Precisely.

So without more ado here’s a summary of the last er… ages.

Birds? – almost nothing to report since autumn ‘migration’ except to note that there wasn’t one – well not here that I noticed.  The most notable feature as far as I was concerned was the fact that I didn’t see a single warbler of any flavour anywhere in Caithness.  What the hell’s going on?

Right, to the pool.  Well it’s more or less sorted. Fencing and gates are in place; all-ability footpath done …to nowhere right now – but watch this space; original footpath upgraded with better drainage;  extra gravel and sand on islands.  And it looks amazing.  The job was funded by generous grants from Scottish Natural Heritage and EB Scotland Ltd – the project was executed by Alan Gow Groundworks with fencing by Steven Blackwood.  A massive “thank you” to everyone.  Roll on breeding season 2010.

The tour begins here -

Clockwise from the north side

'Green Heron Channel' - hoho - but you never know

Looking south-west

New 'Horseshoe Island' in foreground

The Main Gate looking north

Roseate tern eye view from 'The Beach'

One of the first customers - Grey heron in November

So, now to the real excitement.  Work started on the predator proof fencing on 21 September and landscaping improvements on 7 October.  And things are looking very good.  A few pix say a thousand words – so here they are:

This was SJP on 26 September 2009

3 days later…  This will be a new hide location by 2011

The lads from Alan Gow Groundworks arrive

How much fun can a guy have with a truck and several hundred tons of mud?...

Take one pond - just add gravel - and wait til May

And so to the fencing.

Does this look difficult to you? Steven and his bro made it look like they'd done it before.

Ripping down the rubbish

Slapping up the very impressive Tornado Otter Fencing - not made from otters you understand

Work in progress - but hey, it's working already - not an otter in sight

Osprey – best photo opportunity at St. John’s ever on 1/8
Greenshank 1 juv calling round pool on 2/8
Crossbills 3 over south on 3/8 – crossbills have been moving through the northern isles for a few weeks now with a 8 appearing at St. John’s since 18 July. Record count was 83 through October 2005

Osprey at lochside for over an hour behind hide on 1 August

Crossbill on house roof 25/7

In the last post I said things were heading straight for gloomsville with most of the pool’s breeding birds having another disastrous season.  Well I wasn’t quite right.  The past month has picked up and despite otters and foxes still enjoying easy pickings, there have been a few brighter moments – most notably the first Arctic tern chick to fly in 3 years! Hoorah! I think it was very close to becoming just another snack but it was actually able to leave the ground -  a bit, so managed to survive.  The juv has now left the pool but while it was here the colony was completely frantic with excitement.  And, there are still another couple of small chicks alive on the platforms so I think it bodes well for 2010.  And it’s all down to small sandeels re-appearing in northern waters after recent years of apparent absence.

Breeding success to date in 2009 at St. John’s:
Arctic tern – 7 pairs nested / 3 chicks min. / 1 fledged  [Pix to follow]
Black-headed gull – >15 pairs nested – some 2 or 3 times / 6 chicks min. / 1 fledged
Common gull – 2 pairs attempted to nest / both failed
Lapwing – 2 pairs nested / 2 chicks min. / 1 fledged probably
Redshank – 2 pairs nested / 1 chick min. / 1 fledged possibly
Oystercatcher – 2 pairs nested – one pair twice / 5 chicks min. / 1 fledged
Snipe – 1 pair displayed / outcome unknown
Mallard – 4 broods / ca. 25 ducklings min. / fledging success unknown
Teal – 1 brood / 5 ducklings min. / all predated
Tufted duck – 2 broods / ca. 18 ducklings min. / not fledged yet
Little grebe – 1 pair nested twice / 3 chicks / 1 independent juv nearly fledged
Mute swan – pair nested / deserted through fox and otter disturbance I assume
Moorhen – 2 pairs / 6 juvs min. not fledged yet – suspect heavy predation since April;
Sedge warbler – 4 pairs / juv(s) fledged
Willow warbler – 2 pairs /  ? juvs fledged;
Reed bunting – 2 pairs min. / juv(s) fledged
Yellowhammer -2 pairs min. / juvs fledged
Blue tit – 1 pair / 5 juvs fledged min.
Great tit – 1 pair / 6 juvs fledged
Goldfinch – 1 pair / 3 juvs fledged
Siskin – 1 pair /2 or 3 juvs fledged

Plus:
Swallow – 1 pair /2 juvs fledged;
Starling – 2 pairs /3 broods fledged
House sparrow – 1 pair /2 juvs fledged
Dunnock / Robin / Blackbird / Wren / Song thrush -  more than 1 pair of each all with multiple broods

What a difference just a spindly electric fence can make – all of the following pictures were taken by Ken Crossan in June 04 and show that even with a very basic defence a whole range of watery stuff can actually produce some young.  2009 will go down as one of, if not the worst breeding seasons since the pool was developed in 1989 – I hope 2010 with a brand new (de)fence will herald the beginning of a whole new era for waders and waterbirds.

