Ayrshire Winter Bird Race 2006 > Fraser's Birding Website

This was the sixth Ayrshire New Year Bird Race, the point of which is to find as many species as possible between 0830h and 1630h within the county of Ayrshire in south-west Scotland. After compiling a target list of around 130 species and the optimal locations covering as much habitat diversity as possible, I came up with an itinerary and decided to enter into the madness along with (after some convincing) fellow team members Lisa Ketchen (the girlbirder) and Alistair Simpson.

To save taking a day off work on the Friday, I travelled up to Scotland on the overnight coach from London. This service was scheduled to arrive in Glasgow at 0715h on the 14 January allowing just enough time to get picked up and drive down to Dick Vernon's (this year's bird race host) in Ayr. Using a different bus company from usual (bad move) the drivers decided to have an hour-long break for some unexplained reason at Keele Services in Staffordshire at 0300h (I'm sure it wasn't for the night-singing Robins - not tickable yet!). And, of course, the bus arrived an hour late in Glasgow and I contemplated changing my team's name from The Drift Migrants to Megabustards.

By the time I arrived in my home county with team members all assembled it was nearing 0900h and missed the regulation race start in Ayr. With my original plan and itinerary now needing some adjustment, Northcraig Reservoir (or what remains of it) on the north side of Kilmarnock was the closest location likely to produce some birds so we hit the dam and into the rushes for Jack Snipe. Of course the Jacks knew it was race day and tried that little bit harder to remain concealed while their larger relatives, Common Snipe, exploded out of the small remaining pools. Common Buzzard was nailed instantly, followed by fellow raptors Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, the latter's presence revealed when the hedgerow passerines emitted their aerial predator alarm calls. Towards the cottage we picked up the first of many common garden birds and continuing on around the reservoir we found Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and small parties of Redwings and Fieldfares. [22 species]

Aiming to catch up with a morning start in the woodlands of Auchincruive we headed down the A77 but first took a detour to get Tree Sparrow in one of their few reliable haunts in Ayrshire. Driving out from Knockentiber towards Cunninghamhead I slowed at the large stubble field at West Plann and immediately a flock of Tree Sparrows flew up into the hedgerow with 23 birds chirping away beside the car - and we didn't even get out. By 1010h we arrived at Auchincruive to target Dipper and woodland birds. River level conditions didn't look good. The River Ayr was running high and usually the Dippers retreat into a small burn which is a considerable walk upstream. We saw none and in fact the birding slowed to dead pace. In 30 minutes we picked up just four species until we headed around the walled garden and a run of nice birds followed including Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Treecreeper and Long-tailed Tit. [42 species]

Leaving the woodland habitat reasonably satisfied, we made for the coast at Doonfoot and Greenan, one of the county's top spots and likely to come up with the goods. Oystercatcher was found en route in a field beside the A713 roundabout on the outskirts of Ayr - a sign of high tide. Conditions were beautiful at Doonfoot; flat calm sea, blue sky and fantastic winter sunlight. We enjoyed many nice birds here including Red-throated Diver and Black-throated Diver, Long-tailed Ducks, Goldeneye, Razorbill, Red-breasted Merganser, Eider, Cormorant and Shag in the sea. Along the tideline we ticked Rock Pipit, Turnstone, Dunlin, Grey Wagtail, Redshank, Teal and Lapwing. Passerine activity was high around the foreshore and fields at Greenan with Twite, Goldfinch, Linnet, and Stonechat found. [66 species]

By noon it was time to head to some serious freshwater habitat and Martnaham Loch is Ayrshire's prime site. After finding Stock Dove in a stubble field at High Greenan House we were soon on the road inland towards Fergus Loch where we ticked the Whooper Swan flock without stopping. At Martnaham we stepped out of the car and instantly clocked a Merlin. This was probably the highlight of the day for me as it proved what an agile hunter this falcon really is as it twice dived off a large hawthorn to flush the Snipe from a small flooded area. Walking along the course of the former railway line (and munching down our sandwiches - yes, we didn't stop), we soon logged Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Pochard and Tufted Duck and some large geese, apparently from Canada, and a real favourite with local birders. Reaching the small bay in front of the house we were relieved to discover the two Smew were still present (after seeing then on the 2nd) but perhaps more spectacular was the flock of 52 Goosanders which nicely completed the trio of sawbills. A Lesser Redpoll was then found as a Water Rail made some weird sounds from a bankside area of reedmace. The walk for the Smew and back to the car had taken some considerable time and, being ever so slightly competitive, we hurried back to the car - well one of us did! [83 species]

Heading north to Troon and Barassie for seabirds and waders we stopped on the way at Loans to check the goose flock. A 'scope through the Greylag Goose flock produced, well, Greylags, but a second check revealed the two Pink-footed Geese. Had they been hiding in the ditch? Arriving at Troon Harbour we were greeted by the evocative sound of displaying male Eiders as the flock was crammed right into the inner harbour today with a couple of Grey Seals. A Black Guillemot was soon found and just as I wondered again why those teddy bears were tied to the mast, an adult Iceland Gull floated past. Clearly not the Ayr bird on a day out north to sunny Troon or unfairly giving other teams the run around, this bird was noticeably smaller and settled on the other side of the harbour. I quickly phonescoped it by holding my Nokia 6630 Smartphone up to the eyepiece of the 'scope. We made the short distance along to the Purple Sandpiper area at Ballast Bank and caught up with the only other bird racers we had seen until now. They kindly showed us a Kingfisher feeding in the rock pools (Ten-spined Sticklebacks?) so we thought it only fair to trade our Iceland Gull find. Surprisingly we had dipped on Wigeon until now when a lone bird was found on the sea. Among the Razorbills, Eider, and Red-breasted Mergansers we searched repeatedly for the Velvet Scoter but succeeded in locating only a female Common Scoter. Scanning the sea further out, and finding Guillemot, Kittiwake and Shag, I picked up a surprise in the form of a Puffin heading south. Struggling for Curlew until now, my dad discovered one on the rocks (before a few hundred later at Bogside). After crossing off the Purple Sandpipers we headed round to Barassie for some much-needed shorebirds. [93 species]

At Barassie the Ringed Plovers were expected and five Bar-tailed Godwits and a Lesser Black-backed Gull (a summer visitor this far north) were nice additions. Happy with our healthy total of 96 we wondered if we were in with a chance of winning and we frantically decided what we could go for in the last hour before getting back to Ayr for the finish. Bogside was an obvious choice and we added Shelduck and Peregrine there, but where were the Golden Plover? At this stage we actually thought we were on 99 but a check discovered we had double-counted Meadow Pipit (next time we will use a checklist!). So, as our hopes dropped on 98 species, we made one last try at Troon South Beach and nailed the Golden Plovers, which looked very golden in the fine sunset! With just enough time remaining for the drive back to Dick's, our hopes rested on an outside chance of an owl but it wasn't to be. We arrived in Alloway on a respectable 99 species. [99 species]

The Drift Migrants came in third, just behind Angus Hogg's team on 101 and Mike Howe's winning team on 103. Altogether 120 species were found that day by the seven competing teams. Thanks to Dick and Christine for their hospitality and post-race buffet.

