What We Saw
2010
Day Tours:
27th August: 4 people came on our tour of North Uist today; Ian and Aly, Renate and and Jurgen. We took in a good variety of sites and recorded 57 species of bird. Our first stop was Loch Sandary which held a variety of waders and wildfowl including 2 migrant Black-tailed Godwits which dropped amongst a flock of Curlew roosting amongst the long grass. From here we headed to Balranald and over the next couple of hours notched up a good variety of wildlife including a family of Whooper Swans, Corn Bunting, Twite, Whimbrel, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Knot, Dunlin and Sanderling amongst others. We also spotted Great Skua, Gannets, Red-throated Diver, Hen Harrier, Buzzard and a Merlin. An Otter showed fairly close before heading off to feed in the distance whilst insects included 3 Painted Lady butterflies and the very restricted Great Yellow Bumblebee. Close be we stopped to find another 6 Whooper Swans on a small loch and an Otter clambering about over rocks close off-shore before it slipped into the water and disappeared. We took our lunch at Griminish Pier before moving on to the Committee Road where we had an excellent half an hour which involved 3 Ravens, 2 Hen Harriers, a Peregrine, 5 Kestrels and last but not least a Golden Eagle. Following on from this we found a Golden Eagle perched on a fence post which circled close to the main road and gave superb views before disappearing low over the moor. Further around the north end of North Uist we found a small group of Red Deer and a number of Common Seals hauled out. Finally we called in at Lochmaddy where we managed to get excellent views of 3 Otters feeding close by. There were also at least 3 Red-throated Divers present as well as Grey Heron, Cormorant and Shag to round off a fine day out.
2009
Day Tours:
31st August: Val, Peter Douglas and myself concentrated our efforts for the day on North Uist and had a great day out visiting Balranald, Griminish, Loch Sandary, the Committee Road, Lochmaddy and Baleshare. We recorded 57 species of birds and had excellent views of two Otters; one in a fresh-water loch and another in the sea. Birds included around 10 Short-eared Owls including an adult making a food pass to a juvenile that was seen making short work of a vole. We also spotted a Golden Eagle, 2 Merlins, a juvenile and male Hen Harrier as well as both Kestrels and Buzzards. An Arctic Skua flew over at Lochmaddy whilst we had a few sightings of Red-throated Divers and 3 calling Great Northern Divers besides lots of waders. Small birds included Corn Buntings, Reed Buntings, Twite and Skylarks amongst others.
17th August: Iain, Hilary, Robert and Sarah Needleman and I concentrated our efforts on North Uist, touring the west side of the island and taking in Langass at the end of the day. The weather was good with plenty of sunshine and a stiff, northerly breeze gradually easing throughout the day. We had a great day out recording 53 species of birds including Red-throated Diver, Whooper Swans, 3 sightings of Golden Eagles, 2 Hen Harriers and a female Merlin; as well as Black-tailed Godwits, Great Skua, Arctic Skua, a juvenile Cuckoo, 2 Short-eared Owls and Corn Buntings amongst others. Mammal wise we got good views of an Otter at one site where we watched it feeding before eventually coming out of the water and across to machair; Grey Seals and a herd of Red Deer. We also spotted Great Yellow Bumblebee, the Painted Lady and Common Blue butterfly.
11th August: The three of us (Gill and Chris Starling and I) explored the length of South Uist in rather wet and windy conditions with eventually brightening skies in the afternoon. Despite the weather we managed to record 53 species of bird with the highlights being Red-throated Diver, Hen Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Black-tailed Godwit amongst others. We saw both Common and Grey Seals and in the brightening weather conditions got excellent views of an Otter which Chris managed to capture on film.
