Return to Islay (1 Viewer)

For those that don't know, Islay is a large island off the west coast of Scotland and is one of the finest places for wildlife in Britain. I lived in Islay for a year and a half, so a trip back there is something of a homecoming for me. Below is a report of the birds and other wildlife I saw on a recent six day trip.

Day One: 28th March

I left Aberdeen by train at 5:30 in the morning and connected with the bus for the three and a half hour ride from Glasgow to the ferry terminal at Kennecraig. The ferry runs out through the thin West Loch Tarbert and across the Sound of Gigha. At this time of the year it's often good for divers and other seafowl and I managed to count 19 Great-northern Divers and 6 Red-throateds, along with a few smart looking Black Guillemots and a Little Grebe. Rather more notable was a Black-throated Diver close to the ferry in the loch. The sea between the mainland and Islay was rather devoid of seabirds aside from a few auks but, as the ferry drew up the Sound of Islay, I was delighted to see a Golden Eagle drifting along the heather-clad hills over the island - the first time I've ever seen an eagle from the ferry. I even managed a brief glimpse of an Otter in the as it dived under, flicking its tail upwards as it went.

I got the bus from Port Askaig in the east of Islay and into Bowmore in the centre, the island's capital. Flocks of Greenland White-fronted and Barnacle Geese were strewn across many of the fields. I met up with a friend in Bowmore and we drove around Loch Indaal, the large sealoch that cuts through the centre of the island, stopping to look for birds on the way. A Purple Sandpiper was on the rocky shore and on the mudflats at Bridgend there were 3 first winter Iceland Gulls, showing up even at some distance. A large flock of Scaup was offshore at Blackrock, a little further around the coast and it was just possible to pick out a distant group of 6 Slavonian Grebes, which looked to be coming into breeding plumage.

We stopped briefly at the RSPB reserve at Loch Gruinart and scanned the floods from the roadside viewing platform. A drake Green-winged Teal - a bird that almost always seems to be present here during the winter time - was picked out resting on the far bank of the floods. On the drive up the road to Ardnave a male Hen Harrier danced over the moorland to the side of the road.

Day Two: 29th March

In the morning I headed up the road to Ardnave, a sandy peninsula that lies adjacent to the mouth of Loch Gruinart. There were plenty of Wheatears about in the dunes and along the beach and they seemed to be enjoying the sunny conditions. On the shallow loch were a few Tufted Ducks and Goldeneye and Lapwings, Redshanks and Oystercatchers were calling and displaying around the shoreline. Ardnave is a good place for one of Islay's specialities, the Chough, and a few pairs were drifting about the old farm buildings calling. On the dunes large flocks of Barnacle Geese were sheltering and these harboured a single small Canada Goose. This was a particularly small and rather dark bird, somewhat smaller than most of the Barnacles. A loud bugling alerted me to two Whooper Swans flying north. On the walk back a Merlin darted about the roadside before flying off and perching on the moor with a prey item, probably a Meadow Pipit, which it proceeded to pick to pieces on the heather.

Over lunch, another first winter Iceland Gull was seen, drifting over the fields in front of the house.

The afternoon saw me back down at the Gruinart floods where I was amazed to find that the closest Teal to the hide was the drake Green-winged, which performed incredibly well for some time, chasing about with a female, before flying further away.

Later we took a speculative drive over to Machir Bay, a beautiful area of beach and dunes on the far west coast of Islay. There were plenty of Wheatears here too, and a few Twite feeding amongst the spilled silage. This is perhaps the best place to see large numbers of Chough and several were around, picking through the cow dung (see picture). Five years ago I'd seen a Ring-billed Gull here and one has been quite regular since then, although not so far this winter. That was all to change when I managed to pick a fine adult out from amongst the gull flock loafing on the shallow pool at the southern end of the dunes. We watched it here for some time before it flew back towards the car park. There we were able to watch it at close range as it strutted about a field with Common Gulls. I was really struck by how thick-set and heavy-chested it looked, almost pear-shaped from front on. A couple who were camping on the beach were so impressed they even made us a cup of tea on their campfire.

We drove back very happy with our find and checked through the huge flocks of geese that were scattered through the fields to the north of Loch Gorm.

