Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Yesterday: Despite a mixed weather forecast, Greger suggested a pelagic - and in fact we had a fine day at sea, a bit windy but dry throughout and sometimes sunny. The trip out brought goodish numbers of auks and kittiwakes, quite a few fulmars, and several adult and immature gannets. A pair of buzzards circled over Rubha Thuilm (headland of the rounded hillock, I think) as we approached Stornoway harbour - where they still haven't fixed the pedestrian walkway.
Going back Greger spotted both a solitary Manx shearwater.....
.....and a skua as it flew low over the water, converging with the ferry.
Three rubbish pics - but they'll help me remember why this was an Arctic skua. Otherwise - it was a poor trip for wildlife. Greger had a glimpse of dolphins, but neither of us spotted any whale activity, while a small passerine could not be identified (I had the feeling that we shouldn't really look at such birds through our bins, as this might deter them from making a possibly life-saving landing on the ferry). Back in Ullapool harbour, a white winger was heckled briefly by a herring gull. It might have been the usual viking - I was too tired to investigate.
