds91

Birding in ScotlandBirding in Scotlandwere reported in January andFebruary - one at Vane FarmRSPB, Loch Leven (Perth &Kinross) throughout, and one atGlenluce (Dumfries & Galloway)on 17–26 January and then LochKindar (Dumfries & Galloway) on24 February. The Loch Leven birdremained throughout March.During April one was at Brae, thenLaxo (Shetland) on 21–24, withfurther singles at Tyninghame(Lothian) on 17 and RSPBGruinart, Islay (Argyll) on 26. Atleast one was seen on Shetlandduring May with further birds inCaithness and NE Scotland. Fourwere reported in June - with birdsin Angus, Caithness and two inMoray & Nairn. Great WhiteEgret: one was at Loch of Banks(Orkney) on 28–1 Apr - only the3rd Orkney record and the fourthyear running that one has beenseen in Scotland in earlyspring/late winter. One was atBrow Marsh (Shetland) on 8 Maythen seen over North Ronaldsay(Orkney) on 14 before being seenagain at Brow Marsh on 15–26May. At least one individual wasinvolved in sightings in Highlandon the 25–26 with then in the firstweek of July two different adultsummer birds were found at LochDoon (Ayrshire) and Wards Pond(West Dunbartonshire). Onplumage features these two birdsin July appeared to be the sametwo adults present in NE Englandin June: at Tophill Low (EastYorkshire) and on Tees-side.Eurasian Spoonbill: one wasdiscovered at Whalsay (Shetland)on 21 February following a spell ofsouth-easterly winds, and thenmoved to the Sullom Voe areawhere it remained to 6 March -only the 6 record for Shetland.Three were seen in May - onecommuting between RSPB Lochof Strathbeg and the Ythan Estuary(NE Scotland) on 19–21, andsingles at Aberlady Bay (Lothian)on 22–24 and at RSPBMersehead (Dumfries &Galloway) on 31. All reports inJune came from Dumfries &Galloway with one at Loch Ryanon 2 and then two birds at RSPBMersehead on 18–25.European Honey Buzzard: oneflew over WWT Caerlaverock,Dumfries & Galloway on 1 June.White-tailed Eagle: an untaggedimmature was present at RSPBLoch of Strathbeg (NE Scotland)from 21 February until 25 March.Presumably the bird was ofScandinavian origin as were thelast two White-tailed Eagles thatwere seen on the reserve,including a Finnish ringedimmature in 2004. Marsh Harrier:one was seen at Scoughall(Lothian) on 11 March. RoughleggedHawk: the released darkmorph bird was again atChannerwick, Shetland on 24–26January. Osprey: very earlyreturning birds were seen inLothian and Highland on 4 March,but birds were not noted back onnest sites until the last few days ofthe month, much later than hasbeen the norm in the last fewyears. Red-footed Falcon: a malewas seen briefly at Drums (NEScotland) on 3. Hobby: sevenwere reported in June from 14.Gyrfalcon: an elusive white morphbird was on Fetlar, Shetland up to21 January at least though it wasonly reported on three occasions.A white morph bird was seen on StKilda (Outer Hebrides) on 17February and one was found deadthere on 20 May. Common Quail:about 20 singing birds werereported in June, with nine fromthe Borders including five atNewmains, Reston on 18. LittleCrake: a male was present nearBurrafirth, Unst, (Shetland) from29 May to at least 19 June - thesixth record for Scotland thoughthe first since 1970. CommonCrane: one flew over headingsouth near Lochgilphead (Argyll)on 23 February. Up to six birdswere reported in April, includingthree on Shetland. At least 10 birdswere reported during May withbirds noted in Shetland, Orkney,NE Scotland and Angus.Avocet: one was on the EdenEstuary (Fife) on 15–17 February,with then possibly the same birdat Tankerness (Orkney) from 24February to at least 19 March(seventh record for Orkney). Twobirds spent the day on the waderscrapes at Musselburgh Lagoons(Lothian) on 19 April. StoneCurlew: one was seen briefly atArdnave Point, Islay on 6 June (the2 record