Thursday 25th September

A Kingfisher flew through Kilwinning town centre. 10 Tufted Ducks were on Ardeer Rec Pond and 23 Mallard were on the shallow Auchenharvie Pond. A Migrant Hawker was busy feeding at the edge of Auchenharvie Wood.

Wednesday 24th September

15 Golden Plover and 2 Knot were at Bogside. A Pintail was on the upper estuary. 21 Snipe were flying around Garnock East.

Tuesday 23rd September

The Spotted Redshank was still at the Belvedere pond. 2 Shovelers were new in and feeding frantically, paying little attention to the roosting Teal they were disruptively ploughing through. 18 Golden Plover and 2 Kingfishers were on the Garnock Estuary. 2 Common Lizards and a fox were nearby.
(Photo: Shoveler)

Monday 22nd September

A count at the Belvedere pond in Eglinton recorded:
66 Teal
20 Mallard
3 Wigeon
2 Tufted Duck
53 Lapwing
3 Snipe

A juv. Spotted Redshank flew in and showed down to 50m.
(Photo: Spotted Redshank)

Sunday 21st September

121 Mallard, 99 Teal, and 3 Gadwall were on the upper estuary. A Curlew Sandpiper and Shoveler were visible from the Harbourside when the tide was half way in. 3 young Common Lizards were basking together on Bogside Racecourse. An adult scuttled off an informal path just north of the racecourse at Garnock East.
(Photo: Common Lizard)

Friday 19th September

From Irvine Harbourside I watched the last two hours of the rising tide. Yesterday's 2 Pintail were present, as was a newly arrived Shoveler and pair of Scaup. 2 Curlew Sandpipers were still present. A Common Sandpiper was on the bund at the Harbour. A Kingfisher made a couple of appearances. The young female Peregrine was hunting, diving at a Redshank and a Lapwing.

Thursday 18th September

2 Pintail and 3 Gadwall were on the upper estuary. One Gadwall drake is back in full breeding plumage and another is almost there. A couple of Curlew Sandpipers were with 20 or so Dunlin at Bogside. 276 Wigeon were counted.
(Photo: 2 Pintail)

Wednesday 17th September

A Short-eared Owl was hunting over Bogside Racecourse. A coulpe of Wheatears were at Bogside: one on the saltmarsh and one along the shore debris. A Kingfisher was fishing at the Ardeer Quarry LNR pond. There are Kingfishers everywhere at the moment.

Mon 15th September

A couple of Curelw Sandpipers were feeding on Bogside Flats before high tide. A ringtail Hen Harrier could be seen feeding over the racecouse. A couple of Brent Geese were at Barassie.

Sunday 14th September

There were 4 Gadwall, 16 Greenshanks, and a Kingfisher on the upper estuary. A Hen Harrier flew in from the north to land on Bogside Racecourse. 6+ Curlew Sandpipers were together on Bogside flats before high tide. There were probably 9 or more birds, but a dense heat haze stopped me from making an accurate count from the racecourse. A single Black-tailed Godwit was also there. After high tide I watched from Irvine Harbourside: 4 Curlew Sandpipers, 2 Golden Plover, and 3 Pintail were present.
(Photos: Kingfisher, Greenshank, Lapwing, and Teal)

Thursday 11th September

370 Lapwing were roosting on the upper estuary's saltmarsh, along with 8 Greenshank. A Pintail was feeding with the dabbling ducks on the flooded saltmarsh. Kingfishers were at Garnock East ponds and Ardeer Fen. Over 180 Goldfinches were in a large charm feeding on the thistles in the cattle field at Garnock East. 80-90 Teal were in the Garnock East Farm Pool.

Wednesday 10th September

Wigeon numbers have incresed to 144. 2 Gadwall and a sincle Knot were the two most interesting birds on the upper estuary. However, a Kittiwake on the water was very unusual for this part of the estuary.

Tuesday 9th September

12 Snipe and a Common Sandpiper were at the River Irvine. 3 Knot and a Great Crested Grebe were the most interesting birds at Bogside. The upper estuary was the most interesting section of the site with 16 Snipe, 27 Dunlin, 110 Wigeon, and a Pintail.
(Photo: Grey Heron)

Monday 8th September

A Wheatear was on the debris along the Garnock Estuary at Bogside. The upper estuary held good numbers of ducks, including 110 Wigeon, 29 Teal, and a Pintail. 12 Snipe were also on the upper estuary. A ringtail Hen Harrier was hunting at Ardeer Fen. I watched it hunting from the old stone bridge for a couple of minutes before it caught something. Because it landed amid sparse vegetation, I got good views of it finishing off its meal within 3 minutes. It spent the next 20 minutes surveying its surroundings fom the ground and preening before it took flight and resumed hunting. I got great views for a couple of minutes before, after one serious pounce, it dropped to the ground half-heartedly and stayed there.
(Photo: Common Snipe)

Sunday 7th September

A Spotted Flycatcher and a couple of Chiffchaffs were in the Garnock East plantation. The Flycatcher again appeared to be associating with a tit flock. A Pintail was on the upper estuary. A ringtail Hen Harrier was being mobbed by Swallows over Bogside Racecourse. A quick stop-off at Capringstone Flash revealed a different Pintail along with a huge number of Mallard. In among Capringstone's ducks was a pure white Mallard that had been on the Garnock Estuary a couple of days earlier.

Saturday 6th September

20 Dunlin and a Black-tailed Godwit were at Bogside; 2 Pintail and 2 Gadwall were on the upper estuary; 99 Wigeon were counted across the Irvine and Garnock Estuaries.
(Photo: Pintail)

Friday 5th September

The 2 Black-tailed Godwits and Bar-tailed Godwit were at Bogside again; 125 Mallard were on the upper estuary, along with 9 Little Grebe; a Spotted Flycatcher was with a mixed tit/Treecreeper flock in the Garnock East wood; a Kingfisher was at the Garnock East ponds.

Thursday 4th September

A flock of 9 Snipe were flying down the River Irvine; 2 Black-tailed Godwits and 1 Bar-tailed Godwit were on the Garnock Estuary at Bogside; 4 Pintail and 10 Snipe were on the upper estuary.
(Photo: 140+ Sandwich Terns at Irvine Bar)

Wednesday 3rd September

A wet day with the tide almost in. A Kingfisher was fishing in the River Irvine against a backdrop of 7 Snipe. A Couple of Common Sandpipers and a Greenshank were nearby. 56 Wigeon and a Bar-tailed Godwit were on the Garnock Estuary at Bogside. A Wheatear was on the old racetrack. A further 6 Snipe were on the upper estuary. Well over 100 Goldfinches were feeding in the northwest corner of the Garnock Floods.
(Photos: Sparrowhawk over Ardeer Quarry a couple of days ago; Swallow at Garnock Floods; Wheatear at Bogside.)