Summary Hoddam c12 wigeon, 4 mallard, 2 teal, 2 canada goose, 4 greylag goose, 4 little grebe, 2 oystercatcher, 2+ pied wagtail, 1 buzzard, 1 heron, 1 female sparrowhawk, common violet (I think) & blackthorn in flower, 1 peacock butterfly, 1 pair? lost glasses! Otherwise, quiet.  Tarmac   c20 sand martin, 15-20 greylag goose, 2 canada goose, 4 teal, 7 tufted duck, 4 mallard, 2 wigeon, 6 goosander, 1 great crested grebe, 4 little grebe, 5 oystercatcher, 2 pied wagtail, 1 lapwing.  Small birds notably absent but food hard to find in March; natural seed reserves depleted & insect food not full-on yet. Though with the recent heatwave, you would think otherwise! 

c.200 common scoters off Ravenshall Point (NX5252) this morning. David H

1200 to 1300 : 2 Dippers on the river (Kirkgunzeon Lane/Barr Burn) and 2 Grey Wagtails. Nuthatch calling in the park. Regards, Chris Baines

30/03 11:09 : Stranraer : 460 still from Cairnryan Road (11:08). Per BirdGuides.

From 13:15. Late WeBS best : 4 rt diver, 2 whimbrel, 2 grey plvr, 2 (1 pair) scaup, 4 rbm : Carse Bay ; located in Carse Gut mostly : 3 lit egret, 2 (1 pair) scaup, c100 black-tailed godwit, 6 knot. PJ

Single Sand Martin across the lagoon north of the track. Regards, Ivan Lang. 

29/03 12:46 : Castle Loch NR : Drake still in Vendace Bay viewed from road on west side (12:43). Per BirdGuides.

Anyone going to find the Avocets at Browhouses please note the following received from Ian Hartley; Thanks for reporting the Avocet flag, details of this bird are below: 7L     EA30524  ringed as chick Canute, Castletown Estate, Cumbria  10/06/2021  Bart Donato 7L     EA30524  sighting : Old Hall Marshes, near Tollesbury, Essex  13/09/2021  Simon Cox 7L     EA30524  sighting : Browhouses, Dumfries and Galloway  25/03/2022  Pete Jeavons We'd be interested in further sightings of this or other birds if you see any. Best wishes Ian H artley i.hartley@lancaster.ac.uk Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University

28/03 12:26 : Great Egret, Creetown : one (12:18). Per BirdGuides.

28/03 12:04 : Lsr Scaup, Castle Loch NR : Drake still in Vendace Bay viewed from road on west side late morning; also hybrid Aythya still. Per BirdGuides 👍

28/03 10:14 : Browhouses : 2 (two) still (10:12). Per BirdGuides. 👍

Got a little behind with sightings, so here are some highlights : 24th Mar - Drake Mandarin flew south over Kenmure Holms, New Galloway : 25th Mar - Wheatear at RSPB Mull of Galloway, Hooded Crow in fields just north of headland : 26th Mar - 3 Long-tailed Ducks in Wig Bay, Loch Ryan, 43+ (including flock of 20) Red-throated Divers off Innermessan, Loch Ryan, (plus Common Scoter, Scaup, Slavonian Grebe, Brent Geese), 2 Sand Martin heading up the River Cree at Newton Stewart. Cheers Gavin

This pic of the 2 is better, for what it is!!

15:00-16:00 : Carse Gut   ; 5 lit egret, 2 (♀️♂️) Scaup, 1 tufted, 1 peregrine over heading west, low numbers of redshank, pintail, wigeon, teal, more of shelduck also curlew. Carsethorn ; 2 whimbrel (pic) close together, 4 rbm offshore, handful redshank & turnstone. Inevitable fair weather weekend disturbance. PJ

Best of my hand-held phone to scope efforts. PJ 

Still on watch on St Michael's Church spire Dumfries late pm. Not a bad day. PJ

3 at Browhouses this pm, driven away by local dog walkers.🙄Birds returned only 2b driven away by more dog walkers. 1 bird has dual yellow leg "rings", one with flag showing 7L @RareBirdAlertUK

Confirm ID from a picture taken by John Switzer who may share when back home in couple weeks. Hybrid must have moved off to another part of the loch. P

Confirm from the angle viewing from the former feeding station Vendace Bay, the drake has evidence of green sheen to the head 😁👍. So Aythya hybrid plus Lesser Scaup. Also tawny owl calling. PJ 

1 being Lesser, 2 hybrid.  Best viewed on a pc... PJ

Right. I'm sat looking into Vendace Bay & there is what I believe to be a/the Aythya hybrid but also, almost clockwork dinky toyish, Lesser Scaup! Anyone heading this way?! Heat haze not helpful to scope pic but will try.... 😁 👍 PJ 

Well, I did question the possibility when first reported...  Per BirdGuides ; 25/03 12:04 Dumfries & Galloway : Lsr Scaup, Castle Loch NR : reported drake is a hybrid Aythya

25/03 11:10 ; Castle Loch NR : Drake still viewed distantly from east side (11:00). Per BirdGuides but thanks to Connor Fraser. Viewed from Lockerbie Road main car park looking west. PJ

Not including WWT Caerlaverock/East Park section. : Kenneth Bank to East Park (Monday) Barnacle Goose 577, Golden Plover 38, Little Egret 3, Pink-footed Goose 44, Redshank 8, Cormorant 4, Grey Heron 1, Mallard 3, Pintail 34, Shelduck 173, Curlew 88, Lapwing 4, Oystercatcher 134, Red-breasted Merganser 2 : Brow Well (Tuesday) Barnacle Goose 153, Lapwing 10, Redshank 39, Whooper Swan 137, Cormorant 2, Oystercatcher 8, Shelduck 12, Wigeon 37, Curlew 38, Red-breasted Merganser 1, Teal 7 : Priestside Eastern section (Tuesday) Cormorant 4, Golden Plover 750+, Lapwing 11, Red-breasted Merganser 1, Shelduck 2, Whooper Swan 8, Curlew 80+, Grey Heron 1, Oystercatcher 330+, Red-throated Diver 4, Teal 23, Wigeon 85, Dunlin 500+, Knot 500+,  Pink-footed Goose 65, Redshank 84, Turnstone 100+ : Other species : Brown Hare 1 : Plus plenty of Skylarks taking advantage of the sunshine and displaying on the merse. Chiffchaff in Castle Wood. : Also Peacock and Comma butterflies around Kirkconnel...

24/03 14:17 : Lssr Scaup, Castle Loch NR ; Drake again as viewed from multi-access fishing pier (14:15). Per BirdGuides. No idea where the "multi-access" pier is, unless it's the one close to Vendace Burn... PJ

24/03 10:18 : Browhouses : five (5) still; also Twite. Per BirdGuides. Looking good for catching up with them! PJ 👍