|


|
Walks:
7th June Balranald Walk –
4 people. The highlight was 4 Otters along the beach just north
of the visitor centre (13:00) just as we were returning. Two ran into
the see across the beach, played in the see for a while before running
back across the beach and into their holt. A further two were seen
feeding just off-shore along the same beach; we actually left them
feeding after watching for15 minutes. Some of the birds we saw:
Arctic Skua, Corn Bunting, Sanderling, Dunlin, Turnstone, Lapwing,
Redshank, Snipe, Corncrake (heard only), Skylark. Some of the plants:
Sea Campion, Common Storksbill, Dove's-foot Cranesbill, Wild Pansy,
Biting Stonecrop.
12th June:
Druidibeg Walk – 10 people. The highlight was probably a male Merlin
that showed well as it darted past us. Other birds we saw
included good views of Golden plover, plus Buzzards, Meadow Pipits,
Raven. Some of the plants we saw: Greater and Round-leaved
Sundew, Heath Speedwell, Butterwort, Lousewort, Marsh Lousewort, Bell
Heather, Crowberry, Heath Spotted Orchid, Bog Myrtle, Bog Pimpernel.
Others: Beautiful Golden Underwing.
5th July: Guided walk - 3 people.
Birds included a female Merlin carrying prey out at Aird an Runair.
Other species: Buzzard, Red-throated Diver, Little Tern, Arctic Tern,
Dunlin, lapwing, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Snipe, Curlew, Corn Bunting,
Linnet, Eider, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Wheatear, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill,
Gannet, Fulmar; plus a selection of gulls Plants: a fine display
on the machair included a cropped patch full of Viper's Bugloss and
Long-headed Poppy as well as Sun Spurge, Tufted Vetch etc. On Aird an
Runair we saw a number of Frog Orchids as well as Early Marsh Orchid (coccinea)
and Northern Marsh Orchid. Other species we saw: Sea Campion, Biting
Stonecrop, Wild Carrot, Common Knapweed, Yellow Rattle, Lady's Bedstraw,
Wild Pansy, Corn Marigold, Bog Pimpernel, Common Storksbill, Scots
Lovage, Wild Thyme, Cornsalad, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Kidney Vetch, Lesser
Meadow Rue, Tansy
and many more. We also had a look at an Otter holt although the only
signs were a fairly old spraint.
19th July: Machair in Bloom -
This walks took across Torlum / Borve machair to look at a selection of
the wildlife although we concentrated on the flowers which
included a Pyramidal Orchid. Other plants we saw: Common Spotted Orchid
(hebridensis); Early Marsh Orchid (coccinea); Common
Storksbill, Long-headed Poppy, Wild Carrot, Wild Pansy, Saltmarsh
Club-rush, Sun Spurge, Red Clover, White Clover, Kidney Vetch, Tufted
Vetch, Common Knapweed, Corn Marigold. Birds: Common Sandpiper,
Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Sanderling, Oystercatcher, Little Tern, Raven,
Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Swallow, Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Corncrake
(heard only). We also saw a few Common Seals and the migrant hoverlfy;
Scaeva pyrastri
Pyramidal Orchid and Scaeva pyrastri
21st July: Otter walk - We had
prolonged views of two Otters as the fed in the sea loch and then
played on the rocks whilst they groomed and maintained their pelts. All
in all they were in view for at least half an hour. Birds: Adult
White-tailed Eagle came overhead and we also saw a male Hen Harrier,
Merlin and Buzzard. Raven, Red-throated Divers (around 7), Common Tern,
Arctic Tern, Common Redpoll, Willow Warbler, Common Sandpiper. Plants
included Round-leaved Sundew, Butterwort and Pale Butterwort. Other
things of interest included Dark Green Fritillary, Common Hawker,
Highland Darter and Common Blue Damselfly; plus a few Common Seals.
adult White-tailed Eagle
Tours:
7th June: Half day tour
– 2 people. Unfortunately we didn't manage to see Otter despite giving
it a good go at various locations. We did see a good selection of
birds including: Golden Eagle showing well along Loch Portain road.
We also saw male Hen Harriers in a couple of locations; Red-throated
Divers at Loch Portain; Red-breasted Mergansers, excellent views of
Common Snipe, Redshank, Short-eared Owls, Raven, Common Buzzard.
Others: Common Seal. Four-spotted Chaser, Large Red Damselfly (ovipositing).
Heath-spotted Orchids, Butterwort, etc.
