Great Northern Diver

Saw the temp. resident Great Northern Diver in Balivanich bay...

see Debbies super photo of the Great Northern Diver

The biggest theme around Benbecula is the return of the Eiders, they normally breed in the bays and stinky bay by mid June are full of babies....its nicknamed the nursery that time of the year.

see Debbies photo of the Eider

Saw one and heard the other...

(Daily from here on)

Saw two Cuckoos. One at Bearragan and the other further north. Breeding Robin and Song Thrush at Loch Cliostair - surprising that high up.
Up to 6 Golden Eagles mostly distant and several Willow Warblers heard today at various spots.

(Click image for Carl's photograph)

White-billed Diver

Here are a few pics of a pair of white-tailed eagles i snapped thursday on lewis there doesn't appear to be any wing tags on either of the birds one of the birds has a scruffy tail the other is in top condition.I have noted wheatears today in europie , large golden plover flocks at ness and great skua at tumpian head

Thought I'd go raptor hunting today given the sunshine and oh boy did I see some crackers.

On the road to .... at 10am a pair of White-tailed Eagles, both were sub adult one a little older than the other was sporting two red wing tags. Both flew off North. Both birds came off the low hillside here so were amazingly low when first seen. (

At 2pm a little further north ...a full adult White-tailed Eagle flew off South-West after circling above the road junction.

Later in the day at ... a Golden Eagle Adult.

Numbers of Common Sandpiper have increased through the week. Expected to see Hen Harriers but no look so far - but I'm not complaining.

....driving down the road to Luskentyre this evening circa 10pm caught a bat in the headlights. I'm no expert but I would suggest given it's size it was a Pipistrelle?

Isle of Harris

White-billed Diver

Red-throated Diver

Calling briefley this am at Aiginish, Point.

First report this year

N of the Callanish Stones - A Raven chasing a Red Grouse for some distance. Common Sandpiper.

Pair of Merlin.

At Arnol - Drake Teal

Butt of Lewis - 40+ Black-tailed Godwit, 1500+ Golden Plover, 2 Pink-footed Geese, 2 Little Grebe, Several Dunlin and 4 Snipe displaying from the hide.

Skigersta - No sign of the White-billed Diver but a Great Northern Diver in full breeding plumage.

Stornaway Harbour - American Herring Gull but no Iceland Gulls.

Golden Eagles

Surf Scoter

Manx Shearwater

Isle of Lewis

Taransay Sound - Outer Hebrides

Looked for the Surf Scoter today in Taransey Sound and although there were 70+ Scoter most were very distant and indistinguishable. The Sound did have 20+ Great Northern Divers in it and 4 Manx Shearwaters were milling around.

(For those folk who wonder if they have seen a buzzard or an eagle, here is a photograph of a golden eagle with hooded crows which shows the size difference)

White-billed Diver

Red-throated Diver

...mid morning: SPARROWHAWK (Female)

keeping the location vague - danger of eggers...

HOBBY perched on a telegraph pole at the roadside.

keeping the location vague - danger of eggers...

Docks - near the fish market

Photograph of the American Herring Gull

Great northern diver - summer adult...Spectacular!

John F

White-billed Diver

Mairi M

Arctic Tern 2

Black Tailed Godwit 9

Lesser Scaup 1

Pink-Footed Goose 80+ (all heading north)

Purple Sandpiper 37

Great Northern Diver 3

Wheatear 4 (all males)

Great Skua 10+

St.Kilda

Whooper Swan 2

Lesser Scaup 2 (possibly 3, one appeared to be displaying and chasing a female tufted)

Scaup 1

Black Tailed Godwit 21 (all summer plumage)

Pink-Footed Goose 1

White-Fronted Goose 1

A Twite that appeared outside my kitchen window before work this morning……………always a pain shooting through double-glazed windows!

Two Canada Geese west over the North Ford at about 14.30 this afternoon.

Large ones I am afraid!

Please excuse my ignorance, but why are they scary? (webmaster)

Great Northern Diver

White-billed Diver

Swift

Willow Warbler 1

Goldcrest 2

Great Northern Diver 1

South Uist - Outer Hebrides

Black Tailed Godwit 3

Bayhead - North Uist - Outer Hebrides

Red-throated Diver

Teal

Bayhead

Loch Airigh na Lic - near Stornoway - Isle of lewis - Outer Hebrides

a red throated diver in winter colours diving (or rather skimming) for its breakfast

White-billed Diver

Lesser Scaup

North of Melbost Borve, look for the electricity sub-station on the left, go past the conifers and then look for the fertilizer sacks - room to park and wait with a good view...

Immature male

Please give it lots of space !

After returning from the ringing session yesterday morning, I saw that wheatear in the sheep fank and the top of the road. So I walked back to photograph it, and found this odd looking bunting.
(Lapland Bunting? )

Not certain its lap bunt, but features visible look more like it than reed, ie Bill colour, wing bars, the black on head, although does not appear to be full summer plumage male. Did it have any chestnut on back of nap?

Mark W

It looks like my lapland bunting is just a reed bunt...

Aiginish -Isle of Lewis

Ringing session this am
nothing migratory caught. Nearly had a female Sparrowhawk though.

Did see and hear, however, Short-eared Owl.

Male Wheatear also, Upper Aird this morning.

Lesser Scaup

8500 pairs in UK (a third of the world total) 300 of these on Foula

Main diet was sand-eels pirated from other birds until the sand-eel supply crashed in 1980s and scavenging (Likely to see them at Stornoway tip soon)

Now main diet includes kittiwakes - taking 200,000 year in UK

Lesser Scaup
Scaup (Greater)

Goldcrest 4

Whooper Swan 2

Loch Aineort

Loch an Eilean a Ghille ruaidh - South Uist - Outer Hebrides

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Wheatear 3

Pink Footed Geese 6

Peregrine Falcon

Lochcarnan

Torlum Machair

Somewhere in South Uist - Outer Hebrides

Peregrine1pr passing food….good to watch

Lesser Scaup

Scaup (Greater)

both drakes

250,000 to 300,000 pairs mostly nest in 3 sites in the UK (sprinkling elsewhere) Island of Rhum is one of those 3 main sites

Puffin or puffling used to mean fatling - any pot-bellied seabird - Manxies included

A Manxie holds the record for travel - one ringed bird travelled 5 Million miles -That is the same as 10X to the moon and back

Lesser Scaup

2 lesser scaup drakes

Lesser Scaup

Scaup (Drake)

2 lesser scaup drakes

Terry Fountain sent us in several photographs taken of ducks on Coot Loch on the 18th March including lesser scaup and scaup
Take a look if you would like the challenge of telling one from the other
(Warning: you will be seeing scaup when you go to sleep tonight...)

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

2 lesser scaup drakes

G/N/Diver 2

Grey Plover 12

Luib Bhan - Benbecula - Outer Hebrides

Jack Snipe

Red Grouse

Red-throated Diver

Pentland Road - Isle of lewis - Outer Hebrides

Sadly roadkill , a surprisingly bird small close-up, fair bit smaller than a starling

Two red grouse, quite dark birds, near peat cuttings

Diver on a loch along the pentland road