16th June: An excellent day out with the two guests today in South Uist. We began our tour with a short walk at one of the most scenic lochs in the islands and one of the best places for Otters. True to form this site didn't let us down and we spotted our first Otter shortly after getting to our view point. The animal was on the edge of a small island but soon entered the water and started swimming towards us. After a brief interlude when it was out of site the Otter re-appeared even closer and eventually clambered out onto the seaweed covered rocks giving superb views. In total this beastie was in view for around 35 minutes. As this was going on two White-tailed Eagles sat on a crag on the far side of the loch and two Red-throated Divers put on a superb show as they entertained us with their courtship rituals. Heading back to our car we spotted a second Otter also very close and feasting on a catch it had hauled out onto a rock. This Otter soon entered the water but returned once more with a fish that it ate on the same rock giving us more brilliant views. Delighted with the show we moved on to our second site. We had lunch by a pier where we briefly spotted a Golden Eagle before a Red-throated Diver popped up so close we didn't need binoculars to see the detail of its plumage. Driving back towards the main road it wasn't long before we spotted another Golden Eagle. This bird appeared to be hunting over the hillside so we drove closer. As we got in position the eagle had disappeared but a short while later an immature White-tailed Eagle came over the hill followed by an immature Golden Eagle just over the summit being mobbed by a Kestrel. Other highlights during the day included summer plumage Great Northern Diver, a female Common Scoter, Whimbrel, Sanderling and Arctic Skua. In total we saw 53 species of bird, lots of Common Seals and had excellent views of two Otters.
14th June: The tour today concentrated on birds in South Uist / Benbecula and what a day we had with 76 species recorded. The day started well with a pair of Black-throated Divers with a small chick shortly followed by two immature Golden Eagles low down and causing pandemonium amongst the local gulls. Our next site produced two adult and one immature White-tailed Eagles plus Red-throated Diver, a male Hen Harrier, two Cuckoos and two Goldfinch as well as some very bright Lesser Redpolls. On the opposite side of the island we recorded various waders including Grey Plover, Knot, Sanderling and Whimbrel. Sea birds included Fulmar, Gannet, Great Skua and Arctic Skua. We also spotted a 14 foot Basking Shark quite close in-shore and got to compare Harbour and Grey Seals in quick succession. On Benbecula we got good views of a female Red-necked Phalarope before driving to the east side of the island where we got excellent views of two Golden Eagles and two Peregrines. To round off a superb day we got great views of a Short-eared Owl hiding in a clump of rushes.
30th May: We completed a circuit of North Uist today which started well with great views of a Short-eared Owl from the roadside. Our next stop saw us notch up a good tally of birds including spotting 3 calling Corncrakes, 2 singing Corn Buntings, Knot, Sanderling, Turnstone, Dunlin, Gannet, Fulmar, Arctic Skua and a family of Whooper Swans with 7 cygnets. We also had excellent views of an Otter clambering over the rocks. Nearby we found a brood of Shovelers followed by a visit to another freshwater loch where we found 7 Whooper Swans, Tufted Duck, Shoveler and were able to compare both Common and Arctic Terns side by side. Close by we drove onto the edge of the machair to listen to a very vocal Spotted Crake that was very unusually calling throughout the day. A moorland stop then gave us Peregrine on the first visit and later both male and female Merlin (making a food pass), a male Hen Harrier, a good few Short-eared Owls and a Red-throated Diver. A lovely site over-looking the island of Vallay produced a flock of 10 Knot, Gannet, Little Tern, Arctic Tern and a flurry of Painted Lady butterflies plus Four-spotted Chasers. We had another male Hen Harrier from the road running along the north side of the island as well as another Buzzard whilst a small loch that was heavily vegetated produced Wigeon, Teal and Moorhen. Retracing our route we spotted another male Hen Harrier and had a brief view of a Golden Eagle diving. Finally we visited a view point to have a look at a nesting Golden Eagle. Here we witnessed an adult fly in with prey which it dropped off at the eerie for the other adult and small chick completing a superb day out.
2008
16th July An excellent tour of North Uist with gradually improving weather throughout the day: Mammal wise we managed single Otters at two different sites with good, prolonged views at the first and good scope views of the second which was devouring a large fish on the bank. Red Deer and a Grey Seals were also seen. Bird wise we had 8 sightings of Short-eared Owls, including three together; an adult White-tailed Eagle, 2 Golden Eagles, a female Hen Harrier, Kestrels, a Peregrine and a family of Merlin. 2 Red-throated Divers showed well at a roadside loch and a winter plumage Great Northern Diver was also seen. A family of Red-breasted Mergansers were on the same loch as the R t Divers. Waders included Greenshank and Bar-tailed Godwits, amongst the other commoner species. Other birds included numerous Raven, Hooded Crows, Twite, Corn Bunting and many more. Flowers included Lesser Butterfly Orchid, Heath Spotted Orchid, various vetches and clovers, Tansy and a whole of host of other plants on the machair.
