2022 Hebridean Adventures, Pt. 3 - 24th to 26th May

Herewith, Pt.3 of my account of our May visit to the Outer Hebrides.

Tuesday, 24th May                   North Uist ; Grimsay ; Benbecula ; Baleshare ; North Uist

The day turned out to be a largely sunny day, but temperatures were still quite cool (max 13°c) and breezy. I had an early start to the day as I had to sort out what the results of the moth trap deployment were. Sadly, as reported in my previous blog post, I  only did marginally better than my zero result from the one deployment last year, with just two moths of two different species being caught. It hadn't helped that, as we went to bed, I saw that there had been a late change to the weather forecast and what was supposed to be a dry calm night was now going to be interrupted by heavy rain. There was no way I was going to get dressed again and bring in the moth trap. So I ended up with a trap full of rain rather than moths!

Dismantling the trap and putting everything away afterwards took some time, with everything being so sodden, so it was after breakfast before I  took a stroll up the lane from the cottage. Part way up the lane, a Short-eared Owl flew up from some long grass carrying prey and departed at speed.

 

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) - Clachan Sands, North Uist

Several other birds were photographed during this brief walk. The Twite was the most exciting of these for me, and the Skylark the most amusing!

 

Redshank (Tringa totanus) - Clachan Sands

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - Clachan Sands

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) - Clachan Sands

Twite (Linaria flavirostris) - Clachan Sands

Skylark (Alauda arvensis) - Clachan Sands

At the far end of the lane, a rabbit posed on the horizon of the machair.

 

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) - Clachan Sands

We didn't get out until about 10.00. Shortly after turning into the road south at the end of the lane, I  spotted a Snipe and managed to get some shots through Lindsay's open window. Maybe I should mention that, in my opinion, North Uist seems to have a huge amount of fencing, compared to most of Scotland. This may make it sound unattractive, but fencing needs fence posts, and you will see, from photos on this blog, that these have their advantages!

 

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - from B893, North Uist

We stopped for an early lunch at the Namara Cafe on Grimsay, where Lindsay and I shared a simple but delicious seafood platter of langoustine, crab meat, and hot smoked salmon, after which we headed round the corner to their shop, where we bought crab, calamari, and tempura prawns. As we headed away, a Pied Wagtail was beside the road.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) (male) - Grimsay

Next on the agenda was a visit to the Puffin Crafts shop on Benbecula, but we came away empty- handed although there were some wonderfully tempting items on show.

Just over half an hour at Griminis, where I was hoping to get some shots at Red-necked Phalarope in sunshine rather than the rain that I  was working with two day earlier, turned up nothing.

Around the corner,  in Stinky Bay, the Surf Scoter seemed to have moved on, but the few photos of a drake Eider that I took there didn't make the grade.

Lindsay wanted to visit the beach on the island of Baleshare, so we headed there next.

 

Lindsay on Baleshare beach

Little was seen on the beach, but a few birds were enjoyed beside the road away from the beach. At first I thought that I'd happened upon a one-legged Redshank, but it soon proved me wrong!

Redshank (Tringa totanus) -Baleshare

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) - Baleshare

We had been commenting on how few little birds we were seeing this year,  so I was pleased to see a Stonechat near the start of the Committee Road.

 

Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) (male) - Committee Road, North Uist

After tea,  I spent an hour up the lane, hoping for an owl or two to photograph, but nothing showed, and I gave up at 20.00 when rain and a cold wind took control.

It had been another very enjoyable day, but with no very special sightings.

Wednesday, 25th May                           North Uist ; Berneray ; North Uist

This turned out to be an day without a single owl sighting. This was possibly due to strong winds all day and occasional showers, some very heavy.

We didn't make a very early start, leaving home at about 10.00 in rain. We felt sorry for the group of people waiting at the end of the road for the regular Wednesday fish van. We stopped quite close to them as we spotted a couple of Common Buzzard, one of which dropped onto a post not too far away.

