Islay and Jura, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. October 25.

 

Islay & Jura.

Please note: There are software issues with Blogspot so I am unable to caption the images. I will however try put any titles in the text. 

I booked myself on a Naturetrek tour as a client instead of a leader and enjoyed a fantastic week touring around Islay & Jura in the Inner Hebrides in the company of a friendly group and leaders Neil and David.

They were both incredibly knowledgeable about the area and the wildlife. Both were birders and helped all of the group gain more understanding of both the migrants and the residential birds using the islands.

After a 10 hour train ride from Cornwall to Glasgow we were picked up at Paisley Gilmour Station and whisked off to the ferry terminal at Kennacraig.

We arrived at the Bridgend Hotel on Islay mid evening having eaten well aboard the ferry.

The weather forecast was not looking good for our stay but as so often happens on islands the wind blew the clouds away and we had quite a good week, a few showers but only once did I need to don my waterproof trousers!

Anyway this blog is about my photography so I’ll post a lot of photos and try to make some notes on where I took them etc.

 

 The ferry from Kennacraig. 

 

On our first day we went to RSPB Loch Gruinart where we walked on to the Ardnave peninsula. 

Here we were treated to unrivalled views of the Loch and also out toward the Nave island and the Atlantic Ocean.

We saw choughs, skylarks, linnets, both meadow and rock pipits but the birds of the day were certainly White-tailed Eagles. A distant juvenile was spotted down on the sand bar but a long way off. However when we settled at the peninsula beach to watch Common Seals and eat our lunch we had the most amazing fly pasts from 3 individual eagles. Initially a single bird and a while later 2 more flying together. They were powering into quite a gale and came very close to where we were. 

 

 A juvenile White-tailed Eagle on the tidal flats of Loch Gruinart

 Adult White-tailed Eagles

 

 Fly pasts by a Grey Heron & a Chough

 The RSPB visitor centre is located at the head of the Loch and this looks out over the fields that were inundated with huge flocks of Barnacle Geese. It is estimated that there are approximately 37,000 migrant Barnacles using Islay as a wintering place. The RSPB and a few other conservation minded folk are helping to take the pressure off neighbouring farmers who find it hard to farm with thousands of geese on their land eating and "pooping".

 

 

Barnacle Geese

On our  second day we visited Jura, a ten minute ferry crossing from Port Askaig.

 

Almost as soon as we had arrived on Jura we spotted an otter, this quickly became 3 otters, then 8 otters!

We watched mothers with well developed pups catching fish and also an octopus and all of our group had amazing views.

So I make no apologies for the number of otter photos that follow........ I was in seventh heaven!

 

Otters on the SW and East shores of Jura

 Our travels up the eastern road of Jura brought us plenty of deer sightings, with Red deer showing  well.

 Red Deer stags

Over the next few days we zig-zagged across Islay taking in the sights and spotting new birds and mammals.We also paid a quick visit to a Whisky distillery!

When visiting Bowmore across Loch Indaal from our hotel we visited the Round church at the top of the High Street.  Some say it was built round so that "the devil had no corners in which to hide"!

 

 

We had distant views of Golden Eagles down on the Mull of Oa in the south of Islay but no photographs.

Also saw a flock of over 30 Twite at a feeding station there, I've never seen more than a single bird before.

Twite

Back at Port Ellen there was a small group of adult Ringed Plovers feeding on the beach and almost everywhere we went we spotted Kingfishers, especially at the harbour in Bowmore. 

 Ringed Plover

Islay also has lots of Brown and Mountain Hares, we regularly saw Browns in the fields and often hunkered down out of the winds behind tussocks of grass and sedges. Fallow Deer were also present on the island.

 

 Brown Hare

 

 

Fallow Deer

All too soon our week on the islands had gone and we left for the mainland again from Port Askaig and were very soon back in Glasgow. 

I can thoroughly recommend this tour with Naturetrek, so here is the link to their website should anyone be interested for next year.

Naturetrek: Island and Jura.