December 2025
Bird Sightings
The wet and unsettled weather in October and November continued into December except for the last week, when it was drier and colder.
The highlight of December was the first ever Arran report of Cetti’s Warbler when it was heard and seen on Tuesday 30 December. Its range, like that of Little Egret, is spreading north. It first bred in Britain in the early-1970s, in Kent. Its range has since moved northwards and it now breeds through to northern England and Wales. In Scotland there have only been around twenty records. For more information click here.
There was a bit of a dearth of reporting of winter visitors, perhaps because of the impact of the weather on the observers. There was only one report of Merlin, one Benlister on 24th, one report of Fieldfare, eight Burrican Hill on 26th, and one report of Redwing, three Sliddery Shore on 31st. There were no reports in December of Blackcap, Brambling and Rook.
Wintering wildfowl were to the fore including: four White-fronted Geese in Feorline on 9th, three hundred Greylag Geese in the Shiskine Valley on 11th, one hundred Wigeon in Torbeg on 12th, a family of Whooper Swan, two adults with three young, in Shiskine Valley on 15th, seventy-six Canada Geese in Clachaig on 26th , thirty-four Teal on Sliddery Shore on 28th and a male Goldeneye at Port na Lochan from 3rd to 11th.
Other groups of wintering birds included: seventy-five Chaffinch at Whitefarland on 7th, sixty Herring Gull in Torbeg on 11th, thirty-four Golden Plover in Benlister on 24th, forty-five Lapwing in the Shiskine Valley on 26th, fifty-two Ringed Plover in Blackwaterfoot also on 26th, forty-five Curlew on Sliddery Shore on 31st and one hundred and twenty Starling and forty five House Sparrow in Sliddery.
Again this year, both Kingfisher and Little Egret appeared on Arran after the breeding season. In December there were five further reports of Kingfisher, all from the east coast of Arran. All were of single birds. In addition, over fifty reports of Little Egret were received from over twenty different locations all around Arran’s coast. This is the first year that Little Egret has been reported on Arran every month. For more information on the colonisation of Arran by Little Egret click here.
Other interesting records this month included: five Little Grebe on Mossend Pond on 6th, an adult White-tailed Eagle off Whitefarland on 12th, five Goosander by Fisherman’s Walk on 14th, a Dipper at Cordon on 25th, one Red Grouse by Goatfell track on 26th, thirty-four Shag off Pirnmill on 27th, a pair of Shelduck in Auchenhew Bay on 28th, and six Water Rail in Corriecravie on 30th. In addition, there were reports of all three divers including one Red-throated Diver off Kingscross on 19th, four Black-throated Diver off Corrie also on 19th and three Great Northern Diver off Pirnmill on 27th.
Although still in the depth of winter there were some signs of approaching spring with, ten displaying Red-breasted Merganser off Whitefarland on 7th, two Gannet off Sannox on 14th, rafts of two hundred and fifty Eider courting in Lamlash Bay on 10th and a Song Thrush singing in Lamlash on 26th.
Gardens provide a safe refuge for some birds in winter. Among the many records received were: eight Coal Tit in Pirnmill on 5th, one Treecreeper in Whitefarland on 7th, one Great Spotted Woodpecker in Lagg on 17th, seven Long-tailed Tit in Kildonan on 18th, ten Greenfinch in Blackwaterfoot on 23rd, and a Nuthatch in Strathwillan on 29th. That was the first record this year of Nuthatch. There were two records in 2024 and one of these was also in Strathwillan on 30 January 2024.
Finally, here is a date for your diary: the weekend of Friday 23 to Sunday 25 January 2026. That weekend stock up your bird feeders, spend one hour of your weekend watching your garden birds, and note down the highest number you see of each bird species. This is the weekend of the “Big Garden Birdwatch”. Last year nearly half a million people throughout the UK and over thirty on Arran took part in this valuable exercise. For more information and to get the free starter pack, visit the RSPB website Big Garden Birdwatch http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/ . If you do decide to take part, please share your records with me.
