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Birdwatching Tour to Islay Scotland
6th - 13th February 2010
Thursday 11th February - Loch Indaal, Bridgend Woods, Bridgend Woollen Mill, Ballygrant &
Loch Gruinart RSPB
Another beautiful, cool, dry sunny day arrived! With little or now wind, we decided to scan Loch Indaal from Blackrock as the sea was again very 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, 5 Great Northern Diver, 20 Slavonian Grebe, 50+ Common Eider, 300 Scaup, 11 Long-tailed Duck, 10 Common Scoter, 20 Red-breasted Merganser, Goldneye, Wigeon & Teal.
Along the shoreline there was 100 Oystercatcher, 50 Ringed Plover,, 200 Dunlin, 60 Bar-tailed Godwit, 50 Curlew, Redshank & Turnstone.
We headed off to Bridgend woods, which were relatively quiet, we did manage to add a Siskin and Treecreeper to the list, but couldn’t locate Grey Wagtail or Dipper. We the stopped off at the woollen mill, mainly for some gift shopping, but the stop also produced a pair of Dipper & Grey Wagtail, both were showing well just above the mill!
We took a break for next couple of hours to give everyone an opportunity to do some gift hunting, a visit to the Bowmore distillery and we finished off with lunch in Bowmore. There was 3 Whooper Swan still present at the roadside, just north of Bridgend,
A short visit to Ballygrant woods produced a couple of Long-tailed Tits, and the journey back to Bowmore along the minor road to the east, produced 20 Raven & 2 ringtail Hen Harrier.
We finished the day at Loch Gruinart, watching a fantastic roost of 1000’s of Barnacle & Greenland White-fronted Geese, with a backdrop of 2 rainbows - incredibly the first rain of the trip! There was also a nice mix of duck with 20+ Pintail on the small pools below the viewing area, the Little Egret was again in residence.
Loch Gruinart RSPB
Another beautiful, cool, dry sunny day arrived! With little or now wind, we decided to scan Loch Indaal from Blackrock as the sea was again very 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, 5 Great Northern Diver, 20 Slavonian Grebe, 50+ Common Eider, 300 Scaup, 11 Long-tailed Duck, 10 Common Scoter, 20 Red-breasted Merganser, Goldneye, Wigeon & Teal.
Along the shoreline there was 100 Oystercatcher, 50 Ringed Plover,, 200 Dunlin, 60 Bar-tailed Godwit, 50 Curlew, Redshank & Turnstone.
We headed off to Bridgend woods, which were relatively quiet, we did manage to add a Siskin and Treecreeper to the list, but couldn’t locate Grey Wagtail or Dipper. We the stopped off at the woollen mill, mainly for some gift shopping, but the stop also produced a pair of Dipper & Grey Wagtail, both were showing well just above the mill!
We took a break for next couple of hours to give everyone an opportunity to do some gift hunting, a visit to the Bowmore distillery and we finished off with lunch in Bowmore. There was 3 Whooper Swan still present at the roadside, just north of Bridgend,
A short visit to Ballygrant woods produced a couple of Long-tailed Tits, and the journey back to Bowmore along the minor road to the east, produced 20 Raven & 2 ringtail Hen Harrier.
We finished the day at Loch Gruinart, watching a fantastic roost of 1000’s of Barnacle & Greenland White-fronted Geese, with a backdrop of 2 rainbows - incredibly the first rain of the trip! There was also a nice mix of duck with 20+ Pintail on the small pools below the viewing area, the Little Egret was again in residence.
Friday 12th February - East Shore of Gruinart, Loch Gorm area & Loch Gruinart RSPB
We decided to return to the east shoreline of Loch Gruinart, there was again a nice mix of waders out on the mud 100 Bar-tailed Godwit, 10 Grey Plover, 150 Golden Plover, 150 Lapwing, 100+ Dunlin, 50+ Ringed Plover, 2 Snipe, 100+ Curlew and 4 Greenshank, we eventually located around 20 Sanderling, also plenty of Wigeon & Teal, with a smattering of Pintail & Wigeon.
As we headed further north along the shoreline, we suddenly stopped as a small grey passerine perched on the top of some rocks.