24th June The day was spent in South Uist and although the weather was a little wet and windy from around mid-day we still managed a good variety of birds, mammals and flowering plants. Bird highlights during the day included an immature White-tailed Eagle sat around on a hill-top; a male Merlin and male Hen Harrier. Other raptors included both Kestrel and Buzzard. Red-throated Divers featured with lots of activity, especially in the morning. Red-breasted Mergansers were seen with young as were Eiders. Waders included all the regulars plus Greenshank. Perching birds included a good few Cuckoos, 6 Crossbill, Song Thrush (Hebridean variety), Wren, Goldcrest, Corn Bunting and Skylark. Common Seals were seen with their young pups and Grey Seals found along the west coast. Right at the end of the day we had prolonged views of a very active Otter feeding in a sea-loch along the east side of the island for over half an hour. We also saw a good variety of plants including both Early Marsh Orchid (coccinea) and Common Spotted Orchid (hebridensis) as well as Butterwort, Pale Butterwort, Round-leaved Sundew and many more.
30th May An excellent day with light winds and bright sunshine throughout. Things started well with good views of a Short-eared Owl on a post close to the roadside on Benbecula plus one or two others in flight. We then drove to North Uist where we had superb views of Basking Shark, down to 30 feet away and prolonged views of an Otter for around 30 minutes as it fed in a bay, occasionally dragging out larger prey to eat on a rock. Birds included Great Northern Diver, Corn Bunting, Manx Shearwaters and a variety of waders, gulls and terns. Our next stop allowed us to watch some strange behaviour by 3 aggressive Little Grebe but the real show stopper was a calling Corncrake that gave excellent views for around 20 minutes as it responded to a second individual calling from long grass near by. Lots of Redshank and Lapwing chicks were easily spotted and Greenshank seen along the north coast as well as one heard displaying. Hen Harriers were spotted on the distant skyline but to put the final touches to an excellent day out we had 2 adult Golden Eagles circling close by being mobbed by a male Hen Harrier.
Basking Shark; Corncrake and Short-eared Owl
27th May We started at the north end of South Uist, passed through Benbecula and completed a circuit of North Uist before returning to South Uist. The first stop produced a number of summer plumage Red-throated Divers, Cuckoo and Stonechats plus a Sparrowhawk with prey. Our next stop was pretty quiet but this was followed by one of the islands more productive lochs where we had a male Garganey, male Scaup, Gadwall and Shoveler amongst other wildfowl plus 2 Red-necked Phalaropes nearby. Lunch was had out on the coast and followed up by views of a calling Corncrake, an immature Iceland Gull and a calling Quail. Before returning south we visited a moorland site and had an immature Golden Eagles and at least 2 Hen Harriers to round off another excellent day.
26th May The trip today concentrated on North Uist where we enjoyed a great day out with a good variety of species. The day started well with a male American Wigeon along side a Eurasion Wigeon for comparison. This was followed by 2 adult Golden Eagles circling over a ridge plus Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl. The next stop produced Little Stint, Dunlin, Sanderling and various other waders plus a Peregrine Falcon livening things up. We then managed good views of a Corncrake calling before heading off for lunch. After lunch we added Little Tern, Common Tern and Arctic Tern to the list plus Bar-tailed Godwit, Greenshank and Red-throated Diver. The finale included an immature Golden Eagle being mobbed by 2 Buzzards, a Merlin and a male Hen Harrier. On the way back we saw at least three more Hen Harriers and had excellent views of no fewer than 4 Short-eared Owls.
25th May The tour concentrated on sites in South Uist and started well with 2 White-tailed Eagles, one of which we watched for 1/2 an hour as it flew back and forth over our heads providing us with fantastic views. Also at this site we had summer plumage Red-throated Divers, Cuckoo and Stonechat amongst others. Our next stop took us to the west coast and brief visits to two sites allowed us to catch up on a selection of waders including Sanderling, Knot, Whimbrel, Dunlin and Redshank as well as Eider, Shag, Cormorant and a Great Skua, overhead. In the afternoon headed back east picking up a couple of Golden Eagles, more Red-throated Divers, Black Guillemot and a selection of passerines. We also had numerous Common Seals. Our last stop took us back north and finally to an Otter which showed very well for around 20 minutes as it fed along the coastline, occasionally clambering out onto rocks to finish its meals. For a finale we had great view of a ringtail Hen Harrier flying parallel with the car on Benbecula.
White-tailed Eagle and Otter