Day Three: 30th March

Wednesday was much cloudier but there was less wind so we decided to have a look on Loch Indaal. On the way we stopped to look through the gulls at the head of Loch Gruinart and came across another first winter Iceland Gull.

Our first stop on Loch Indaal was at Blackrock, which provides a good high point from which to overlook the sea. From here we could see 3 rather distant Long-tailed Ducks and at least 16 Slavonian Grebes, some of which were quite close into the shore. The flock of Scaup were just off the beach, much closer in than they usually are.

At Bowmore there were 6 more Slavonian Grebes and 4 Whooper Swans were swimming about by the distillery with a lone Mute Swan. The most impressive sighting was of a single Black-throated Diver out on the loch - quite a rare bird in Islay.

We then travelled just south of Bowmore to Gartbreck, one of my favourite spots on the island. For once there was nothing unusual amongst the gulls and the Ravens at the rubbish dump but a very smart Merlin dashed over the fields and landed briefly on a telegraph wire. It looked slightly blue above and orange underneath so was presumably a young male. Along the shore were 2 Grey Plovers and a Greenshank was heard calling. On Loch Indaal were decent numbers of Red-throated and Great-northern Divers, together with some frustratingly distant groups of Common Scoter. Perhaps the most impressive sight was a stubble field full of passerines, mostly Skylarks, Linnets and Twite. As with much of the wildlife in Islay, this presented a sight that must once have been familiar throughout the country. As we drove off a big ringtail Hen Harrier drifted low across the road.

What a wonderful read Andrew...the pix were cracking too!
TVM..you lucky chap you!!

Green with envy Dave.

Day Four: 31st March

Thursday was again rather cloudy and cool and I headed for the hills in the eastern part of the island. In the marshy areas there were plenty of Lapwings and Curlews displaying, along with a few Redshank and Snipe. A Yellowhammer, a localised species in Islay, was seen by the roadside, a flock of Fieldfares were along a rocky outcrop in a field and some Wheatears had already made it up to sing around the sheep folds. Brief views were had of a male Hen Harrier and the only Kestrel of the trip was hovering over one of the green valleys. Despite being in the same area where I'd seen an eagle from the ferry, I failed to locate one this time. The lochs in the Sorn Valley held a few waterfowl including a single Coot, quite a scarce vistitor to Islay, and a pair of summer plumaged Red-throated Divers.

On the way back I stopped off at Bridgend where large numbers of gulls were gathering on the mud flats. Amongst them, rather inevitably, was an Iceland Gull. This time it was a second winter that was already developing a greyish saddle. A Sparrowhawk was startled from the bushes and 24 Pintail were counted out in the muddy channels.

Then I wended my way home from the main road across the Loch Gruinart flats. A Hen Harrier was seen briefly before disappearing behind a ridge and a Snipe was displaying over the large bog at the southern end of the flats. Within a flock of a few hundred Barnacle Geese at Coullabus were three Canada Geese. These varied in size, with one bird larger than the other two. All seemed to show a dark chin strap and were rather dark overall. Some people like to asign these Canadas to races but I find the whole situation rather confusing. I don't think these birds could easily be categorised as far as I could tell from the literature.

A quick stop at the Loch Gruinart floods didn't produce the Green-winged Teal but a Black-tailed Godwit was new in amongst the numerous roosting ducks. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew low over the water, only startling a few Teal as it went.

Andrew, I enjoyed reading about your trip and looking at the great pictures.

Wishing I were there!

Day Five: 1st April

Friday morning was the only rainy spell during my visit, so I sat things out for the morning. Distraction was provided by a small and rather pale Canada Goose that spent the morning in front of the house (see pictures). I was also able to read the leg rings on a few of the accompanying Barnacle Geese.

The rain cleared up around midday and the wind eased to barely a breath. We decided to head back to Loch Indaal where the calm conditions should prove good for counting birds on the sea. So it proved, as we stopped at various points along the loch to be confronted with huge shoals of divers, auks and seaduck. Eventually we managed to count 215 (Two hundred and fifteen) Great-northern Divers, 50 Red-throated Divers, 132 Common Scoters, 20 Slavonian Grebes, 7 Long-tailed Duck and 202 Scaup. We didn't get round to counting the many Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers, Goldeneye, Razorbills, Guillemots and Black Guillemots that were amongst them. 15 Whooper Swans were going north low over the water but a bigger surprise was an Arctic Skua, which headed purposefully out of the loch, only pausing to harry a passing Kittiwake. In the distance, two more Iceland Gulls could be seen on the mud at Bridgend.

