2000+ Gannet, 120+ Manx Shearwater, 2 Arctic Tern, 70+ Sandwich Tern & 5 Common Tern, an Eider, first two Red-throated Diver of the winter & couple of Common Scoter. A little vis mig from passerines with Meadow Pipit, Linnet & White/Pied Wagtail all going through. On the mammal front, grey seal, bottle nose dolphin, harbour porpoise & 2 Otter. Ivan Lang. 

Dotterel calling flying south west across the southern reserve. Ivan Lang. 

Single Green Sandpiper again on rain swelled flash pool 0715. PJ

West of lighthouse to 13th golf tee; 0645+. Several Little Egret & 6 maybe 7 Wheatear. Fem except maybe 2 juvs. Most appeared to emerge from the sea defence boulders, so probably used to roost in. A seemingly injured or exhausted juv Guillemot on the east Mersehead Bay sands. East of lighthouse & Gillfoot Bay; 7 Bar-tailed Godwit, 6 Golden Plover, 2 Knot, several Little Egret, 200+ Sandwich Tern, 1 Whimbrel. A very different to all recent birds seen, a summer turning winter ad Med Gull. A lot of black still on the rear head. PJ

Short-eared Owl & 14 Storm Petrel off Isle of Whithorn. 2 Storm Petrel past Maryport flying west. All reported this morning. Another SP past Maryport later on. 

Dark phase Arctic Skua flew south past Carsethorn this morning at about 7.25am. Gavin Chambers. 

Short-eared Owl quartering the fields along the shoreline north of Carsethorn. 440 Ringed Plover at high tide among the usual suspects. A juvenile commic tern feeding offshore on the rising tide, not seen well enough to be sure of ID. Gavin Chambers. 

1 Black-tailed Godwit, several Whimbrel, 2 rbm, 1 ad winter Med Gull, 4 Little Egret. PJ

1 Greenshank, 11+ Little Egret, 3 rbm & 1 Otter feeding around the Carse Pow confluence in Carse Gut on early rising tide. PJ

Late afternoon a Spoonbill flew across the marsh south of the car park. Headed out to the edge of the merse and then south. Also on the reserve 2 Osprey, 5 Swift, 2 Spotted Flycatcher & a Whinchat. Ivan Lang. 

3 reported past Isle of Whithorn this morning & 1 Balearic Shearwater reported close inshore off Maryport late afternoon. 

13th golf tee HT roost; c100 Knot (1 still with some colour), 37 Golden Plover, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Sandwich Tern, 1 Rock Pipit plus usuals. A Whimbrel on the way back to the lighthouse. PJ

Late report of 1 past Corsewall Point. Also Leach's & 5 Storm Petrels. 

Visiting Tom Parkinson reports; All birds moving out to sea west, bar RTD. Manxie 337, Balearic 2, Gannet 102, Razorbill 2, Fulmar 15, Guilemot 10, Whimbrel 13, Ringed Plover 33, Dunlin 2, Sanderling 23, Shag 15, Cormorant 2, Sabines Gull 1, Kittiwake 5, Red-throated Diver 1, Risso's Dolphin. TP. 

1 reported past Corsewall Point 0830-1130 today plus 2 Balearic Shearwater. 

Nowt unusual over the sea today. About 100 Turnstone in the roosting pack on the beach west of lighthouse. Also a ♀ Wheatear along the shingle beach & around 13th golf tee. Autumn is here already. PJ

1800-1940, ebbing tide. Little Stint (1), Whooper Swan (3), Golden Plover (6), Greenshank (1), Common Snipe (5) also Curlew, Lapwing & Mute Swan in good numbers. Bill Jamieson. Ed. Welcome back Bill ! 

Visiting Tom Parkinson reports today; Knowing there were strong gales during the night I was keen to check some bushes on a headland. Upon arrival I spent a while checking the scrubby bushes NW of the visitor centre. Sightings included - Song Thrush, Willow Warbler x2, Grasshopper Warbler, Redpoll, Stonechat x2, Goldfinch x4 & Whitethroat. Then even more impressively, 2 Spotted Flycatcher & a juv Pied Flycatcher. Rest of the headland had Stonechat x4, Wheatear, Linnet x24, Hooded Crow, Kestrel & Peregrine. At sea, Manxie x77, Gannet x53, Fulmar x26, Razorbill x1, Guilemot x11, Shag x23 & Black Guilemot x3. 

22nd. 0530-0730. 1 Great Shearwater & 1 Grey Phalarope reported past Corsewall Point. 

1 reported in scrub near the Mull of Galloway visitor centre today.

Report of 1 BS, 3 SG & 4 Storm Petrel off Corsewall Point between 0530-0900 today. 

