Corncrakes A Plenty

We have been lucky to have spent the past week on Islay in glorious weather and no midges!

In the superb weather a great deal of time has been spent in the hills looking for raptors. Hen Harriers,Peregrines, Sea and Golden Eagles have all been encountered. Whilst in my hide one morning I had an experience that I often thought might happen. A Cuckoo alighted on the roof and spent twenty minutes calling at full pitch. It was a novel experience to sit inches below it in the hide and I was tempted to tickle its feet from underneath! Cuckoos are still quite common on Islay and one day we saw three together on two occasions.

The Summery weather has produced more Corncrakes calling than normal and enabled me to obtain some good film of them

On the down side the flowers are weeks later than normal due to the cold Spring and two days searching for Otters failed to find any. I often suspect at this time of the year that they become more nocturnal in their feeding due to more people being around the beaches etc.