Bird Report - August 2017

Early in the month I had a report from Sidney Eunson of two Grey Herons which were passing time in his field, while Sidney's sister Mabel was amazed at the number of Curlews gathered in another field nearby.

There have been a lot of Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails, Swallows as the year wears on and plans are afoot for travelling to winter quarters. A significant number of Swallows were flying around in the field adjacent to Glenavon on the 28th.

On the 23rd I was lucky to see a small flock of Snow Buntings flying past the house.

I had a walk from Hacco down to the shore and was surprised to see two Whooper Swans in the water. Making my way back up there were the inevitable Meadow Pipits, a Wheatear and it was nice to come across a Red Admiral Butterfly, in fact I have seen several of these during the month.

During my walks with the dog I noticed quite a few brown furry caterpillars taking their chances crossing the road!

Last month I mentioned the large number of young Starlings and House Sparrows at the feeders in the back garden and these are still with us. The young Starlings can easily be recognised by their brown heads before they change to the more familiar colour.

Other birds reported in the parish:

Ian Cunningham had a nice sighting of 4 Ruff amongst a mixed flock of Lapwings and Golden Plovers near Greentoft on the 29th. He also had noticed plenty of Wagtails and Wheatears about. Moving on to St. Peter's Pool there was a solitary Knot.

Ian was out again on the 31st and was pleased to see 16 Black-tailed Godwits at Eves Loch and he counted another 8 at Watermoss.

Not too much about during August but September might be a different story as the migrant birds pass through Deerness so hopefully there will be plenty to report next month.

Pauline Wilson