for Islay and Argyll ifaccepted). Killdeer: a majorhighlight of the spring wader influxwas the individual present onWest Burra (Shetland) from 6 Aprilonwards, then moving to theVirkie/Exnaboe area in May whereit lingered through into November- only the second record forShetland. At the time of discoveryfew would have predicted that thebird would become the longeststaying individual ever found inBritain & Ireland. Dotterel: the firsttrips were noted in Lanarkshireand Highland on 28 April. WhitetailedLapwing: an adult at WWTCaerlaverock on 6–8 June was thefirst record of this species forScotland, and only the fifth everfor Britain. The bird was relocatedat Leighton Moss, Lancashire from10–17 June. Temminck’s Stint:one was at RSPB Loch ofStrathbeg (NE Scotland) on22–24 May, and two atTyninghame (Lothian) on 27, withone remaining until 30 May. Ttheonly bird reported in June was atMurton Gravel Pits (Angus) on9–13. Baird’s Sandpiper:unusually there were two springrecords - singles at Haroldswick,Unst (Shetland) on 20 May, andat Loch a’ Phuill, Tiree (Argyll) on30–31 May. Curlew Sandpiper:there was a good showing in Maywith 26+ reported from 12. BuffbreastedSandpiper: two wereseen displaying at Rattray Head(NE Scotland) on 1 June. PectoralSandpiper: an early bird wasreported at RSPB Loch ofStrathbeg (NE Scotland) on 26April. Singles were at WWTCaerlaverock (Dumfries &Galloway) on 4 and 25–26 Mayand at Balranald, North Uist (OuterHebrides) and on Tiree (Argyll) on31 May. Four were reported on the1–17June, with birds on the OuterHebrides, Shetland, in Angus andin Argyll. Black-tailed Godwit:very high numbers of islandicarace birds were noted on passagearound 19–25 April includingcounts of over 600 at Skinflats(Upper Forth) and the EdenEstuary (Fife). Whimbrel: a veryearly migrant was at RuddonsPoint (Fife) on 18 March. SpottedRedshank: nine birds reported inApril represented a good Scottishshowing by recent standards.Terek Sandpiper: one was seenon Fair Isle on 13 June - the firstrecord for Fair Isle and the fourthfor Shetland. Lesser Yellowlegs:one was at RSPB Gruinart, Islay(Argyll) on 6–14 May. WoodSandpiper: around 20 birds werereported during May. Red-neckedPhalarope: one was on NorthRonaldsay (Orkney) on 27 June.Grey Phalarope: one flew pastHopeman (Moray & Nairn) on 4January, while another waspresent briefly off Barassie(Ayrshire) on 8 January. A summerplumaged bird flew over Aird anRunair, South Uist (OuterHebrides) on 23 May.Pomarine Skua: small numberswere noted from 6 April onwardsmainly off Aird an Runair, NorthUist (Outer Hebrides) with a peakcount of 59 off there on 25. Largenumbers were displaced by strongwesterlies on 18–19 May, and anAyrshire record count of 93 birdswas seen at Saltcoats on 19. Thelargest counts from the OuterHebrides were of 167 at Aird anRunair, South Uist on both 6 and19 May, with 175 birds notednearby at Ardvule Point on 19.Long-tailed Skua: the first birdsseen were 19 past Aird an Runair,Balranald, North Uist (OuterHebrides) on 6 May with the mainpassage concentrated in the periodfrom 16–25 May and with a peakday count of 336 birds past thereon 18. Only small numbers werenoted elsewhere, though 30+passed Newbie (Dumfries &Galloway) on 18 May, whileSaltcoats Harbour (Ayrshire) againshowed that in the right conditionsbirds will pass overland there with18 birds logged between 18–25May following strong westerlies.Mediterranean Gull: In anexcellent winter for this species atleast 32 were reported in January,mainly from Angus, Lothian andAyrshire, though four 1st-wintersremained at Fraserburgh (NEScotland), while 33 were noted inFebruary. Laughing Gull: a 2ndsummerbird was at Coot Loch,Benbecula (Outer Hebrides) on 7May. Ring-billed Gull: only twowere reported during January - theadult at Stromness (Orkney) on 3,and