 

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) - from B893

A little further on were some Ringed Plover. This is one of them.

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - from B893

Our objective this morning was to investigate Morrison's Fish, which shows as a shop on Google, but for which there seemed little other reference. The attraction was not just the possibility of fresh fish, but that nearby was what I believe to be the Outer Hebrides' only suspension bridge. This is a footbridge that was recently closed on safety grounds, but which the public at large reopened when no authority would accept responsibility for it!

The road to reach the place, which I believe to be named Sponish, turned out to be little better than a mile long rough single track with just two passing places one of which we fortunately reached as a van came from the other direction! The driver of the van was very helpful and informed us that the fish shop had not been there for years, but it was still possible to access the footbridge from there.

At the end of the road, there was some doubt as to where we should be looking. However, a car came away from a building that looked as if it was undergoing restoration, passed us, and then reversed back to ask us if they could help. We had a short conversation and were given permission to park on their property in order to access the footbridge. The path was too hazardous for Lindsay,  but I considered it essential to investigate, and cross the bridge. It was a fine structure and I didn't think that it looked at all dangerous. From the state of the path which accessed it, I also suspect that it is little-used.

Suspension bridge - Sponish, North Uist

I suspect that the view from the bridge in fine weather would be rather special.

 

View from Sponish suspension bridge

After this visit we were off to The Wee Cottage Kitchen  for another simple but excellent lunch.

The afternoon was spent on the island of Berneray. Our first port of call was the delightful gift shop Coral Box. Here we purchased some unusual take-home gifts for family. 

From by Coral Box, I had spotted three distant seals hauled out and resting, so we drove round to the end of the bay to see if we could find somewhere where we could get closer. Having found a convenient car park, we saw that they were still very distant - until Lindsay pointed out that there was one directly in front of us. This one, shown in the second image, causes me some concern as it seems that it might have had a major accident with its left flipper.

 

Common Seal (Phoca vitulina) - Loch a' Bhàigh, Berneray

We then set off for the beach on the east side of Berneray, so that we could enjoy the view and have a short stroll. On previous visits, this beach has been fairly good for birds, with Little Tern usually seen. On this visit there was nothing! The views were excellent and there were only three other people on this long (2km) beach - a couple with a young child.

 

Berneray East Beach

It seems that the wind over the sand had produced some interesting micro-mesa effects.

 

Micro-mesas - Berneray East Beach

After this we headed for the machair beyond Borgh, stopping again at the Seal Viewing Point car park en route, to find that there were now four seals there,  with a fifth cruising up the channel, looking like a submarine, to join them.

 

Common Seal (Phoca vitulina) - Loch a' Bhàigh, Berneray

Little was seen on the machair beyond Borgh, but it was a pleasant run. The previous year, I had seen a number of Rock Doves here. Their numbers seem to have increased somewhat now!

 

Rock Dove (Columba livia) - machair beyond Borgh, Berneray

It was now time to return to base for a seafood tea.

After tea I spent a couple of hours up the lane, hoping for the sighting of an owl, but I guess that it was just too windy. There were, however, other birds around.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) - Clachan Sands

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Clachan Sands

I had a period of amusement when, while sitting in my car, I spotted a Common Gull a couple of hundred metres or so, wandering on foot down the lane towards me. It kept on coming, acting as if it hadn't a care in the world. Eventually it reached a point just in front of my car and appeared to suddenly notice me, raising its wings as if in surprise, before regaining its composure and continuing on its walk! A rubbish photo, shot through the sloping car windscreen, captures the moment.

 

Common Gull (Larus canus) - Clachan Sands

Thursday, 26th May                      North Uist ; Eriskay ; Benbecula ; South Uist ; North Uist

 

This day was forecast to feature the worst weather of our stay, and it was just as bad as expected. It wasn't the rain that was the killer, although we did have a couple of downpours that were so heavy that I felt it necessary to stop the car and wait for it to pass. It was the strong wind that was reckoned to be around 36 miles per hour (49 kph),  gusting to 49 miles per hour (79 kph) that made life difficult. At times, I struggled to open the car door to get out, and Lindsay found it impossible without my help. The consequence was that much of the day was spent driving and very little time was spent wildlife watching as there was little to see, and when there was, identifying and photographing the subject was often impossible.