Mute swan and cygnets / St. John's Pool - 04

Gadwalls and Black-headed gull chicks/ St. John's Pool - 04

Little grebe and chick on nest / St. John's Pool - 04

Teal and ducklings/ St. John's Pool - 04

Tufted duck and 1 of 8 ducklings / St. John's Pool - 04

Coot on nest/ St. John's Pool - 04

2009 is going down as just a continuation of the progressively more disastrous breeding seasons of recent years. The sight of a mere handful of Arctic terns hanging around and the Black-headed gull ‘colony’ reduced to a feeble shadow of its former self is as depressing as ever.  It’s been another open season for foxes, crows and otters – and as usual havoc has been wreaked on most ground and pond nesters.

BUT THINGS ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE!

I hope to announce within the next few months that a high specification predator proof fence is in place ready well in advance for the 2010 breeding birds.  As well there will be some serious landscaping undertaken, designed to give maximum opportunity for terns and waders to nest successfully.  Other works are also envisaged which will unfortunately necessitate closing access to the hide temporarily – so please check the website regularly.

There has been some action this month but nothing much in the migration/rarity line:

Lapwings /Redshank / Curlew all somehow seem to still have chicks but the ever present predators means I haven’t actually seen any wader chicks at all!?  Maybe only 1 or 2 pairs of each maximum.
Snipe – don’t seem to be nesting again which is a massive change from a few years back when there were 3 or more birds drumming throughout the summer
Cuckoo 1 – 27/5 and still around on 3/6
Teal 1f + brood of 5 on 27-5
Shoveler pair – 27/5
Spotted flycatcher – 27/5
Common redpoll -  15 & 16/5

Common redpoll / 16/5/09

Arctic terns arrived earlier and in greater numbers than recent years – and there might be an explanation in the pic below.  Food?  Sandeels of the right size has been the problem for auks, and terns trying to breed in northern Scotland for some time now.  The effect has been disastrous with chicks simply starving to death.  Let’s hope this is a promising sign.

Latest on the pool:

Black-tailed godwit - male ssp. islandica (left) on 14/5

Black-tailed godwit – 14/5
Sedge warbler 1 – 14/5
Garganey – 13/5

Barn owl on 13/5

Barn owl – 13/5 and 10/5
Whimbrel 2 – 13/5

Arctic tern with sandeel - 11/5 Wendy Sutherland

Arctic tern ca. 50 – 10/5
Dunlin 17 – 10/5
Pinkfeet 150 – north on 10/5
Sand martin ca.100 – on the loch on 10/5
Greater scaup 1f – 10/5
Greater scaup 1m – 9/5

By end of April I’d expect (in a good year) lapwings to have chicks; black-headed gulls to be on eggs and little grebes on their 5th nest at least. None of this has happened.  Lapwings have nested and been predated so it’s second brood for one pair and the other pair have only just laid; black-headed gulls have not settled because our friend Mr Otter’s doing the rounds… which is good news for the Little grebes because they haven’t been bothered by BH gulls nicking their nests – so they’re still on their first – and the otter’s not found them… yet.  So glad I’m not a ground/pond nesting bird.

The scores:
Mute swan – on eggs
Moorhen – on eggs
Little grebe – on eggs
Oystercatcher – maybe nesting
BH gulls – only 10 pairs and none settled
Teal – 2 or 3 pairs
Tufted ducks – 20+ coming in to roost

Latest stuff:
Greater scaup 1m on pool 28/4
Great skua 1 over pool on 29/4
Arctic tern 1 over pool on 30 April

Goldfinch / St. John's 28/4/09

Goldfinches have only bred once at St. John’s but a pair are hammering the niger seeds and have been for a few weeks – so maybe they’ll stay?  Also siskins have been very much in evidence recently.