Walking along the bay this week I met a Winklepicker, (no not the shoe) but a collector of Winkles.  This led me to ask a few questions and I was soon learning about a world I knew very little. Common Periwinkles (to give them their correct name) are apparently best harvested at a full or new moon when the tides are at their lowest and it is also helpful if the barometric pressure is high.  When the tides are low more periwinkles are exposed and they are easier to collect. This week therefore had the perfect conditions for a good haul

Winkles prefer stony ground rather than mud and can also be found under seaweed.  They feed on microscopic algae that coat the rocks. Obviously a strong back is a requirement for this employment and I would not last two minutes with my bad back.  Most Winkles end up in Spain or France these days as they are more highly prized than here in the United Kingdom.  This led me on to consider other mollusc's that inhabit the bay and a list ensued i.e. Mussels, Cockles, Scallop, Limpet, Barnacle, Whelks, Razor Shell and finally Oyster.  A veritable feast one might say, all free to collect and with the right cooking, delicious to eat.

So get out on the shoreline and see how many species you can identify. That includes seaweeds, jelly fish, starfish, crabs, eels and lugworms. There are also beautiful lichens growing on the many rocks that abound the Isle Of Seil.  Take a digital camera with you and record everything you find.  Then you can sit in the comfort of your own warm home later, and take time over the identification.

There are three Divers (Loons as they are called in North America) that it is possible to see around these waters out of the breeding season, These are Great Northern, Black-throated and Red-throated Diver. Probably the most common would be Red-throated Diver and at this time of the year, they would appear in their winter-plumage as shown below.  So it was not too surprising to discover a Red-throated Diver in Seil Sound on Wednesday afternoon.

I have included below pictures of Black-throated  and Great Northern Diver to help with identification. As you can see identifying them is not easy, particularly at distance. The Red-throated Diver is slighter than the other two with a grey and white head and upturned bill which gives it a particular jizz. The Black-throated Diver below has a distinctive white patch to the rear flank and has a more clear black and white head.

The Great Northern Diver is the daddy, looking chunkier and more powerful.  It is lacking the smart contrasts of the Black-throated and is generally a more messier looking bird, without the rear white patch. In the breeding season they all transform into more beautiful birds with stunning plumages.

 There are three Divers (Loons as they are called in North America) that it is possible to see around these waters out of the breeding season, These are Great Northern, Black-throated and Red-throated Diver.

Probably the most common would be Red-throated Diver and at this time of the year, they would appear in their winter-plumage as shown above. So it was not too surprising to discover a Red-throated Diver in Seil Sound on Wednesday afternoon.

I have included below pictures of Great Northern and Red-throated Diver to help with identification. As you can see identifying them is not easy, particularly at distance. The Red-throated Diver is slighter than the other two with a grey and white head and upturned bill which gives it a particular jizz. 

The Black-throated Diver above has a distinctive white patch to the rear flank and has a more clear black and white head.

The Great Northern Diver is the daddy, looking chunkier and more powerful.  It is lacking the smart contrasts of the Black-throated and is generally a more messier looking bird, without the rear white patch.

In the breeding season they all transform into more beautiful birds with stunning plumages.

The beginning of October is the time to look skyward and listen for the first trumpeting calls of the Whooper Swan as they move south from Iceland to their wintering grounds.  The Whoopers equivalent in North America is the Trumpeter Swan and it is probably a more suitable title as it has a loud bugling call. 

Mute Swans make little sound, apart from the noise of the wind passing through their flight feathers and Bewick Swans do have a call but is more subdued than the Whooper. Bewicks are also a rare winter visitor here on the Isle of Seil. 

So the group of twelve Swans flying south towards Ballachuan on Wednesday  in v-formation making an awful noise were most certainly Whooper's. They do sometimes drop down for a break on Teddy's Pond and Ballachuan Loch, so its worth checking all Swans at this time of year.

The Whooper Swan can also be told from the Bewick's by its larger size, longer neck and larger amount of yellow on its wedge shaped bill. It is a similar size to the Mute Swan but easily distinguished in good light by the bill colour and shape. It tends to carry its neck stiffly erect and holds its head more horizontally than the Mute Swan.

They are usually found feeding in damp grasslands, marshes, agricultural land, lakes and reservoirs. Their food consists mainly of grass, grain, potatoes and other vegetation such as the roots of aquatic plants.

They over winter here in Western Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England and parts of East Anglia and return north to Iceland from mid-March onwards.

On Monday walking on the road past Winterton a small flock of Yellowhammers were feeding on the seed heads of Common Knapweed on the roadside verge.  This was the second record of numbers of Yellowhammers at Balvicar in the past week, the last being a small flock of ten near the golf course.  It would appear they have had a good year, as records of this declining species are hard won.

As I continued along the road towards the sea I noticed some plants were still flowering on the sheltered verges, Devil's-bit Scabious, Meadow Buttercup, Yarrow, Red Campion and Common Knapweed.  They were not aware autumn was about to betray their confidence, as night frosts were not far away.

On reaching the sea I looked across Seil Sound and found something interesting on the water. My first impression was a Guillemot, but as it moved closer I was still unsure. My uncertainty was well founded as this was a winter plumaged Guillemot which I had not seen before. As with many sea birds they change their plumage as winter approaches. It would appear that this has something to do with camouflage when fishing.

Other items of interest included the last sightings of our summer visitor the Swallow on 1st October and the arrival of both of our winter visitors from Scandinavia, Redwing and Fieldfare by the 5th. These latter birds (which belong to the family of thrushes) spend the winter with us and may be seen until the spring months, when once again they wend their way far northwards.

September is nearly always a good month for birds with our summer migrants returning to their winter quarters;  to be  replaced by our own winter visitors. This coming and going results in a good mix of species including passage and vagrant birds, so you never quite know what will turn up.

So probably not surprisingly three new species were added this week. The first was a Snow Goose with a flock of thirty-five Greylag Geese in Strongorm Fields, seen from Cnoc Mhor. This bird was probably a vagrant  from introductions that have taken place on Mull and Coll over the past years.

The second was a Great Spotted Woodpecker which flew into the top of a conifer tree on Cnoc Mhor and finally a Mistle Thrush which was sat on top of a electricity post close to five Redwings on the wires, also seen from Cnoc Mhor.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker and Mistle Thrush both resident breeding species on the mainland do not occur regularly on the island so both were interesting finds. It may be that the Mistle Thrush was accompanying the Redwings which have just arrived from Scandinavia to escape the long hard winter.  Other migrant thrushes such as Blackbirds, Fieldfares and Song Thrushes also join our resident birds to compete for food through autumn, winter and early spring.