Wknd 21-22 June

WeBS ponds largely deserted on Sunday but old friend the drake Mandarin showed up again at East Fortune ponds a couple of years absence (previous records 18/7/10, 17/7+16/8/11). Wonder where it's been hanging out since? Seems there have been none in Lothian since late 2011 in Edinburgh, possibly same bird, with one in March 2010 at Haddington also possibly same? Gladhouse birds not reported since a pair in 2008, and female in 2009, perhaps they did not survive there beyond that date?

On owls it seems this is a bumper year for breeding locally and Long-eareds in particular seem to have produced lots of young. With thanks to various correspondents who have made efforts to look we've had birds at 10 sites in Lothian within last couple of weeks, of which now all 10 have had hunger-calling chicks with brood size up to 5! On Friday, after detecting 3 young birds in pines in hills near Edinburgh, Harry Dott and I were fortunate to watch a couple of young hunting over heather at c. 22:30hrs, remarkably still persistently hunger-calling while doing so. Also a Cuckoo dashing round the same site. Locally I've also had a couple of Barn Owls taking prey to young, and young Tawnys this week at Gosford north wood and Redcoll. However despite it apparently being a good Quail year, with lots of reports particularly in Scotland, some further north than usual, I have failed to find any in the hinterland behind Longniddry, locations I found them in both 2009 and 2011, still time yet though.

On the coast, not many gulls around but the black darvic young Danish GBB was again at Port Seton on Saturday. A ringed Kittiwake stood by the Seton Burn. Many auks feeding out in the Forth, 140+ Guillemot in Gosford Bay Sunday, with Razorbills and 2 Puffins, a Puffin setting off with fish offshore from Prestonpans last week, a long journey to the colonies from there. Also 70 Velvet Scoter and 100+ Common Scoter well out in Gosford Bay Sunday. Nice also to see first returning Goosander, 8 f/imm along the shore, fishing in shallows as they do in characteristic "head in the water" fashion. Also at Seton, 4 Turnstone at dusk on the longest day, which are either very early returning or young birds which never went north. Possibly the latter as none were in bright adult breeding plumage and post-breeding moult is supposed to start late June, and also per BWP "Age of first breeding, Finland, 2 years (Bergman 1946), but (circumstantially) 4 years, USSR (Bianki 1967)". Lots of Common Tern along the coast feeding, courtship feeding and heading west with fish, also 4 Sandwich Tern at Aberlady during the week. [Monday - 130 Common Scoter in bay and 2 Great Crested Grebe at Ferny Ness, also first juvenile Guillemot with parent].

Was also up at Pishwanton on Saturday where pleasing sight of a Spotted Flycatcher FF with large insect prey. Blindwells Mute Swans have 4 smallish cygnets. Finally, not a bird, but my first rabbit in Longniddry, a juvenile behind the play group hut outside the church, a long way - 300+m each way - from safety.

Not current, but of note, Shag red-TSZ here as a juvenile in 2009 subsequently seen in Norfolk (map).

Wknd 30 June - 1 July

Three red "alpha code" Sandwich Terns on Wrecked Craigs rocks on Saturday morning, the rising tide brought them in sufficiently to read and confirm by photos the codes EHD, ELK and EKL - a good job too as the latter pair might have gone down as a transcription error had the view been brief and fleeting! One previous record here was white-EVD at Ferny Ness in September 2010, c/o Abbie. EHD is a Farnes chick from 2005, this and the two others were caught on the Ythan 29 July, 30 July and 1 August last year, respectively. Per Grampian Ringing Group blog another of this batch was subsequently recorded in Namibia, a rather more exciting sighting! [PS - EHD subsequently recorded at Knott End, Lancs on 19/8/13]

Shags today were red-CWE, blue-ZLP and green-USS, all resident/returning.

Waders included a returning Common Sandpiper, 3 Golden Plover and just 5 Barwits, but a couple of those in breeding finery.

