I’ve been counting geese…and an otter

For two days now, all I’ve been doing is counting geese. Geese, geese and more geese. 25 White Fronts here, 3040 Barnies there. I turn around and more geese are flying over. Some land, some don’t, they’ve all got to be counted as being somewhere. Every goose counts, for the International Goose Count.

It’s great! On the first day we count over 10,000 barnies, and hundreds of White Fronts, and on day two we count more. On day two my co-counter, Fiona, is some kind of counting master. My “Oooh, look, there’s some there, hiding in the rushes!”s are invariably met with a “yeh, I’ve already done them”.

And when we hit a big flock I give it a scan and say, “maybe a thousand or so, do you think?”, but she’s not listening. She’s setting her scope up on the wound down window and grabbing her “clicker”.

Fair enough, I think to myself, these counts have got to be accurate in order for them to be effective. I imagine she will click every 10 or 20 geese, and give me a number to the nearest 10/20. After just 14 clicks I’m told, “1419”. I scribble the number down in silent awe. Although, of course, she could just be making numbers up for all I know.

Yesterday, which was a beautiful weather day, with almost no haze, I was able to watch a male Hen Harrier fly fairly close by for some time. Hen Harriers have a distinctive white bar across the top of their tail, and this fella was a striking pale grey with dark wing tips. He was also extraordinarily agile in the air, twisting and turning a few feet above the heather with barely a wing flap.

Then, whilst down by the other side of the Loch (from the farm), Louise points out an otter. It’s swimming about in the water less than 50m away. It comes up and then climbs out onto a rock to eat something. Even though the dogs are running about nearby, and we’re not exactly quiet, it seems unperterbed, and I get a chance to watch, rather than see, an otter. Fantastic.

Today, Fiona and I spotted three Golden Eagles together, up in the fields behind the farm. Two adults and a youngster, the same youngster that myself and David saw last week, I assume. Later a pair fly right over us while we are driving around Ardnave looking for geese.

And then I get a chance to watch a female Hen Harrier down by the sea while Fiona nails a gaggle of around 3000 geese. Unfortunately, this log does not do these sightings justice. My time in Islay has made me realise that I can’t keep using my phone as my only camera. Unless they’ve created a (decent) camera that can act as a phone? Have they? Anybody?

: Louise, counting geese across the Loch

: Can you see them? The otter came out of the water on the rocks just in front of us

: Looking West across part of the reserve. The farm is in the middle of the picture (roughly). The next building to the right (white) is the RSPB offices.

: This pic is a great demonstration of the failings of my camera. The light on the opposite hillside was amazing, late in the day. The Hen Harrier was flying down near the sea.