No	Time	Species	Location
01	0901	Common Buzzard	Northcraig Reservoir
02		Meadow Pipit	Northcraig Reservoir
03		Carrion Crow	Northcraig Reservoir
04		Blackbird	Northcraig Reservoir
05		Robin	Northcraig Reservoir
06		Wren	Northcraig Reservoir
07		Blue Tit	Northcraig Reservoir
08		Wood Pigeon	Northcraig Reservoir
09		Great Tit	Northcraig Reservoir
10		Collared Dove	Northcraig Reservoir
11		Chaffinch	Northcraig Reservoir
12		Yellowhammer	Northcraig Reservoir
13		Song Thrush	Northcraig Reservoir
14		Dunnock	Northcraig Reservoir
15		Common Gull	Northcraig Reservoir
16		Rook	Northcraig Reservoir
17		Sparrowhawk	Northcraig Reservoir
18		Fieldfare	Northcraig Reservoir
19		Redwing	Northcraig Reservoir
20		Mistle Thrush	Northcraig Reservoir
21		Kestrel	Northcraig Reservoir
22		Snipe	Northcraig Reservoir
23		Reed Bunting	Northcraig Reservoir
24	0925	House Sparrow	Kilmaurs
25		Jackdaw	Kilmaurs
26		Starling	Kilmaurs
27	0934	Tree Sparrow	West Plann, Knockentiber
28		Magpie	West Plann, Knockentiber
29	0945	Feral Pigeon	Moorfield, Kilmarnock
30	0948	Black-headed Gull	Bellfield Interchange, Kilmarnock
31	0949	Herring Gull	Queen's Drive, Kilmarnock
32	1000	Pheasant	Monkton
33	1015	Grey Heron	River Ayr, Auchincruive
34	1017	Coal Tit	Auchincruive
35	1022	Mallard	River Ayr, Auchincruive
36	1043	Goldcrest	Auchincruive
37	1044	Greenfinch	Auchincruive
38	1045	Skylark	Auchincruive (overhead)
39	1047	Great Spotted Woodpecker	Auchincruive
40	1054	Bullfinch	Auchincruive
41	1055	Treecreeper	Auchincruive
42	1055	Long-tailed Tit	Auchincruive
43	1104	Pied Wagtail	Auchincruive
44	1115	Oystercatcher	A713 -A77 junction, Ayr
45	1123	Lapwing	Doonfoot/Greenan
46	1124	Grey Wagtail	River Doon, Doonfoot
47		Turnstone	Doonfoot/Greenan
48		Dunlin	Doonfoot/Greenan
49		Linnet	Doonfoot/Greenan
50		Teal	Doonfoot/Greenan
51		Redshank	Doonfoot/Greenan
52		Rock Pipit	Doonfoot/Greenan
53		Goldfinch	Doonfoot/Greenan
54		Goldeneye	Doonfoot/Greenan
55		Stonechat	Doonfoot/Greenan
56	1131	Mute Swan	Doonfoot/Greenan
57	1132	Razorbill	Doonfoot/Greenan
58	1132	Cormorant	Doonfoot/Greenan
59		Red-breasted Merganser	Doonfoot/Greenan
60		Shag	Doonfoot/Greenan
61	1134	Eider	Doonfoot/Greenan
62		Great Black-backed Gull	Doonfoot/Greenan
63	1136	Long-tailed Duck	Doonfoot/Greenan
64	1140	Red-throated Diver	Doonfoot/Greenan
65		Black-throated Diver	Doonfoot/Greenan
66	1157	Twite	Doonfoot/Greenan
67	1210	Stock Dove	High Greenan House
68	1227	Whooper Swan	Fergus > Martnaham
69	1233	Merlin	Martnaham Loch
70		Great Crested Grebe	Martnaham Loch
71		Little Grebe	Martnaham Loch
72		Coot	Martnaham Loch
73		Pochard	Martnaham Loch
74		Tufted Duck	Martnaham Loch
75		Canada Goose	Martnaham Loch
76		Moorhen	Martnaham Loch
77		Raven	Martnaham Loch
78	1252	Goosander	Martnaham Loch
79	1255	Greylag Goose	Martnaham Loch
80	1306	Smew	Martnaham Loch
81	1308	Lesser Redpoll	Martnaham Loch
82	1316	Water Rail	Martnaham Loch
83	1357	Pink-footed Goose	Loans
84	1408	Black Guillemot	Troon Harbour
85	1410	Iceland Gull	Troon Harbour
86	1420	Kingfisher	Troon/Ballast Bank
87	1421	Wigeon	Troon/Ballast Bank
88	1426	Puffin	Troon/Ballast Bank
89	1428	Guillemot	Troon/Ballast Bank
90	1431	Curlew	Troon/Ballast Bank
91	1432	Common Scoter	Troon/Ballast Bank
92	1439	Purple Sandpiper	Troon/Ballast Bank
93	1444	Kittiwake	Troon/Ballast Bank
94	1456	Ringed Plover	Barassie
95	1500	Bar-tailed Godwit	Barassie
96		Lesser Black-backed Gull	Barassie
97	1525	Shelduck	Bogside
98	1526	Peregrine	Bogside
99	1555	Golden Plover	Troon South Beach

The Drift Migrants team members: Fraser Simpson, Lisa Ketchen & Alistair Simpson

Other goodies present in Ayrshire at this time included the Lesser Scaup at Kilbirnie Loch, Water Pipit at Hunterston and the Brent Geese at Maidens. Other teams logged Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Barn Owl, Gadwall, Shoveler, Great Northern Diver, Crossbill and Brambling amongst others.