Trip to Islay

[rlchew]

A few weeks ago I went on a short trip to Islay. I have travelled extensively throughout the Scottish Highlands and Islands but this was my first visit to Islay, something that I had been promising myself for many years.

I have already posted a report of an incredible encounter with an Otter here ….

Otter encounter

…. but I thought I would share a full trip report with you all. I hope you find it interesting and enjoy my photos.

Islay is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland and lies in Argyll and Bute. It measures about 25 miles north to south by 20 miles east to west although it is an irregular shape. The island is made up of a diverse range of habitats that support an amazing variety of wildlife throughout the year.

You may recall that the BBC Springwatch programme visited Islay in 2007.

One of the highlights in the Islay wildlife calendar occurs from early October each year when the geese began to arrive from their Arctic breeding grounds. By late October or early November, up to 35,000 Barnacle Geese and 15,000 Greenland White-fronted Geese have arrived.

I think I saw 34,999 of the former and 14,999 of the latter …. well, that is my excuse for visiting again next year to spot the missing ones!

Barnacle Geese from Svalbard, Greenland, Russia and the Baltic winter primarily on Islay and at Caerlaverock on the Solway Firth. Occasional birds that I have seen in southern England are most likely to be escapes from wildfowl collections so it was good to see genuine wild birds in such large numbers.



Greenland White-fronted Geese not surprisingly originate from Greenland and they are quite noticeably larger and darker than the Eurasian White-fronted Geese that I often see in Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk.



The geese are an amazing spectacle and can be found in small groups or huge flocks, particularly in the areas around Loch Indaal and Loch Gruinart. It is an especially memorable experience seeing them flying in to roost against a sunset sky.



My trip to Islay was excellent and I really do not know why it took me so long to get there. I saw 78 species of birds including 8 of which were new for the year for me.

The highlights have to be the enormous flocks of wintering geese. The species that I missed which I was expecting to see were Golden Eagle, Long-tailed Duck and Short-eared Owl but then I saw a Common Tern and a Greenshank which I was not expecting to see so late in the year. Such is the unpredictability of wildlife watching.

In addition to the birds, I saw 6 species of mammal …. including that Otter!

I can highly recommend Islay. Although the scenery is not as awe inspiring as many other parts of the west and north of Scotland which I have visited, wildlife watching is as easy or as hard as you want to make it. If you want it easy, roadside watching from the car does not get any easier and is very rewarding. The malt whisky isn’t bad either .

Although this was my first trip to Islay and I certainly do not claim to be an expert on where to go and what to see, I would be very happy to provide any information I can to assist other visitors.

Day 1 – Saturday 3rd November 2007

I started out very early (2 a.m.) as I always do on trips to Scotland to avoid the joys of motorway gridlock .

I made very good time until I got to Tarbet on Loch Lomond side where the A82 road that I need to take was closed due to a landslide . Where I live, a diversion can be very annoying and add just a few miles at most to your journey. This diversion took me through magnificent Highland scenery but added nearly 40 miles to my journey …. I caught the ferry at Kennacraig at 1 p.m. with just 10 minutes to spare .

Waiting for the ferry to depart allowed me to start my trip list and this included 4 male Wigeon, 4 Mute Swan, small groups of Eider and Mallard, several Oystercatchers, a Heron and small numbers of Herring Gulls.

The 2 hour CalMac ferry crossing to Port Askaig produced at least 10 Great Northern Divers (the first of the year for me), a possible Black-throated Diver, 17 Black Guillemots and 3 Guillemots (all in their rather different winter plumage), 5 Kittiwakes, several Cormorants and Shags and a Common Buzzard (not a typical seabird!).

Having arrived on Islay, there was just time to get some quick birding in at Loch Indaal and Loch Gruinart before it went dark. Amongst the birds seen during the gathering gloom, I added 3 species that I had not seen during the year so far: Barnacle Goose and Scaup at Loch Indaal and White-fronted Goose at Loch Gruinart. I saw plenty more geese over the next few days!

Day 2 and more photos to follow.

Richard

[tufftie]

I did some volunteering for the RSPB there once and my memories are of rain, rain, cows and muck, tree planting and oh yes...BIRDS!!! Yes Islay is very beautiful and the rain seems to suit it well and the wildlife is great! Didn't see an otter there though. The people are very friendly but not sure about the whisky - the ale was okay though!

[rlchew]

Day 2 – Sunday 4th November 2007

On my first full day, I decided to travel down the east side of Loch Indaal and then on down to Port Ellen and up the south and east coast past a few of the famous malt whisky distilleries to Claggain Bay.

My brief look over Loch Indaal the night before had hardly prepared me for the huge numbers of birds on Loch Indaal or on its shores.

There were very large numbers of Barnacle Geese, Wigeon, Shelduck, Red-breasted Merganser and Scaup plus around 20 Whooper Swans and 20 Mute Swans, a small group of Eider and 2 Pintail.

