Sightings – December 2012
BIRDS and WAXWING sightings
White-tailed Eagle – 1 (adult) over Scron, 27th December (A. Summers) This helps soften the blow of the dead eagle from the 23rd, a bit!
Barn Owl – 1 in Clachtoll garden, 26th December (A. Cook)
White-tailed Eagle – Sadly this was a report of a dead bird on the beach at Balchladich on 23rd December (A. Roberts). Andy Summers visited the site on the 26th and removed a leg ring and coloured wing tag from it so that the bird’s history can be obtained.
Brambling – 1 Clachtoll, 19th December (A. Summers)
Twite – 65 Clachtoll, 19th December (A. Summers)
Yellowhammer – 12 Torbreck, 18th December (G. Richards) This is a good number of these birds for Assynt and could well be Scandinavian migrants
Curlew – 16 near Loch an Aigeil, 18th December (W. Jack)
Red Kite – 1 near Torbreck, 17th December (J Gorman)
Purple Sandpiper – 10 Badnaban, 16th December (G. Richards)
Great Northern Diver – 1 Loch Inver, 14th December (A. Summers)
Blackcap – 1 (female) Baddidarach, 12th December
Little Auk – 1 flying over Bay of Culkein, 9th December (G. Richards/P. Mackenzie). A rare vagrant record for Assynt but perhaps the north-westerly gale on the 9th brought it in.
Ringed Plover – 17 Bay of Culkein, 9th December (G. Richards/P. Mackenzie)
Turnstone – 20+ Bay of Culkein, 9th December (G. Richards/P. Mackenzie)
Little Grebe – 2 Loch Inver, 7th December (A. Summers)
Teal – 8 (1 male 7 female) Loch na Claise, 3rd December (A. Summers)
Fieldfare – 100+ Torbreck (G. Richards), 2nd December
Little Grebe – 1 Loch na Bruthaich, 2nd December
Woodcock – 1 flushed near Loch Poll track, 1st December
WAXWING SIGHTINGS As we did last month we will keep our Waxwing sightings separate for ease of reference.
25th December – 1 Nedd (P. Garnett/I. Evans).
12th December – 1 near Clachtoll and 1 at rear of TIC Lochinver, (both A. Summers)
11th December – 1 in garden Clashmore (L. Sleight). Looks like the vast majority of the Waxwings have moved away with just a few stragglers still around
5th December – 22 rear of TIC Lochinver (A. Summers). These birds are costing Andy a lot in apples – hand in any windfalls! (DH)
3rd December – 10 rear of TIC Lochinver (A. Summers)
2nd December – 20 Inver Park Lochinver
2nd December – c20 Torbreck (G. Richards)
1st December – 35 Culkein Drumbeg and 15 rear of TIC Lochinver (both DA Haines). Some of the Lochinver birds moved to the cotoneaster bushes over the sea wall in front of the TIC
OTHERS
Stoat – 1 in ermine at Achnacarnin, 26th December (R. Kinnaird)
Common Frog – 1 (red in colour) on the move at Nedd, 24th December (P. Garnett)
Mottled Umber moth – 1 (male) at house light Torbreck, 15th December (G. Richards) A nice record of one of our ‘winter moths’
Otter – singles Stoer Beach (S. Warwick) and Badidarrach (A. Summers) both 14th December
Chantrelle mushrooms – near Ardroe, 5th December (B Ritchie)