I spent last week (28th March - 4th April) on the island of Islay, one of the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. It was my third visit to the island in the last 10 years, so I had the advantage of knowing my way around fairly well. I was staying in an excellent self catering cottage at Kilchoman House in the north west of the island. It is run by local birders Ian and Margaret Brooke, whose help and interest made my stay there something special. I was kept abreast of any local sightings, although this didn't help me to find the Gyr Falcon that was knocking about all week. Actually, I may have caught the briefest glimpse of it, but I'll never know for sure.
I left home on the Friday evening and drove to a nice quiet picnic area near Crianlarach where I managed to get 6 hours sleep in the car. The weather was wet and windy with a lot of fresh snow on the hill tops. In the morning I carried on to Tarbert where I had to wait for the cafe to open so that I could get a second breakfast. There were two Iceland Gulls in the harbour, so I was off to a good start. The ferry leaves from Kennacraig a few miles away and while I was waiting in line I got good views of Great Northern Diver and Black Guillemot. The crossing was pleasant, the weather by now had cleared up, and the sun was shining. Lots more GNDs were to be seen from the deck in West Loch Tarbert and the Sound of Gigha, before things quietened down. After arriving at Port Askaig, I drove slowly to my cottage, picking up lots of common birds along the way. Best of the bunch was a spectacular male Hen Harrier.
Every day saw me out and about for at least 8 hours. I covered every corner of the island and just failed by 3 to reach my target of 100 species. Pick of the bunch were:
a flock of about 1000 Golden Plovers, the males in bright summer plumage. They were in a grassy field, all evenly spaced out and not moving too much which made them easy enough to count.
Lots of Ravens everywhere. I love their calls.
All the geese. Tens of thousands of Barnacles and White-fronts, with a smattering of Greylags and Brent Geese.
A female Great Spotted Woodpecker in the garden where I was staying is a major rarity on Islay.
The flocks of Choughs feeding on the machair.
My first Wheatear of the year. They became quite common as the week went on.
A Slavonian Grebe in summer plumage on Loch Indaal.
My first Chiffchaff of the year calling at Loch Skerrols.
A Green-winged Teal from the hide at Gruinart. This was the only bird that wasn't completely self found, as there was a mention of it in the hide log book from the previous day, so I knew to have a good look at all the teal.
My first Swallow of the year, heading determinedly north across The Oa, followed later by two more.
A Golden Eagle soaring over the house on my last morning in spite of the wind and rain.
Two Manx Shearwaters from the ferry on the way back, then a pair of Black-throated Divers only 10 metres from the shore of Loch Fyne on the outskirts of Ardrishaig, quite oblivious of all the passing traffic.
Here is the full list of birds seen:
Mute Swan On most inland lochs Possibly nest building on Loch Skerrols
White-fronted Goose Widespread
Greylag Goose Common
Barnacle Goose Widespread
Brent Goose 2 with Barnacle flock near Bridgend, 16 at head of Loch Indaal
Shelduck Common
Wigeon Common
Teal Common
Green-winged Teal 1 drake at Gruinart Hide
Mallard Common
Pintail about 5 pairs at Gruinart
Shoveler Pair at Gruinart
Tufted Duck common
Scaup small flock in Loch Indaal
Eider common around coast
Long Tailed Duck Small flock in Loch Indaal
Goldeneye common on most lochs
Red-breasted Merganser small number at Gruinart, and from ferry
Red-legged Partridge small numbers seen
Pheasant widespread
Red-throated Diver small numbers from ferry and on Loch Indaal
Black-throated Diver pair on Loch Fyne at Ardrishaig very close to shore
Great Northern Diver about 20 from ferry, plus odd ones around coast
Slavonian Grebe 1 in summer plumage Loch Indaal 30th March
Fulmar numerous from ferry, also at Kilchoman and The Oa
Manx Shearwater 2 from Ferry in sound of Gigha
Gannet plentiful from ferry
Cormorant from ferry and around coast
Shag from ferry and around coast
Grey Heron 3 at Gruinart
Hen Harrier 2 males, near Port Charlotte and on Kilchoman road
