Remembering well how de-skilled and lost we felt when first visiting the Uists, we offered to show Sue and Ian some of the birding hotspots. They were ready and waiting in their car, outside their cottage, when we drew up at 10.05 on an overcast, spitty rain and windy morning. Lovely.
Many people, me included, would love a home overlooking water, especially the sea. On the Uists it would be difficult to find one without a water view. Gone were the blue sparkles of yesterday, grey and flat to-day. Not many birds about as we hastened towards Lochs Mor and Fada on Benbecula, where the Red-necked Phalaropes breed. Rather early for them to make an appearance and they didn't. A good site to tick off though.
Nearby Stinky Bay lived up to its name, the hillocks of seaweed already redolent. The sooner some of it is harvested for spreading on the machair the better. Farming the machair is encouraged as it keeps the land in good heart, spread seaweed fertilises naturally and historically, shallow tilling ensures that wild flower seeds are not dug too deep and will blossom again during the fallow years.
Ardnavachar and The Range (disused military firing range) next. Very few birds on the machair to-day.
Ian had a message to say that a Ring-necked Duck had been seen on a loch we'd already passed by. First things first... coffee for all, cake for Pam and a shared scone for Ian and Sue, before a drooling inspection of the beautiful jewellery on display in the Hebridean Jewellery and cafe store.
We didn't find the reported duck, only a pair of Tufted Duck and a Coot. Probably a short drop-in visit.
Loch Aionart in South Uist is a favourite spot of ours. A lovely rocky sea inlet ending in a small parking area beside a small wood, the latter is rare on here. Probably because of the weather so far, we found room to park for once. After a late picnic lunch I and S went for a walk through the wood seeing very little. Golden Eagles are not going to be flying in this. At least a hundred Harbour Seals lay on the rocky islands below, their abandoned loafing has a charm of its own. Oh for some sun, it definitely lends enchantment to the view.
Six Red-breasted Mergansers, four drakes and two females entertained me with their courting display and ritual chasing of the females/ aggression towards other males.
Shortly before leaving, the sun appeared. Sporadic at first, becoming more general. Having shown the enormous Lady of the Isles sculpture half way up the hillside, we had another abortive go at the Ring-necked Duck site.
After a welcome cuppa at Ian and Sue's cottage, Pam and I drove Committee Road - getting withdrawal symptoms. Pam halted in a passing place having seen what turned out to be two Arctic Skuas harrying a Merlin up and around a lochan. What a display. Almost too fast to keep track of their jinking, merciless, pursuit of the smaller bird. Waw.
A short glimpse of a Hen Harrier completed the evening birding.
I had a mammal tick to-day too, a dead Hedgehog on the road. I don't count dead beasties but it's notable for being the first.
No comments:
Post a Comment