BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="3Italianbirders" data-source="post: 3608060" data-attributes="member: 116922">June 22North Uist, South UistAs usual, we start the day with a drive along the Committee Road. As we reach the end of it we realise that we have left my phone back at our accommodation, so we do a u-turn and soon we spot something perched on a hillock some 500 yards from the road, mobbed by some Lapwings. The something turns out to be a Golden Eagle, which we watch at leisure for a while. Our destination today is the Loch Druidibeg - Loch Sgioport area in South Uist, where we hope to see more eagles. Unfortunately there is a low cloud cover and a slight drizzle, not really bird of prey weather. We do see a few kestrels and more Hen Harriers and SE Owls on the way there and back though, and the scenery at the end of the road in Loch Sgioport is breathtaking. On the way home we stop AGAIN at Ardivachar Point for the gulls, then just a few miles from Lochmaddy in a small loch by the side of the road we stop for a drenched looking Whooper Swan. The wind is howling by the time we get back and we hope that our ferry back to the mainland the following morning will not be cancelled.June 23Lochmaddy - Skye - OnichWe say goodbye to our hosts and, soon after having turned onto the main road, we see a White-tailed Eagle sitting on the edge of the loch by the road, A few minutes and several hundred photos later, it takes off, only to land again a short distance away. A fantastic farewell to the Western Isles! The ferry crossing is less eventful than the other two, despite the gale-force winds (we’ll learn that the next day the ferries will be cancelled) but still enjoy our last look at the ocean. We dock at Uig, have lunch in Portree and then drive through Skye towards the mainland. Unfortunately we don’t have time to stop anywhere other than for a few photos of the mind-boggling scenery as it’s a long way to our B&B near Fort William, where we’ll spend the night. June 24Onich- PitlochryGordon Hamlett had recommended a pit stop at Creag Meagaidh on our way from Fort William to Pitlochry, and this is where, on a very windy morning and between showers, we stop. Unfortunately we don’t have time for any of the longer walks, but a few steps from the car park to the feeding station at the start of one of the paths provide enough entertainment: between the siskins and the chaffinches there are several Redpolls, showing off their bright red patches when a ray of sunshine between the clouds hits them.Our next stop is Killiecrankie, where we take a brief walk in the luxuriant greenery but fail to see any new species. We still have over an hour to spend before we can check in at our B&B just outside Pitlochry, so we drive around some tiny woodland roads in the neighbourhood, with the windows down to make sure we don’t miss any “strange” calls. Sure enough after a while we hear the unmistakable call of a Bullfinch: and there it is, a female with fledglings, hopping about in the lower branches beside the road. But the Bullfinch show it’s not over: turning into the drive of our B&B, we hear the call again: this time it’s a splendid male, foraging in the undergrowth. Bingo! This is a perfect way to end our birding holiday, so we decide to relax, have an early dinner and pack our belongings in preparation for the drive to Edinburgh the next day and our flight home.June 25EdinburghWe drop off the car, check in our hotel and take the tram into town. No binoculars. We do the tourist things, and return to the hotel in time for an early dinner, since we have to get up at 3am the following morning.</blockquote>

Verification