Nests and wind farm wildlife

With some warmer weather this week more migrants seem to be arriving with Cuckoos being heard most days, Wheatears becoming increasingly numerous and moving up the valleys to their nesting habitat, Swallows and Sand Martins pursuing insect prey around the trees in Strath Brora and Common Sandpipers chasing each other along the river. Walking though low cloud over the blanket bog one morning with Dunlins shrilly screaming their arrival, Golden Plovers uttering their plaintive peep and Greenshanks singing their distinctive bubbly song was highly evocative and captivating for a birder mainly used to seeing waders in the winter or on passage.

The Golden Plovers amongst other species are finally settling down to nest after the period of cold and unsettled weather in April. It is highly probable that a number of pairs would have failed with birds being forced to lower altitudes and unexpectedly high numbers observed feeding on the semi-improved grassland that serves as their usual off duty foraging grounds. It was pleasing, therefore, to have finally found our first nest for this year of the project and measuring the length, breath and mass of the eggs allows the density to be calculated and hatch dates predicted which for this nest will be towards the end of May.

Golden Plover nest on blanket bog

A Skylark's nest was also found whilst surveying one of the control sites for the project with the bird flushing just metres away allowing the nest to be easily located in the centre of a small grassy tuft.

Skylark nest

Insects are also becoming more active with a few species occurring in increasing numbers on the warm sunny days. The Common Heath Ematurga atomaria is a common day flying moth found in abundance during periods of prolonged sunshine. Male and females can be identified by their differing antennae with those of the male being characteristically feathered.

Common Heath

Carabus glabratus and Carabus problematicus are reasonably numerous large carabid ground beetles seen in the blanket bog habitat in which the wind farm is sited. 

  Carabus glabratum                                     Carabus problematicus