Now here is something to Tweet about!
Here’s something to Tweet about… it has been a bumper year for rare breeding birds in the strath and wider Highlands.
Four rare bird species bred in the region this year for the first time in decades including a species which had never successfully bred in Britain before.
Despite the poor summer weather, 2024 has been an unusual year for exceptionally rare breeding birds in the Highlands.
And Badenoch and Strathspey was home to two of the happy families after breeding success locally for Little Ringed Plovers and Nightjars.
John Poyner, Highland Bird Recorder for the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club, said: “Roy Dennis's book the Birds of Badenoch and Strathspey refers to Nightjar eggs being collected in Abernethy Forest in the 1890s and it's probable a small number bred in the area up until the 1970s.
“Although Little-Ringed Plover have been seen in the area as an uncommon passage bird, this is the first time breeding has been proven.”
Little Ringed Plovers colonised England from 1938 and Scotland from 1968 but nested in the Highlands for the first time this year, their northwards expansion perhaps a result of climate change.
A summer visitor to Britain, this wading bird nests on the ground on river shingles and gravel pits, habitats where sudden rises in water level or mineral extraction often cause egg loss.
European Nightjars formerly nested widely in open woodland across Scotland but for unknown reasons had disappeared as a breeding bird in the Highlands by the 1970s.
Mr Poyner said: “A nesting pair this year is a welcome return. Their nocturnal habits may mean they are being overlooked in areas of clear-fell forestry, which are attractive to them for only for a few years until they become too overgrown.”
For security reasons, specific locations of these breeding attempts are confidential but it is hoped that these birds will return and become regular nesters here.
For the first time ever in Britain, a pair of Blyth’s Reed Warblers successfully reared young, representing a westward extension of their range.
This small brown bird, best identified by its song, nests in scattered bushes and woodland clearings.
Its breeding range has expanded westward from Russia through Scandinavia and stray migrants are increasingly recorded in Scotland so a breeding attempt here was not entirely unexpected.
Mr Poyner, who is based in Nethy Bridge, explained why the region is so important for birdlife.
He said: “The Highlands’ wide range of habitats and unique position between northern Scandinavia and the milder south of Britain means it is superbly placed for new bird species colonising, as a result of range expansion or habitat and climate change.
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“To have three new breeders as well as one returning after over half a century in a single season is unprecedented though and highlights the importance of this region for potential colonisation by new species.”
Common Cranes were the other breeding success.
Although the species may once have nested in Scotland, it is only recently that there are proven breeding records north of the border.
A chick reared by a pair this year is a first for the Highland recording area.
The SOC, established in 1936, is a charity promoting the study, enjoyment and conservation of wild birds and their habitats across Scotland.
The SOC manages the network of bird recorders in Scotland, relying on volunteers gathering vital, impartial information about our country's wild birds to track how they are faring and to inform conservation efforts.
