Saturday, August 31, 2024
A day of summer at last - and so we went to sea! The ferry was a madhouse, with the decks remaining busy all the way across the Minch. The only sightings of interest going out were eleven Manx shearwaters flying together towards the bows - and a blow that Greger spotted and described as being tall and narrow (by the time I saw it, it was already disintegrating). Unfortunately we saw no other sign, so it was tantalising to think it could have been my first fin whale!
On the return journey, Greger was having a beer in the cafeteria when a whale was sighted. There was an immediate rush of people to the rails as the whale reappeared and splashed about in the water behind us. The consensus seemed to be that it was a fin whale. Meanwhile, I'd managed this shot as the animal dived.....
…..which seemed to me to show the dorsal fin of a humpback whale, while this I take to be the tail.
Something dark on the sea on the edge of a raft of auks appears to be a sooty shearwater.
Finally, yet another whale was seen distantly to the north; I managed only one image which could’ve been almost anything, but which I think might be, again, the tail of a humpback whale - or a rather odd pectoral fin. Dunno.
Also seen - a probable Arctic skua chasing kittiwakes, a couple of bonxies, several pods of common dolphins, and a handful of porpoises. As for the fin/humpback whale - was I perhaps seeing a different individual from everyone else, or have I got it wrong? I’ve researched online and found nothing to suggest the fin whale dives with quite such extreme arching of the back as the humpback, while the dorsal fin itself (as pictured) is surely more like the latter species than the former. I’d love to see a fin whale, and as far as I’m concerned I haven’t yet!
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
A solitary sooty shearwater (seen very briefly) was the sighting of the day on my latest round trip to Stornoway.
On the return trip I spotted a whale's blow - but it was distant and wasn't repeated. Nearing the Summer Isles, good views were had of the cruise ship Regal Princess as it crossed our path heading north.
Back in Ullapool, as we edged into dock and I waved to Greger who'd kindly come to give me a lift home, a group of wildlife watchers/birders spotted a white-winger flying past; it landed on the terminal roof and a debate ensued about whether it was a true glaucous gull. Mention was made of the grey/brown in the primary feathers, and the general consensus seemed to be that it was a viking gull. I kept quiet, agreeing with the ID but wondering if it was the usual viking; it seemed quite at home, but that's hardly scientific!
Where does it go over the summer months, and what does it do? Does it breed - and if so, with what? A herring gull or a glaucous gull? The only other bird of note was a small passerine flying parallel with the ferry on the first leg; a useless pic shows a brown bird - possibly a meadow pipit.
Thursday, August 22, 2024
A windy but sometimes sunny day on the east coast brought distant views of bottlenose dolphins at Chanonry Point (a madhouse, where we had to queue for a parking space) and some Sandwich terns among the commons. Crossing to Cromarty we saw loads of terns in a feeding frenzy, and groups of guillemots and razorbills on the water.
Udale Bay, still at highish tide, held oystercatchers, mergansers, greylag and Canada geese, lapwings, common terns, and a ruddy shelduck.
This is not a "tickable" species in the UK, as the ruddy shelduck is a popular bird for private collections, ornamental lakes, etc, with escaping birds counted as feral. I'm not sure the pair we saw in Gran Canaria was genuinely wild, either. I sometimes use the word tick as shorthand for a new bird, but I don't really like reducing birds to ticks; I don't tick lists, either of birds or of hill walks - I build up my own lists. Ticking (or even worse, "ticking off") sounds as though you're disposing of the bird or the mountain - and who wants to do that? Meanwhile, this duck - a warm splash of colour amid all the grey and white gulls - came as a surprise and was certainly nice to see.
Sunday, August 18, 2024
The great black-backed gull was feeding on what looked like a small spotted cat shark (lesser spotted dogfish) on the beach at Poolewe.
At least twelve common terns were fishing close in to the shore on this very windy day. My poor shot of a juvenile common tern will remind me of two ID features - the dark leading edge of the wing (also called a carpal bar, I think) and the dark line on the secondaries.
Yesterday: Four knot were among dunlins on the River Raa at Achnahaird, seen distantly from the lay-by.
At least four turnstones (two adults) were also present.
A scatter of sanderlings included both adult and juvenile birds - and there was a single redshank. We've just come back from our first visit to the Ythan Estuary on the east coast, near Aberdeen. We enjoyed exploring this vast site, but the bird interest lay mostly in large flocks of redshanks and lapwings, with a few greenshanks - but Sandwich terns are always nice to see and I got an unexpected first for the year in a whitethroat. Today, despite a ferocious wind being forecast, the longing to see some migrants drew me out to Coigach, where these waders made a good start to my "autumn migration".
Friday, August 09, 2024
Yesterday: Four great northern divers were spotted from Achnahaird. One was in breeding plumage, the others were probably juveniles.
On the drive out, I spotted a red-throated diver and its chick on one of the lochs, and snapped them from a passing place.
My first juvenile dunlin of the year was on the sand at Badentarbat together with at least two adults; and a flash of white on the far side of Loch Raa turned out this time to be a heron. There was activity round the nesting site of colletes bees on the low cliffs near Achnahaird beach. I've also recently seen these bees (at least, I presume they're the same species) feeding on heather near the masts at the Braes - probably on the same day (6th August) that I spotted a crossbill, again in spruce.
The bird appears to be a little streaky - so maybe a young one; but although it seemed to be looking down now and then, I couldn't see any other crossbills feeding on the cones below.
Monday, August 05, 2024
On a recent visit to the eternal bogs I lost my car key. Greger came to the rescue, finding the spare key in my bedside drawer and driving up to the Braes to deliver it. The following day we walked my route again; we couldn't find the key - but we did hear crossbill calls, and then saw one flying over. Still hoping for an azure hawker as well as another northern emerald, I returned this afternoon but failed to find either of the dragonflies or the lost key. Blast! It'll cost £89 to get a new one cut at Timpson; I wouldn't mind if the car was newish, but it might conk out forever this year and, unless I lose the key again, that'll be £89 wasted.
Meanwhile, a common hawker, landing on a pine trunk in the sun.....
.....and a handful of crossbills in the distance (with some brief singing) were ample compensation.
It was nice to know the crossbills were still around.
Thursday, August 01, 2024
A sparkling though windy day at sea brought nothing special on the outward trip apart from a couple of Manx shearwaters. On the return journey, we sailed past a large flock of terns - maybe 70 to 100 individuals.
Most of them were adults, and they were possibly Arctic terns; this appears to be a juvenile.
A little while later, at about ten to three, a huge splash far to the north near a fishing boat alerted us to the presence of a whale.
This turned out to be a humpback; it breached several times, so I zoomed out to cover more sea and managed to catch a record shot.
Greger then pointed out a second whale behind us, and at much the same distance. I caught a splash (with the cliffs of Lewis in the background).....
.....and a fin!
The only skuas seen were two bonxies, and a white-tailed eagle was spotted high above the Summer Isles.
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