Loch Ryan via Turnberry

This was my 3rd visit to Dumfries & Galloway since the turn of the year, surely proving how good the birding is in this region. For once it was a bright day and although the occasional shower threatened it never came to much. The only downside was a stiff Westerly wind that at times made telescope use difficult.

Iain came over for 7:30 am and we headed off down the M77. The first stop was Turnberry where we were hopeful of a few divers, auks etc. Almost the first bird we saw was a Red Throated Diver that was just coming into Summer plumage and showed just offshore. I had refreshed my list for 2011 just a few days ago and counted 99, this was bird 100 for the year. We stopped & scoped a small flock of Greenfinches and Linnets on the upper tideline for something scarcer but we were out of luck. A Stonechat was however quickly added to the list.

We frequently scoped the sea in the hope of Divers but other than perhaps 10 Red Throated in total we were to be disappointed. We did however see several Guillemots and Shags and a few Gannets passed offshore. We spent some time in the shelter of Turnberry point scanning the rocks that were quickly becoming exposed on a falling tide. We saw up to 10 Purple Sandpiper which is always nice along with Turnstones. Small numbers of Dunlin were also seen and a small flock of Golden Plover flew past offshore.

From Turnberry Point we saw several small rafts of Eider and a few Red Breasted Merganser and Goldeneye but nothing much else. At least 1 Rock Pipit was feeding on the rocks below the Point. We walked back along the beach and as we went checked for waders. A couple of Ringed Plovers were present but it was a little disappointing not to see Sanderling.

From Turnberry we headed further South and reached the layby just North of Cairnryan for just after midday. Straight away we found Black Guillemot, indeed there were several, mostly now into Summer plumage. I located a distant Diver that I suspected was a Great Northern, but as is their want, they frequently dive and I lost it. Fortunately, it appeared to be coming towards us and in so doing I was eventually able to confirm my original suspicion.

After lunch we headed further down the loch to the Bishop Burn where then tide was now quite low but nonetheless there was a great number of birds to be seen. Most impressive was close to 1,000 Scaup strung right along the tideline. The best of the rest included 19 Pintail, Shelduck, Wigeon, Bar Tailed Godwit and 2 Great Crested Grebe. I sought some shelter behind the small building and scanned through the large numbers of Gulls that were present in the hope of a Med or perhaps the Iceland Gull that is sometimes present. However, time was short and I had to give up.

Pale Bellied Brent Goose still remained one of our target species, so we moved round to the Wig in the hope of connecting there. Time was short as I had to be back in Glasgow for no later than 5:30pm to go to Patricia's mum's 80th birthday dinner in Milngavie and so we could not devote too much time to searching. We saw 2 Long Tailed Duck and another Great Crested Grebe, but the Geese would have to wait for another day !