Rathlin Island Autumn Highlights

Since my last update from Rathlin, I have spent a total of 9 days on the island, adding a further 14 species to my year list. The fact that 5 of these were my first patch records was encouraging, though sadly another autumn goes by without troubling the multiplier effect column on the patch birding score sheet.

 

On your bike...

With little of note in the gardens on 27^th September, I spent a bit of time between Ushet Lough and Rue Point.  Checking through the 60 or so Greylag here finally produced 4 Pink-footed Geese (100) resting on the lough - a species I somehow failed to see last year.  A mass of seabirds were feeding in large groups off Rue Point, including some Manx Shearwaters.  Eventually, a couple of Arctic Skuas (101) were seen in hot pursuit of Kittiwakes.  Two Arctic Terns (102) stood out amongst the hoards of dip feeding gulls and were a surprise addition to the year list having failed to encounter any around the patch for a few years now (through a lack of seawatching).  Elsewhere, 4 Swallows were feeding over the harbour and 12 Twite were feeding in one of their favourite spots at the base of the East Pier.  Once back in Ballycastle, I located single first winter and second winter Mediterranean Gulls around the harbour.  I will reveal the reason for mentioning this later.

I stayed on the island for four days in early October recording a total of 83 species, including 8 further year ticks.  Weather conditions were fairly decent, except for an almighty storm coming in from the Atlantic during the 5^th and overnight on the 6^th.  This resulted in strong SE winds and produced some decent birds.

A seawatch from the East Light on the 4^th looked like a complete waste of time, until I connected with a lone Sooty Shearwater (103) heading east.  A long awaited patch tick!  With this, I renewed my efforts and single Arctic Skuas and Great Northern Divers soon flew west.  I scanned the birds at the base of the cliffs with my bins and picked out a “white-winged gull with a red bill”, which I eventually locked onto through the scope.  It turned out to be a 2^nd winter Mediterranean Gull (104) – another patch tick!

The Twite flock in Church Bay had now increased to 15 and the Ushet Lough to Rue Point area again produced some decent birds; none more so than a male Hen Harrier seen hunting along the far side of the lough.  Also in the area were 5 Chough, a male Grey Wagtail and a tame juvenile Brent Goose feeding close to the South Light.  As it was having its fill of grass, I thought it rude not to join it for lunch.  Other notable sightings on the 4^th were 80 Goldfinches, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Wheatear, 22 Snipe and 8 Goldcrest.

Not a care in the World

 

I began the following morning with a 2.5 hour seawatch from the East Light, which produced 55 Manx Shearwaters, 5 Arctic Skuas, 1 Pomarine Skua (105), 1 Arctic Tern, 1 Common Scoter, 10 Barnacle Geese (106), 6 Whooper Swans, 3 Puffins, 2 Red-throated Diver (107), 1 Great Northern Diver and a patch tick Little Gull (108).  All of which were very pleasing, especially the Little Gull – a nice juvenile tagging along with a flock of Kittiwakes.  Had I thought to put on some extra layers I would have stayed longer, but I headed off to get warmed up.  Not a lot else was seen the rest of the day as the storm moved in, though 3 Kestrels and a few Reed Buntings may have been new arrivals.

In a rare departure outside the patch boundaries, I made my way to the west end of the island early the next morning which only served to remind me why I don’t normally go there. Saying that, there are some great looking spots that are well worth checking, especially the last gardens before the lighthouse – which had about 75 Chaffinches and a dozen thrushes in them. 

Keeble cottage at the west end and yes I did check those nettles for Lancy...

 

Once safely back in more familiar surroundings, the most obvious impact of the overnight storm was that some 2000 Kittiwakes and 250 Black-headed Gulls had been forced close to shore between the West Pier and Mill Bay.  I set up the scope outside the hostel and began grilling the flock (for a Sab’s) and managed to pick out two Mediterranean Gulls – a first and second winter.  I then realised that not only was the second winter probably the same bird I had seen on 4^th but both were likely the same birds I had seen in Ballycastle Harbour on 27^th September.

