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Birdwatching Trip Reports to
Islay Scotland 2011
5th - 12th February
Tour Leader :- Chris Mills
Click here - Islay gallery images
Islay Scotland 2011
5th - 12th February
Tour Leader :- Chris Mills
Click here - Islay gallery images
Saturday 5th February - Kennacraig harbour & ferry crossing.
Having collected 3 members of the group en-route we arrived at the ferry crossing from Kennacraig to Islay in the late morning of Saturday 5th Feb having driven up through the early hours of the morning.
En-route we had seen our first Hooded Crows, Buzzards & at Furness a brief stop also resulted in 10 Red-breasted Merganser, Eider, Rock Pipit & 3 Great Northern Diver just offshore.
With plenty of time to spare at Kennacraig harbour we started scanning and were rewarded immediately with 2 summer plumaged Black Guillemots & numerous Red-breasted Merganser, Goldeneye, Wigeon & some commoner shorebirds. Possibly the the most noteworthy observation was an Otter showing very well just off the pier at Kennacraig! The crossing proved excellent with 30 + Great Northern Diver, 1 Red-necked Grebe & 6 Common Scoter.
There was also lots of Shag, Red-breasted Merganser & Wigeon. Also of note were 25+ Black Guillemot & Kittiwake.
As we reached the channel between Jura & Islay we were treated to some special moments; firstly 2 White-tailed Eagle were watched perched on the top of a small rocky island, & then 4-5 Bottle-nosed Dolphin surfed the bow wave along the edge of the ferry. Also noted distantly were Red Deer & several Common Seal.
We arrived late afternoon at Port Ascraig, we met up with the 4th member of the group & headed up to the accommodation. We then to collected food & provisions for the week ahead.
The accommodation at Blackpark Croft is excellent, the building is double glazed, with heating throughout running off a thermostatic control, the flooring is completely timbered, there are 2 double rooms, 2 twin rooms, large kitchen, large utilities, large lounge with a big double glazed window looking across fantastic views towards Loch Indaal.
Having collected 3 members of the group en-route we arrived at the ferry crossing from Kennacraig to Islay in the late morning of Saturday 5th Feb having driven up through the early hours of the morning.
En-route we had seen our first Hooded Crows, Buzzards & at Furness a brief stop also resulted in 10 Red-breasted Merganser, Eider, Rock Pipit & 3 Great Northern Diver just offshore.
With plenty of time to spare at Kennacraig harbour we started scanning and were rewarded immediately with 2 summer plumaged Black Guillemots & numerous Red-breasted Merganser, Goldeneye, Wigeon & some commoner shorebirds. Possibly the the most noteworthy observation was an Otter showing very well just off the pier at Kennacraig! The crossing proved excellent with 30 + Great Northern Diver, 1 Red-necked Grebe & 6 Common Scoter.
There was also lots of Shag, Red-breasted Merganser & Wigeon. Also of note were 25+ Black Guillemot & Kittiwake.
As we reached the channel between Jura & Islay we were treated to some special moments; firstly 2 White-tailed Eagle were watched perched on the top of a small rocky island, & then 4-5 Bottle-nosed Dolphin surfed the bow wave along the edge of the ferry. Also noted distantly were Red Deer & several Common Seal.
We arrived late afternoon at Port Ascraig, we met up with the 4th member of the group & headed up to the accommodation. We then to collected food & provisions for the week ahead.
The accommodation at Blackpark Croft is excellent, the building is double glazed, with heating throughout running off a thermostatic control, the flooring is completely timbered, there are 2 double rooms, 2 twin rooms, large kitchen, large utilities, large lounge with a big double glazed window looking across fantastic views towards Loch Indaal.
Tuesday 8th February - The OA & South East Islay
We arrived on “The Oa” at 8.30 & we set up a watch around the Loch Kinnabus area, but there was no sign of any Eagles.
I decided to head around to the sea cliffs, a "purple patch" ensued as it a 5 minute period we were treated to a pair of Golden Eagle, a Merlin & a Peregrine! Further searching of the area produced 2 wonderful Twite flocks, 150 & 170 - the largest numbers I had seen here.
Also 10 Brambling, 2 Tree Sparrow, 25 Linnet, 4 Reed Bunting & 20+ Rock Dove.
Along the cliffs, we also saw Fulmar & Mountain Goat.
During the afternoon we stopped briefly in Port Ellen harbour and then took the minor winding road from Ardbeg to Claggain bay in the south east corner of the island. From various vantage points & coves there was 4 Great N Diver, 30+ Eider, also Red-breasted Merganser, Goldeneye, and several Rock Pipit.
The scenery and rocky bays are wonderful along this stretch, there was also good numbers of Red-breasted Merganser, Goldeneye, Oystercatcher & Turnstone & another Black Guillemot.
