Dazza and I began our next Scottish Islands adventure on Sunday, the 5th, making an overnight stop in Fort Augustus, located at the southwest end of Loch Ness, on the Caledonian Canal. Fort Augustus is a delightful village that emanates the charm and mystery of Scotland's most renowned loch.
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| View out towards Loch Ness from the Caledonian Canal at Fort Augustus |
From Fort Augustus, we drove over to the Isle of Skye and then continued our journey to the Uig Ferry Terminal, which is located on the north coast of the island. The ferry to Tarbert on the Isle of Harris takes around an hour and 40 minutes, and the sea conditions were fair.
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| One of many Puffins during the crossing. |
There were several
Black Guillemots around Uig Harbour as we set off. The crossing was pretty quiet except for the occasional
Gannet and
Kittiwake. However, many
Puffins were spotted on the water, along with
Common Guillemot.
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| Outer Hebrides |
The Isle of Lewis and the Isle of Harris make up the main island in the Outer Hebrides. Lewis is located in the northern part of the island. During our trip, we stayed in Balallan on Lewis for three nights in a converted bothy. The name Balallan means "Allan's Town" and it is a crofting township within the parish of Lochs. Balallan is notable for being the longest village in Lewis and also in northern Scotland.
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| Beautiful white sands at Seilebost ~ A tidal channel separating Harris from the Island of Taransay. |
Lewis & Harris is actually the third largest island in the British Isles after Great Britain and Ireland and covers an area of over 810 sq miles (2,100 sq km). From a birding perspective, It's a huge Island to cover in just 2 full days, especially if you factor in a visit to Stornoway the Island's main town. Birding wise we decided on Taransay Sound in the south of Harris and the Butt of Lewis in the north, along with several stops while touring around.
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| Several Little Terns at Taransay. |
Taransay boasts of having vast stretches of shell sand beaches and machair, which is a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on the northwest coastlines of Ireland and Scotland. The most prominent examples of this terrain are found on the islands of North and South Uist, Harris, and Lewis. During our walk, we watched
Little Terns fishing in the tidal channels along with
Arctic Terns and looking across the sound good scoped views of
Great Northern Divers,
Red-throated Divers and
Common Scoter. We were lucky enough to record a single
Black-throated Diver in summer plumage and several
Long-tailed Ducks. Apparently,
Corncrake can be heard from the machair but not during our stay. Waders included
Golden Plover,
Grey Plover,
Dunlin,
Curlew,
Whimbrel and
Ringed Plover.
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| A surprise as a Hen Harrier flies in off the sea at the Butt of Lewis. |
To the north at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse, there is an opportunity for sea watching. However, after a beautiful day on the 7th, it was challenging today due to rain and a strong breeze. Below the lighthouse, we noted several
Seals and despite the poor conditions we managed a short sea watch, the highlights were
Great Skua and
Hen Harrier, which we were surprised to see coming in off the sea.
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| Whimbrel one of eleven we watched feeding. |
We had lunch sheltering in the car overlooking the grass-covered cliffs and adjacent to a clifftop freshwater pool. Eleven
Whimbrel were busy feeding along with a half dozen
Dunlin and a few
Ringed Plover and
Redshank. More surprisingly we counted seven
White Wagtails!
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| Wheatear |
We enjoyed the stunning scenery of Lewis & Harris, but for birding purposes, it's too vast to fully appreciate during such a short visit. Driving around we noted many
Wheatear, a few of which may well have been of the Greenland race, which pass through. Because of its location only a few
Swallows were seen.
Sand Martin and
House Martin are scarce here, along with many of the common species from home such as
Blue Tit &
Great Tit etc.
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| Great Northern Diver |
From our accommodation which overlooks the west end of Loch Eireasort we watched what the locals call 'real'
Greylag Geese plus
Pink-footed Geese,
Great Northern Divers,
Red-throated Divers and
Shelduck were also seen. A
Cuckoo would perch occasionally singing at the back of the house. In the evenings and early mornings, we could hear winnowing
Snipe and distant calls of
Golden Plover. There are also 'real'
Rock Doves all around the coast and
Raven and
Hooded Crows are residents. Weatherwise we encountered a beautiful day on the 7th and rain and wind on the 8th, so a typical mixed bag, the norm for Scotland. Today May 9th, we take the ferry to Uist, where hopefully we can get our real birding heads on!
