[rlchew]

My report on my trip to Shetland and the northern Highlands in late May and early June has re-appeared in recent days …..

Trip report - northern Scotland and Shetland

…. but here is a report on my trip to Islay and Mull in early November.

I like to write up illustrated reports of my wildlife trips both for my own personal record and benefit but hopefully for the enjoyment of WAB members too.

After a very enjoyable visit to Islay last November and several previous visits to the wildlife hotspot that is Mull, I promised myself a pre-Christmas trip to both islands again.

Here is a report of my trip, illustrated with my own photos (as always, please click on the thumbnails for larger images). I hope you enjoy it and that potential visitors to Islay and/or Mull gather some useful information. If anyone wants any additional information, please do contact me.

1st November 2008 – Essex to Glasgow

Unfortunately Scotland is a long way from Basildon in Essex and the motorway drag necessarily had to be encountered.

I left home mid-morning as I was stopping off in Manchester for the football and I therefore was able to travel via the “Red Kite route” i.e. the M40.

I spotted my first Red Kite by junction 2 of the M40 and then saw at least 25 more between junction 2 and junction 6. This is one of the most reliable locations to see Red Kites in southern England as it is part of The Chilterns re-introduction area. Health and safety warning …. birdwatching and motorway driving are not a particularly safe mix!

In addition, this part of the motorway provided sightings of 4 Common Buzzards, 2 Kestrels and 1 Sparrowhawk.

Old Trafford produced a fine sighting of 3 Mute Swans flying against a Manchester setting sun …. plus a 4-3 win for the English and European champions!

By the time the match had finished it was dark so nothing else was seen on the journey north to my overnight stop at Dumbarton just outside Glasgow.

2nd November 2008 – Glasgow to Islay

The day dawned very sunny, cold and frosty. After scraping the ice off the car, I was on my way on the A82 up by Loch Lomond.

I stopped at Luss to get some photos of the loch and its reflections and Ben Lomond.





Last year, I had to take a very long detour from Tarbet since the A83 route over to Inverary was blocked by a huge landslide. This time I was able to move in to west Argyll with no problem.

After the steep climb out of Arrochar, the A83 reaches the “Rest and be Thankful” summit and viewpoint. Here there was a fine view of a perfect reflection in Loch Restil.



At Inverary the A83 continues south along Loch Fyne. Whilst this loch may be world famous for its seafood, I have never found it to be particularly good for birds. However, a brief stop at Minord produced a female Common Scoter, a Heron and a Curlew.

Continuing on to Lochgilphead provided sightings of Raven, Kestrel and a Roe Deer.

The head of Loch Gilp at Lochgilphead (I wonder how this small town got its name? ) was much more interesting with large numbers of birds.

Loch Gilp sightings: c.200 Wigeon, c.10 Red-breasted Merganser, c.10 Teal, c.10 Mallard, c.10 Goldeneye, 1 Eider, c.50 Common Redshank, c.20 Curlew, c.100 Oystercatcher, 2 Heron, large numbers of Common and Black-headed Gulls and 1 Great Black-backed Gull.

Since there was plenty of time to catch the 1 p.m. ferry to Islay from Kennacraig, I decided to take a detour on the B8024 which runs down the side of the Knapdale coastline and Loch Caolisport.

A couple of stops along this route produced my first Otter sighting of the trip, swimming and fishing just offshore. I initially picked up the movement with the naked eye and was then able to gain exceptional views with my binoculars and telescope in the morning sunshine. Loch Caolisport also provided good sightings of 2 diver species and a single Whooper Swan. A very good start to my trip!

Loch Caolisport sightings: 1 Otter, 4 Common Seal, 8 Red-throated Diver, 2 Great Northern Diver, 1 Whooper Swan, c.20 Goldeneye, c.20 Eider, c.20 Mallard, c.10 Red-breasted Merganser, c.20 Shag, c.10 auk species, c.20 Oystercatcher, c.20 Common Redshank, c.10 Oystercatcher, c.200 mixed group of gulls including Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls.





I reached Kennacraig from where the Islay ferry leaves with plenty of time to check in and then enjoy some remarkably warm November sunshine.





The 2 hour crossing to Islay was flat calm and this undoubtedly helped to provide some very good wildlife sightings from the outside upper deck, the highlights being the Harbour Porpoises, the Slavonian Grebes and the large numbers of divers.

Ferry sightings: 4 Harbour Porpoise (including 3 together), 1 Common Seal, 30 Great Northern Diver (including a group of 15), 10 Red-throated Diver, 2 possible Black-throated Diver, a group of 3 Slavonian Grebe, 16 Black Guillemot, 33 Guillemot, 26 Razorbill (including a group of 20), 2 juvenile Kittiwake, c.100 Eider, 1 Heron plus plenty of Shags and Herring Gulls and Red Deer on the island of Jura.

I arrived at Port Askaig on Islay at 3 p.m., most of the sunshine had disappeared and there was not much daylight left. I decided to take the short trip up to Bunnahabhain where last year I had a very close encounter with an Otter just offshore from the whisky distillery.

Otter encounter

Unfortunately this year, I had no luck with the Otter here but I did see the following.

Bunnahabhain sightings: 1 Great Northern Diver, c.20 Shag, 2 Mute Swan (it seemed strange seeing these birds swimming and feeding amongst the seaweed along the rocky shore!), 1 Common Buzzard plus small numbers of Redwing, Stonechat and Pheasant along the road to and from Bunnahabhain.

Before it finally went dark, I managed to see the following along the “high road” between Bridgend and Port Ellen. This included the 2 winter stars of Islay, the Barnacle Goose and Greenland White-fronted Goose, both of which migrate here in huge and internationally importnant numbers.

“High road” sightings: 2 very large groups of Barnacle Goose, c.30 Greenland White-fronted Goose, 6 Greylag Goose, 3 Common Buzzard and 4 Raven

Richard