Isle of Islay Autumn Expedition - Oct 2024 by Theo

10th - Day 1

We all met at the Kennacraig ferry terminal, on boarding the Lord of the Isles we started off in West Loch Tarbert where we had Little Egrets, Black Guillemots, Eiders, Red-breasted Merganser and all 3 diver species in the bag with Red and Black-Throated and Great-Northern Diver all seen. Further out into the Sound of Jura we spotted 3-4 small pods of Harbour Porpoise and a very distant group of Common Dolphins along with Gannets, Razorbills, Guillemots and Kittiwakes. Into the Sound of Islay we saw our first Red Deer of the trip before spotting a pair of adult White-tailed Eagles (WTE) sat on the Jura headland.

Nearing Port Askaig we spotted another 2 adult WTE flying along the Jura coastline.Onto Islay we headed straight to a nearby freshwater Loch . On his first scan of the water Theo found an Adult male Ring-necked Duck feeding with Tufted Ducks, a scarce transatlantic visitor to Argyll waters, a great start! A few common ducks were also there along with Barnacle, Greenland White-fronted, Pink-footed and Greylag Geese. Onto Bridgend where 2 more adult WTE's were sat out on the mud, keeping an eye on the large flocks of newly arrived Barnacle Geese with a good number of common ducks and waders around also. Driving round to Loch Gruinart we had a ringtail Hen Harrier hunting roadside and briefly circling with a Common Buzzard. Onto the expansive Gruinart flats we found more Barnacle Geese, Lapwing, Golden Plovers and a few Shoveler in the roadside pools and Roe Deer out grazing.

In the late afternoon showers, we headed round the north side of Loch Gorm when a male Hen Harrier flew across a nearby field straight for the van and attempted to snatch a meadow pipit!We headed round to our base at Kilchoman house for the night, but not before an impromptu post dinner wander up to the church for a fantastical Aurora Borealis display! A fantastic start to the trip.

11th - Day 2

A wet and windy start to the day so we headed for the shelter of a local reserve, the journey was interrupted by 2 Adult WTE sitting on the moorland west of Loch Gorm, just before a big squall came in, with c60 Whooper Swans in the fields behind.Down at the hides we found Little Egrets and a distant juvenile WTE along with lots of common duck species and geese, a few Pintail and a single Black-tailed Godwit.

On leaving a ringtail Hen Harrier flew across the marsh.We headed for lunch at the centre. Before lunch Theo headed for a scour of the geese flocks and picked out the returning adult Red-Breasted Goose distantly in with the Barnies, a new bird for all the guests!! After lunch, we had a Peregrine, another ringtail HH, a flyby Grey Wagtail and a few Roe and Red deer from the centre, including a large stag. A drive down the central road produced very brief closer views of the Red-breasted Goose before heading to Ardnave.

A wander out over the dunes was very quiet with a few a black rabbits and a flyby ringtail HH the highlights. Heading back west to Kilchoman we had a lovely adult male HH flyby the van at Loch Gorm before heading down to Machir bay. A few Sanderling and Ringed Plover were on the beach and after missing them at Ardnave we spotted 3 Chough in with the Jackdaws which eventually came and fed on the beach. A fitting end to the day!

12th - Day 3

A wet and windy day beckoned and with low tide in the morning we headed over to the east side to look for Otters, sadly no joy but there was a few Redwings and a Bullfinch in the bushes, but the WT Eagles stole the show with 4 Juveniles and 2 adults across the sound on Jura feeding on a tideline carcass and then great flybys from at least 3 adults and 1 juvenile right by us!

We headed across to the shelter of the reserve centre for lunch finding a large flock of Golden Plover, a close male Hen Harrier and a PB Brent Goose in with the Barnies there. An afternoon down around the Rhinns peninsula in very high winds and stormy seas made birding a challenge, a few Grey seals eyeing us up in the bay at Portnahaven before a quiet drive round the moors. We had a second try for Otters on the west side of a central Loch with no luck, but had 4 late Swallows flying around and a few Red-throated Divers, Common Scoter and Eider out on the loch to end the day.

13th - Day 4

A much calmer day thankfully! We headed for a sea loch and stopped at a high view point, guest Steve instantly spotted an Otter, our first of the trip! And then another popped up nearby and both fished for a while before heading out. The calm seas allowed for a good check of the loch - Long-tailed Duck, Slavonian Grebe, A Scaup, Common Scoters, Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Brent Geese and a Peregrine appeared with prey. Next we headed down to the south of the Isle, spotting a few Fallow Deer on the way there.

On the walk out to the monument we found a few Twite in with the linnet on the fences before spotting 2 adult Golden Eagles perched on the skyline before a Juvenile flew up and circled before perching up by a parent, again our first of the trip! The feral goats were close to the paths, thankfully out of range to smell them! On leaving we spotted a Merlin on the roadside fence posts giving relatively close views before a 2nd Merlin flew in and joined it! Heading for lunch to Port Ellen, a Sparrowhawk flew by there.

Next onto the sands of Kinta Bay, a few Red-throated Divers and a Slavonian Grebe were offshore. Driving back north we stopped in at the River Sorn to try for Dipper but to our surprise a Kingfisher flew by! A scarcity in the Hebrides. Heading back to the house via Gruinart, an immature Golden Eagle flew low over the fences, startling the Barnie flock but unrewarded for its efforts.

14th: Day 5

On our way east we headed through Gruinart once again seeing a Black-tailed Godwit and a few common ducks in the floods before 3 WTE’s lifted from the mud, panicking the geese once again. A bit of change of plan for the last day saw us take an adventure to Jura. A short crossing on the Eilean Dhiura and not 10 mins into our time on Jura we were watching a female Otter and her large cub fishing close inshore with a ringtail Hen Harrier flying by behind us, a strong start!

Continuing on, there were Red Deer dotted all over the grass moorland. A scenic stop in Craighouse to visit the distillery and for a snack before heading further east up Jura. Further

down a Golden Eagle distantly soared by the paps with Buzzard and Kestrels closer to us. We rounded a corner in the van and 2 adult Golden Eagles coasted not 200m from the van, heads glistening in the sun! Slowed by the wind, we managed to jump out the van for a closer view. Heading back along for the ferry along the Sound of Islay coastline, a large dog Otter popped up fishing not far offshore.

We headed aboard the Finlaggan back to the mainland. Finishing with West Loch Tarbert from the boat we had another Otter, a few Great-Northern and Red-throated Divers, Black Guillemots and Little Egrets amongst other birds before Theo spotted 2 Great-crested Grebes, a surprisingly scarce bird in Argyll. We said our goodbyes at the terminal after a successful 5-day adventure.

Theo