We set off after breakfast at around 09.00, and headed south from our base at the north end of North Uist via the scenic route which takes in the famed Committee Road. From North Uist we crossed the causeways to Grimsay and Benbecula,  where we made a small diversion the see if the Red-necked Phalaropes were showing - they weren't.

 

Continuing over the causeway onto the island of South Uist, we stopped at the Kildonan Museum for a comfort stop including tea and cake, after which we crossed yet another causeway to land on the small island of Eriskay - the furthest south you can get on the Outer Hebrides by car without resorting to ferry transport. Here we spent time parked on the grass above the small beaches just beyond the cemetery. This was a spot that we'd very much enjoyed in 2021. Lindsay was not able to access the beaches partly due to her knee, but mainly due to her instability in the wind. 

 

The sight of a Ringed Plover, apparently sitting on eggs (although my previous sightings of  this species on eggs were on stony beaches, so maybe it was just hunkering down against the wind), was an immediate caution to be careful where I went.

 

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - Eriskay

While standing beside the car, I took a few shots of Ringed Plover in the grass above the beach.

 

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - Eriskay

I then carefully made my way down onto the small sandy beach and stood absolutely motionless for a while. Eventually, a Ringed Plover made its way towards me, seemingly oblivious to my presence.

 

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - Eriskay

We next headed back to South Uist, stopping for lunch at the Borrodale Hotel. We'd enjoyed a couple of excellent light lunches here in 2021 and were not disappointed on this occasion either. Lindsay had a seafood chowder served with a warm cheese scone, and I had the seafood bechamel wrap which came with all the trimmings that one could wish for!

 

Our next visit was to the Àird a' Mhuile area to the west of Bhornais. As is often the case with this sort of location, the road there was as interesting, or more so, as the destination. On the way there, I photographed Meadow Pipit (with food for young?) and Lapwing.

 

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) -near Bhornais, South Uist

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) -near Bhornais, South Uist

Earlier in the week, I''d been told that South Uist had its own 'stinky beach' to rival that on Benbecula. On arrrival at Àird a' Mhuile, I came to the conclusion that we'd found it! 

 

Beach to the south of Àird a' Mhuile

The area that the above photo was taken from was quite busy with vehicles and people, but the biggest problem was that it was difficult to stand up in the wind, so we did not stop long. I did, however, get a shot of an incoming Oystercatcher.

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Àird a' Mhuile

On the way back, Lindsay noticed four swans by the water at the far side of a field. These turned out to be Whooper Swans. The waves on the surface of this tiny lochan might give you an idea of how windy it was.

 

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) - Bhornais area, South Uist

We diverted again on Benbecula and the phalaropes were again not seen. The Benbecula Stinky Bay was impossible to observe clearly when out of the car but I did attempt a few shots of a group of waders that I could not see clearly enough to ID at the time, but now realise that they were Sanderling.

 

Sanderling (Calidris alba) - Stinky Bay, Benbecula

We managed to get to the Hebridean Smokehouse shop before it closed to buy the wherewithal for tea for this, and the following, day. With this day's tea being smoked scallops once more.

The day had been another one without an owl sighting but, although disappointed, considering the weather, I  was not surprised. The weather after our evening meal was such that I didn't feel tempted to venture out. 

We had had a very enjoyable day, in spite of the weather, but comparatively little wildlife had been seen, and even less photographed. After approximately seven hours driving I was feeling rather tired,  so an early night was had.

 

 

I'll end this part of my account at this point. Hopefully, I'll be publishing the fourth, and final, part in the not too distant future. I believe that it will be rather more 'birdy' than this one and owls will feature strongly!

 

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature.

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard