Birding in Islay (1 Viewer)

I am a South African resident who will be visiting Islay briefly in the second week of April. I would appreciate any information about what birds to look out for there, and where they might be most easily found. My time there will be limited, so any assistance will be most gratefuly received.

Thank you

Dave Kennedy

Oooh Dave, jealous!

Have you looked in Opus?

No doubt Andrew will be along shortly, he knows the island well. I was there in October a few years ago, so a rather different time of year.

D

delia todd said:

Oooh Dave, jealous!

Have you looked in Opus?

No doubt Andrew will be along shortly, he knows the island well. I was there in October a few years ago, so a rather different time of year.

D

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Did somebody call? Anyway, here's a trip report I did a few years ago that might be helpful, particularly as it's from about the right time of year:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=30905
There should still be a lot of geese around in the second week of April, particularly in the Gruinart, Loch Gorm and Sorn Valley areas. Look through them for Canadas. Lots of seaduck and divers on Loch Indaal - just drive around and stop and scan. Choughs are pretty easy at Ardnave, Machir Bay and many other sites in the Rhinns. Most of the raptors should be fairly easy to see. Golden Eagles can be found on the Oa, parts of the Rhinns and along the road towards Storakaig south of Ballygrant. There are potentially plenty of other things to, so if you have specific requests then let me know.

Hope you enjoy your trip Dave.

Andrew Whitehouse said:

Did somebody call? Anyway, here's a trip report I did a few years ago that might be helpful, particularly as it's from about the right time of year:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=30905
There should still be a lot of geese around in the second week of April, particularly in the Gruinart, Loch Gorm and Sorn Valley areas. Look through them for Canadas. Lots of seaduck and divers on Loch Indaal - just drive around and stop and scan. Choughs are pretty easy at Ardnave, Machir Bay and many other sites in the Rhinns. Most of the raptors should be fairly easy to see. Golden Eagles can be found on the Oa, parts of the Rhinns and along the road towards Storakaig south of Ballygrant. There are potentially plenty of other things to, so if you have specific requests then let me know.

Hope you enjoy your trip Dave.

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Andrew,
Many thanks for you prompt response to my query, and especially for your splendid trip report, which is even more valuable in that it deals with essentially the same time of year as my proposed visit.
Your bird list took my breath away - I had no idea that the island held the potential for so many special sightings. The current visit to UK is really in response to some family problems, which is why my time is so limited, but it seems that a longer trip should be considered during a subsequent visit.

Once again, many thanks, and may your next sighting under the Torry Coo be a Great Auk.

With best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

Dave Kennedy said:

Andrew,
Many thanks for you prompt response to my query, and especially for your splendid trip report, which is even more valuable in that it deals with essentially the same time of year as my proposed visit.
Your bird list took my breath away - I had no idea that the island held the potential for so many special sightings. The current visit to UK is really in response to some family problems, which is why my time is so limited, but it seems that a longer trip should be considered during a subsequent visit.

Once again, many thanks, and may your next sighting under the Torry Coo be a Great Auk.

With best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

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No problem Dave - hope your trip goes well and the problems are resolved. A seventh species of auk from the Coo would be most welcome, although I'll settle for an Ancient Murrelet.

Dave

for bang up to date info, keep checking this site http://islaybirds.blogspot.com/. I'm off to Islay myself for a week at the end of the month, and I too found Andrew's report very mouth watering. Thanks Andrew.

Ken Hall said:

Dave

for bang up to date info, keep checking this site http://islaybirds.blogspot.com/. I'm off to Islay myself for a week at the end of the month, and I too found Andrew's report very mouth watering. Thanks Andrew.

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Ken, thank you for the info re islaybirds.blogspot. It looks a really useful site, and I'll keep an eye on it right up to our departure. I don't have a laptop, so there'll be no more computers until I return to SA. For reasons I have never penetrated, none of my UK relatives even own a computer, so unless I can find an internet cafe on Islay I will be flying blind.

Best of luck for your own visit - if we get half of what Andrew saw I will be well pleased.

Best wishes,
Dave

Dave Kennedy said:

Ken, thank you for the info re islaybirds.blogspot. It looks a really useful site, and I'll keep an eye on it right up to our departure. I don't have a laptop, so there'll be no more computers until I return to SA. For reasons I have never penetrated, none of my UK relatives even own a computer, so unless I can find an internet cafe on Islay I will be flying blind.

Best of luck for your own visit - if we get half of what Andrew saw I will be well pleased.

Best wishes,
Dave

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You can probably get internet access at the offices of the Ileach newspaper on the main street in Bowmore.

I always think there's quite a lot of untapped potential for finding rarities in Islay so keep an eye out!

Andrew Whitehouse said:

You can probably get internet access at the offices of the Ileach newspaper on the main street in Bowmore.

I always think there's quite a lot of untapped potential for finding rarities in Islay so keep an eye out!