Quick WeBS circuit on Sunday, arriving at Chapel could hear a Quail calling from fields N, perhaps same as that reported by Jim earlier, then on S side had heard two more bursts of calls before pulling up at resr, then nothing. This has happened before, I suspect the car sets off calling. Very little on waterbodies, East Fortune Mutes had failed yet again (as every year since last success in 2006); Drem pair had 3 small young though. Moorhen chicks were in a deep concrete tank at Drem sewage works, did not try to rescue as per recent Mallard as they looked healthy and tank was swarming with insect life - they may be better in than out!

House Martins were occupying 2 nests at East Fenton workshop, a third nest nearly complete with a ring of wet mud at top - first time I have seen this species here in 8 years of visits; also used nest of this species at Fenton Barns.

As per garden log, was pleased to finally see an Osprey in Lothian in the morning, one right over the house; have spent countless hours on look-out for this species over last 8 years and had a couple of near misses, nevertheless the vast majority of sightings in Lothian seem to be concentrated at Musselburgh and the North Sea coast, also a good number Aberlady. As far as I know there have been 3 others seen over Longniddry since 1991 by other local birders. I'm sure the fact that visibility was poor this morning is no coincidence, any self-respecting Osprey never ventures near us otherwise!

Now on to my other Lothian bogey bird, Hen Harrier!

More breeding atlas

Now in fifth season of six, some may assume local atlas work is all done and dusted but far from it! Though we have reached reasonable coverage for the commonest species in the most well visited areas many others are still well down, e.g. the updated maps (30 May) show common species like Wren, Dunnock and Song Thrush with many "losses" even in Lothian, particularly the West, where all tetrads visits are now done. The suspicion is that these losses aren't simply declines in status, though there may be an element of that too. Things are even worse looking at nocturnals with drastic "losses" for Woodcock particularly in the west still a cause for concern, likewise Tawny Owl is still poorly represented even in Midlothian.

Does it really matter, can't we just plot the results and forget it? The problem is if we cannot achieve broadly similar coverage we end up not being able to make a great deal of sense of the comparisons with the previous atlas - whilst significant losses and gains may still shine through, for others there will be a lot of doubt and difficulty in interpreting the results. Plus there are very few active workers now so there's still a lot to do!

Not able to find time during exam season finally got back to Preston Hall (more nocturnals of early May) and pulled up at same layby opposite Fleming's Wood just after 22:00hrs on 7 May - remarkably a Woodcock went over in roding flight with 30 seconds, and on its second transit sparked off a calling Tawny. This is mildly encouraging, with only a few minutes spent at this spot in these two visits Woodcock easy to find, now converted to "T" for permanent territory, and logged on first visit for 3 new tetrads - hinting that many/most of the losses on our maps are just lack of coverage, as suspected. Also had success later that evening with Tawny at Dean Bridge by New Winton, but no Woodcock there.

With local reports of Quail on the increase suspected they must be back in numbers locally but actually have drawn a blank on several visits to regular haunts up to 12 June - in particular on still evening of 10 June went out after dusk round Redcoll, Cottyburn back-road, Seton Mains, Seton Chapel etc - despite some time listening remarkably also not one owl heard and just a very distant Grasshopper Warbler at Seton (the many territories of Sedge & Grasshopper Warbler, plus Reed Bunting, all eliminated by the new golf course - though the latter has brought some welcome new fresh water pools, already well used by gulls and also Mute Swan & Mallard).

Tried again for Quail on Tuesday 12 June in daytime, some time around Redcoll limekilns were some very nice habitat for them, cereal crop up to several inches on gentle slope overlooking the Forth, also Laverocklaw, Elvingston, Hoprig, Macmerry and Penston, all negative - found here in last Quail influx but perhaps they have not penetrated to these areas this year?

However at the last location some compensation by way of a Yellow Wagtail, singing from the eastern-most shed roof (top pic above) - quite a rarity in Lothian away from their stronghold around Torness/Dunbar, which itself is the most northerly location of confirmed breeding in the UK (per last BTO bird of the day map for 19/4/11). Indeed it is only the second Yellow Wag I've been lucky enough to see locally (first was in adjacent tetrads of NT47S/X, but seen only on 11 May 2008, though perhaps also a couple of days previously per Abbie) and we have only two more reports further west in the local atlas. The current date would suggest it could be a resident bird so I'll check again to see if there's a pair and/or breeding attempt there. Checking archives to 1991 there are very few potential breeders away from Torness, confirmed in last atlas for Drem (1993) and a previous July record from Coates (2006), also May records for Athelstaneford (1991, 1997) and Prora (2000), a final late August record at latter site in 2004 perhaps also a migrant. Bird still present Wednesday, per Abbie!

Quail recovery

This is an interesting recovery of a British-ringed Quail, shot in France on southbound migration in September. The BTO Online Ringing Report website gives details of all five previous recoveries related to UK Quail exchanges.

Wknd 16-17 July

WeBS Sunday turned up this eclipse drake Mandarin again at East Fortune main pond, a year less a day since last and only previous sighting at same place (no other records for WeBS 1988 to date). Wonder where it spends the breeding season - could it be lurking on the Tyne?

For 7th year running Mute Swans failed - otters?

At Drem pools Quail were singing from fields N and south, another at Chapel farm. Considering I only visit these (4) places once per month, a few minutes per stop, moreover birds singing as I got out the car as has often happened previously, one can only imagine how much (unmonitored and unrecorded) Quail song there is in total! Also given we're past mid-July makes me wonder whether we have again had a second wave of arrivals, singing more vigorously than the first batch which are all settled?

Wknd 4-5 June

A circuit of Redcoll to Cottyburn and back home by bike (repeat of last week) produced 3 calling Quail in the early hours. First was by Redcoll limekilns, responded immediately to a whistled "whit whit" call. Negative at locations of late May records, Setonhill and Wheatrig, making me wonder whether these all relate to same - wandering a kilometre or so must be likely?

Another heard from railway walk in large cereal field E of Redhouse Wood, also responding to whistled call. Had three "probable" snips of call here on 29 May but a breeze got up and prevented confirming - a while listening at Redhouse the following day, late afternoon, was negative (even in calm conditions, whistle prompt tried). Persistence is clearly required, plus visit at right time of day! This now definite bird is a great first record for my home tetrad, NT47N (plugs an obvious gap).

Back at Longniddry railway station a Tawny was heard from Setonhill and two more then started up noisy calling towards Harelaw. Remarkably this seemed to trip another Quail to sing, from fields south of the station, east of Longniddry Farm. Perhaps this is where the Quail first heard south of Lorne Bridge has relocated, having again been negative at latter location on two more tries, but also within 1km? Or, maybe there are many more undetected and there's one at both locations!? Whatever, my smug feeling at being able to call up Quails by the quality (not) of my whistle mimic of their call rapidly evaporated as it dawned on me that probably any loud call/noise at night is going to set them off, even that of a predator! Indeed I was reminded of the Ballencrieff birds from 2009 which I noted then were immediately triggered by the first notes of a Skylark in the dawn chorus at 03:18hrs - I did wonder at the time whether this was a coincidence but I'm now certain it wasn't. Abbie also tells me loud music and car alarms had set her birds off!

A final observation was that my whistle call Quail impression also set off at least three Song Thrushes in different places; I also noted this on last week's excursion. This is another species sleeping with one eye open and ready to strike up at the drop of a hat, even in the darkest phase of the night.

B'day party duties Sunday landed us in Seafield, Edinburgh - set up scope and on first scan picked up a Bonxie offshore flying low N; tracked it for 15 minutes as it headed strongly N gaining height past Inchkeith and ultimately somewhere off Kirkcaldy where pursued by a gull; showed every sign of continuing due N but guess it would have continued to head round the Fife coast. Had it perhaps arrived overland from the Solway?