{"id":8182,"date":"2026-05-02T12:48:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T11:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/?p=8182"},"modified":"2026-05-02T12:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T11:53:17","slug":"view-may-2026-sightings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/view-may-2026-sightings\/","title":{"rendered":"View May 2026 sightings"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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Date<\/th>Species<\/th>Location<\/th>Observer<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
31st<\/td>flock of Gannets<\/td>between Bute and Ardlamont Point<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
30th<\/td>Kestrel, 6 adult Shelduck with 15 ducklings<\/td>Scalpsie<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
29th<\/td>2 pairs of Ringed Plovers with chicks, an Oystercather's nest and a Rock Pipit's nest<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 young Ringed Plover chicks and an Oystercatcher's nest with 2 eggs<\/td>further along Craigmore shore<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
27th<\/td>Spotted Flycatcher<\/td>squirrel feeder, Port Bannatyne<\/td>Barbara Rimmington<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>4 adult Ringed Plovers and 2 chicks<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Max Sharp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>confirmation of Ospreys with 3 eggs<\/td>nest 1<\/td>Ian Hopkins<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Garden Warbler<\/td>Lennihall<\/td>Roger Ratcliffe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Cuckoo calling<\/td>Glecknabae<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
26th<\/td>pair of Bullfinches<\/td>Mount Pleasant Rd<\/td>Alison Clark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
22nd<\/td>2 Swifts<\/td>over house<\/td>Jackie Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Greater Black-backed Gull eating Guillemot<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>6 Greylag including 1 leucistic bird<\/td>near Stuck farm<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Cuckoo calling<\/td>Ardencraig<\/td>Melissa Peakman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Great Northern Diver and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers<\/td>Ettrick Bay<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20th<\/td>Peregrine mobbing Buzzards<\/td>above Rothesay pier<\/td>Paul McTaggart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18th<\/td>Ringed Plover chick<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Max Sharp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Barn Owl<\/td>near house<\/td>Willie McKirdy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17th<\/td>2 Turnstones<\/td>Ascog, Fernery<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16th<\/td>Nuthatch<\/td>Mount Stuart<\/td>Lucy Hodson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Coot, Little Grebe and a Mallard with 7 ducklings<\/td>Kirk dam<\/td>Billy Shields<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15th<\/td>3 Swifts<\/td>over Craigmore<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14th<\/td>Wood Sandpiper<\/td>still opposite Cranslagvourity farm<\/td>Ron Forrester<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13th<\/td>Wood Sandpiper<\/td>still opposite Cranslagvourity farm<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>20+ Gannets<\/td>off Craigmore<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12th<\/td>2 female Scaup<\/td>still in Ettrick Bay<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>small flock of Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and 1 male Turnstone<\/td>Drumachloy burn mouth<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Great Northern Diver<\/td>off Scarrel shore<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11th<\/td>Wood Sandpiper<\/td>still opposite Cranslagvourity Farm<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>c60 Ringed Plover with c6 Dunlin<\/td>Ettrick Bay<\/td>Paul Power<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Great Northern Diver<\/td>off Scarrel shore<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 Great Northern Divers<\/td>off Scarrel shore<\/td>Paul McTaggart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10th<\/td>4 Great Northern and 1 Black-throated Diver<\/td>between Scarrel and Kilmichael<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Spotted Flycatcher<\/td>Glecknabae<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Male and female Cuckoos<\/td>calling at Birgidale<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Ringed Plover on nest<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Max Sharp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Wood Sandpiper<\/td>still opposite Cranslagvourity Farm<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>3 Goosanders, c30 Dunlin, c15 Ringed Plover and 1 Sanderling<\/td>mouth of Drumachloy burn<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9th<\/td>Tawny Owl<\/td>Mount Stuart<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Tree Pipit<\/td>woods above Shalunt Cottage<\/td>Lucy Hodson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Cuckoo<\/td>near Windy Hill<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8th<\/td>Wood Warbler<\/td>Moss Wood<\/td>Lucy Hodson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Mallard with 10 ducklings<\/td>castle moat<\/td>Paul Power<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>1 Osprey<\/td>nest 1<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 Ospreys<\/td>nest 4<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Cuckoo<\/td>near Barmore Wood<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Great Northern Diver<\/td>Stravanan Bay<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Wood Sandpiper and Yellow Wagtail<\/td>opposite Cranslagvourity Farm<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 female Scaup<\/td>Ettrick Bay<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Osprey<\/td>Kirk Dam<\/td>Calvin McFarlane<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6th<\/td>9 Little Grebes<\/td>Kirk Dam<\/td>Calvin McFarlane<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5th<\/td>Mallard with 7 duclings<\/td>castle moat<\/td>Margaret Macdonald<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Ospreys<\/td>nest 1<\/td>Billy Shields<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Ospreys<\/td>nest 4<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3rd<\/td>Mallard with 13 chicks<\/td>Greenan Loch<\/td>Ian Hopkins<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2nd<\/td>2 female Scaups<\/td>still in Ettrick Bay<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>leucistic Blackbird<\/td>Knockanreoch<\/td>Charlie McGuire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 female Scaup, 7 Great Northern Divers, 1 Red-throated Diver, 8 Common Sandpipers, 4 Wheatears and 2 Whitethroats<\/td>Ettrick Bay<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1st<\/td>2 Grasshopper Warblers<\/td>near Scarrel shore<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>male Redstart and Nuthatch seen. Also heard Cuckoo, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker.