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Thanks, Andrew - I appreciate your input. And I will certainly let you know if anything remarkable turns up.

Best wishes,
Dave

Andrew Whitehouse said:

You can probably get internet access at the offices of the Ileach newspaper on the main street in Bowmore.

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There is also an internet cafe in Port Ellen, which doubles up as a real cafe for lunches (and I think also dinners).

armingrewe said:

There is also an internet cafe in Port Ellen, which doubles up as a real cafe for lunches (and I think also dinners).

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Armingrewe, thank you for this information. I'm flattered to be in receipt of your first posting! Welcome to Bird Forum.

Best wishes,
Dave

I have just returned to South Africa after a month’s stay in Scotland. This is a quick report of our short visit to Islay – a first for all three of us. We arrived on the island around 15h00 on Monday 6th April, and sailed again from Port Askaig at around 15h30 on Wednesday 8th. The weather, sadly, was fairly dire – lots of low overcast, high winds and sea, and a great deal of rain – but in amongst all that we managed some very good birding. My thanks to Andrew Whitehouse for his splendid synopsis of birding in Islay. This proved invaluable in finding good birding locations quickly, thus avoiding any time-wasting in exploration.

Our bird list is appended below, and refers to sightings made between leaving from and returning to Kennacraig, the ferry terminal on the mainland.


Barnacle Goose
Black Guillemot
Blackbird
Black-headed Gull
Blue Tit
Buzzard
Chaffinch
Common Gull
Curlew
Eider
Eurasian Teal
Fulmar
Gannet
Goldeneye
Goldfinch
Great Northern Diver
Great Tit
Greater Black-backed Gull
Greenfinch
Greenland White-fronted Goose
Grey Heron
Greylag Goose
Guillemot
Hen Harrier
Herring Gull
Hooded Crow
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Kestrel
Kittiwake
Knot
Lapwing
Mallard
Meadow Pipit
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Oystercatcher
Pheasant
Pied Wagtail
Pintail
Red-breasted Merganser
Redshank
Reed Bunting
Ringed Plover
Rock Dove
Rook
Shag
Shelduck
Skylark
Song Thrush
Starling
Stonechat
Swallow
Tufted Duck
Turnstone
Wheatear
White Wagtail
Wigeon
Woodpigeon
Wren

The Hen Harrier was a new British species for all of us, and a great thrill, as were the Barnacle Geese and Rock Doves. The sight of thousands of geese, on the ground and in the air, was simply breathtaking.

We hunted choughs, we hunted golden eagles, but to no avail. Perhaps the biggest gap in our record were sea ducks - in the time we were there the only things we managed to spot among the thrashing waves on Loch Indaal were two Redbreasted Mergansers - but I am sure a longer stay and some quieter weather would have rectified that.

For all that it is a beautiful island, with enormous birding potential. We found the perfect B&B, and the standard of catering around the island was superb.
I can recommend Islay to anyone wanting a special birding experience.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

Sounds like you did all right under the circumstances Dave. Shame about the Choughs and Golden Eagles - a good reason to return though. The seaduck on Loch Indaal can sometimes be surprisingly elusive, particularly in rough weather.

Andrew Whitehouse said:

Sounds like you did all right under the circumstances Dave. Shame about the Choughs and Golden Eagles - a good reason to return though. The seaduck on Loch Indaal can sometimes be surprisingly elusive, particularly in rough weather.

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Fortunately we saw choughs in Cornwall (Lizard Point) in 2003 - the year following the first return to that area - and eagles we have seen around Loch Awe, Loch Shiel and Kintail, so this wasn't a tragedy. Truth be told - I don't mind what I see, I just enjoy birding, and new sightings are simply a bonus. Thanks again for your help - it was invaluable.

I've attached a few photos of the trip.

No 1 - having a chat with a confiding, and very wet, mink at Kennacraig. He's busy scent-marking the rock with his chin.

No 2 - Barnacle Geese at Loch Gruinart - beautiful birds, and so many of them.

No 3 - White-fronted Geese, Loch Gruinart....plenty around, but fewer than Barnacle Geese

No 4 - Greylag Geese, Ardnave Peninsula....relatively scarce

No 5 - A male Hen Harrier quartering the moorland near Loch Gorm

A fabulous trip, thoroughly recommended.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

A few more Islay pictures.......

6 Wheatears were found wherever there was short grass with low perching places and sheep.

7 As in the Outer Hebrides, Lapwings were common, which, sadly, is no longer the case on the mainland.

8 When I was a child you never saw a Goldfinch. Now they're everywhere, even in a distillery. What are the lapwings and goldfinches telling us?

9 This youngster was sitting quietly in a gorse bush. Song thrushes, once so common, are now quite hard to find.

10 One of my favourite waders (because it's easy to identify), the Redshank brightens any wetland or coastline.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy