May 2025
Bird Sightings
In May the generally dry, sunny spring continued including no measurable rain between 27 April and 23 May . The combined rainfall of April/May this year was about half of the combined rainfall of April/May in 2024. Weather conditions this year seemed more conducive than last year for birds trying to get on with breeding. Although the early breeding garden birds seemed to be flourishing, there was concern expressed in some areas about the late establishment of nesting House Martin and Swallow because of a shortage of mud for nest building.
Throughout the month the numbers of the usual summer visitors like Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Cuckoo continued to build up slowly. Cuckoo seemed to be particularly widespread and noticeable this year with small groups being reported from some areas. In contrast the reports of Tree Pipit, Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat and Wood Warbler were sparse even towards the end of the month.
In addition to the "firsts" reported in the April notes, here are some further "firsts" in May with the 2024 arrival dates in brackets for comparison: Spotted Flycatcher, Glenashdale Woods on 1st (14th) and Arctic Tern, Pirnmill on 6th (24th). To date there have been no reports yet this year of Common Tern, Corncrake, Lesser Whitethroat, Nightjar, Quail or Swift.
Species who breed further north continued to pass through including: five Great Northern Diver off Blackwaterfoot on 1st, two White Wagtail in Porta Buidhe on 2nd, ten Turnstone in Blackwaterfoot also on 2nd, fourteen Whimbrel in Porta Buidhe on 3rd, two Greenshank in Catacol Bay on 13th, nine Sanderling in Blackwaterfoot on 14th and three Dunlin on Silver Sands on 22nd.
In May, breeding was well underway for many species. Encouraging signs included reports of Golden Eagle, Golden Plover, Hen Harrier, Red-throated Diver, Short-eared Owl and Long-eared Owl all holding breeding territories. Activity was reported from all the monitored heronries on the island, although some heronries had been disrupted by winter gales, and a small number of areas held small numbers of breeding Lapwing. The number of coastal cliffs holding nesting Fulmar continues to seriously decline with only one cliff containing one pair reported to date. By contrast the Black Guillemot colonies seem to be thriving. The cordoned off area at Porta Buidhe seems to be again proving to be a safer breeding area for shore birds and the use of notices on other stretches of Arran’s shores seems to be having a positive effect . Other breeding records included: a female Mallard with ten young in Kildonan on 1st, a pair of roding Woodcock over the Lakin on 10th, a pair of Shelduck with seven young at Clauchlands on 21st, a pair of Mute Swan with six young at Cordon on 27 May, a flock of over sixty Starling with many fledged young in Strathwillan on 28th and an Eider creche with nine young in Porta Buidhe on 30th.
Here are some other highlights from May: twenty-five Manx Shearwater off Pirnmill on 1st, five Sandwich Tern at Blackwaterfoot on 2nd, two hundred and fifty Guillemot and seventy Gannet off Pirnmill on 5th, nine Lesser Black-backed Gull at Slidderywaterfoot also on 5th, two Common Crossbill at Torr Righ Beag on 17th, an Osprey flying across Lamlash Bay on 25th, a Dipper in Sannox on 27th and two Bullfinch in Whiting Bay on 31st. There were seven reports of Little Egret in May with the last one on 29th. Over the winter there were over eighty reports in January alone. This colonising species is currently overwintering on Arran and has not yet stayed to breed.
With the long daylight hours, it is a great time of year to be birding. Most birds are getting on with the business of breeding. Please take a moment to report any signs of breeding birds to me, but please also remember that under the Nature Conservation (Scotland