the returning bird, now a 3rdwinter,at Oban (Argyll), whichremained throughout February.Four birds in March included threenew finds, 1st-winters at RSPBLoch of Strathbeg (NE Scotland)from 16 and on Islay on 21, plus a2nd-winter at Loch Barvas, Lewis(Outer Hebrides) on 29–30 whilstthe long staying 3rd-winter was stillat Oban (Argyll). During April anadult was at Balranald, North Uist(Outer Hebrides) on 19, withelsewhere an adult bird still atOban (Argyll) and the 1st-winterstill at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg (NEScotland) during the month.Yellow-legged Gull: the onlyreports during January were fromLothian and Borders with at leastfour, all adults, reported. CaspianGull: the 1st-winter discovered atDunbar (Lothian) in December2006 remained to 13 February.American Herring Gull: two 1stwinterbirds were seen in March -one at Stornoway, Lewis (OuterHebrides) on 17–30 and the otheron Tiree (Argyll) on 20. There arecurrently only two acceptedrecords of American Herring Gullfrom Scotland though there wereseveral well photographed andwell watched 1st-winters on theOuter Hebrides in 2002 and 2004.The 1st-winter bird remained atStornoway Harbour (OuterHebrides) throughout April.Unusually for this time of yearthree 1st-winter birds werereported in May - the long-stayingbird at Stornoway (Outer Hebrides)up to 22 at least, then one on Tiree(Argyll) on 25, and one at LochRyan (Dumfries & Galloway) on27. A 1st-summer bird was againon Tiree (Argyll) on 7 June, andanother at Stinky Bay, Benbecula(Outer Hebrides) on 19 June.Iceland Gull: around 145 werereported in January, though incontrast to Glaucous Gull mostwere on the Northern Isles, withfour at Westing, Unst (Shetland) onthe 9, then a definite influx whichsaw seven at the Butt of Lewis(Outer Hebrides) on 21, 14 atScalloway (Shetland) on 22, eightat Scrabster (Caithness) on 28, sixat Stornoway (Outer Hebrides) on23, 4+ at Peterhead (NE Scotland)on 21 and 28. At least 150 werenoted in February, with the highercounts including 15 at Loch Roag,Lewis (Outer Hebrides) on 3, nineat Scrabster (Caithness) on 4, eightat Scalloway (Shetland) on 25, atleast six at Kirkwall (Orkney) on1–5, counts of six in Stornowayharbour (Outer Hebrides) onseveral dates and four atStrathclyde Loch (Lanarkshire) on11. Around 155 birds werereported in March, with highercounts including nine at Stornoway(Outer Hebrides) on 30, nine atScalloway (Shetland) on 17, sevenon Islay (Argyll) on 21, six atMallaig (Highland) on 15 and six atButt of Lewis on 25. At least 14birds were noted in June, mostlyfrom the Outer Hebrides.Kumlien’s Gull: several werenoted with the January influx ofIceland Gulls, with reports fromShetland (at least two), Orkneyand Peterhead (NES). Several birdscontinued to be reported amongst92Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 93

Birding in ScotlandBirding in Scotlandthe Icelands into March, includingan adult at Butt of Lewis (OuterHebrides) on 22–30. GlaucousGull: at least 102 were reported inJanuary, with the largest numberson the Outer Hebrides and Argyll,including six at the Butt of Lewis(OH) on 21, and at least 26 onLewis on the 29 including nine atUig and 15+ between Shawbostand Ness. At least 82 werereported during February, againmostly from the Outer Hebridesand Argyll. Around 65 werereported in March. At least 12 birdswere reported in June, from theOuter Hebrides. Ross’s Gull: theextremely confiding and verypopular 1st-winter bird at Ormsary(Argyll) was last seen on 15January, with presumably thesame bird relocated nearby atPortavadie (Argyll) on 13–25February. Bonaparte’s Gull: theadult remained at Ferryden(Angus) from 2006 throughoutJanuary and February to 3 March.An adult bird was seen at Col,Lewis (Outer Hebrides) on 8 April.A 1st-summer bird was found onSouth