We decided to return to the east shoreline of Loch Gruinart, there was again a nice mix of waders out on the mud 100 Bar-tailed Godwit, 10 Grey Plover, 150 Golden Plover, 150 Lapwing, 100+ Dunlin, 50+ Ringed Plover, 2 Snipe, 100+ Curlew and 4 Greenshank, we eventually located around 20 Sanderling, also plenty of Wigeon & Teal, with a smattering of Pintail & Wigeon.
As we headed further north along the shoreline, we suddenly stopped as a small grey passerine perched on the top of some rocks.
It was a real surprise - a Black Redstart! A quick call to John Armitage one of the resident birders established that these were less than annual, a real nice find on our last day on the island.
The bird showed for a few minutes but then disappeared and a made a quick call to another birder - Nick Moran whom was visiting the island to let him know, a couple of hours later Nick had managed to relocate the bird in the rear of one of the nearby farm gardens.
We decided during the afternoon to revisit the Loch Gorm area and then head up to Saignomore. This area again produced good views of Golden Eagle, including one bird perched on the cliffs near Saignomore., also here were 10 Twite, 1 Chough, and 6 Raven. We then headed down towards the Saligo area to the east of Loch Gorm and saw another Golden Eagle, several Buzzards and Ravens.
The fields nearby held 100 Lapwing, 160 Golden Plover, 30 Redwing and 20 Fieldfare, these were all scattered twice when a male and then a ringtail Hen Harrier went marauding through the flocks!
We had a late afternoon cup of tea and then headed off to again watch the geese coming into roost, the numbers this evening must involved 20,000 geese, the noise and sight was awe inspiring. Nick Moran was also there & he had kindly located us a Black-tailed Godwit, another new one for the trip. There was another Whooper swan on the pools and good numbers of Pintail. The day finished with a Hen Harrier, a Sparrowhawk & finally a Woodcock flying overhead.
The bird showed for a few minutes but then disappeared and a made a quick call to another birder - Nick Moran whom was visiting the island to let him know, a couple of hours later Nick had managed to relocate the bird in the rear of one of the nearby farm gardens.
We decided during the afternoon to revisit the Loch Gorm area and then head up to Saignomore. This area again produced good views of Golden Eagle, including one bird perched on the cliffs near Saignomore., also here were 10 Twite, 1 Chough, and 6 Raven. We then headed down towards the Saligo area to the east of Loch Gorm and saw another Golden Eagle, several Buzzards and Ravens.
The fields nearby held 100 Lapwing, 160 Golden Plover, 30 Redwing and 20 Fieldfare, these were all scattered twice when a male and then a ringtail Hen Harrier went marauding through the flocks!
We had a late afternoon cup of tea and then headed off to again watch the geese coming into roost, the numbers this evening must involved 20,000 geese, the noise and sight was awe inspiring. Nick Moran was also there & he had kindly located us a Black-tailed Godwit, another new one for the trip. There was another Whooper swan on the pools and good numbers of Pintail. The day finished with a Hen Harrier, a Sparrowhawk & finally a Woodcock flying overhead.
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Saturday 13th February - Port Ellen harbour & ferry crossing to Kennacraig
We headed down after breakfast to Port Ellen & were heading back to the mainland by 9.30am.
The crossing was again really good for divers, 80 Great Northern Diver, 50 Red-throated Diver, 6 Black-throated Diver. Other seabirds of note were, 10 Razorbill, 20 Guillemot, 25 Black Guillemot, 3 Kittiwake, 2 drake Common Scoter, c40 Red-breasted Merganser - plus lots of Shag, Cormorant, Teal, Wigeon, Goldeneye and shorebirds.
Summary
Overall we had a very successful trip, recording 110 species of birds, a great diversity for a winter trip to Scotland.
The number of species was just half the story, the continual observations of quality species, with good views of these scarcer species was one of the really enjoyable factors, cumulative sightings over the week produced - 8 Golden Eagles, 100 + Great Northern Diver, 21 Black-throated Divers, 28 Slavonian Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, 30 Chough, 12 Hen Harriers, 5 Merlin, 30 Black Guillemot, 3 Purple Sandpiper, 12 Long-tailed Duck, 200 Twite, plus the Small race Canada Goose amongst the vast numbers of Barnacle Geese.
