Sightings – September 2012
BIRDS
Jackdaw – 28 feeding near Elphin, 29th September
Brent Goose – 10 Bay of Culkein and 6 Clashnessie Bay, 28th September. All these birds were of the ‘pale bellied’ race which arrive at this time from Greenland or Arctic Canada.
Red-breasted Merganser – 4 (females) Loch Druim Suardalain, 27th September
Siskin – c50 Glencanisp, 27th September
Lapwing – 8 Clachtoll, 27th September
Scaup – 1 (female), Loch na Claise, 26th September. This duck, which is not a regular in Assynt, ticked the boxes for a genuine Scaup and not a Tufted/Scaup hybrid.
Tufted Duck – 14 (males and females), Loch na Claise, 26th September. Looks like our winter ducks are starting to arrive.
Carrion Crow – 1 Culkein Stoer, 26th September. Another rare sighting of this corvid for Assynt; could this be same bird seen in the same area in May?
Little Grebe – 2 Loch na Claise, 24th September
Black Guillemot – 3 winter plumage birds off Stoer Head Lighthouse, 24th September
Tufted Duck – 2 (male and female) Loch na Claise, 24th September
Goosander – 1 (female) Balchladich Bay, 24th and 26th September
Starling – c135 Blachladich, 24th September
Red-throated Diver – 5 (adults and 1st winter birds) off Balchladich, 24th September
Long-eared Owl – 1 Culkein Stoer, 23rd September
Red-breasted Merganser – 6 Oldany Estuary, 23rd September
Swallow – 8 (adults and juveniles) Culkein Drumbeg, 23rd September
Goldfinch – 3 (1 adult 2 juvenile) Culkein Drumbeg, 23rd September
Wheatear – 2 Stoer, 22nd September
Moorhen – 1 (1st winter) Loch an Aigeil, 22nd September
Kestrel – 1 (male) near Lagg, 22nd September and then again over Oldany Estuary, 23rd September
Stonechat – 7 (4 male 3 female) between start of Glencanisp road and Crocaneach, 22nd September. Great to have records of so many Stonechat and Goldcrest.
Goldcrest – 3 seen and several more heard Glencanisp to Crocaneach, 22nd September
Stonechat – 3 near Strathcroy, 21st September
Ringed Plover – c25 Bay of Culkein, 21st September. This included one colour ringed juvenile bird which was ringed at Achiltibuie this year.
Sanderling – 10 Bay of Culkein, 21st September. We have good numbers of Sanderling this year.
Greylag Goose – 9 flying over Achnacarnin, 21st September. Has anyone seen any other Greylags?
Mallard – 15 Loch an Aigeil, 20th September
Starling – c65 Achmelvich, 20th September
Twite – c25 Achmelvich, 20th September. This included two colour ringed birds; one ringed at Clachtoll spring 2010 and one spring 2012.
Meadow Pipit – 15 near Nedd Bridge, 19th September. Good numbers of Meadow Pipit around each day at the moment as they move through on passage south.
Stonechat – 1 (1st winter male) Culkein Drumbeg, 19th September
Bar-tailed Godwit – 1 Bay of Culkein, 18th, 21st and 24th September
White-tailed Eagle – 1 Glencanisp, 17th September (AV)
Black-throated Diver – 1 (immature) Loch Dhrombaig, 17th September
Great-black Backed Gull – 45 Oldany Estuary, 16th September
Red-throated Diver – 1 adult in summer plumage Bay of Culkein, 15th September
Sanderling – 4 Clashnessie Bay, 15th September
Arctic Skua – 2 pale morph birds Clashnessie Bay, 15th September
Merlin – 1 (female) Clashnessie, 15th September
Arctic Tern – 2 juvenile birds feeding off Bay of Culkein, 14th September
Arctic Skua – 2 dark morph birds over Bay of Culkein, 14th September
Sparrowhawk – 1 (female) Bay of Culkein, 14th September. This bird also flew at the feeding waders in the bay once but was unsuccesful; a hard day for the waders!
Peregrine – 1 (male) Bay of Culkein, 14th September. This bird flew at the feeding waders in the bay twice in two hours, it took an Oystercatcher first time but was unsuccesful on the second attempt.
Snow Bunting – 1 Quinag, 12th September (MB)
Ptarmigan – 6 put to flight by two hunting Golden Eagles, Sail Ghorm, 12th September (MB)
Pink-footed Goose – Six skeins over Culkein Drumbeg (550+ birds in total), 12th September. Wind from the north-west today so looks like they were making the most of it.
Wigeon – 8 past Rubh’an Dunain, 11th September
Sparrowhawk – 1 (female) Bay of Culkein, 11th September. This bird flew through, and put up, the waders feeding in the bay causing a Sanderling to crash dive into the waves – it escaped.
Pink-footed Goose – 10 over Culkein Drumbeg (AH) and 50 over Stoer (JG), 11th September. This is three days earlier than the last two years.