After lunch, the winds died down and the sun came out, so I set off for a circuit of the gardens.  There had been an obvious arrival of migrants, with Blackbirds and Song Thrushes most prominent.  The east end gardens held 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps, 18 Goldcrests and several flocks of Golden Plover (109) flew south overhead.  Three Swallows were at Ushet Lough and I watched a young Merlin fly straight out to sea at Rue Point – migration in action.

The final day of the trip (7^th October) was spent thoroughly checking all the usual spots for passerine migrants. A couple of Redwings were amongst decent counts of 47 Blackbirds and 28 Song Thrushes and the Goldcrest tally had increased to 28.  The ditch to the south-east of Ushet Lough (which I have earmarked for a Barred Warbler) held 2 Blackcaps and a Chiffchaff. The only place I had yet to check was the lane at Ballycarry Pool and I’m glad I did because a Garden Warbler (110) was found sunning itself there! The very strong light made it look scarily pale at first but as I moved slightly closer it began moving around giving me a good look at its (sadly unmarked) under-tail coverts.  So in just two years of coverage I’ve had Mealy Redpoll, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Garden Warbler and Whinchat in this 100m stretch of hedge.  Not bad for starters.

Sunset at Mill Bay

I’m struggling to find any highlights worth mentioning from my visit on 13^th October, a Fieldfare (111) flying over Craigmacagan Lough was new for the year and a Pomarine Skua off Rue Point were about the best I could manage.  The Twite flock had increased to 20 birds and a Wheatear was at Mill Bay. 

I had a much better day on 17^th October, which began with a trek up to the Coastguards Hut in search of rare buntings.  I failed in this regard but did manage to locate a patch tick Tree Pipit (112) which flew over calling before landing briefly on an old stone wall.  The grounds of the East Light held a Grey Wagtail and a Lapwing.  It was also a good day for flyover Whooper Swans; a total of 47 birds were seen passing through during the day.  More than 30 Redwing were present, most of which were in the hedge at Ballycarry Pool.  A group of 3 Barnacle Geese were in much the same spot as the friendly Brent Goose a few weeks ago and it was good to see that all 5 Chough were still on the island.  I returned to the ferry via Mill Bay and spotted an Arctic Tern roosting on the rocks, which became the first tern of any species, I’ve actually seen land on Rathlin!

Taking a break at Coastguards

Barnacle Geese at Rue Point

 

I didn’t make it over again until 1^st November, which was a particularly depressing day on patch owing to strong southerly winds.  Still it was nice to see the female Pochard back at Ally Lough for another winter.  Two Whooper Swans were at Ushet Lough and a late Wheatear at the East Light.

My next visit on 8^th November was one of those days you felt something good might appear at any moment – a Goldeneye at Craigmacagan, a Long-tailed Duck at Rue Point and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers in the harbour (doubling my previous high count for this species!) were all decent birds for Rathlin.  The distinctly Scandinavian vibe continued with counts of 39 Blackbirds, 36 Robins and numerous Wrens and Stonechats.  As I sat in Church Bay eating lunch I noticed half a dozen hooded crows appearing to dive bomb something in the distance – I thought no more of it until 10 minutes later, when I could hear lots of pipits calling.  I looked up to see a Short-eared Owl (113) cruising along the road above the harbour.  Given the apparent recent influx in eastern England, this species was well and truly on my radar.  However, it’s not often these hoped for species fall into place, the Desert Wheatear I had thought about the night before certainly didn’t!  This brought my patch life list to 149 species.  I wonder what will be next.

Scores – 113 species, 144 points or 95.36%

Linnet

My thoughts exactly

 

All Filler no Killer – Visit 22

I finally bit the bullet and spent a few nights on Rathlin from 5-8 October, giving it just some of the coverage it richly deserves at this time of year.  Winds were from the SW up until the last day which brought a strong westerly with showers.  I had a mixed few days, but am fairly pleased with what I managed to see given the unfavourable weather conditions.