The whole spirit of Islay was encompassed by the scenery, raptors and vast numbers of geese, we were very fortunate with 6 sunny days and just one light shower!
We headed down after breakfast to Port Ellen & were heading back to the mainland by 9.30am.
The crossing was again really good for divers, 80 Great Northern Diver, 50 Red-throated Diver, 6 Black-throated Diver. Other seabirds of note were, 10 Razorbill, 20 Guillemot, 25 Black Guillemot, 3 Kittiwake, 2 drake Common Scoter, c40 Red-breasted Merganser - plus lots of Shag, Cormorant, Teal, Wigeon, Goldeneye and shorebirds.
Summary
Overall we had a very successful trip, recording 110 species of birds, a great diversity for a winter trip to Scotland.
The number of species was just half the story, the continual observations of quality species, with good views of these scarcer species was one of the really enjoyable factors, cumulative sightings over the week produced - 8 Golden Eagles, 100 + Great Northern Diver, 21 Black-throated Divers, 28 Slavonian Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, 30 Chough, 12 Hen Harriers, 5 Merlin, 30 Black Guillemot, 3 Purple Sandpiper, 12 Long-tailed Duck, 200 Twite, plus the Small race Canada Goose amongst the vast numbers of Barnacle Geese.
The whole spirit of Islay was encompassed by the scenery, raptors and vast numbers of geese, we were very fortunate with 6 sunny days and just one light shower!
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Tour Details and Cost
The tour cost was £480.00 per person.
The cost included the following items:-
·Transport from your home address to the accommodation
·All guiding and transport for the duration of the holiday and the ferry crossing.
·Ferry crossing to and from Islay.
·Self catering accommodation with a double room in a Scottish tourist board DDA access grade 2 award building on a working croft.
·Species checklist and log
Food
Breakfast & sandwich provisions were bought from the Supermarket in Bowmore, evening meals were eaten out at a variety of pubs/restaurants. Typically evening meals with a main course & sweet were £15 per head and were in addition to the tour cost.
Systematic list of birds & Mammals recorded
| Red-throated Diver Black-throated Diver Great Northern Diver Little Grebe Red-necked Grebe Slavonian Grebe Fulmar Great Cormorant Shag Little Egret Grey Heron Mute Swan Whooper Swan Greenland White-fronted Goose Greylag Goose Barnacle Goose Pale-bellied Brent Goose Small Race Canada Goose Shelduck Eurasian Wigeon Gadwall Eurasiuan Teal Mallard Pintail Shoveler Tufted Duck Greater Scaup Common Eider Long-tailed Duck Common Scoter Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Hen Harrier Sparrowhawk Buzzard Golden Eagle Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Pheasant Oystercatcher Ringed Plover Golden Plover Grey Plover Lapwing Knot Sanderling Purple Sandpiper Dunlin Snipe Woodcock Black-tailed Godwit Bar-tailed Godwit Curlew Mammals Common Seal Grey Seal Common Porpoise Common Dolphin Otter Roe Deer Red Deer Mountain Goat Brown Hare Rabbit Rat |
Redshank Greenshank Turnstone Black-headed Gull Common Gull Herring Gull Iceland Gull Great Black-backed Gull Kittiwake Guillemot Razorbill Black Guillemot Rock Dove Stock Dove Woodpigeon Collared Dove Skylark Meadow Pipit Rock Pipit Grey Wagtail Pied Wagtail Dipper Wren Dunnock Robin Black Redstart Stonechat Blackbird Fieldfare Song Thrush Redwing Mistle Thrush Goldcrest Long-tailed Tit Coal Tit Blue Tit Great Tit Treecreeper Magpie Chough Jackdaw Rook Carrion Crow Hooded Crow Raven Starling House Sparrow Chaffinch Greenfinch Goldfinch Siskin Linnet Twite Bullfinch Yellowhammer Reed Bunting Hooded Cron Starling House Sparrow Black billed Magpie Black billed Magpie Red billed Chough Jackdaw Rook Carrion Crow Hooded Crow Raven Common Starling House Sparrow |
If you are interested in this tour in 2011
_________________________________
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