Sparrowhawk Gruinart Woods
Buzzard common
Golden Eagle 1 at Kilchoman 4th April
Kestrel pair displaying at The Oa
Peregrine 1 at The Oa, 1 at Kilchoman
Water Rail 1 calling from reed bed at Kilchoman 3rd April
Moorhen 1 at Gruinart
Oystercatcher common
Ringed Plover small numbers around coast
Golden Plover flock of about 1000 (one thousand) near Coull Farm
Lapwing common
Sanderling small numbers at head of Loch Indaal
Dunlin small numbers at head of Loch Indaal and Loch Gruinart
Snipe a single and a pair at Gruinart
Black-tailed Godwit small flock near Bowmore
Bar-tailed Godwit 5 near Bowmore
Curlew common
Redshank common
Turnstone small flocks at Loch Gruinart
Kittiwake 1 from ferry
Black-headed Gull common
Common Gull common
Lesser Black-backed Gull common
Herring Gull common
Iceland Gull 1 at Bunnahabhain and 2 in Tarbert Harbour
Great Black-backed Gull common
Guillemot several seen from ferry, and at The Oa
Razorbill several seen from ferry
Black Guillemot several seen from ferry, and at The Oa
Feral Pigeon/Rock Dove common
Wood Pigeon common
Collared Dove several at Bridgend
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 female at Kilchoman House
Skylark common
Sand Martin 2 at The Oa, (2nd April) 1 at Ardnave (3rd April)
Swallow 3 at The Oa (2nd April)
Meadow Pipit common
Rock Pipit small numbers
Grey Wagtail 2 at Loch Skerrols, 2 on River Sorn
Pied Wagtail common
Wren plentiful in woodland
Dunnock a few
Robin plentiful in woodland
Stonechat common
Wheatear increasingly common over the week
Blackbird common
Song Thrush common
Mistle Thrush a few
Chiffchaff 1 calling at L. Skerrols (31st March) 1 calling Gruinart 2nd April
Blue Tit common in woodland
Great Tit common in woodland
Coal Tit common in woodland
Jackdaw common
Chough common at Machir Bay
Rook Rookery at Gruinart Woods
Hooded Crow common
Raven common
Starling common
House Sparrow common around habitation
Chaffinch common in woodland
Greenfinch common in woodland
Goldfinch fairly common
Linnet small flocks seen
Twite flock of about 20 at The Oa
Yellowhammer 1 singing at Bunnahabhain
Reed Bunting 1 on the road to The Oa
Here's a few photos as well. There will be more on my website when I get around to it.
I left home on the Friday evening and drove to a nice quiet picnic area near Crianlarach where I managed to get 6 hours sleep in the car. The weather was wet and windy with a lot of fresh snow on the hill tops. In the morning I carried on to Tarbert where I had to wait for the cafe to open so that I could get a second breakfast. There were two Iceland Gulls in the harbour, so I was off to a good start. The ferry leaves from Kennacraig a few miles away and while I was waiting in line I got good views of Great Northern Diver and Black Guillemot. The crossing was pleasant, the weather by now had cleared up, and the sun was shining. Lots more GNDs were to be seen from the deck in West Loch Tarbert and the Sound of Gigha, before things quietened down. After arriving at Port Askaig, I drove slowly to my cottage, picking up lots of common birds along the way. Best of the bunch was a spectacular male Hen Harrier.
Every day saw me out and about for at least 8 hours. I covered every corner of the island and just failed by 3 to reach my target of 100 species. Pick of the bunch were:
a flock of about 1000 Golden Plovers, the males in bright summer plumage. They were in a grassy field, all evenly spaced out and not moving too much which made them easy enough to count.
Lots of Ravens everywhere. I love their calls.
All the geese. Tens of thousands of Barnacles and White-fronts, with a smattering of Greylags and Brent Geese.
A female Great Spotted Woodpecker in the garden where I was staying is a major rarity on Islay.
The flocks of Choughs feeding on the machair.
My first Wheatear of the year. They became quite common as the week went on.
A Slavonian Grebe in summer plumage on Loch Indaal.
My first Chiffchaff of the year calling at Loch Skerrols.
A Green-winged Teal from the hide at Gruinart. This was the only bird that wasn't completely self found, as there was a mention of it in the hide log book from the previous day, so I knew to have a good look at all the teal.
My first Swallow of the year, heading determinedly north across The Oa, followed later by two more.
