Uists Birdwatching Tour Sunday 9th June – Saturday 15th June 2019
Tour leader – Chris Mills Norfolk Birding
Participants Emma Begg, Chris Brock, Susan Frawley, Bob Hastings, Susan Horne, Janet Mitchell and Barbara Smith
Accommodation
The tour was based on 5 star self-catering accommodation and 4 star Bed & Breakfast. The accommodation on North Uist is extra special! A fantastic architect designed & re-fitted house with amazing moorland & machair views to the sea. It has a very large lounge, diner & kitchen area with 2 fridge freezers and 4 en-suite rooms at ground floor plus 2 twin rooms with dedicated bathroom at first floor. Further details can be seen by visiting http://www.clachanlodge.com/ClachanLodge-Gallery.htm
Food Whilst on North Uist we visited the Supermarket on North Uist on Day One & bought breakfast provisions & foods for making up packed lunches.
We ate out on three evenings at two different pubs/restaurants. The Lochmaddy Hotel and Stepping Stones Restaurant.
Transport to and from Scotland Transport was from an agreed meeting point and overnight stay at Glasgow, Premier Inn.
Transport was via our 9 seater minibus, so there was ample space for luggage, scopes & cameras etc.
Day 1 Sunday 9th June We all met up in Glasgow at the Premier Inn at Paisley near the airport on Sunday 9th June. Mallaig ferry at 3pm, we seawatched from the ferry. Took a 5pm evening meal on the Calmac ferry and arrived on South Uist at 630pm. North through South Uist, then Benbecula and arrived at our accommodation at Clachan, North Uist at around 6.30pm. Highlights on the boat were good numbers of Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Gannet, Kittiwake, Manx Shearwater. Plus several Porpoise were also seen. On the drive north through the islands we enjoyed our first of several Short-eared owls and Hen harriers.
Day 2 Monday 10th June Places visited RSPB Balranald, Loch na Reivil, Clachan Sands, Committee road, Loch Mhor, Stinky Bay, Loch Liana Mhor Highlights – Corncrake, RING-NECKED DUCK found by our group on Loch Na Reveil, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Short-eared Owl, Hen Harrier, Red-necked phalarope, Arctic tern, Cuckoo, Wheatear and Twite.
Day 3 Tuesday 11th June Places visited RSPB Balranald circular bay walk, Paibel Baille Mhor. Highlights – Great Northern Diver, Red-throated Diver, Whooper Swan, Eider, Hen Harrier, breeding waders Snipe, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Lapwing, Arctic tern colony, Wheatear and Twite.
Day 4 Wednesday 12th June Places visited Loch Portain, Berneray, Solas, Middlequarter machair and Middlequarter Bay. Highlights – Peregrine in amazing stoop! Sanderling, Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Black Gillemot, Little Stint, Twite and Lesser Redpoll.
Day 5 Thursday 13th June Places visited Langass Lodge & Loch, South Uist, Loch Druidbeg and Archivar bay. Highlights – Otter, Red-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Red-breasted merganser, large flocks of Dunlin, Sanderling plus a few breeding plumage Turnstone, Arctic Skua, Hen Harrier, Raven, Short-eared Owl, Golden and White-tailed Eagle, plus Merlin, Peregrine in the valley at Druidbeg. Additional Chris Brock’s highlight visiting the Coralbox Gift shop a beautiful small shop on the isle of Berneray
Day 6 Friday 14th June Places visited Griminis Harbour, Balaranald Bay, Lochmaddy Highlights – Gannet fishing inshore, Little Tern, Short-eared Owl, Eider with young, a nice afternoon visit to the Lochmaddy Visitor centre in the slightly inclement weather!
Day 7 Saturday 15th June Return ferry to Oban Highlights Storm Petrel, Manx Shearwaters 200+, auks, several pods of Bottle-nosed Dolphin, and a brief Minke Whale.
Transport back to Glasgow where I dropped everyone off at Glasgow airport, with the exception of Chris Brock who I dropped off at Penrith.
Below is a gallery of images taken over the two trips to the Outer Hebrides in June 2019.