Back at the house, the Canada Goose was still present and a second winter Iceland Gull (perhaps the same bird I'd seen the day before at Bridgend) appeared amongst a gull flock that was picking its way through a neighbouring field.

That evening was one of those remarkably serene and still west Highland evenings where sounds and light seem more powerful than usual, so I talk a walk down to the floods. In a darkened barn by the roadside I saw (thanks to a tip off) a roosting Tawny Owl perched on the rafters. The Green-winged Teal was again seen roosting on the floods and a few Redwing were calling from the roadside scrub. As dusk fell, vast skeins of Barnacle Geese headed over from all directions to roost on the mud flats and smaller numbers of Greenland White-fronts put down on the floods, their shrill musical calls standing out from the sharp, yapping of the Barnacles.

I waited by the barn until darkness fell, with the noise of geese and drumming Snipe in the background, to see if a Barn Owl would show. When it was almost too dark to see a hoarse, indrawn shriek was heard and a shape was seen briefly as it flew from the back of the barn. Although the sound was unequivocal the shape was impossible to identify so I still await my first view of Islay's incredibly nocturnal Barn Owls.

Day Six: 2nd April

Huge numbers of Barnacle Geese were up in the fields by the Ardnave road but there was no sign of yesterday's Canada Goose amongst them, as we paused to look on the way to Bowmore. The only Pink-footed Goose of the trip was at Bridgend and two pale-bellied Brent Geese were by the ferry terminal at Port Ellen. Once again there were few seabirds between Islay and the mainland but there were good numbers of divers on West Loch Tarbert and the Sound of Gigha.

Below is a list of the 110 species I recorded, either in Islay or from the ferry:

Red-throated Diver
Black-throated Diver
Great-northern Diver
Little Grebe
Slavonian Grebe
Fulmar
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan
Greylag Goose
Greenland White-fronted Goose
Pink-footed Goose
Barnacle Goose
Canada Goose
Brent Goose
Shelduck
Mallard
Wigeon
Eurasian Teal
Green-winged Teal
Pintail
Gadwall
Shoveler
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Scaup
Eider
Common Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Buzzard
Golden Eagle
Sparrowhawk
Hen Harrier
Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine
Pheasant
Moorhen
Coot
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Golden Plover
Grey Plover
Lapwing
Knot
Sanderling
Purple Sandpiper
Dunlin
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
Curlew
Redshank
Greenshank
Common Snipe
Turnstone
Arctic Skua
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Iceland Gull
Kittiwake
Guillemot
Razorbill
Black Guillemot
Rock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Tawny Owl
Skylark
Meadow Pipit
Rock Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Wheatear
Stonechat
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Fieldfare
Redwing
Goldcrest
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Treecreeper
Chough
Jackdaw
Rook
Hooded Crow
Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Twite
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting

And the following mammals:

Red Deer
Roe Deer
Brown Hare
Rabbit
Otter
Bat sp.
Grey Seal
Common Seal

Andrew, I noticed that the photo of the Chough shows a white ring on right leg and a green ring on the left leg. It is a common practice to ring Choughs in Scotland?

The Canada Goose you repeatedly saw might be one of four smaller forms which have been split recently from Canada Goose to the full species of Cackling Goose. Would this be a possibility?

I am not certain if the BOU has split the previously "one" species Canada Goose, but the AOU and ABA here in the states have.

Hi Larry,

A lot of the Choughs in Islay have been colour-ringed over the years as part of various studies. They're probably one of the most intensively studied populations of birds in the UK and it's actually quite hard to find individuals that aren't ringed!

As for the Canada Geese, I think the bird in the photo has been identified by some as a Richardson's Canada (hutchinsii). Most of the Canadas that turn up in Islay are at the smaller end of the spectrum, although there are some that approximate to the medium-sized Lesser Canadas (parvipes). It seems to me (and others) that it's rather hard to assign vagrants to any particular form, particularly given the clinal nature of Canada Geese and the increasing frequency of integrades between forms. I think the current BOU position is characteristically cautious, in this case probably justified.