In addition, there were very large flocks of Curlew, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Lapwing and Ringed Plover plus smaller numbers of Turnstone, Redshank and Bar-tailed Godwit. A single Greenshank was a slightly unexpected sighting at this time of year.

Very large groups of Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Common Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls were also present.

Between Bowmore and Port Ellen, I saw small groups of White-fronted Geese plus several Stonechats and Common Buzzards.

Between Port Ellen and Kidalton, I saw several Common Seals plus a female Red Deer which stood motionless in the road as I approached!

At Kidalton there is a very old Celtic cross by the chapel and this location also produced around 20 Rock Doves, small flocks of Fieldfares and Redwings, a large mixed flock of Rooks and Hooded Crows and 4 Red Deer stags.

The minor road eventually ends at Claggain Bay, a broad sandy bay which probably looks magnificent in sunny weather …. it wasn’t sunny!

However, the bay did produce some good birds: a Great Northern Diver, a Red-throated Diver, a Black Guillemot, 8 Mute Swan, 5 Cormorants, a male Eider, 2 Herons and a Curlew.

I also saw my first Otter of the trip, swimming in the bay but too distant for a photo. I always enjoy finding and watching Otters but this sighting was nothing compared to the experience on the last day of my trip.

The Claggain Bay area also prodiced 2 Grey Wagtails, a flock of around 30 Rock Doves, a Common Buzzard and a mixed group of Fieldfares, Redwings, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes.

On the way back I stopped by the Lagavulin malt whisky distillery to watch 6 Common Seals in the bay and I also saw 2 Herons here plus another Grey Wagtail. This was my first distillery stop but not the only one to produce some excellent wildlife!





When I arrived back at Port Ellen, I took the road up to the Oa, an RSPB reserve. At the car park, I saw Hooded Crow, Common Buzzard, Raven and Stonechat but the most exciting sighting was a magnificent silver-grey male Hen Harrier that flew right past the car before carrying on to hunt over the moorland and grassland.



If that wasn’t enough, I saw another male Hen Harrier and a female Merlin on the return journey down to Port Ellen. Unfortunately I had no luck with a sighting of Golden Eagle here.

I decided to take an alternative route back from Port Ellen to Bowmore and was very glad I did as I was rewarded with huge numbers of Barnacle Geese plus smaller numbers of White-fronted Geese.











As I reached the head of Loch Indaal near Bowmore, groups of Barnacle Geese were flying in to roost on the mudflats for the night.



Day 3 and more photos to follow.

Richard

[aeshna5]

Excellent report Rich. It's one of those places on my to visit list some time in the future.

[rlchew]

Day 3 – Monday 5th November 2007

The start of my next day saw small groups of Barnacle Geese and White-fronted Geese in the fields between Ballygrant where I was staying overnight and Bridgend where I took the road down the west side of Loch Indaal.

The west side of Loch Indaal produced both a reduced number of species of birds and smaller numbers than the east side but a stop by the Bruichladdich malt whisky distillery (yes, another wildlife hotspot!) did allow me to find 5 Red-throated Divers and 3 Common Scoters on the sea, 3 Purple Sandpipers foraging amongst the rocks with Turnstone and Ringed Plovers and a surprisingly late Common Tern fishing. Both Purple Sandpiper and Common Scoter were new sightings for the year for me.







As I continued south, I spotted my first 2 Choughs of my trip near Port Charlotte. I am used to seeing these birds at South Stack in Anglesey but Islay is the Scottish stronghold so this was a new Scotland record for me. However, this was only the start of some wonderful sightings of these birds later in the day.

The harbour at Portnahaven produced 5 Common Seals which had wisely sought some sanctuary from some very wild but spectacular seas off the south coast of Islay.

My route continued northwards to the area around Machrie and Machir Bay in the west of Islay. Here in the dune area, a mixed flock of c.100 corvids including about 10 Choughs, 1 Raven plus plenty of Rooks, Jackdaws and Hooded Crows fed on the ground or wheeled around in the strong wind. Choughs, in particular, always look as though they are having so much fun playing in the wind.

The fields in the Machrie area also produced a further 5 Choughs, the inevitable large flocks of Barnacle Geese and White-fronted Geese, a single Whooper Swan and a flock of c.100 Rock Doves. The latter was especially notable since whilst I am familiar with these birds in north and west Scotland, I have never seen so many together.



From Machrie I moved on to Loch Gruinart, an RSPB reserve, and took the road up the east side first. Again, there was an enormous flock of Barnacle Geese plus large numbers of waders on the foreshore including Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew.







The road up the west side of Loch Gruinart produced even more Barnacle Geese plus groups of Lapwing, Wigeon and Shelduck. Birds of prey were also well represented with a female Hen Harrier, a female Merlin and several Common Buzzards. Large numbers of House Sparrows, Starlings and Redwings plus a few Stonechats and an obliging Brown Hare sitting in the road were also seen.



