• When here in the Outer Hebrides and looking at a bird, have you ever wondered how rare it is? The status of all species can vary enormously from island to island. How rare is Shoveler on Barra, has Stock Dove been seen on Harris, does Dotterel occur on Benbecula in the autumn, and how common is Blue Tit on North Uist? Well, fret no longer! The Status and Distribution of birds here on the Outer Hebrides has been completely updated and summarised for every species and each of the main islands and outliers. Available as an online resource at https://status.outerhebrides-birdreports.org/ or via our shop

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Missing Sparrow's!

Garry h

Member
Keith st, Stornoway.
My visiting Sparrow's have declined from flocks of twentyplus to only one on my garden feeders in the last week!!
Anybody else noticing the same?
 

MisterT

Always Birding
Hi Garry,
That is indeed a bit unusual as they are quite sedentary and not known to move en masse. Here in Askernish, South Uist, our sparrow numbers have been relatively stable if not increased slightly this past year. We did suffer a serious decline in numbers in 2013 due to disease and numbers went down by 50% it did not affect the whole population. It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has noticed a similar decline anywhere else.
 

Garry h

Member
Hi Mr T, since my posting about Sparrows, 5 appeared in my garden on Sunday, the first I have seen for about three months! Still a huge drop from flocks of 20 to 30 during the summer. I've only seen one or two since however. A mate of mine say's he has a couple nesting in his garden on the edge of town which is good news!
We do have a pair of Herons repairing last years nest visible from our kitchen. We will be able to watch them until the leaves start to grow on the trees in Stornoway Castle grounds, as we did last year. quite a few Red-breasted Mergansers diving in the outer harbour.
 
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