Island Travel

Wednesday May 18

What a lovely day. For a sun burnished, scenic, trip to Berneray.

Berneray (Scottish Gaelic: Beàrnaraigh na Hearadh) is an island and community in the Sound of Harris, Scotland. It is one of fifteen inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides. It is famed for its rich and colourful history which has attracted much tourism.

With an area of 10.1 square kilometres (2496 acres), Berneray rises to a height of 305 feet (93 m) at Beinn Shlèibhe (Moor Hill) and 278 feet (85 m) at Borve Hill. There is strong evidence that points to Berneray being inhabited since the Bronze Age, and possibly before. The island is scattered with ancient sacred sites, stone circles, signs of Viking inhabitation and historical buildings, some several centuries old.

There are a few of the ancient Black Houses left, mostly refurbished, this one we passed in Sollas at the end of Committee Road, looks more authentic than the others we have seen.

The buildings were generally built with double wall dry-stone walls packed with earth, and were roofed with wooden rafters covered with a thatch of turf with cereal straw or reed. The floor was generally flagstones or packed earth and there was a central hearth for the fire. There was no chimney for the smoke to escape through. Instead the smoke made its way through the roof. This led to the soot blackening of the interior which may also have contributed to the adoption of name blackhouse.
The blackhouse was used to accommodate livestock as well as people. People lived at one end and the animals lived at the other with a partition between them.

So many deserted beaches, rocky shores and a well surfaced road, I didn't know where to look next. We made straight for the Youth Hostel at the end of a dead end road. It's placed on a rocky outcrop overlooking the sound of Lewis, also advertising a coffee shop. Whilst scanning the sound for divers, I noticed this line of vertebrae on the beach. Whale?

Only finding Gannets, we drove back more slowly, Pam visiting the Visitors Centre before we parked in a layby to eat lunch whilst watching numerous Harbour Seals sprawled on tide exposed rocks.

Soon after crossing the causeway to North Uist, passing the Lewes ferry, our first Uist Golden Eagle soared overhead. Thanks Pam, I was reading..... Pam is also good at recognising cars. Driving towards us were Sue and Ian on their way to Berneray. The usual jovial chat and information swapping before going our seperate ways. us to Loch Mhor where they'd seen a female Red-necked Phalarope earlier. They're back.

One car already in the first layby at Loch Mhor, room for us too. There below us were TWO Phalaropes, a male and the much more brightly coloured female. Phalaropes reverse the usual sex roles in birds: Females are larger and more colorful than males; females take the lead in courtship, and males are left to incubate the eggs and care for the young.
Sounds like a good plan to me.
They winter in the Pacific and nest in the Arctic, there's a small population in the northern Scottish Islands. 
They are dimunutive and very active birds, I still tried some photography with mixed results - mostly bad.

A few pairs of Arctic Terns also nest on this loch.

A quick check of Stinky Bay, finding no White-winged Gulls but plenty of stink. The seaweed is rotting. The flock of Eiders don't seem to mind.
Committee Road was calling. We added Buzzard and Hen Harrier to the pair of Stonechats we saw here this morning on the way to Berneray. And met Ian and Sue again. They'd loved Berneray too but we both wished we'd known before we went about the Lesser Yellowlegs present there . The news only came through this evening.
More Corncrake noise at last, including 'ours' over the garden wall. None of them showing this evening unfortunately, try again to-morrow.