SOLWAY: Blustery with showers - just for a change!

A busy weekend started with an early visit to Bowland to squeeze in some fieldwork in a "fine weather window". The morning was beautiful with a light easterly breeze and clear sky, Ravens and Buzzards overhead and Pied Flycatchers singing their little ditty from wooded slopes. Didn't last long though with inclement weather closing in by mid-morning and wind strengthening so I had to "abort mission" and head for home.

Mrs B looking for terns at Castle Loch 16 May 2009.

As far as I am aware their were only a couple of "tickable" Black Terns in Dumfries and Galloway last year. Both were present while I was abroad - one on the Inner Solway in early May and another at Loch Ryan in September. So with the past week dominated by easterly winds I'd been monitoring the Black Tern movements in the north of England, hoping that we could get one on our D&G list at long last.
We arrived at Castle Loch near Lochmaben after some squally showers with the wind shifting round to the south east, but hopes were still reasonably high. No sign at first so we supped tea and ate a butty or two when I spotted a distant tern dipping over the water. 'Scope out, zoom in, BINGO! A cracking Black Tern, my first in D&G (status category rare vagrant according to the latest D&G report) and Mrs B's 200th D&G bird no less. I love it when a plan comes together (it rarely does!).


We carried on down to the Solway and on to Southerness for the night in good spirits. Our best birds are often on the way up for our breaks on the Solway - was this to be the case yet again? The wind shifted round to the south-east for the morning of 17th May (it ended up in the south west the previous night provoking a good movement of all 4 skuas in the Solway) but I gave the point at Southerness a go anyway. It was obvious that a large number of Common Scoter were on the move as I noted 210 flying west in little less than an hour with 20 or so sitting on the sea off the point for most of the time I was there. What these birds are up to I'm not sure of yet. I'd guess they make their way into the Solway with the tide and I'm seeing them going out again as the tide ebbs? Sanderling are a spring migrant mostly in these parts so it was nice to see 3 flying west off the point and then another 5 on the beach later when I returned with Mrs B.


The rest of the day was interrupted by showers, some very heavy indeed. Stops at Auchencairn and various spots on the Dee Estuary near Kirkcudbright prooved fruitless so after a quick coffee back at Southerness we ventured out to Kirkonnell Flow where we logged a couple of pairs of Crossbills and a pair of Redstarts as well as watching one Buzzard killing another. Most gruesome indeed.
Didn't have much time for birding this morning but managed an hour or so seawatching at Southerness. An adult Little Gull was a nice surprise as it's only the third one I've seen here since October '07. Birds in D&G #18 (2006 bird report) states that Little Gulls are "rare passage migrants": this is my third this year. Shame we had to leave the Solway early today as weather conditions look good for passage later with the high tide ............