We stopped off briefly at a set of pheasant feeders as there were good numbers of birds feeding below, and here we saw 3 Yellowhammers.
Sunday 6th February - Loch Gruinart RSPB Reserve & Ardnave Point
Breakfast was arranged for 7.30 , and we were all in the van & on our way by 8.15am. It was a reasonable dry morning.
We had barely left the accommodation before we were watching lots of geese; Greenland White-fronted Geese & Barnacle Geese in many large gatherings.
From Gruinard Reserve we scanned the pools, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, 15 Pintail, 2 Whooper Swan were close by, out on the estuary in the distance we could see 300 Shelduck, 100 Oystercatcher, 150 Bar-tailed Godwit, 40 Curlew & towards the mouth of the estuary there was at least 6+ Great N Diver.
There was also a small flock of 50 Lapwing & over 100 Curlew on the wet fields, and 2 pairs of Red-breasted Merganser were displaying to each other.
We stopped off at the Visitor centre where we treated ourselves to some warmth & a hot drink, the group read the educational backdrop about the importance of the reserve.
Suitably refreshed & warm we set out in the afternoon for Ardnave Point. Once at Ardnave Point we stopped off to check the Loch, on here there were 4 Whooper Swan, 5 Goldeneye 10 Tufted Duck & the usual Teal, Mallard & Wigeon.
A short walk from the car park produced the target species, great views of c25 Chough wheeling around & perching on the nearby ridge, also a nice group of c60 Twite, plus Buzzard & 4+ Raven.
We then visited the area to the North of Loch Gorm & were first treated to lovely views of a male Merlin sat on the drystone wall, I managed to manouvre the van with about 15m, so we had stunning views. Shortly after we had distant views of 2 Golden Eagle as they soared above the mountain side.
We finished the day at Loch Gruinart, watching a fantastic roost of 1000’s of Barnacle & Greenland White-fronted Geese.
We had a lovely evening meal in Bowmore washed down with a couple pints of the local beer.
Monday 8th February - Loch Gruinart, Loch Indaal & Portnahaven
After breakfast we loaded up the van, & had 2 Chough over the accommodation, we then tried initially searching again for the Richardson's Canada Goose, but without success.
We then took the short trip 5 minutes drive from the accommodation to the head of Loch Indaal.
Scoping the bay produced an array of good birds, the light breeze meant that we got good views on the flat sea.
The bay was viewed from the head of the Loch and then from several vantage points off the main road leading to Bowmore, from these points we had 1 Red-throated Diver, 35 Great Northern Diver, 2 Whooper Swan, 20 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 150 Scaup, 6 Long-tailed Duck, 10 Common Scoter, 4 Slavonian Grebe & Eider.
Also found on the shoreline was 30 Knot, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 20 Ringed Plover, 50+ Curlew, 20+ Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher & Turnstone.
We then headed towards Portnahaven stopping off at Bruichladdich and from the area near thr pier we had good views of a several Purple Sandpiper, plus Grey Wagtail (the only one of the trip!) plus several obliging Rock Pipit. We scored again here with Otter, this one showing very well just offshore & out on the rocks!
At Portnahaven, the sea was quite a sight smashing against the rocks & clearly still very turbulent following the previous weeks gales.
Offshore thousands of auks were passing south along with a few Gannet, Kittiwake & Fulmar.
The drive back through The Rhinns - provided wonderful views of a male Hen Harrier, hunting over the moorland & quite close quarters. We also noted several Raven & Buzzard.
Breakfast was arranged for 7.30 , and we were all in the van & on our way by 8.15am. It was a reasonable dry morning.
We had barely left the accommodation before we were watching lots of geese; Greenland White-fronted Geese & Barnacle Geese in many large gatherings.
From Gruinard Reserve we scanned the pools, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, 15 Pintail, 2 Whooper Swan were close by, out on the estuary in the distance we could see 300 Shelduck, 100 Oystercatcher, 150 Bar-tailed Godwit, 40 Curlew & towards the mouth of the estuary there was at least 6+ Great N Diver.
There was also a small flock of 50 Lapwing & over 100 Curlew on the wet fields, and 2 pairs of Red-breasted Merganser were displaying to each other.
We stopped off at the Visitor centre where we treated ourselves to some warmth & a hot drink, the group read the educational backdrop about the importance of the reserve.
Suitably refreshed & warm we set out in the afternoon for Ardnave Point. Once at Ardnave Point we stopped off to check the Loch, on here there were 4 Whooper Swan, 5 Goldeneye 10 Tufted Duck & the usual Teal, Mallard & Wigeon.
A short walk from the car park produced the target species, great views of c25 Chough wheeling around & perching on the nearby ridge, also a nice group of c60 Twite, plus Buzzard & 4+ Raven.
We then visited the area to the North of Loch Gorm & were first treated to lovely views of a male Merlin sat on the drystone wall, I managed to manouvre the van with about 15m, so we had stunning views. Shortly after we had distant views of 2 Golden Eagle as they soared above the mountain side.
We finished the day at Loch Gruinart, watching a fantastic roost of 1000’s of Barnacle & Greenland White-fronted Geese.
We had a lovely evening meal in Bowmore washed down with a couple pints of the local beer.
Monday 8th February - Loch Gruinart, Loch Indaal & Portnahaven
After breakfast we loaded up the van, & had 2 Chough over the accommodation, we then tried initially searching again for the Richardson's Canada Goose, but without success.
We then took the short trip 5 minutes drive from the accommodation to the head of Loch Indaal.
Scoping the bay produced an array of good birds, the light breeze meant that we got good views on the flat sea.
The bay was viewed from the head of the Loch and then from several vantage points off the main road leading to Bowmore, from these points we had 1 Red-throated Diver, 35 Great Northern Diver, 2 Whooper Swan, 20 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 150 Scaup, 6 Long-tailed Duck, 10 Common Scoter, 4 Slavonian Grebe & Eider.
Also found on the shoreline was 30 Knot, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 20 Ringed Plover, 50+ Curlew, 20+ Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher & Turnstone.
We then headed towards Portnahaven stopping off at Bruichladdich and from the area near thr pier we had good views of a several Purple Sandpiper, plus Grey Wagtail (the only one of the trip!) plus several obliging Rock Pipit. We scored again here with Otter, this one showing very well just offshore & out on the rocks!
At Portnahaven, the sea was quite a sight smashing against the rocks & clearly still very turbulent following the previous weeks gales.
Offshore thousands of auks were passing south along with a few Gannet, Kittiwake & Fulmar.
The drive back through The Rhinns - provided wonderful views of a male Hen Harrier, hunting over the moorland & quite close quarters. We also noted several Raven & Buzzard.
Thursday 10th February - Dunlossit, Bowmore & Laggan Bay
Loch Gruinart East Shore
We decided to start with a scan of Loch Indaal from Blackrock as the sea was flat & visibility excellent.
This paid off with the best views yet of several divers, seaduck & grebes. On view from here were 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Black-throated Diver 5 Great Northern Diver, 6 Slavonian Grebe, 50+ Common Eider, 200 Scaup, 6 Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Goldneye, Wigeon & Teal.
We headed off to Bridgend woods, which were relatively quiet, we did manage to add 20 Siskin and Treecreeper to the list, but couldn’t locate Dipper & couldn't locate it at the usual place up the road.
A short visit to Ballygrant woods produced the target species - Moorhen, the only one of the trip!
We again visited the area north of Loch Gorm & this time were rewarded with 2 Golden eagle & a male Hen Harrier. Also in the fields nearby another 50 Twite & 2 Chough overhead.
We finished along the east shoreline of Gruinart where there was 200 Shelduck, 100 Oystercatcher, 100 Ringed Plover, 30 Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 200 Bar-tailed Godwit, 50 Curlew, Redshank & Turnstone. We decided to head further along the track this time & we were rewarded with another large flock of 200 Twite, plus a female Merlin went whizzing through. In the channels there was also several feeding Great N Diver. With the weather turning very wet we headed back to the accommodation.
The final bird of the day was a Barn Owl en-route to the pub in the evening.
Friday 11th February - Dunlossit, Bowmore & Laggan Bay
The weather hindered us today, with wet blustery conditions, we popped in & out of several sites. We did eventually locate a Dipper at the woollen mill, & look offshore at Bowmore produced 6 Great N Diver, 4 Slavonian Grebe, 20 Eider, 1 Long-tailed Duck & 1 Black Guillemot. At Ballygrant a surprise, as a pair of Goosander flew across the road.
After a stop for lunch & a bit of gift shopping we decided to visit an area that I had not explored before - Laggan Bay, there was many Ringed Plover c60, & 20 Turnstone, 70 Oystercatcher & Raven were in double figures around the dunes.
Despite the challenging conditions we had still added a further 2 species & took our total to 110 species for the week!
Saturday 12th February - Port Ellen - Kennacraig
We ferry crossing back produced more of the same, but was still excellent - 50 Great N Diver, 4 Red-throated Diver, 1 1st winter lceland Gull, 5 Black Guillemot, Kittiwake, Razorbill, Gannet & another Otter!! The shores also abounded with Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Shag, Wigeon, Teal & Oystercatcher.