Below is a table showing the Systematic list of birds recorded over the two tours, the first to Uists, Ardnamurchan & Mull 31 May to 8th June. The second tour just to The Uists 9th -16th June
| Species | Mull & Uists | Uists | |
| 1 | Red-throated Diver | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Black-throated Diver | 1 | |
| 3 | Great Northern Diver | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Little Grebe | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Fulmar | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Manx Shearwater | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | European Storm-petrel | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Northern Gannet | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Great Cormorant | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Shag | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Grey Heron | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Mute Swan | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Whooper Swan | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Greylag Goose | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Canada Goose | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Barnacle Goose | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | Common Shelduck | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Eurasian Wigeon | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | Gadwall | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Eurasian Teal | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Mallard | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Black Duck | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | Northern Shoveler | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | Tufted Duck | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Ring-necked Duck | 1 | |
| 26 | Common Eider | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Red-breasted Merganser | 1 | 1 |
| 28 | Goosander | 1 | |
| 29 | Golden Eagle | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | White-tailed Eagle | 1 | 1 |
| 31 | Hen Harrier | 1 | 1 |
| 32 | Eurasian Sparrowhawk | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Common Buzzard | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Common Kestrel | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Red Grouse | 1 | |
| 37 | Corncrake | 1 | 1 |
| 38 | Moorhen | 1 | 1 |
| 39 | Common Coot | 1 | |
| 40 | Oystercatcher | 1 | 1 |
| 41 | Great Ringed Plover | 1 | 1 |
| 42 | European Golden Plover | 1 | 1 |
| 43 | Northern Lapwing | 1 | 1 |
| 44 | Red Knot | 1 | |
| 45 | Sanderling | 1 | 1 |
| 46 | Dunlin | 1 | 1 |
| 47 | Little Stint | 1 | |
| 48 | Ruff | 1 | |
| 49 | Common Snipe | 1 | 1 |
| 50 | Black-tailed Godwit | 1 | 1 |
| 51 | Bar-tailed Godwit | 1 | |
| 52 | Whimbrel | 1 | 1 |
| 53 | Eurasian Curlew | 1 | 1 |
| 54 | Common Redshank | 1 | 1 |
| 55 | Greenshank | 1 | |
| 56 | Common Sandpiper | 1 | 1 |
| 57 | Turnstone | 1 | 1 |
| 58 | Red-necked Phalarope | 1 | 1 |
| 59 | Arctic Skua | 1 | 1 |
| 60 | Great Skua | 1 | 1 |
| 61 | Black-headed Gull | 1 | 1 |
| 62 | Common Gull | 1 | 1 |
| 63 | Lesser Black-backed Gull | 1 | 1 |
| 64 | Herring Gull | 1 | 1 |
| 65 | Great Black-backed Gull | 1 | 1 |
| 66 | Kittiwake | 1 | 1 |
| 67 | Common Tern | 1 | 1 |
| 68 | Arctic Tern | 1 | 1 |
| 69 | Little Tern | 1 | 1 |
| 70 | Common Guillemot | 1 | 1 |
| 71 | Razorbill | 1 | 1 |
| 72 | Black Guillemot | 1 | 1 |
| 73 | Puffin | 1 | 1 |
| 74 | Woodpigeon | 1 | 1 |
| 75 | Rock Dove | 1 | 1 |
| 76 | Collared Dove | 1 | 1 |
| 77 | Common Cuckoo | 1 | 1 |
| 78 | Short-eared Owl | 1 | 1 |
| 79 | Long-eared owl | 1 | |
| 80 | Common Swift | 1 | |
| 81 | Great Spotted Woodpecker | 1 | |
| 82 | Sky Lark | 1 | 1 |
| 83 | Sand Martin | 1 | 1 |
| 84 | Barn Swallow | 1 | 1 |
| 85 | House Martin | 1 | 1 |
| 86 | Tree Pipit | 1 | 1 |
| 87 | Meadow Pipit | 1 | 1 |
| 88 | Rock Pipit | 1 | 1 |
| 89 | Grey Wagtail | 1 | |
| 90 | Pied Wagtail | 1 | 1 |
| 91 | Dipper | 1 | 1 |
| 92 | Wren | 1 | 1 |
| 93 | Dunnock | 1 | 1 |
| 94 | Robin | 1 | 1 |
| 95 | Whinchat | 1 | |
| 96 | Common Stonechat | 1 | 1 |
| 97 | Northern Wheatear | 1 | 1 |
| 98 | Blackbird | 1 | 1 |
| 99 | Song Thrush | 1 | 1 |
| 100 | Mistle Thrush | 1 | |
| 101 | Sedge Warbler | 1 | 1 |
| 102 | Common Whitethroat | 1 | |
| 103 | Garden Warbler | 1 | 1 |
| 104 | Blackcap | 1 | 1 |
| 105 | Wood Warbler | 1 | 1 |
| 106 | Common Chiffchaff | 1 | |
| 107 | Willow Warbler | 1 | 1 |
| 108 | Goldcrest | 1 | 1 |
| 109 | Spotted Flycatcher | 1 | 1 |
| 110 | Long-tailed Tit | 1 | |
| 111 | Coal Tit | 1 | |
| 112 | Blue Tit | 1 | 1 |
| 113 | Great Tit | 1 | 1 |
| 114 | Eurasian Treecreeper | 1 | |
| 115 | Eurasian Jay | 1 | |
| 116 | Magpie | 1 | 1 |
| 117 | Eurasian Jackdaw | 1 | 1 |
| 118 | Rook | 1 | 1 |
| 119 | Carrion Crow | 1 | 1 |
| 120 | Hooded crow | 1 | 1 |
| 121 | Raven | 1 | 1 |
| 122 | Common Starling | 1 | 1 |
| 123 | House Sparrow | 1 | 1 |
| 124 | Common Chaffinch | 1 | 1 |
| 125 | Greenfinch | 1 | 1 |
| 126 | Goldfinch | 1 | 1 |
| 127 | Siskin | 1 | 1 |
| 128 | Linnet | 1 | 1 |
| 129 | Twite | 1 | 1 |
| 130 | Lesser Redpoll | 1 | 1 |
| 131 | Common Crossbill | 1 | |
| 132 | Common Bullfinch | 1 | |
| 133 | Yellowhammer | 1 | |
| 134 | Reed Bunting | 1 | 1 |
| 135 | Corn Bunting | 1 | 1 |