9th June:
Half day tour - 2 people. The main aim was to see Otters which
we managed to do with a mother and two kits feeding and clambering on
rocks for around half an hour. Birds we saw included: an immature
and adult White-tailed Eagle; an adult Golden Eagle; Osprey (unusual
here - not resident in the isles); Short-eared Owl, Red-throated Divers,
Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Razorbill, Little
Terns, Whooper Swans, Mute Swans, Corn Bunting, Sedge Warbler etc. A
selection of other wildlife seen included Common Seals, Large
Heath butterfly, Painted Lady, Four-spotted Chaser, Large Red Damselfly,
Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies. Pale Butterwort plus Common
Butterwort.
10th June:
Day tour - 2 people. This was a taster trip, the couple wanted to just
see a broad selection of things including a variety of flowers.
Birds included: Short-eared Owl, Golden Eagle, Hen Harriers,
Red-necked Phalarope, Corncrake, Corn Bunting, Raven, Skylark, Corn
Bunting, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Lapwing, Snipe, Oystercatcher,
Little Grebe. Some of the plants we saw: Hebridean Marsh
Orchid, Northern Marsh Ocrhid, Early Marsh Orchid, White and Sea
Campion, Shepherd's Purse, Long-headed Poppy, Wild Carrot, Wild Pansy,
Common Storksbill, Dove's-foot Cranesbill, Cornsalad etc. Other
species included the Nationally rare Great Yellow Bumblebee.
14th
June: Half day tour - 2 people. Undoubtedly the highlight of
this trip for the two participants were the two Otters showing
very well for at least half an hour as they clambered up and down rocks
playing as they followed each other in and out of the loch. One
eventually fell asleep on its back with its legs in the air. Some of the
birds we saw included a Corncrake (photo below) walking about in
the open at Balranald; Hen Harrier, Golden Eagle, Short-eared Owl,
Skylark, Grey Heron, Raven, Curlew, Common Buzzard plus many more.
Corncrake showing well at Balranald - 14th June.
23rd June: Day tour - 2
people. Birds included a 1st yr Bonaparte's Gull on the
river at Howmore. Some of the other bird we saw: 1st yr Glaucous Gull,
Kittiwake, Red-throated Divers, Shoveler with ducklings; Tufted Duck
with ducklings; Eiders with ducklings, Greylag Gesse, Dunlin, Lapwing,
Snipe, Redshank, Whimbrel (7+); Curlew, Ringed Plover, at least 3 Golden
Eagles including one feeding a chick; Common Redpoll (male showing very
well); 4 Hen Harriers, Short-eared Owls; Raven etc. Other: Red
Deer and Common Seals. A selection of the plants: Common Spotted
Orchid (hebridensis); Heath Spotted Orchid, Lesser Butterlfy
Orchid, Northern Marsh Orchid, Early Marsh Orchid (coccinea),
Fumitory, Long-headed poppy, Wild Pansy, Wild Carrot, Hogweed, Yellow
Rattle, Eyebright sp. Corn Marigold, Round-leaved and Greater Sundew;
Butterwort, Fool's Watercress, Water Speedwell, Lousewort, Thyme, Kidney
Vetch, Tufted Vetch, Ragwort, Changing Forget-me-not, Charlock, Catsear,
Bog Asphodel, Common Storksbill, Sun Spurge, Marsh Cinquefoil, Bog
Pimpernell, Slender St. John's wort.
27th June: Day tour - 2 people.
Birds included: a large female Peregrine showing well; Red-throated
Divers, Corn Buntings, Skylarks, Arctic Skuas, Common and Arctic Terns;
Eiders, Wheatears, Twite, Linnet, Common Buzzard, Mute Swan, Greylag
Geese, Great Northern Divers, Common Sandpipers, Redshanks, Black
Guillemot, Common Guillemot, Razorbill, Kittiwake. Mammals:
Common Seal, Grey Seal and an Otter feeding in harbour mouth before the Barra ferry almost mowed it down! Plants: Pyramidal Orchid,
Common Spotted Orchid, Heath Spotted Orchid, Northern Marsh Orchid,
Lesser Butterfly Orchid, Bog Asphodel, Common Centaury, Wild Carrot,
Bell Heather, Cross-leaved Heath, Bog Pimpernell, Thyme, Butterwort,
Hogweed, Long-headed Poppy, White Campion, Tufted Vetch, White Clover,
Sun Spurge, Lousewort, Yellow Rattle, Ribwort Plantain, Sea Plantain,
Common Knapweed, Lady's Bedstraw, Honeysuckle, Ox-eye Daisy, Pineapple
Weed, Scentless Mayweed, Yarrow, Lesser Burdock, Eyebright sps. Common
Blue butterly, Meadow Brown, Painted Lady.