The road up the west side of Loch Gruinart ends at Ardnave Loch where I managed to see 7 Whooper Swans, 1 Mute Swan, c.10 Tufted Ducks, c.15 Wigeon, c.30 Teal and a pair of Mallard and a male Common Pochard through a heavy and squally shower.

On my return journey to Ballygrant, I saw another Red-throated Diver at Traigh an Luing on the west side of Loch Indaal and 3 Pink-footed Geese amongst the large roosting flock of Barnacle Geese, White-fronted Geese and Greylag Geese at the head of the loch.

The day finished with a golden sunset over Loch Indaal at Bridgend.



Final day and more photos to follow.

Richard

[NickCantle]

This makes for some good reading. Sounds like you're having a great time mate Looking forward to the final day. Thank you for sharing

Nick

[tufftie]

Sorry, I interrupted you - thought you were putting them on a day at a time.

Love the photos!

[rlchew]

Day 4 – Tuesday 6th November 2007

This was my last day on Islay and I had to decide where to go to spend my final hours.

I began by again visiting the east side of Loch Indaal which again did not disappoint with huge numbers of birds as was the case on the Sunday.

However, in addition to the species seen there on Sunday, I added 3 Slavonian Grebe, 1 male and 3 female Goldeneye, 1 male Common Scoter and c.30 Brent Geese.

The Brent Geese were very distinctive from the dark-bellied type that I am familiar with in Essex and other parts of eastern England as they were the pale-bellied type which winter further north in the UK.

The strangest sighting here was of 8 Rooks and 2 Ravens foraging amongst the foreshore rocks and on the mudflats. I thought these were farmland and upland birds respectively!

After birdwatching at Loch Indaal, I decided to again visit the Machrie area in the hope of getting some photos of Choughs. On the way I added 2 further species to my trip list at the RSPB farm at Loch Gruinart: a male Reed Bunting and 3 Collared Doves amongst the flocks of Chaffinches, House Sparrows and Starlings.

The surrounding fields around Loch Gruinart held the usual huge numbers of Barnacle Geese and White-fronted Geese.



Between Loch Gruinart and Machrie I saw even more large groups of Barnacle Geese and White-fronted Geese, a female Merlin perched on a roadside fence post (which immediately flew off when I raised my camera!), a pair of adult Whooper Swans with 3 immatures plus 4 Roe Deer.





I rarely see Roe Deer but I am used to these mammals as very shy woodland deer. It was therefore very pleasing to see them relatively unconcerned in an open moorland boggy type of habitat.





At Machrie the Rock Dove flock had increased to c.200 birds and there were around 10 Choughs moving around the stubble fields. I did get some photos of the Choughs but the Rock Doves were much too flighty.



I had to catch the mid afternoon ferry from Port Askaig back to Kennacraig and therefore spent the last part of my trip up at Bunnahabhain. Yes, this is the location of another malt whisky distillery! Apart from a Red-throated Diver on the sea, the highlight here was the highlight of the trip …. that close up view of a feeding Otter …. just amazing!

Otter encounter







As I descended in to Port Askaig thinking that was the end of a wonderful trip, Islay produced one more surprise. A single Woodpigeon flew over in front of the car! A very common bird in southern England but quite a rare sight further north.

The return ferry crossing in rain and gathering darkness produced 6 Great Northern Divers, 4 Black Guillemots, 1 Guillemot and several Kittiwakes.

The long drive in the dark from Kennacraig back to Glasgow did not produce any “wildlife of the night” but did allow me to reflect on what had been an exceptionally rewarding and exciting trip. I can not wait until next November.

That's all!

Richard

[NickCantle]

Well Richard, I didn't have to wait long for the final day did I? I'm truly jealous of your trip I'll definitely have to venture out sometime. A lovely thread with lovely photos. Thanks for sharing

Nick

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by rlchew

.........
The highlights have to be the enormous flocks of wintering geese. The species that I missed which I was expecting to see were Golden Eagle, Long-tailed Duck and Short-eared Owl but then I saw a Common Tern and a Greenshank which I was not expecting to see so late in the year. Such is the unpredictability of wildlife watching.


I can highly recommend Islay. Although the scenery is not as awe inspiring as many other parts of the west and north of Scotland which I have visited, wildlife watching is as easy or as hard as you want to make it. If you want it easy, roadside watching from the car does not get any easier and is very rewarding. The malt whisky isn’t bad either .

Although this was my first trip to Islay and I certainly do not claim to be an expert on where to go and what to see, I would be very happy to provide any information I can to assist other visitors.


Richard

Sounds like you had a good trip. I'd back up your recommendation - Islay in autumn is pretty special as your account well illustrates.

p.s. I've had most success with Golden Eagle along the road from Portnahaven to Kilchiaran.

[PMG]

Enjoyed that Richard - thank you

Pauline