A Golden Eagle soaring over the house on my last morning in spite of the wind and rain.
Two Manx Shearwaters from the ferry on the way back, then a pair of Black-throated Divers only 10 metres from the shore of Loch Fyne on the outskirts of Ardrishaig, quite oblivious of all the passing traffic.
Here is the full list of birds seen:
Mute Swan On most inland lochs Possibly nest building on Loch Skerrols
White-fronted Goose Widespread
Greylag Goose Common
Barnacle Goose Widespread
Brent Goose 2 with Barnacle flock near Bridgend, 16 at head of Loch Indaal
Shelduck Common
Wigeon Common
Teal Common
Green-winged Teal 1 drake at Gruinart Hide
Mallard Common
Pintail about 5 pairs at Gruinart
Shoveler Pair at Gruinart
Tufted Duck common
Scaup small flock in Loch Indaal
Eider common around coast
Long Tailed Duck Small flock in Loch Indaal
Goldeneye common on most lochs
Red-breasted Merganser small number at Gruinart, and from ferry
Red-legged Partridge small numbers seen
Pheasant widespread
Red-throated Diver small numbers from ferry and on Loch Indaal
Black-throated Diver pair on Loch Fyne at Ardrishaig very close to shore
Great Northern Diver about 20 from ferry, plus odd ones around coast
Slavonian Grebe 1 in summer plumage Loch Indaal 30th March
Fulmar numerous from ferry, also at Kilchoman and The Oa
Manx Shearwater 2 from Ferry in sound of Gigha
Gannet plentiful from ferry
Cormorant from ferry and around coast
Shag from ferry and around coast
Grey Heron 3 at Gruinart
Hen Harrier 2 males, near Port Charlotte and on Kilchoman road
Sparrowhawk Gruinart Woods
Buzzard common
Golden Eagle 1 at Kilchoman 4th April
Kestrel pair displaying at The Oa
Peregrine 1 at The Oa, 1 at Kilchoman
Water Rail 1 calling from reed bed at Kilchoman 3rd April
Moorhen 1 at Gruinart
Oystercatcher common
Ringed Plover small numbers around coast
Golden Plover flock of about 1000 (one thousand) near Coull Farm
Lapwing common
Sanderling small numbers at head of Loch Indaal
Dunlin small numbers at head of Loch Indaal and Loch Gruinart
Snipe a single and a pair at Gruinart
Black-tailed Godwit small flock near Bowmore
Bar-tailed Godwit 5 near Bowmore
Curlew common
Redshank common
Turnstone small flocks at Loch Gruinart
Kittiwake 1 from ferry
Black-headed Gull common
Common Gull common
Lesser Black-backed Gull common
Herring Gull common
Iceland Gull 1 at Bunnahabhain and 2 in Tarbert Harbour
Great Black-backed Gull common
Guillemot several seen from ferry, and at The Oa
Razorbill several seen from ferry
Black Guillemot several seen from ferry, and at The Oa
Feral Pigeon/Rock Dove common
Wood Pigeon common
Collared Dove several at Bridgend
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 female at Kilchoman House
Skylark common
Sand Martin 2 at The Oa, (2nd April) 1 at Ardnave (3rd April)
Swallow 3 at The Oa (2nd April)
Meadow Pipit common
Rock Pipit small numbers
Grey Wagtail 2 at Loch Skerrols, 2 on River Sorn
Pied Wagtail common
Wren plentiful in woodland
Dunnock a few
Robin plentiful in woodland
Stonechat common
Wheatear increasingly common over the week
Blackbird common
Song Thrush common
Mistle Thrush a few
Chiffchaff 1 calling at L. Skerrols (31st March) 1 calling Gruinart 2nd April
Blue Tit common in woodland
Great Tit common in woodland
Coal Tit common in woodland
Jackdaw common
Chough common at Machir Bay
Rook Rookery at Gruinart Woods
Hooded Crow common
Raven common
Starling common
House Sparrow common around habitation
Chaffinch common in woodland
Greenfinch common in woodland
Goldfinch fairly common
Linnet small flocks seen
Twite flock of about 20 at The Oa
Yellowhammer 1 singing at Bunnahabhain
Reed Bunting 1 on the road to The Oa
Here's a few photos as well. There will be more on my website when I get around to it.