Uist, Outer Hebrides in June.Initially at Ardivachar Point on 19, itwas then at Howmore from 20June to September. Ivory Gull: thesickly juvenile found in December2006 was present near Irvine,Ayrshire to 4 January, when it wastaken into care but died. SandwichTern: early birds were noted at Evie(Orkney) on 10 March andMachrihanish (Argyll) on 15 March.White-winged Black Tern: onewas at RSPB Loch of Kinnordy(Angus) on 29 May. Black Tern:the only report of the spring was ofone off Ardvule Point, South Uist(Outer Hebrides) on 20 May.Brunnich’s Guillemot: one wasfound dead on the beach atScousburgh (Shetland) on 25March. Little Auk: only around 13were reported during January -mainly from Shetland. Smallnumbers were seen in Marchincluding 33 past the Butt of Lewis(Outer Hebrides) on 18.Plate 83. European Bee-eater, Fair Isle, June 2007 © Deryk Shaw.European Turtle Dove: one onSouth Ronaldsay (Orkney) on29–31 March was a most unusualrecord. Nine birds were reported inJune, including three in Highlandand at least one in Argyll. SnowyOwl: one again graced Brue, westLewis (Outer Hebrides) on 1 andwas then present there again on10–13 January. A male was thenseen regularly in west Lewisthroughout February and a carloadof birders twitching it found asecond male there between Borveand South Galson on 20 (presentuntil the 24 at least). They hadspotted the original bird by theroadside, and whilst watching it,the “new” male flew over the topof them! Both males lingered intoMarch with at least one present to27. In April at least three wereseen between North Uist, Lewisand St Kilda (all Outer Hebrides)including a “new” female on StKilda from 5. More intriguingly twodifferent birds were seen onHighland mountain tops in April -on the Angels Peak, Cairngorms(Highland) on 5 and Aonach Beagnear Fort William (Argyll) on 26. Atleast two were seen in May - amale again on North Uist from 12and a female on St Kilda on 8–24(both Outer Hebrides). At leastthree different birds remained onthe Outer Hebrides in June, with amale still at Grenitote, North Uiston 3 at least, and a male and afemale were noted on St Kilda.European Bee-eater: one wasseen near Applecross (Highland)on 4 May with presumably thesame bird then near ForsinardRSPB (Highland) on 7–10 May.One was seen on Fair Isle on 4–6June, with another at Tarbet(Highland) on 13–16 June.Hoopoe: two birds were reportedin April - one at Inverewe(Highland) on 18 and one atLossiemouth (Moray & Nairn) on24. Wryneck: only six werereported in May - all on theNorthern Isles apart from one onthe Isle of May on 15.Calandra Lark: one was seen atBaltasound, Unst, Shetland on 12May. Greater Short-toed Lark: twodifferent birds were seen on Fair Islein June, - singles on 5 and 13.Shore Lark: four birds at the Sandsof Forvie NNR, by the Ythan Estuary(NE Scotland) lingered from 2006up to 12 March at least. One wasseen at Collieston (NE Scotland) on15 April, and one was present onNorth Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 1–7May. Sand Martin: a very early birdwas at Blairbowie (Ayrshire) on 8March, but was not the precursor toa major influx with 35 at MartnahamLoch (Ayrshire) on 29 the largestnumber seen by the end of themonth. Barn Swallow: two veryearly birds were reported on Rum(Highland) on 14 March, withothers noted in Argyll on 17 March.Red-rumped Swallow: one flewover Collieston (NE Scotland) on16 April. Single birds werereported at Gairloch (Highland)on 11 May and Baron’s HaughRSPB (Clyde) on 28 May. WaterPipit: birds from 2006 remainedinto March at Musselburgh(Lothian) and Maidens (Ayrshire),with another discovered atCardross, Dunbartonshire (Clyde)on 7 February. Yellow Wagtail: asinging male, apparently of theAshy-headed form, was at Torlum,Benbecula (Outer Hebrides) on1–28 June. Citrine Wagtail: a 1stsummermale was