Common Blue butterfly and Pyramidal Orchid - Barra, 27th June.
26th July: Day tour - 2 people.
Birds include 2 adult White-tailed Eagles, a female Merlin, Buzzard,
Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Redshank,
Lapwing, Eider, Shelduck, Black Guillemot, Guillemot, Shag, Cormorant,
Red-throated Diver, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Raven, 5 species of gull,
Rock Dove, Pied Wagtail, Blackbird, Robin, Swallow, Wheatear, Stonechat,
Willow Warbler, Hebridean Wren, Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Corn Bunting.
Mammals: good views of 3 Otters as they played on rocks and
fished just off-shore for around 20 minutes. Other: we also saw
at least 2 Basking Sharks off the east side of Eriskay. Insects:
included Dark Green Fritillary, Grayling, Common Blue butterflies as
well as Highland Darter and Common Hawker.
29th July: Day tour - single person.
Birds included an adult White-tailed Eagle, Hen Harrier, male and
female Merlin, male and female Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Buzzard,
Red-throated Divers, Raven, Hooded Crow, Short-eared Owl, Dunlin,
Lapwing, Turnstone, Sanderling, Greenshank, Redshank, Curlew, Black
Guillemot, Gannet, Cormorant, Coot, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Shoveler,
Wigeon, Mallard, Greylag Geese, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Corncrake (heard
only), Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Goldcrest, Hebridean Wren, Corn
Bunting, Linnet, Twite, Rock Dove, Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Stonechat,
Swallow etc. Mammals: Red Deer at various locations and both
adult and young Common Seals. Other: Large Heath and Common Blue
butterflies, Great Yellow Bunblebee, Moss Carder Bumblebee, White-tailed
Bumblebee, Highland Darter, Common Hawker, Common Blue Damselfly,
Blue-tailed Dasmselfly. Plants: Frog Orchid, Sun Spurge,
Long-headed Poppy, Corn Marigold, Wild Pansy, Common Storksbill, Tansy,
Red Clover, Kidney Vetch, Tufted Vetch, Greater Sundew, Butterwort,
Viper's Bugloss and Ragged Robin amongst others.
Great Yellow Bumblebee on Tufted Vetch.
2nd August: Day tour - 4 people. The
highlight has to go to the Otter that showed very well as it fed
close to us for around 20 minutes. We also had good views of lots of
Common Seals and a couple of Grey Seals. Birds: Red-throated
Diver, Gannet, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Eider,
Tufted Duck, Buzzard, Merlin, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Lapwing,
Knot (flock of around 30 knot in summer plumage), Dunlin, Sanderling,
Turnstone, Greenshank, Redshank, Curlew, Whimbrel, various gulls
inclduing Kittiwake; Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Razorbill, Meadow Pipit,
Pied Wagtail, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Robin, Blackbird, Redpoll, Raven,
Starling, Twite. Plants: Common Butterwort, Pale Butterwort,
Round-leaved Sundew, Figwort, Common Spotted Orchid, Ragged Robin etc.
Otter
14th August: Day tour - 3 people.
Excellent, prolonged views of a dog Otter at the end of the day
was probably the highlight although other mammals featured during the
tour with many sightings of Red Deer in North Uist and both Grey and
Common Seals. Birds included 2 Golden Eagles, both a
juvenile and male Hen Harrier, lots of Buzzards and Kestrel. We also saw
Red-throated Diver, Dunlin, Turnstone, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Golden
Plover, Curlew, Slavonian Grebe (unusual at this time of year),
Little Grebe, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Wren,
Robin, Redpoll, Skylark, Gannet etc. Other: Common Hawker, Small
Tortoiseshell and Peacock (rare in the Outer Hebs). Plants:
Common Butterwort, Pale Butterwort, Round-leaved Sundew, Corn Marigold
etc.
22nd August: Half day tour - 15
people. A very productive afternoon after a morning of thick fog.
