Isle of Islay - Final Birding Day

Well, what a holiday we had to this point, and now it was the last day. Where to go????

With a report of an Osprey up at Loch Gruinart RSPB the previous day, we thought we would go and give it a look. We arrived up at the reserve and walked the Woodland trail. We had a couple of Common Carpet moths which were nice...

Also lots of Green-veined White's along the path...

Also a Common Darter and a Meadow Brown.

We reached the first hide....Taigh Deas

We got a Snipe in this hide but not much else. However, I was scanning the dunes out the back and picked up a large raptor flying over the bay. I kept watching it, and then it dived into the water. It had to be an Osprey! Far too far away for a picture, but it was viewed closer from the second hide, Taigh Tuath, but still distant...

We then went up to Ardnave Point again, where we had the usual Chough, Raven, Shag, Gannet, Meadow Pipits, Swallows, Oystercatchers and Skylarks. We also had several Grayling too...

The last day was a wet day, so we didn't do much, but we did get a pair of Whinchat, Stonechat and a ringtail Hen Harrier which was great! We also got a Stag outside the cottage in the evening which was great, and a Whitethroat was a nice surprise too.

That is it then, our Islay Holiday of 2014! Hope you enjoyed reading the posts. Happy Birding!!

Isle of Islay - Birding Days 3 and 4

Birding Day 3!

These 2 days are days where we didn't see much, so I have merged them together to make one post. Anyway, enough of the waffling, let me tell you about our days!

On the 5th, we started off at Duich Lots, a place not far from where we stayed. We were looking for a reported Red Grouse but we didn't see that. We did see a ringtail Hen Harrier though which was nice...

For the rest of the day we headed round to the other side of the Island around Port Charlotte area. It was a miserable day in terms of weather so the only other birds of note during this day was a Peregrine and a couple of Chough which is still better than nothing.

Birding Day 4

Birding Day 4 was a lot more successful than the previous day in terms of birds and whether, so here goes...

We went down to Laggan Point in the morning which is a lovely rocky area good for sea birds...

 We got some cracking Black Guillemots, including a close one on a rock!

We also got a nice family of Ringed Plover here too...

We also got a Shag...

And a very obliging Dunlin...

On the way out the fields were filled with Sand Martins, and a few Hooded Crows...

In the afternoon, we headed out to Port Ellen, Ardbeg and Claggain Bay. We came across a fantastic sight which was a pair of Golden Eagles flying really close to the road. How cool is that!

We got to Claggain Bay and found a summer plumaged Red-throated Diver, Small Copper and 4 Eider. Great stuff!

2014 Year List Total - 205

Happy Birding!

Isle of Islay - Birding Day 2

Technically Day 4, saw us heading to the Isle of Jura to try and find the only White-tailed Eagle pair on the surroundings of Islay. Before this though, I found a Whinchat outside our cottage early in the morning,  which was a welcome year tick...

We arrived at Port Askaig, to get the Ferry, and looked across to the Paps of Jura.

We looked across the Sound of Islay and over the Paps of Jura, to see if any raptors were soaring. We picked up 2 massive birds, which had to be White-tailed Eagles, as they soared distantly over the mountains. We pin-pointed their location, so we could look for them on the Island.

As the boat arrived to pick us up, we hopped on...

As we were on board, we saw Gannets, Kittiwakes and Shags surrounding the boat. Then, Dad and I spotted a pale morph Skua flying north at the same time! We're still not 100% sure of it's identity, but it was big bodied, seemed to have a visible collar and Dad thinks he saw spoons. I have had feedback from Twitter, and all of them say Arctic. However, showing other birders face to face with a book beside the picture think Pomarine! Personally, I think Pomarine too, but I would really like your help. If you think you know what specie it is, then let me know. Comment on this post on this blog, or DM me on Twitter to @MoysieBirder! Thanks. Anyway, here are the pictures...

There is only 1 road on Jura, and it comes to a dead end after a little while, so there was no circular route back to the ferry. We started off with a ringtail Hen Harrier, another Whinchat and a Dark Green Fritillary by the roadside...

We got a couple more ringtail Hen Harriers but couldn't find the White-tailed Eagles anywhere. We had to stop in though at the Isle of Jura Distillery, but I wasn't allowed any! Couldn't believe it! By the end of this trip it was about 15:00pm. 

When we got back onto Islay, we decided to go down to The Oa, the second RSPB reserve on the Island. We went on the circular route path taking us to the cliffs and to the American Monument.

Our target bird was Golden Eagle, as there is a pair here. We didn't see them though unfortunately, but we did see a pair of Chough and several Twite...

We also got a very close Raven...

And a Willow Warbler.

When we reached the American Monument, we noticed that there was a Goat having a snout around the point.

Approaching the car park, we came across a Willow Warbler, a Reed Bunting and a Wheatear all in the same shot. Nice!

End of Day 4 on Islay - 203!

Happy Birding!

Isle of Islay - Birding Day 1

At the start of the month, Mum, Dad and I all visited the Isle of Islay for a weeks birding holiday. As you may know, we usually go to the Isle of Mull, but we fancied a different vacation.

On the way up to Tarbert, I managed to get 4 year ticks, them being Gannet, Black Guillemot, Hooded Crow and Eider.

The first day on Islay was in the afternoon, where it was chucking it down. No birding on this day even if it was sunny though because we had to get some food, and get toured around our cottage, which was absolutely fantastic! I did get however get Stonechat and Raven onto the year list, making my 2014 total 196. We did also get about 20 Golden Plover in a field, which was a nice surprise.

Technically, Day 3 on Islay was actually Day 1, where our birding holiday now started!

We thought we would head up to the RSPB Loch Gruinart reserve, to get some advice about where to head for a week of birding. We were advised to go up to Ardnave Point, just off the RSPB reserve, and walk round the point, so that's what we did!

We parked the car, and immediately I heard the nazal call of the Chough, as one passed over our heads. We got further up, and there were about 20 Chough feeding on the grassy banks. An incredible LIFER for me!

Soon after Dad spotted a ringtail Hen Harrier flying low over the grassy fields smothered in breeds of Cow and Sheep...

Past the fields and onto the muddy tracks, I heard a twittering I wasn't familiar with in East Anglia, but was on Mull. These were a flock of Twite. Cracking fella's!

There were plenty of Skylarks up on the fields too, as well as a Silver Y moth too...

We then made it up to the point, and looked out across Nave Island, a small Island about 500 yards offshore. The Oystercatchers weren't happy by our presence...

Looking out to Nave Island, I saw 3 bulky brown birds flying over the hills, with white flashes on the wing tips. They had to be Great Skua's!

Plenty of Gannets moving offshore too, mainly going west...

On the way back, a Raven was kicking about, harassing the local Choughs...

On the way back to the cottage we called into Saligo Bay, on the west coast of Islay. Plenty of Gannets were moving offshore, as well as Manx Shearwaters which was really nice to see.

At the end of Day 1 (Day 3), my year list was on 200!

Happy Birding!!!