The Uists 2025 Part 3
30th July - 1st August
Started the day photographing green finch in the garden.
And a meadow pipit on a fence post.
A stonechat on the fence.
Then we drove to the isle of Berneray, and walked on the beach. There were small numbers of dunlin, ringed plover and sandling.
Sandling
Walked back behind the beach, on the track, and saw a few more birds.
Oystercatcher
White tailed eagle, mobbed by a raven.
Meadow pipit
A rather black sheep!
View of the area.
Twite
Twite
Rusting combine - there were a few cropped fields, just not certain what the crops were!
Lapwing
The harbour at Borve on Bernaray.
Red breasted merganser, from the road to Cheese Bay.
Mute swan, same area.
View of the area.
Raven, in the same area.
When we got back there was a male hen harrier hunting just behind the house.
That evening, the boys went for a walk at Balranald.
Rock dove.
Starlings
Lesser black-backed gull.
Common gull - not actually that common.
Sam on the lookout for corncrake - we heard two, but saw neither.
Great black-backed gulls
Oystercatcher.
Very misty and distant view of St Kilda.
Female hen harrier.
Common sandpiper.
Don't often see trailed forage harvesters these days.
On Thursday we drove back to Berneray and took the ferry to Leverburgh on Lewis and Harris. From the ferry we saw razorbills, gannet, eider, common terns and an arctic skua.
Gannet
Eider
Common terns on a buoy - the only ones I positively identified in the two weeks.
Arctic skua chasing a tern.
Views on Harris - the rockiness of the landscape took us by surprise, quite different from the Uists.
We stopped at Tarbert and walked round the harbour.
We had a bbq near Tiumpan Head, where there was a heath spotted orchid.
And then drove back to Stornoway and walked round the town and harbour.
Stornoway lifeboat.
The harbour.
Driving back to Leverburgh, we spotted a white tailed eagle, to the west of the road.
And then, two to the east - which seemed to go through some aerobatics, maybe a food pass?
And then, a golden eagle appeared, being mobbed by ravens. All these eagles were very close. I think it was near Locn na Ciste.
Golden eagle
White tailed eagle.
Beaches on the west side of Harris.
Leverburgh harbour
Herring gull in the harbour.
Grey heron
Wheatear
The ferry
On the journey back, similar birds, including a red throated diver. The trip was 11 miles by ferry which took about 55 minutes. Due to the number of small islands, not shown on the map, the route is quite circuitous.
Razorbill
Houses on Berneray, from the sea.
More views of St Kilda from North Uist.
The last day of the holiday, a meadow pipit in the garden.
A redpoll on the washing line.
Blackbird
Peat, in bags ready to be carted off, by the road to Lochmaddy.
Boat at Lochmaddy carrying seaweed, not sure why!
From the ferry saw razorbills, manx shearwater, guillemots.
Starlings
Lesser black-backed gull.
Common gull - not actually that common.
Sam on the lookout for corncrake - we heard two, but saw neither.
Great black-backed gulls
Oystercatcher.
Very misty and distant view of St Kilda.
Female hen harrier.
Common sandpiper.
On Thursday we drove back to Berneray and took the ferry to Leverburgh on Lewis and Harris. From the ferry we saw razorbills, gannet, eider, common terns and an arctic skua.
Gannet
Eider
Gannet
Common terns on a buoy - the only ones I positively identified in the two weeks.
Arctic skua chasing a tern.
Views on Harris - the rockiness of the landscape took us by surprise, quite different from the Uists.
We stopped at Tarbert and walked round the harbour.
We had a bbq near Tiumpan Head, where there was a heath spotted orchid.
Stornoway lifeboat.
The harbour.
Driving back to Leverburgh, we spotted a white tailed eagle, to the west of the road.
And then, two to the east - which seemed to go through some aerobatics, maybe a food pass?
And then, a golden eagle appeared, being mobbed by ravens. All these eagles were very close. I think it was near Locn na Ciste.
Golden eagle
White tailed eagle.
Beaches on the west side of Harris.
Herring gull in the harbour.
Grey heron
Wheatear
The ferry
On the journey back, similar birds, including a red throated diver. The trip was 11 miles by ferry which took about 55 minutes. Due to the number of small islands, not shown on the map, the route is quite circuitous.
Razorbill
Houses on Berneray, from the sea.
The last day of the holiday, a meadow pipit in the garden.
A redpoll on the washing line.
Peat, in bags ready to be carted off, by the road to Lochmaddy.
Boat at Lochmaddy carrying seaweed, not sure why!
From the ferry saw razorbills, manx shearwater, guillemots.
Manx shearwater.
Guillemot with youngster. The adult is bridled, that is, has a white line round the eye and extending back down the neck, more common in the north atlantic.
Puffin in winter plumage.
Fulmer
Raft of manx shearwater.
Bridled guillemot and razorbill.
And then, a small pod of common dolphins.
Manx shearwater
Raft of manx shearwater.
Summer plumage puffin.
Just before we arrived back at Uig, a minke whale just showed.
Uig harbour
And that was the end of our summer holiday. Left Uig harbour at 13:30, drove about 630 miles and arrived home about 1:00am. In Scotland saw 72 species of bird, minke whale, common dolphin and common seal.
Puffin in winter plumage.
Fulmer
Raft of manx shearwater.
Bridled guillemot and razorbill.
And then, a small pod of common dolphins.
Raft of manx shearwater.
Summer plumage puffin.
Just before we arrived back at Uig, a minke whale just showed.
And that was the end of our summer holiday. Left Uig harbour at 13:30, drove about 630 miles and arrived home about 1:00am. In Scotland saw 72 species of bird, minke whale, common dolphin and common seal.