Christine's walking & birds blog

A lull in the stormy autumn weather, coinciding with the Isle of Lewis standing in for the Loch Seaforth, prompted us to go for yet another pelagic. We saw a few dolphins from the observation lounge before we'd even left Ullapool. Still lingering "indoors", Greger spotted and I managed to snap through glass, seventeen whooper swans flying high on a south-easterly bearing.

Before going back on deck, we called in at the Coffee Cabin and had a slice of their very nice raspberry and coconut cake each, Greger with his usual black coffee, me with a comforting hot chocolate. Thus fortified, we returned to the field of battle!

Greger's good as spotting things, and he would call out whenever he saw a bird; it was just unfortunate that there was nothing unusual (and very little that was usual, come to that!) to be seen. Dolphins were once again much in evidence, and I snapped away at them, although I knew the shots were rubbish and would probably all end up in the bin.

In one small pod (at 15.25 - one hour from Stornoway) the animals were extremely active, leaping and splashing at some distance to the south. I felt they were different from common dolphins, and when I had a quick look at one picture through the viewfinder, I thought I could detect a whitish flash or wavy stripe along the animal's flank. I've had this before though, where white "marks" turn out to be just foam or spray from the disturbed sea - but on the other hand, I couldn't make out the distinctive hourglass pattern of the common dolphin. I kept thinking of white-sided dolphin, but having blown up the poor pictures at home and done some research, I'm pretty confident that these were white-beaked dolphins.

This, we agreed, was to be our last pelagic of the year. Still, I s'pose we can always change our minds!    

// posted by Christine @ 11:34 AM 0 comments

The Met Office continues to frustrate with forecasts that promise fair, calm weather for the following day and then, on the morning of that day, change it to probable rain and strong winds. I know they often get the weather right, but just lately, for this area anyway, they're getting it wrong fairly often.

The forecast for tomorrow was also good, so should we just wait a day? But what if that, too, changed by tomorrow morning? In the end, we decided to go on the ferry as planned; and under a dark sky threatening rain I walked down to the harbour while Greger diverted to Tesco to buy a newspaper.

While still among the Summer Isles and before we reached Priest Island, I was following a gull flying up the loch when I spotted just below it a tiny bird darting about over the surface of the water. "Petrel!" Greger got onto it but we both then lost it and there was no chance of a pic. The bird had a markedly black-and-white appearance so I'll put it down as a storm petrel.

We had passed under at least two bands of slightly spitting cloud on the way out, and when we reboarded the ferry at Stornoway it was quite definitely raining - so we sat for a while in the area between the coffee shop and the children's play-room. Given the number of children on board, I think it must be half-term - and what with them, scolding parents, and two hysterically barking dogs, the noise was terrific! After a while, feeling slightly battered, I went up; and when Greger joined me later he was amused to see that I was entirely alone. Bliss.

// posted by Christine @ 2:11 PM 0 comments

Greger, having received his card for ChargePlace Scotland (enabling him to use other chargers than Tesla's own), wanted to try it out at Knockan Crag. I said I'd go with him for the ride and to look for possible migrants in the trees there. Having successfully plugged in, we walked a short way up the trail and I spotted what looked like a chunky bird on a treetop in the small conifer plantation that surrounds a house down near the road. It was a male crossbill - the first crossbill I've seen here.

She disappeared, and quite a long time passed before a male bird briefly showed.

// posted by Christine @ 11:23 AM 0 comments

Yesterday: The ferry was late getting into Ullapool because of a medical emergency onboard; but with what seemed like less than a full load we were soon on our way. The coastguard helicopter, which had landed on the now empty camp-site, took off as we rounded the point. It was a beautiful day and the visibility was good, but we searched in vain for shearwaters. At Stornoway, a cruise liner new to us was in the dock - bit of a different design from the usual ones, and we couldn't decide if it looked old-fashioned, or futuristic.

There was whale activity on the return journey, but of a fragmentary nature. We saw a couple of blows, and Greger had a brief glimpse of an actual body but not enough to say what it was. A bit later I spotted some disturbance in the water not too far off, and called out, only to see two white, black-bordered flukes of a great tail rise above the surface and instantly slip down again. Greger missed it, and so did others around us. It was a super thing to see and I wish I hadn't been the only one to see it - but it happened in the blink of an eye, and the whale didn't reappear.  

There was quite a bit of dolphin activity, though I failed to get any decent shots; I include this photo because I like the texture of the water.

// posted by Christine @ 2:01 PM 0 comments

Two Slavonian grebes were at Ardmair, closer to Isle Martin than to the campsite spit - although later they drifted slowly into Loch Kanaird past the fish farm.

Both features seem to run north-west to south-east. Down on the hydro track, I heard pink-footed geese in the distance and around 130 of them flew over me - also going south-east.

A bird flying past and landing on rocks nearby didn't strike me as a curlew....

 .....and if I was in any doubt, the lovely stuttering trill as it flew off again confirmed that this was a whimbrel.

// posted by Christine @ 11:23 AM 0 comments

 🎵 "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" (U2).....

.....and it isn't for want of trying. Several times I've driven out to Achnahaird, been over east, sailed on the ferry - hoping for waders and shearwaters, in places and at times I've seen them before. Result - next to nothing. So when Greger suggested a pelagic for today I immediately agreed (surely shearwater numbers would be building by now?) and off we went.

On the trip out, Greger pointed to a flock of c25 birds flying in the distance which he thought could be Manx shearwaters. I had reservations, but I think maybe he was right. If so, they were the only shearwaters we saw. The best thing about the first leg was a number of whale blows out to the north, where the horizon was shimmering in a sort of heat haze. The blows were terrific, and we're fairly sure that one or two of them were those of fin whales.

At Stornoway, the old faithful flew in and landed on the "rigging" to check the deck below for crumbs.

On the return trip, an Arctic (pretty sure of this) skua flew alongside the boat.

Last night I cheered up when I went out to look at the supermoon, although I wasn't intending to wait up for the partial eclipse; and as I stood admiring it, there came from over the back wall the lovely sound of a male tawny owl. In the ten years we've lived here, we've heard tawnies from the house on just a few occasions, usually in autumn or towards the end of the year. Then I heard a scratching sort of sound, and fetched a torch. Walking carefully round the bungalow I saw a rounded dark hump that didn't belong there, and went back inside to tell Greger we had a hedgehog which he could see from the bedroom window. This again, is by no means an annual occurrence, so we were quite excited. And as I went to close the back door, the sharp call of a female tawny came from the neighbour's garden. I stood there for a while, hoping to see one of the owls in flight - but had to give up in the end. Finally, I walked into the bathroom to see the first large spider of the autumn on the floor. He fitted neatly into the plastic beaker I keep for the purpose, and with a thin piece of cardboard slid underneath I carried him out to the porch and let him go. I suppose that's three species of wildlife for the evening - although I can't say the third one brought me the same joy as the other two!

// posted by Christine @ 11:35 AM 0 comments

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.....

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.

// posted by Christine @ 4:07 AM 0 comments