Stonechat – 1 (male) near Loch Poll Hydro track, 10th September
Ring Ouzel – 4 Meall Meadhonach, Suilven, 9th September (MB)
Ptarmigan – 1 Meall Meadhonach, Suilven, 9th September (MB)
Raven – 10 near Raffin, 9th September
Great Skua – 4 over Stoer Head Lighthouse car park, 9th September
Shag – c140 on rocks below Stoer Head Lighthouse, 9th September
Reed Bunting – 4 Culkein Stoer, 9th September
Black Guillemot – 4 off Bay of Culkein, 9th September
Teal – 6 Bay of Culkein, 9th September
White Wagtail – 4 Culkein Drumbeg, 8th September
Mixed Finch flock – c80 comprising Greenfinch, Linnet and Twite Balchladich, 8th September
Mixed Waders – 120+ feeding waders at Bay of Culkein, 7th September. Not a huge number of waders by some standards but quite unusual for Assynt. This included 53 Ringed Plover, 27 Knot (a very high count) and 15 Redshank.
Goldcrest – 2 Inverkirkaig, 7th September
Lesser Black-backed Gull – 3 (adults) Loch Kirkaig, 7th September
Red-breasted Merganser – 8 (females) Loch Kirkaig, 7th September
Cormorant – 3 (1 adult 2 juvenile) Bay of Culkein, 5th September
White Wagtail – 10 in with a total of 27 pied/white wagtails Bay of Culkein, 5th September
Arctic Tern – 1 (juvenile) Bay of Clachtoll, 5th September
Razorbill – 14 (adults and juveniles) Bay of Stoer, 5th September
Sanderling – 39 Bay of Culkein (all juveniles), 9 Bay of Stoer, 4th September
Greenfinch – 10 (adults and juveniles) Clachtoll, 4th September
Linnet – c20 (adults and juveniles) Clachtoll, 4th September
Goldfinch – 6 (juveniles) Clachtoll, 4th September
Manx Shearwater – 10 off Rubh’an Dunain, 4th September
Great-spotted Woodpecker – 1 (juvenile male) on peanut feeder Culkein Drumbeg, 3rd September (MMc)
Barn Owl – 1 (adult) near Stoer in daytime roost, 2nd September (SL). Photo on Gallery-Birds
Lapwing – 22 Clachtoll, 2nd September (AS)
Redshank – 3 Oldany Estuary, 2nd September
Little Grebe – 4 (1 adult 3 juvenile) Loch na Claise, 2nd September
Linnet – 8 (adults and juveniles) Bay of Culkein, 2nd September
Knot – 2 (adult winter) Rubh’an Dunain, 2nd September
Turnstone – 3 Bay of Culkein and 6 Rubh’an Dunain, 2nd September
Ringed Plover – 6 Bay of Culkein and 33 Rubh’an Dunain, 2nd September
Dunlin – 5 Bay of Culkein and 8 Rubh’an Dunain, 2nd September
Sanderling – 20 Bay of Culkein and 17 Rubh’an Dunain, 2nd September
Merlin – 1 adult Culkein Drumbeg, 1st September (CF)
OTHERS
Otter – Single in Bay of Culkein, 26th September
Harbour Porpoise – 5 off Stoer Head Lighthouse, 24th September
Highland or Common Darter Dragonfly – 10+ on track to Loch Poll, 23rd September
Harbour Porpoise – 8+ including juveniles off Stoer Head Lighthouse, 23rd September (LS)
Green Elfcup Chlorociboria aeruginascens – Several fruiting bodies found on small piece of birch in Culag Wood, 20th September. The blue-green staining of wood by the mycelium of this fungi is often seen but the fruiting bodies are less frequent. Photo Gallery – Fungi
Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria – Many good examples in woodland near Oldany Estuary, 16th September
Otter – 3 Bay of Culkein, 14th September. First sighting was of an adult female and cub feeding as they swam out to Rubh’an Dunain and around an hour later a male appeared on the rocks in the bay where he preened and rolled in the sand to clean the salt from his fur.
Grey Seal – 1 in large waves Bay of Culkein, 14th September
Mountain Hare – 1 Quinag, 12th September (MB)
Minke Whale – 1 off Culkein Drumbeg, 12th September (CF)
Chanterelle Cantharellus cibarius – Several examples in woodland near Drumbeg, 10th September. Photo Gallery – Fungi
Speckled Wood – 1 near Loch Poll Hydro track, 10th September
Common Dolphin – c40 off Clachtoll, 9th September (AV)
Small Tortoiseshell – 1 Bay of Culkein, 9th September
Harbour Porpoise – 5 off Rubh’an Dunain, 9th September
Basking Shark – 1 off Point of Stoer and a smaller individual off Rubh’an Dunain, 9th September
Stoat – 1 near Strathcroy, 2nd September