Hey Andrew,

Sounds like a brilliant week. I think that the pale neck ring at the base of the black is probably why it's been specifically labelled Richardson's, but I'm not sure how much of a clincher that is...

When I saw you'd been to Islay I wondered if it was you stringing that White-billed Diver from the ferry to Kennacraig By the way, have you ever been to Jura? Does it get Geese? It's so close to Islay and a big place that I wonder if it's an untapped island...

Great report which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Thanks for sharing that, I too enjoyed Scottish birds last week and felt good reading your reports. Inspiration to get cracking on my report soon.

Very envious of the Tawny Owl!

tom mckinney said:

Hey Andrew,

Sounds like a brilliant week. I think that the pale neck ring at the base of the black is probably why it's been specifically labelled Richardson's, but I'm not sure how much of a clincher that is...

When I saw you'd been to Islay I wondered if it was you stringing that White-billed Diver from the ferry to Kennacraig By the way, have you ever been to Jura? Does it get Geese? It's so close to Islay and a big place that I wonder if it's an untapped island...

Click to expand...

No it wasn't me stringing the White-billed Diver - not that I'd ever string anything of course . It was seen the day before I went back on the ferry and I only found out about it when I got back. Must be some around that area though.

Despite having spent a year and a half living in Islay and visiting on many other occasions, I've never actually set foot on Jura. It is, after all, an arduous five minute ferry journey. Jura is mostly mountain and moorland with little in the way of the agricultural land that is so good in Islay. It has a few good breeding species (e.g. Arctic Skua) and a few geese occasionally but there's not the same variety of habitats as Islay. That said it's undoubtedly underwatched and I'm sure would be an interesting place to explore. The very paucity of habitats probably means that any migrants will be fairly concentrated.

Nice one Andrew! Sounds like that was a worthwhile trip. I am running a trip next year with Anser UK at around the same time. I am looking forward to it.

Excellent report Andrew, complimented really well with your photographs.

It has really wetted my appetite as I am going to Nethybridge for a week on April 23rd then onto Skye (where I have never been before) from April 30th to May 7th.

I hope I have a holiday as good as yours and certainly some of those birds you got would be most welcome on my year list.

Andrew Whitehouse said:

Hi Larry,

As for the Canada Geese, I think the bird in the photo has been identified by some as a Richardson's Canada (hutchinsii). Most of the Canadas that turn up in Islay are at the smaller end of the spectrum, although there are some that approximate to the medium-sized Lesser Canadas (parvipes). It seems to me (and others) that it's rather hard to assign vagrants to any particular form, particularly given the clinal nature of Canada Geese and the increasing frequency of integrades between forms. I think the current BOU position is characteristically cautious, in this case probably justified.

Click to expand...

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for your replies to my queries.

The whole Canada/Cackling Goose complex is really just that "complex"! I am not certain where the taxonomists are headed with this, but your points are well taken. We get several of the different forms here in Missouri and the small version which we regularly get is the Richardson's (one of the four smaller forms which have been given the species name of Cackling Goose). I have read some of the literature on this recent species split and ended up giving myself a headache! It got rather involved!

Hi,

Your great posts reminded me of the first organized birding trip I ever went on, before I came across "The Pond" to Canada - it was a week in Islay in October 1976, when I was just getting into birding. I went with Ornitholidays, and we got 77 species. Many were new for me then. We had 3 Horned (Shore) Larks, which our leader at the time thought might be new for the Island. I loved the overall atmosphere, the celtic crosses, and the whisky, as well as the birds. At that time of year the large flocks of Barnacle and White-fronted Geese were arriving, and for me the real highlight was great views of my "life" Golden Eagle. We had agreed that the first person to see a Golden Eagle would have to write up the trip list in the hotel log. It was me, so somewhere in an old ledger in the Bowmore Hotel is a species account of that trip in my then even more immature but more legible handwriting.

Richard

Great to hear about your visit Richard. Islay's certainly a place that lingers in the memory (except maybe if you overdo the whisky!). I suspect those Shore Larks still represent the only record for Islay so you did well there.

A fine trip, Andrew, and an enjoyable read, especially as I saw hundreds of those Islay Barnacle Geese and Greenland White-fronts yesterday here in southern Iceland. Was there a Red-breasted Geese with the Barnacles this year, do you know? I don't remember reading about it the British birding mags.

E