at the Loch ofBoardhouse, Birsay (Orkney) on15–16 June. Waxwing: birds werereported from throughout Scotlandin small numbers during Januarywith 210+ seen. The largest flockswere c.50 in Aberdeen on the 4, upto 45 at Longforgan (Perth &Kinross) from the 21 and 32 inDundee on the 10. About 165were seen in February, with 50 inGlasgow on 21 and 40 inBlairgowrie (Perth & Kinross) on8 the best counts. Around 85were reported during March,including up to 37 at Longforgan(Perth & Kinross).Thrush Nightingale: the only birdof the spring was on Fair Isle on 13May. Common Nightingale: theonly report was of one singing atGarthdee, Aberdeen (NE Scotland)on 7 May. Black Redstart: singleswere present on North Ronaldsay,in NE Scotland and in Dumfries &Galloway in January. Seven wereseen from 24 March. Bluethroat: asinging male of the white-spottedform was at the Tay Reedbeds(Perth & Kinross) on 2–5 May,while seven of the red-spottedform were seen from 21 Mayincluding two on the Isle of May.Only four birds were noted in June- all on Shetland on 1–6. RedflankedBluetail: a 1st-winter maleon Out Skerries (Shetland) on 2–3April was a remarkable record -only the second spring record inScotland (4 in Britain), but followson from three autumn records onShetland in October 2006.Northern Wheatear: despite anearly bird on Arran (Clyde Islands)on 14 March, only low numberswere reported by the end of themonth and none of these hadreached Shetland. Black-throatedThrush: a 1st-winter male waspresent at Rothesay, Isle of Bute(Clyde Islands) from 18 January toat least 26 March - only the thirdScottish record away from Orkneyand Shetland after singles at Perthin 1879 and in Lothian in 1989. Afemale was on Fair Isle on 23 April.River Warbler: one was trappedon Fair Isle on 11 June. PaddyfieldWarbler: one was trapped on FairIsle on 9 June. Blyth’s ReedWarbler: one was at Skaw, Unst,Shetland on 31 May, withpresumably the same individualthen seen at Burrafirth, Unst on 1June, and another was trapped atSkaw, Whalsay (Shetland) on 3–8June. Marsh Warbler: one was onFair Isle on 31 May. At least 20birds were reported in June,including singles on Tiree (Argyll),on the Isle of May, at Applecross(Highland) and a probable at EastBarns (Lothian) on 18–27. GreatReed Warbler: a singing male wasat Virkie (Shetland) on 14–15 June.Icterine Warbler: at least fivedifferent birds were on Fair Islefrom 12 May, while one was atRattray Head (NE Scotland) and atleast four on North Ronaldsay(Orkney) on 31 May. At least 32birds were seen in June - all on theNorthern Isles and includedseveral singing birds. SubalpineWarbler: a 1st-summer male ofthe eastern form albistriata was onNorth Ronaldsay (Orkney) from 30April until 11 May, with three birdsof the western form also seenduring May - males on Vatersay(Outer Hebrides) on 3 and Wick(Caithness) on 5, and one on FairIsle on 23–24. A female found onthe Isle of May on 21 Juneremained into July, so mirroring aprevious over summering birdthere in 1985. Barred Warbler: arare spring bird was at Scatness(Shetland) on 1 June. CommonChiffchaff: reported in goodnumbers from 13 March.Red-breasted Flycatcher: twodifferent birds were seen on NorthRonaldsay (Orkney) between13–30 May with another on Unstat Burrafirth (Shetland) on 27 May.Plate 84. Lesser Grey Shrike, Fair Isle, June 2007 © Paul Baxter.94Scottish Birds 29:1 (2009) 29:1 (2009)Scottish Birds 95

Birding in ScotlandFive birds were seen from 1–11June, with three on Shetland andsingles in NE Scotland and on theIsle of May. Golden Oriole: onewas on Fair Isle on 31 May, andtwo birds were noted on Shetlandon 1–4 June. Red-backed Shrike:just five birds were reported -three on Fair Isle, and one onNorth Ronaldsay (Orkney) from22 May, and a male at St Fergus(NE Scotland) on 31 May. At least73 birds were noted in June,mostly on Orkney and Shetlandincluding six on Fair Isle on the 5,with five on Fetlar the same day.Lesser Grey Shrike: one wasfound on Fair Isle on 27 May andremained there into August. GreatGrey Shrike: there were tworecords in January - one atKingussie (Highland) on 7 andone at Dumbrock Muir (Clyde)noted all month and throughFebruary, with another presentnear Edderton (Highland) from 20February. In March two birds wereseen in the Clyde area, and thebird remained near Edderton,Highland throughout the month.Rosy Starling: singles were onSouth Uist (Outer Hebrides) on16–29 May nearby at Lochmaddy,North Uist on 21 May and on FairIsle on 28 May. At least one adultwas on South Uist during Junewith another adult on Rousay(Orkney) on 24 June.Hawfinch: birds were againpresent in good numbers over thewinter at Scone Palace (Perth &Kinross), with peak counts of 30on 25 February and 35 on 17March. Common Redpoll: a spellPlate 85. Rustic Bunting, Fair Isle, June 2007 © Mark Breaks.of south-easterlies in late Februarybrought an influx of MealyRedpolls to the Northern Isles,including 40+ on Fair Isle on 25and 30 on South Ronaldsay(Orkney) the same day. “Mealies”were still present in goodnumbers on the Northern Isles atthe start of March especially onFair Isle with a total of 84 birdsringed on there during the month.Common Rosefinch: seven werereported from 24 May. Seventeenbirds were seen in June, includingsingles on the Isle of May and onLewis, Outer Hebrides. Dark-eyedJunco: a belated report wasreceived of one found at Unapool,Highland on 23 June. LaplandBunting: nine birds were reportedfrom 9 March with individualsnoted on the Outer Hebrides,Argyll, Fair Isle and NorthRonaldsay. Rustic Bunting: amale was seen on NorthRonaldsay (Orkney) on 18 May,with singles on Fair Isle andGrutness (Shetland) on 31 May.One was still present on Fair Isleup until 4 June, while a femalewas seen briefly at the FoveranBushes (NE Scotland) on 2 June.Little Bunting: one was on FairIsle on 30 April. Black-headed orRed-headed Bunting: a femaleof this species pair was presenton Fair Isle on 1–7 June.Baltimore Oriole: a majorhighlight of the spring was anadult male at Huna, near JohnO’Groats (Caithness) on at least24–27 May. Unfortunately newsonly emerged on it after it hadgone when photos showing itvisiting garden peanut feeders atHuna were sent to the RSPBNorth Scotland office. The threeprevious records of this species inScotland have all been inSeptember, though there havebeen two previous May recordselsewhere in the UK.Plate 86. Baltimore Oriole © Alex Maclean. Found in a garden nearJohn O’ Groats (Caithness) from 24–27 May, this spectacular male birdwas only the fourth individual of this species to be recorded inScotland. Given that the previous three Scottish records had all comefrom Scottish islands in September few would have predicted that thenext would be found in summer and coming to bird feeders on themainland, albeit at the extreme northern edge. This was the 23rdindividual to be recorded in Britain, but only the third found in springfollowing males in Cornwall in May 1968, and in Pembrokeshire inMay 1970. Where, and at what time of year, the next Scottish recordwill be now seems a lot less certain.96Scottish Birds29:1 (2009)