Visiting Tom Parkinson reports; Isle of Whithorn 07:30 to 11:30am. Manxie 251, Balearic 1 (8:45) with group of 3 Manxies. Displaying stocky build & notable browner colouration alongside the other birds. Distinct flight pattern. Sandwich Tern 96, Gannet 82, Shag 8, Cormorant 2, Fulmar 11, Pomarine Skua 1 (9:32). Heavy bird, spoon tail, showing clear(n?) underparts. Spent 15 mins chasing Sarnies giving clear consistent views. Arctic Skua 2, Kittiwake 21, Grey Seal 5, Common Dolphin 2. Harbour; Curlew 1, Oystercatcher 9, Redshank 27, Common Sandpiper 2, Mute swan 6, Greylag Goose 1, Black-headed Gull 3, Herring Gull 49, Lesser Black-backed Gull 1, Greater Black-backed Gull 1, Common Gull 2. 

Very quick look at the shingle spit roost. Maybe 100 Sandwich Tern, 1 Sanderling amongst plenty Ringed Plvr & Dunlin with an increased number of Turnstone present. Too rainy to linger. PJ

1300-1500. Right conditions & plenty fishing Sandwich Tern but a diff result today. 2 dark Skua at distance on the sea. 1 flew a little showing pale outer wing feathers. Take your pick of the 3 likely spcs! 3 Manx Shearwater, 2 Gannet, c60 Com Scoter. PJ

1 seen flying west from the Isle of Whithorn 0930. 

A single Whinchat seen this afternoon on the east shore of Luce Bay. This is the first Whinchat I have seen in the garden. Rob Wadsworth

Green Sandpiper again 1615 in narrow drainage channel far left looking from Scottish Water access. Single bird still present at 1900 on the main pool area. PJ

1200-1530. 4 Arctic Skua (2 pale, 2 dark) close enough to ID!, 2 square-tailed "heavy" Skua flying together. No distinguishing marks noted so presuming Bonxies, 2 Fulmar, 100 Manx Shearwater, 6 Gannet, 1 Common Scoter. PJ

Two Whinchat and 8 Stonechat on fence line along Rainbow Lane at Mersehead while looking for the phantom Ibis. Gavin Chambers. 

UNCONFIRMED, seemingly false report of 1 at RSPB Mersehead around midday. 

A good mix of species on the ebb tide to the north of the village early afternoon. Highlights: 240 Ringed Plover, 200 Dunlin, 160+ Redshank, 15 Little Egret, a hunting Osprey and a juvenile Mediterranean Gull feeding on the mud. Gavin Chambers. 

Green Sandpiper present this morning. Watched at side of pool for about 10mins before flying off to longer grass behind pool. 10.30am. Robbie Purdie. 

1 yesterday (15th) Isle of Withorn. David Smith. Ed. Many thanks to David for this report.

Green Sandpiper back on flash pool 8pm but spooked easy & after 10mins flew off SE to the Cargen Pow. PJ

Imm Merlin on Kirkconnell Merse from Glencaple Quay. 15 at least Little Egret. Poor pic, sorry. PJ

Great peaceful visit if you ignored the strimmer. Nothing cooking. Sedge Warbler, Tree Sparrows, Greenfinches, Chiffchaff, imm Little Egret x2, imm Gadwall x4 I believe, great to sit & watch the Hirundines. Recent sightings inc Greenshank & Lssr Whitethroat. Confirmed Water Shrew corpse on path to Saltcot Observatory Tower hide. PJ

2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Greenshank, 1 summery Sanderling & Turnstone, Whimbrel, 100+ Ringed Plvr, lssr numbers Dunlin, 11 Little Egret, c20 Sandwich Tern, building numbers Redshank. Plus the attached, which I wasn't sure about at all. Possibly a 3rd Greenshank. PJ

Immature reported off Corsewall Point. 

8 Greenshank, 6 Little Egret Carse Bay up to HT. At least 1 Whimbrel & 2 Bar-tailed Godwit Carsethorn to South Carse foreshore. A Holly Blue butterfly on village ivy hedge. First I've seen in many years. PJ

11th. 6 Storm Petrel & 19 Manx Shearwater (in Scottish waters) from Larne-Cairnryan ferry yesterday afternoon. Paul Massey. 

Alyn Chambers has had a Balearic Shearwater, 4 Storm Petrel and 2 Arctic Skua this morning. Gavin Chambers. 

Islesteps. Only 1 bird seen this pm. Not seen at 8pm passing through village. PJ

Too late to catch rising tide exposed mud but hung around for the ebb. 2 Greenshank, 1 Com Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret, fam of 5 Greenfinch nice to see. Also 50+ Lapwing, 500+ Greylag Geese (1 with red neck-tracker), fly-by flocks of Ringed Plvr & Dunlin. Nothing spectacular. PJ

1 reported in barley field just north of Kirkgunzeon village. 

