Christine's walking & birds blog

Maybe one day I'll learn that a weather forecast for Ullapool doesn't necessarily bear any relation to what's happening out on the Minch. Mind you, it's got a lot to do with where you choose to do your sea-watching from on the ferry. My favourite place has become the short rail on the upper deck, in front of the funnel and facing north. Today it really caught the wind - the other side was much calmer!

A few pairs of puffins, three or four razorbills, a larger numbers of guillemots, and a handful of gannets were all I could manage on the way out. Stornoway harbour could offer no common terns, but did produce an overflying heron, a black guillemot, a pair of red-throated divers, and the usual hooded crow that swoops in to hoover up any crumbs on the deck. As we glided back out to sea, I spotted a white-winger flying up onto a rusty pole.

It's not the regular viking because the bill is pink with a black tip - but of course it could easily be a different viking. The bill looks a bit small for a glaucous but I think the tertial step and short primary projection argue against Iceland. I'll just have to leave it at that, because I really haven't a clue.

As the birds were rubbish, I concentrated very hard on the sea in an area some way out from a distant lighthouse, hoping for another sighting of Risso's dolphins. A man with binoculars asked me if I could see if there was something just out from the land and I said it was probably waves crashing on the rocks. I don't know why I said that. After all, I now know that this is Tiumpan Head, a well-known spot for whale- and dolphin-watching. Anyway, I took a few optimistic pics but I'm none the wiser. Are they whale blows or breaches or the leaping of large dolphins?

A lift home was very welcome as I was absolutely exhausted.