Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Greger snapped the view back into Loch Broom as we sailed out on the ferry, hoping that we would leave that atmospheric but dreary weather behind.
At Stornoway, the turnaround was exceptionally quick - we'd hardly sat down in the terminal before we were called to board again; and fortunately the journey back was a little better. For one thing, it was quite a bit brighter, and we began to see a few things of interest. Greger pointed out a bird skimming over the waves near the wake of the ferry, which looked oddly like a small falcon. Only one of my wild, wide-angled shots caught it - too poor to be of much use. A mystery bird.
A huge cruise ship was seen on the horizon, which I've since identified as the Celebrity Silhouette. (While researching it, I clicked on a P&O website; advertising one of their cruises, they promise Scottish wildlife - with an accompanying photo of a Highland cow.)
A tern flew directly over us and I responded yet again by grabbing an unsatisfactory shot. Dunno. Common or Arctic, maybe.
But I'm pleased with this even worse picture because I reckon it just about proves the bird to be our first sooty shearwater.
Approaching Ullapool again, we could see that the camp-site was pretty packed - and Greger said he got a glimpse of the road into the site, where several more camper-vans were queueing. It's a pity it's not better weather for them.
// posted by Christine @ 2:25 PM 
