Ponds

Corncrake, Puffins, Gannet, Manx Shearwaters, Melin, Hen Harrier, Divers, Redshanks, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Purple Sandpiper, Lapwing, Sea Eagles, Snipe, Skylark, Barnacle and Greenland White-Fronted Geese and Long Tailed Duck  are just some of the birds the visitor can see. There are also colonies of Common and Grey Seals and also Otters.
When the machair, which is smooth turf growing on a lime rich soil of ground seashell fragments is in full flower, over 300 types of flowering plants can be found, including many species of orchids. This area also supports important insect populations including two rare types of bee - the Great Yellow Bumblebee and a mining bee called Colletes floris as well as Butterflies, Dragon and Damselfy's.

The coastal areas and croftland are important breeding areas for wading birds such as dunlin, redshank, lapwing and ringed plover, with corncrakes - rarely seen but often heard. The reserve is an important breeding ground fot Greylag Geese and id one of the few places where these birds do not fly north in the spring to breed. Golden Eagles and Red Grouse can be seen on the hills along with Golden Plover and numerous other species while Seal and Otters can be spotted along the coast

Balranald Nature Reserve is famous for corncrakes that are now one of Europe's most endangered species and whose last stronghold is the Scottish Islands. There are also many other species here such as Twites, Skylarks, Meadow pipets, Corn Bunting and House Sparrows that feed near the car park. Many Hebridean and Western Isles, including Coll, Tiree and the Uists, now have corncrake populations that are numbering over 100, with Islay and Iona not too far behind. So successful has the conservation and management for corncrakes been in this region that several young birds from the islands have now been re-located to boost a reintroduction scheme in East Anglia.

In Spring the visitor can spot Whooper swans, Purple Sandpipers, Eiders, Goldeneyes and passage migrants on the reserve and surrounding area. Otters can also be found along the coast. In Summer, Red-necked phalaropes, Snipe, Curlews, Redshanks, Lapwings and Teals can be spotted at Mires of Funzie. Red-throated divers can be seen at Loch of Funzie. Areas around the reserve hold Whimbrels, Golden Plovers, Dunlins, Arctic terns, Great and Arctic skuas. Wetland flowers at the Mires of Funzie are at their best in late July and into August. In Autumn and Winter passage migrants in and around the reserve including Red-breasted Merganser, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Great Skua, Redwings, Long Tailed Ducks, Great Northern Divers and Whooper Swans.