Pleased to announce the first breeding attempt of Marsh Harriers at RSPB Mersehead has been successful, with 2 fledglings on the wing this week. https://www.facebook.com/RSPBMersehead   Interestingly, a third juvenile has been seen over the reedbed/wetland this morning too, not sure where it's come from though. Gavin Chambers. 

Hello to all & any D&G birdwatchers up for helping with biodata, with a view to informing our fool-politicians of the consequences of continuing to "develop" the planet. Andy Riches has a couple of North Solway stretches becoming/already vacant. Andy says; " I have two WeBS sites that I am looking for counters for on the North Solway. Torduff to Redkirk; which is essentially Browhouses. The group gets lots of records from there and perhaps someone who visits it regularly would like to take it on. Piltanton Burn; The mouth of the Piltanton where it flows into Luce Bay ." A couple of choice locations, esp the Browhouses stretch. I'd be envious if I lived nearby!  Expressions of Interest to Andy. His contact details are all over the place but his email for your convenience is; slioch69@aol.com Please forward to anyone you think may be interested to help in this increasingly important survey effort. Cheers.

Islesteps. The 3 birds still present 1815+ but dispersed and 2 probing/hiding in the longer grass of the swamp. PJ

This morning; 2 Avocet (1 juv 1Adult), 12 Greenshank, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Whimbrel & 14 Common Sandpiper (down from a count of 76 here on July 12th). Bill Jamieson. Ed. 76!! Wow! 

Islesteps high water flood pond. Water level up again with recent rains. Stopped by this am & found def 1 adult & I'm sure 2 young birds. Now I'm thinking this may corroborate my 8x30's sighting of a few weeks ago. But maybe not given passage of time & dispersal of young birds. The 2 young birds stick together mostly. However, given the males are left to raise the young, however improbable, the question is have they bred locally to Islesteps?? PJ

1 reported flying sw from the Isle of Whithorn. 

1145-1445. 17 Manx Shearwater, 3 Fulmar, 4 Gannet, 1 Common Scoter, 1ea fly-by Bar-tailed Godwit & Turnstone & 1 probable dp Arctic Skua upon arrival through bins only. Non thereafter. Many Sandwich Tern. PJ

4th. 3 reported between Shawhead & Crocketford. 

On the falling tide to the north of village, I had an adult Mediterranean Gull fly south and then later spotted the 2nd-summer on the mudflats. Also present were - 53 Sandwich Terns, 54 Redshank, 36 Dunlin, 28 Ringed Plover, 3 Whimbrel, 3 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret and an adult Peregrine causing a bit of stress. Earlier at Southerness Point, heading towards Gillfoot Bay, there were 40 Turnstone, 50 Golden Plover and 140 Dunlin. Offshore, 9 Manx Shearwater were heading west in the strong southerly wind. Gavin Chambers.

High tide roost on the merse gave Greenshank & 2cy Med Gull, bit of black in the wing feathers. A Whimbrel, 4 Little Egret, c30 ea Ringed Plvr & Dunlin & an increasing large number of Sandwich Tern too on falling tide. Redshank numbers building. Autumnal! PJ

1 ringtail briefly over barley field 1140 at Powillimount. PJ

Past through Mainsriddle early light this morning. Probably a Mersehead dweller. PJ

Couple of dozen, so far, Manx Shearwater flying south down east side of Luce Bay. First time I've seen them on this side of the bay. Rob Wadsworth. 

Message from Peter Swan;  Hello All, I am pleased to advise you that,  'Birds in Dumfries and Galloway' Bird Report (No.33) 2022 is now available. Should you wish to purchase a copy then I would be happy to post you one on receipt of your order and address. We have managed to keep the price the same as last year at, £8 + £2 p&p. This is payable by: a) Cheque made out to,  'Scottish Ornithologists Club Dumfries & Galloway Branches and sent to me at: 13, Robb Place, Castle Douglas, DG7 1LW , or b) by Bank Transfer to our account:  Scottish Ornithologists Club Dumfries & Galloway Branches. Account No.06041606. Sort Code 80-11-60 Best wishes to you all and hopes for a bit more proper summer weather to remind our migrant friends why they came here before they start heading  back to their winter quarters. Peter Swan (Treasurer). 

Midges defeated me this evening. All action before 10pm. I reckon 4 churring birds & maybe several altogether. 1 bird churring v close in nearby tree then another bird flew to it then both flew away together. After 10 it all went quiet. Except for biting midges! PJ