Click here for a gallery of images from these trips
Loch Gruinart East Shore
We decided to start with a scan of Loch Indaal from Blackrock as the sea was flat & visibility excellent.
This paid off with the best views yet of several divers, seaduck & grebes. On view from here were 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Black-throated Diver 5 Great Northern Diver, 6 Slavonian Grebe, 50+ Common Eider, 200 Scaup, 6 Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Goldneye, Wigeon & Teal.
We headed off to Bridgend woods, which were relatively quiet, we did manage to add 20 Siskin and Treecreeper to the list, but couldn’t locate Dipper & couldn't locate it at the usual place up the road.
A short visit to Ballygrant woods produced the target species - Moorhen, the only one of the trip!
We again visited the area north of Loch Gorm & this time were rewarded with 2 Golden eagle & a male Hen Harrier. Also in the fields nearby another 50 Twite & 2 Chough overhead.
We finished along the east shoreline of Gruinart where there was 200 Shelduck, 100 Oystercatcher, 100 Ringed Plover, 30 Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 200 Bar-tailed Godwit, 50 Curlew, Redshank & Turnstone. We decided to head further along the track this time & we were rewarded with another large flock of 200 Twite, plus a female Merlin went whizzing through. In the channels there was also several feeding Great N Diver. With the weather turning very wet we headed back to the accommodation.
The final bird of the day was a Barn Owl en-route to the pub in the evening.
Friday 11th February - Dunlossit, Bowmore & Laggan Bay
The weather hindered us today, with wet blustery conditions, we popped in & out of several sites. We did eventually locate a Dipper at the woollen mill, & look offshore at Bowmore produced 6 Great N Diver, 4 Slavonian Grebe, 20 Eider, 1 Long-tailed Duck & 1 Black Guillemot. At Ballygrant a surprise, as a pair of Goosander flew across the road.
After a stop for lunch & a bit of gift shopping we decided to visit an area that I had not explored before - Laggan Bay, there was many Ringed Plover c60, & 20 Turnstone, 70 Oystercatcher & Raven were in double figures around the dunes.
Despite the challenging conditions we had still added a further 2 species & took our total to 110 species for the week!
Saturday 12th February - Port Ellen - Kennacraig
We ferry crossing back produced more of the same, but was still excellent - 50 Great N Diver, 4 Red-throated Diver, 1 1st winter lceland Gull, 5 Black Guillemot, Kittiwake, Razorbill, Gannet & another Otter!! The shores also abounded with Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Shag, Wigeon, Teal & Oystercatcher.
Click here for a gallery of images from these trips
Wednesday 9th February - Loch Gruinart, Gruinart East Shore & Bunnahabain
This morning we eventually located the Richardson's Canada Goose, it was with a group of Barnacles just off the main track.
We decided to have a further look from the platfrom & hide where we had 30 Pintail, 30 Shoveler, 2 Whooper Swan, 80 Lapwing & 4 Red-breasted Merganser.
We then headed along the east shoreline of Gruinart where there was 2 Greenshank, 200 Shelduck, 100 Oystercatcher, 100 Ringed Plover, 30 Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit, 100 Curlew, Redshank & Turnstone. The weather was poor so we decided on a trip over to Bunnahabain, the expected adult Iceland Gull was in residence & posed for photographs, but a surprise was 2 Crossbills showing well atop nearby pine trees. Also Great N Diver & Black Guillemot in the bay
The final bird of the day was a Barn Owl en-route to the pub in the evening.
This morning we eventually located the Richardson's Canada Goose, it was with a group of Barnacles just off the main track.
We decided to have a further look from the platfrom & hide where we had 30 Pintail, 30 Shoveler, 2 Whooper Swan, 80 Lapwing & 4 Red-breasted Merganser.
We then headed along the east shoreline of Gruinart where there was 2 Greenshank, 200 Shelduck, 100 Oystercatcher, 100 Ringed Plover, 30 Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 10 Bar-tailed Godwit, 100 Curlew, Redshank & Turnstone. The weather was poor so we decided on a trip over to Bunnahabain, the expected adult Iceland Gull was in residence & posed for photographs, but a surprise was 2 Crossbills showing well atop nearby pine trees. Also Great N Diver & Black Guillemot in the bay
The final bird of the day was a Barn Owl en-route to the pub in the evening.
Click here for other Islay Tour
________________________________
Contact: Chris Mills
Tel: 01362 683520 or 07876 357677
Email: chrismills@norfolkbirding.com
Lilac Cottage, Foxley Road, Themelthorpe,
Norfolk NR20 5PU
________________________________
Contact: Chris Mills
Tel: 01362 683520 or 07876 357677
Email: chrismills@norfolkbirding.com
Lilac Cottage, Foxley Road, Themelthorpe,
Norfolk NR20 5PU