\n<\/td>		Balnakailly Wood<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Ring-tail Hen Harrier<\/td>over Drumachloy<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>3 Swifts <\/td>over Rothesay<\/td>Susan McComb<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Date<\/th>Species<\/th>Location<\/th>Observer<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
31st<\/td>flock of Gannets<\/td>between Bute and Ardlamont Point<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
30th<\/td>Kestrel, 6 adult Shelduck with 15 ducklings<\/td>Scalpsie<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
29th<\/td>2 pairs of Ringed Plovers with chicks, an Oystercather's nest and a Rock Pipit's nest<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 young Ringed Plover chicks and an Oystercatcher's nest with 2 eggs<\/td>further along Craigmore shore<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
27th<\/td>Spotted Flycatcher<\/td>squirrel feeder, Port Bannatyne<\/td>Barbara Rimmington<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>4 adult Ringed Plovers and 2 chicks<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Max Sharp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>confirmation of Ospreys with 3 eggs<\/td>nest 1<\/td>Ian Hopkins<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Garden Warbler<\/td>Lennihall<\/td>Roger Ratcliffe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Cuckoo calling<\/td>Glecknabae<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
26th<\/td>pair of Bullfinches<\/td>Mount Pleasant Rd<\/td>Alison Clark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
22nd<\/td>2 Swifts<\/td>over house<\/td>Jackie Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Greater Black-backed Gull eating Guillemot<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>6 Greylag including 1 leucistic bird<\/td>near Stuck farm<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Cuckoo calling<\/td>Ardencraig<\/td>Melissa Peakman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Great Northern Diver and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers<\/td>Ettrick Bay<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20th<\/td>Peregrine mobbing Buzzards<\/td>above Rothesay pier<\/td>Paul McTaggart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18th<\/td>Ringed Plover chick<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Max Sharp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Barn Owl<\/td>near house<\/td>Willie McKirdy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17th<\/td>2 Turnstones<\/td>Ascog, Fernery<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16th<\/td>Nuthatch<\/td>Mount Stuart<\/td>Lucy Hodson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Coot, Little Grebe and a Mallard with 7 ducklings<\/td>Kirk dam<\/td>Billy Shields<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15th<\/td>3 Swifts<\/td>over Craigmore<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14th<\/td>Wood Sandpiper<\/td>still opposite Cranslagvourity farm<\/td>Ron Forrester<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13th<\/td>Wood Sandpiper<\/td>still opposite Cranslagvourity farm<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>20+ Gannets<\/td>off Craigmore<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12th<\/td>2 female Scaup<\/td>still in Ettrick Bay<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>small flock of Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and 1 male Turnstone<\/td>Drumachloy burn mouth<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Great Northern Diver<\/td>off Scarrel shore<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11th<\/td>Wood Sandpiper<\/td>still opposite Cranslagvourity Farm<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>c60 Ringed Plover with c6 Dunlin<\/td>Ettrick Bay<\/td>Paul Power<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Great Northern Diver<\/td>off Scarrel shore<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 Great Northern Divers<\/td>off Scarrel shore<\/td>Paul McTaggart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10th<\/td>4 Great Northern and 1 Black-throated Diver<\/td>between Scarrel and Kilmichael<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Spotted Flycatcher<\/td>Glecknabae<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Male and female Cuckoos<\/td>calling at Birgidale<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Ringed Plover on nest<\/td>Craigmore<\/td>Max Sharp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Wood Sandpiper<\/td>still opposite Cranslagvourity Farm<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>3 Goosanders, c30 Dunlin, c15 Ringed Plover and 1 Sanderling<\/td>mouth of Drumachloy burn<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9th<\/td>Tawny Owl<\/td>Mount Stuart<\/td>Paul Unwin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Tree Pipit<\/td>woods above Shalunt Cottage<\/td>Lucy Hodson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Cuckoo<\/td>near Windy Hill<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8th<\/td>Wood Warbler<\/td>Moss Wood<\/td>Lucy Hodson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Mallard with 10 ducklings<\/td>castle moat<\/td>Paul Power<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>1 Osprey<\/td>nest 1<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 Ospreys<\/td>nest 4<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Cuckoo<\/td>near Barmore Wood<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Great Northern Diver<\/td>Stravanan Bay<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Wood Sandpiper and Yellow Wagtail<\/td>opposite Cranslagvourity Farm<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 female Scaup<\/td>Ettrick Bay<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Osprey<\/td>Kirk Dam<\/td>Calvin McFarlane<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6th<\/td>9 Little Grebes<\/td>Kirk Dam<\/td>Calvin McFarlane<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5th<\/td>Mallard with 7 duclings<\/td>castle moat<\/td>Margaret Macdonald<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Ospreys<\/td>nest 1<\/td>Billy Shields<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Ospreys<\/td>nest 4<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3rd<\/td>Mallard with 13 chicks<\/td>Greenan Loch<\/td>Ian Hopkins<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2nd<\/td>2 female Scaups<\/td>still in Ettrick Bay<\/td>John Williams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>leucistic Blackbird<\/td>Knockanreoch<\/td>Charlie McGuire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>2 female Scaup, 7 Great Northern Divers, 1 Red-throated Diver, 8 Common Sandpipers, 4 Wheatears and 2 Whitethroats<\/td>Ettrick Bay<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1st<\/td>2 Grasshopper Warblers<\/td>near Scarrel shore<\/td>Malcolm Newdick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>male Redstart and Nuthatch seen. Also heard Cuckoo, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker.
\n<\/td>		Balnakailly Wood<\/td>Ray Eddie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>Ring-tail Hen Harrier<\/td>over Drumachloy<\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>3 Swifts <\/td>over Rothesay<\/td>Susan McComb<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":8181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[143,83,109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-143","category-latest-news","category-recent-sightings"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8182"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8186,"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182\/revisions\/8186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.butemuseum.org.uk\/butebirdgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}