Day 1
I had three target birds for my Scottish list as I headed north. Two of them were in Dumfries and Galloway: the Avocet and the Willow Tit. The third bird, the Ross's Goose, was in Ayrshire. I made my first stop at Browhouses, where I observed seven Avocets.
Browhouses
The Avocets were far away, and the heat haze made it difficult to take clear photographs.
Continuing from there, I stopped at Loch Ken, this was my first visit to this RSPB site.
Loch Ken
After searching for over two hours, I finally spotted a Willow Tit calling near the picnic area. This site is one of the best in Scotland for this species, and I felt lucky to have seen one, especially since I was just passing through.
The willow tit is the fastest declining resident bird species in the UK, and the second-fastest declining species overall, after the turtle dove, the population declined by 86% between 1995 and 2020.
The first national willow tit survey was undertaken between 2019 and 2021, with county-level surveys undertaken across the known range by Willow Tit study groups, county bird clubs, other conservation organisations and other volunteers. The survey was organised by RSPB, with support from the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, Natural England (through the 'Action for Birds in England' partnership), Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Ornithological Society. The survey results show that the willow tit population in Great Britain is estimated at nearly 5,700 breeding pairs of which 76% were in England, 21% in Wales and 3% in Scotland. The ‘top 3’ ceremonial counties across Britain were North Yorkshire, County Durham and Derbyshire. In Wales, most of the population were in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Breconshire and Montgomeryshire. Almost all the willow tits in Scotland were in Dumfries & Galloway.
Work is ongoing to understand the causes of willow tit population decline. The results from this survey can help target conservation action at local and regional levels. A key tool will be the newly published Willow Tit Conservation Handbook from the recent Back From the Brink project, for those who are looking to undertake practical habitat management for willow tit, which provides advice on habitat management techniques and monitoring and surveying methods with supporting information on ecology and case study examples.
After observing the Willow Tit, I headed north to Galston in Ayrshire and arrived just before dusk.
Bruntwood Flood
I spotted the Ross's Goose with a group of Pink-footed Geese. This bird is being reported as an adult of unknown origin, I wanted to see it anyway as a precautionary tick since the acceptance of these geese can be uncertain.
I had a great day birding and saw my three target birds. I watched the sun go down and started the long drive north to Aviemore, to my hotel, where I arrived just after 10:00 pm, exhausted.