 

Things got off to a promising start scoring a Garden Warbler (113) feeding in Church Valley in close company of 2 Blackcaps in the same thicket.  Nice to claw back one of the species I missed back in the spring.  Walking up through Ballyconagan I got my first glimpse of a rather large female Sparrowhawk which caused much panic in the nearby Meadow Pipits.  I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that the area around the old Coastguards Station was good for buntings and plovers in autumn and was checked daily.  First up on the 5^th were a nice flock of 22 Golden Plover (114) but a good stomp around revealed just a single Skylark.  On my way back to the main road I overheard the sound of one of my favourite birds – the Twite and was soon sat in the middle of a flock of 25 as they fed on withering seed heads.



Church Valley - hand me that mist net





Twite

The gardens, harbour and coast road to Mill Bay were all quiet, so I went and had a good check through the pipits at Ushet Port.  A flock of 4 Whooper Swans (115) passing south at sea raised my spirits and I made my way to sit at the bench overlooking Ushet Lough at dusk; as I’ve always wanted to see what drops in here for the night.  Well, it wasn’t long until 4 Whooper Swans flew in – perhaps the same birds seen off Ushet Port only half an hour ago?

                                                                               Time for a scratch - a peak count of 24 Stonechats were recorded

 

The next day brought a small arrival of 6 Goldcrests and peak counts of 103 Linnets, 46 Goldfinch and 44 Robins to the patch and a single House Martin looked lost over Craigmacagan Lough.  That evening I went up to check around the East Light and was rewarded with numerous Wheatears and Meadow Pipits appearing from nowhere in the lighthouse compound, before moving swiftly south along an old stone wall.  These birds were obviously exhausted and the Wheatears in particular just sat on the walls of the lighthouse in small groups looking confused.  As I walked back down the lane a female type Merlin nabbed a Meadow Pipit and flew off with it giving me a cursory glance.  I estimate that up to 25 Wheatears and 150 Meadow Pipits were seen in the last hour of daylight here.  Several migrant Silver Y moths were also in the lighthouse compound and surrounding area.

 

 The next morning I left the Manor House B&B while it was still dark to make my way to the East Light for a seawatch.  A Wheatear was sat in the rain under a street light and along the high road 9 Song Thrushes and 9 Blackbirds were sitting on the road. My hopes of an overnight fall were premature however and the highlights from an hour and a half’s seawatch were a Bonxie (116), 2 Puffins, a Tufted Duck and a submarine! 

 

 

The only new arrivals during a check around the usual sites were 2 Common Redpolls amongst a flock of 26 Lesser Redpolls in Church Valley and 30+ Pied Wagtails and a Whimbrel at the West Pier. Two Wigeon were on the sea at Mill Bay.

My final morning was spent lurching about the Coastguards Station and moorland at Ballyconagan and scanning out to sea.  The overnight switch to a F4 westerly had certainly brought lots of Gannets and Kittiwakes ashore and eventually 3 Bonxies and an Arctic Skua were seen in hot pursuit of the latter. I was bemoaning my inability to find anything decent when I heard a slow rattling call overhead, followed by a loud ‘chew’ – a Lapland Bunting (117). 

I dropped my seawatching gear off back at the B&B and set off round the harbour towards the coast road to Mill Bay.  I stopped as usual at the small beach at the base of the South Pier to scan for waders and the first bird I put my bins on was a Snow Bunting (118)!  The gardens were again devoid of anything unusual, so I made my way once more to the East Light where the heavens opened and I spent several sodden minutes hunched by an old stone wall.  Perhaps this was how the Wheatears had felt a couple of nights ago, I thought.  Once the rain stopped I stood up and felt the cold rain fall from my hood drenching my trousers, then there was another rattling call, this time I managed a good view of the bird hopping about the lighthouse compound, another Lapland Bunting. It flew high above the light and was lost to view.  A moment later a flock of 24 Barnacle Geese (119) flew east probably trying to find their way to Islay.  I returned to Church Bay for a final look at the Snow Bunting, only to find there were now 2 of them!

 

A grand total of 7 year ticks were added during this short trip and leaves my score on 119 species, 149 points or 117.32%