I was on holiday for the last few days of July and the first few days of August, driving up to Nethybridge in The Highlands, for a week with the holiday company Heatherlea which included two nights and a full day on North and South Uist and Benbecula - my first visit to the Outer Hebrides. On the way up I stopped off for a night in Northumberland (Warkworth) which, apart from breaking the 500 mile journey, was intended to allow me to connect with Arctic Terns and Common Eider ducks for my year list, in this beautiful part of the world. As it happens, I got really lucky because a very rare wader, Greater Sand Plover, was found a few miles down the coast at Newbiggin shortly before my visit and, on a glorious evening, I was able to connect with this bird (a 'lifer') and also add Roseate Tern, as well as Arctic Tern and Eider Duck, to my year list. The terns were amongst four species sharing a rocky outcrop on the coast with several species of wader as the tide came in. The combination of beautiful light and birds and an attractive four mile 'there and back' walk along the coast made this one of my bird watching highlights of the year.
Record Shot of Greater Sand Plover with Ringed Plovers (below), Newbiggin, 26 July
In Scotland, the plan was to spend the first day looking for local specialities and the last two days wildlife watching on the Black Isle, Moray Firth and Findhorn Valley. In between we would take the ferry from Mallaig to South Uist and spend two nights on Benbecula, exploring the Uists, before returning by Ferry from North Uist to Skye and driving back to Nethybridge. Crested Tits and Crossbills were duly seen locally on the first day. The ferry crossing turned out to be a bit of an ordeal: whilst the south of England basked in a heatwave, we had to endure strong winds, temperatures in the low teens and, later, driving rain as a weather front passed by. I had been looking forward to seeing lots of different seabirds, but in fact the crossing was dominated by Manx Shearwaters from the huge colony on Rhum, as well as smaller numbers of auks (including Puffins), Gannets and Kittiwakes. A couple of distant Great Skuas were seen and at least three Storm Petrels were found by our leaders, Holly and Dave, but frustratingly I wasn't able to pick any of them out. A handful of Common Dolphins were also seen.
Skye, seen on the Ferry Crossing from Mallaig, 29 July
One of Hundreds of Manx Shearwaters seen on the Ferry Crossing, 29 July
We had time to explore South Uist before booking into our hotel, but the wind and rain made things uncomfortable. However, we did have one piece of luck: a young White-tailed Eagle gave reasonably close views as it sat on a mound in the 'machair'.
White-tailed Eagle in the Rain, South Uist, 29 July
The weather for the rest of the week was fine, although the temperature on the Uists never went above 15C. The machair scenery and beaches were very pleasant, but not spectacular, with a multitude of lochans and estuaries being passed. Apart from the main north-south road, all the roads we used were single track with passing places. Gaelic is still spoken here, and all the road signs placed Gaelic as the first language, but we didn't hear any Gaelic spoken at the hotel, which was our only contact with the 'locals'. We enjoyed numerous views of Hen Harriers, Merlin and (eventually) Short-eared Owls. Arctic Skuas were seen on the final morning and a Black Guillemot, seen as we departed on the ferry from Lochmaddy (North Uist) for Skye, was my first and only sighting, although others in our party (two leaders and twelve clients) saw other Black Guillemots. Porpoises were seen off the coast and there was a moment of drama when Andrew, one of my fellow clients, spotted a young Stonechat trapped in a lobster pot. This was safely extricated and released by Dave (image).
Young Stonechat before Release (see above), Uists, 30 July
Short-eared Owl in Flight, Benbecula, 30 July
Back on the mainland, the trips to the Moray coast and Black Isle provided lots of interest, whilst a distant Golden Eagle (my 14th and last year 'tick' for the holiday) was a highlight of our trip up the Findhorn Valley. With temperatures reaching 20C, invertebrates became more of a part of the wildlife seen. For me the very tatty Large Heath, seen at Lochindorb on the 28th, was the butterfly highlight, but dragonflies and ichneumon wasps were also seen. A moth trap run by Holly produced some particularly attractive species, with no fewer than 71 'July High Flyer' individuals being counted. Some late-flowering Autumn Lady's Tresses (an orchid) and the beautiful Mountain Pansy were floral highlights.
Turnstones and Redshanks, Moray Coast, 2 August
Ichneumon Wasp, Findhorn Bay, 2 August
Light Emerald Moth from the Trap, Nethybridge, 1 August
Mountain Pansy, Upper Findhorn Valley, 1 August
This was quite a sedentary holiday and most of my exercise involved pre-breakfast or evening walks. One bird that was missing from our combined list of 124 species (I saw 118) at the end of the week was Dipper, but on my final walk of the holiday I caught up with one, feeding on the River Nethy - too late to go on the list! After that, it was time to drive the 505 miles back home in a single day, a mind numbing exercise that I am determined not to repeat if I ever go to Scotland again!
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