Advice to contributors of main papersAuthors should bear in mind that only a small proportion of theScottish Birds readership are scientists and should aim to presenttheir material concisely, interestingly and clearly. Unfamiliartechnical terms and symbols should be avoided wherever possibleand, if deemed essential, should be explained. Supporting statisticsshould be kept to a minimum. All papers and short notes areaccepted on the understanding that they have not been offered forpublication elsewhere and that they will be subject to editing.Papers will be acknowledged on receipt and are normally reviewedby at least two members of the editorial panel and, in most casesalso by an independent referee. They will normally be published inorder of acceptance of fully revised manuscripts. The editor will behappy to advise authors on the preparation of papers.Papers should be typed on one side of the paper only, double spacedand with wide margins and of good quality; two copies are requiredand the author should also retain one. We are also happy to acceptpapers on disk or by email at: mail@the-soc.org.uk, stating the typeof word processing package used. If at all possible please useMicrosoft Word or a generic ‘rich text format’. Contact the SOCOffice Manager on mail@the-soc.org.uk or telephone 01875 871330for further information.Reference should be made to The Birds of Scotland (Forrester etal. 2007) for guidance on style of presentation, use of capitals,form of references, etc.Headings should not be underlined, nor typed entirely in capitals.Scientific names in italics should normally follow the first textreference to each species unless all can be incorporated into a table.Names of birds should follow the official Scottish List (ScottishBirds 22: 33–49 and www.the-soc.org.uk/scottish-list.htm). Onlysingle quotation marks should be used throughout. Numbers shouldbe written as numerals except for one to nine and at the start ofsentences. Dates should be written: ... on 5 August 1991 ... but ... onthe 5th ... (if the name of the month does not follow). Please do notuse headers, footers and page numbers. Please note that papersshorter than c. 700 words will normally be treated as short notes,where all references should be incorporated into the text, and notlisted at the end, as in full papers.Tables, maps and diagrams should be designed to fit either a singlecolumn or the full page width. Tables should be self explanatoryand headings should be kept as simple as possible, with footnotesused to provide extra details where necessary. Please insert alltables, graphs and maps with their captions after the text or supplyas separate documents. Maps and other graphics should preferablybe provided in eps (Encapsulated PostScript) format, or as a highresolution jpg/tiff file, good quality computer print out or drawn inblack ink, but suitable for reduction from their original size. Contactthe SOC Office Manager on 01875 871330 for further details of howbest to lay out tables, graphs, maps etc.

Fair Isle Bird ObservatoryNew Observatory AppealBuildingfor the future...For sixty years, the Fair Isle Bird Observatoryhas welcomed visitors. Many come for thebirdlife, but all leave with lasting memories ofisland life. The Observatory is the lynchpin ofFair Isle’s fragile economy. The welcome, thework and the way of life are closely linked, andunique to Fair Isle. Let’s not lose them.We need to build a new Observatory, to openin 2010. It will be a modern, eco-friendly placefor you to stay and for scientists and studentsto continue their long-term research on FairIsle’s migratory and resident birds, includingthe island’s precious seabirds. It will cost atotal of £4 million, much of which has alreadybeen secured but Fair Isle Bird ObservatoryTrust still needs to raise the last £262,000through individual donations. The Trust is anindependent charity, which is totally selffundedand reliant on revenue from visitors.We’re appealing for your help.Please buy a sharein Fair Isle’s futureby donating tothe FIBOT NewObservatory Appeal.Contact us for detailsof how you can help.Fair Isle Bird Observatory,Fair Isle, Shetland ZE2 9JU.Tel:01595 760258Fax:01595 760258Email:fairisle.birdobs@zetnet.co.ukWeb:www.fairislebirdobs.co.ukWarden:Deryk ShawAdministrator:Hollie ShawRegistered Charity No. SCO 11160VAT No. GB270187071