Birds of prey included an adult White-tailed Eagle, a female
Peregrine Falcon plus Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk. Other birds we saw:
Greylag Geese, Mute Swan, Mallard, Eider, Tufted Duck, Grey Heron,
Raven, Hooded Crow, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Turnstone, Black-tailed
Godwit, Redshank, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher,
Great Skua (overhead), Gannet, Cormorant, Shag, Red-throated Diver, Rock
Dover, Wheatear, Wren, Twite, etc. Mammals included good views of an
Otter (for around 10 minutes) and both Grey and Common Seals.
Plants: Common Butterwort, Pale Butterwort, Round-leaved Sundew, Red
Bartsia etc.
31st August: Full day tour - 2
people. Excellent views of three Otters as they rested on the
bank of a tidal loch in South Uist got the trip off to a good start.
Other mammals we saw during the day included lots of Common Seals of
varying ages. Birds included: immature White-tailed Eagle,
juvenile Hen Harrier, male Merlin, Buzzards and Kestrels. Great Northern
Diver, Red-breasted Merganser, Shag, Cormorant, Tufted Duck, Mallard,
Eider, Knot, Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwing, Redshank,
Curlew, Greenshank and Redshank. Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring
Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Kittiwake, Gannet, Skylark, Meadow Pipit,
Pied Wagtail, Corn Bunting, Rock Dove, Willow Warbler, Redpoll, Wren,
Stonechat, Swallow and brief views of a Common Rosefinch. Plants:
Round-leaved Sundew, Pale Butterwort, Common Butterwort, Bell Heather,
Cross-leaved Heath, Common Storksbill, Wild Pansy, Red Bartsia. Other:
Moss Carder Bumblebee.
Otters seen during the tour.
4th September: Full day tour for 2
people. Although the weather was against us with mist and rain in the
morning followed by mist in the afternoon we managed a pretty good day
out with decent views of 2 Otters for around half an hour towards
the end of the day. We also had excellent views of Common Seals and a
single Grey Seal. Birds of prey included a juvenile White-tailed
Eagle, 2 Merlin, a juvenile Peregrine Falcon and Buzzards. Other
birds we saw: Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed
Godwit, Ruff, Oystercatcher, Snipe, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover,
Lapwing, Grey Plover, Curlew and Tursntone. We also saw Dunnock, Meadow
Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Eider, Teal, Sheladuck, Grey Heron, Mute Swan,
Greylag Geese and Cormorant.
6th September: Full day tour for 3
people. The day started well with an Otter showing well whilst
feeding in the open for around 15 minutes. Mammal wise we also saw
numerous Common Seals and quite a few Red Deer. Birds of prey
featured well with all 8 resident species picked up during
the day: White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, juvenile Hen Harrier, 2
Peregrine, 2 Merlin, 2 Kestrel, a male Sparrowhawk and numerous
Buzzards. Other birds: Black-tailed Godwits, Bar-tailed Godwits, Curlew,
Snipe, Redshank, Greenshank, Dunlin, Sanderling, Knot, Turnstone, Ringed
Plover, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Red-breasted Merganser,
Tufted Duck, Mallard, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan,
Greylag Geese, Hooded Crow, Raven, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and
Swallow. Other: dragonflies we saw included Black Darter,
Highland Darter and Common Hawker. Round-leaved Sundew.
11th September: Half day tour for 2
people. A nice start to the day with good views of an Otter for
around 15 minutes sat out on the seaweed before heading off into the
water to feed. We also had views of Common Seal and a number of Red
Deer. Birds included: Red-throated Diver, Cormorant, Dunlin,
Sanderling, Turnstone, Redshank, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Lapwing,
Red-breasted Merganser, Eider, Greylag Goose, Chaffinch, Raven, Hooded
Crow, amongst others. We also saw two dead cetaceans: a Pilot Whale and
dolphin species. Other: We saw the springtail Annurida
maritima which appears as a coating of fine dark particles on the
sand but see the photo below for a close up shot. Plants: Wild
Pansy, Viper's Bugloss etc.
The springtail: Annurida maritima
12th September: A half day tour to
learn some of the local birdlife: A full morning with lots of waders
including: Pectoral Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwits, Bar-tailed
Godwits, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Ringed Plover, Dunlin,
Sanderling, Turnstone, Redshank, Curlew, Hen Harrier (2), Peregrine
Falcon (2), Buzzards, Grey Heron, Raven, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan,
Red-breasted Merganser, Cormorant, Teal, Mallard, Shelduck, Black-headed
Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Arctic Tern,
House Sparrow, Starling, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Corn Bunting. We also
saw a lone Grey Seal
|