A Hebridean Interlude

I haven’t posted anything for the last fortnight having been on holiday with the family to the Outer Hebrides. Our first visit to these magical islands. At 70 species the bird list was relatively short but made up for it in quality with all three divers, Corncrake, Red-necked Phalarope, breeding Whooper Swan, both petrels, Twite in the garden, Peregrine on the neighbour’s roof and daily sightings of eagles including this White-tailed from the kitchen window and my best ever views of Golden Eagle.

 

 

Add in dolphins, orchids, Otters catching Salmon on the beach near our holiday cottage, a Red Deer stag racing the car, beautiful beaches and stunning views and it was really hard to beat.

But the highlight was a trip to St Kilda which has been high on my bucket list for many years. I defy anyone not to want to visit who has read about the lifestyle of the St Kildans’ and their poignant evacuation to a new and alien life on the mainland.

 

And for birders of course it has the added bonus of the famous St Kildan Wren, a sub-species unique to the archipelago.

But what I hadn’t been prepared for was the sheer spectacle of the place  with the highest sea cliffs in Britain and towering sea stacks iced with tens of thousands of seabirds. One stack alone is estimated to hold 60,000 pairs of Gannets. Photos don’t do it any sort of justice so I would heartily encourage you all to visit yourselves.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

All in all well worth the nine hours of  bouncing on the Atlantic in a little boat…