Scotland 29-31 May 2014.......

31 May - A successful short trip to Scotland, fairly last minute with a good weather forecast, and a nice tally of sightings - 3 early morning Otters (1) feeding and playing in the tide wrack at Luib on Skye, all 3 Divers in summer plumage - including several Red-throats, 2 pairs of Black-throated (4) and a summering Great Northern on Skye - and a confiding Slavonian Grebe near Inverness (2,3)......plus White-tailed Eagle and Ptarmigan, Osprey on the nest, and several herds of Red Deer......not forgetting amazing St Kilda! see separate post.......

Sea Eagles, Divers, and Ptarmigan.......

30 May - Another beautiful day of weather, and in the morning a short boat trip from Portree on Skye gave good views of 3 White-tailed Eagles that are habituated to feeding on fish thrown from the boat (1-4).......followed by an afternoon Munro, Ciste Dhubh in Kintail, fairly quiet bird-wise but I nearly trod on a very close Ptarmigan - then when back at the car, a pair of Black-throated Divers were calling and displaying on Loch Cluanie.

St Kilda

29 May - I achieved a long-held ambition today when I finally set foot on St Kilda, 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides - the islands have always fascinated me, having dramatic scenery, vast numbers of seabirds - and also the history of habitation by the islanders until 1936. The crossing from Skye was 3.5h each way on calm seas, and the islands appeared mysterious, wrapped in mist - we spent 4h on the main island Hirta, plenty of time to see the ruined village where the inhabitants subsisted largely on seabirds, in days when communication and travel must have been very difficult. I saw the distinctive St Kilda Wren, much larger than the mainland bird......we then cruised the massive cliffs of Boreray, Stac Lee and Stac an Armin (5-7), that hold between them a quarter of a million pairs of seabirds, including 140,000 pairs of Puffins (10).....an awesome sight. 60,000 pairs of Gannets (11) were also very impressive.....alongside Kittiwakes, all the Auks, And large numbers of Fulmars (8).....with Bonxies (9) and 2 Arctic Skuas cruising over. Other birds on the crossing included Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, Storm Petrel and Manx Shearwater. A long bit worthwhile day with stunning views of Skye and the Cuillin from the boat.

Shorncote again.......

27 May - The first visit to CWP patch for a month or so, after going to China......the seasons have really progressed and the vegetation is much more lush. The highlight a new singing Grasshopper Warbler, in the overgrown field opposite the reedbed at Shorncote (1,2)......also there Cetti's, Sedge and Reed (5,6) Warblers, Blackcap and Garden Warbler together with Whitethroat. A pair of LRPs (3,4) on the rough ground near the working quarry, also 6 Lapwings and 2 Shelduck. A Yellow Wagtail flew over. At pit 74, from the gate, a Hobby, 2 Little Egrets flying into the colony, and singing Cetti's Warbler, also at least 6 Common Terns. Swifts and hirundines feeding low over all the lakes in the unsettled weather.

Watery sunrise......

26 May - Red sky at morning, shepherd's warning? sunrise not sunset this time.......

Otmoor Turtle Doves.......

25 May - Amazing views at Otmoor this morning of 2 Turtle Doves, usually a shy species, and one posed for the camera (2-4)......also there, good views of 2 Hobbies (5), 4 Red Kites (6,7) mobbed by nesting Lapwings, Buzzard and Kestrel, 2 Cuckoos, 2 Little Egrets, several Redshanks, and six species of singing Warblers. Also stunning views of feeding Swifts (8). Photos JM.

Great Reed Warbler

24 May - A Great Reed Warbler singing at Chew Valley Lake was a convenient small detour, en route to collect bedding plants from my sister's nursery - it was singing fairly continuously, with its distinctive harsh repeated phrases, from the reedbed by Herriott's Bridge, but was difficult to see. Photo courtesy of CVL twitter feed.

English sunsets......

23 May - Showery weather back home, with some good evening cloud effects.........

compared with a Chinese sunset at Beidaihe last week, with windblown smog in evidence from the industrial cites to the southwest......

China part 2 - Beidaihe and Happy Island, 3-21 May 2014

22 May-

China part 1 - Mai Po, Hong Kong

2 May - After dropping the bags off on arrival from London, straight off to Mai Po as peak spring migration season and a good high tide time of 2pm. An excellent 26 species of wader seen, with highlights including a single Nordmann's Greenshank that I picked out from its commoner cousins by paler upper parts, shorter dumper shape and yellow bill base ; 2 large Far Eastern Curlews, with buff rumps in flight; superb Asian Dowitchers, Curlew Sandpipers and Red Knot, all in red summer plumage, as were the Pacific Golden Plovers - confiding birds on the receding tide at Deep Bay in the afternoon, including Red-necked Stints, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 2 Grey-tailed Tattlers and Tereks - large numbers of Avocets, and a big flock of striking Spotted Redshanks in their black summer plumage. Also at least 12 Black-faced Spoonbills left facing migration shortly after most of their congeners left to breed. Well worth the extra day and a fascinating spectacle, with good photo opportunities,photos to follow in a few weeks. JM.