The Uists 2025 Part 1

25th - 26th July 2025

A long journey, about 340 miles, from Seahouses to Uig harbour on the north of Skye. We spotted the aircraft carrier again, as we crossed the Forth Bridge.

We stopped near Invergarry and Kyle of Lochalsh, then for longer at Portree, where walked round the town and harbour, finishing at Co-op to stock up for the week.

Portree harbour.

Views of Uig harbour, we arrived quite early, booked on the 18:30 ferry, but had to board by 17:45. We were much earlier, and ate tea in the car waiting.

The ferry for the 1.75hr trip to Lochmaddy on North Uist.

The trip was 31 miles, the route is shown below.

Very calm crossing, quite a few guillemot, razorbill, gannet and puffin about. Plenty of manx shearwater. A few dolphin sightings, but couldn't get a photo.

Manx shearwater

The odd gannet

Manx shearwater

Rain ahead, but we stayed mostly dry

Inside the ferry.

Guilimot

Arrived at our house at Claddach Kirkibost about 8:45pm - unlocked, no one around, but soon made ourselves at home. The house was about 100m back from the road, and was excellent inside, with great views. Saw hen harrier, short eared owl, stonechat, redpoll and red deer from the house (and also, on the last day, as we packed, lots of midges). Collared dove were quite common in the area, but not in the garden.

The living room.

Saturday, went for a drive to see what was about. Plenty of peat digging in progress, and a red deer, both from the committee road.

Friendly family of meadow pipit also on the committee road. The road is well known for raptors, we saw a family of kestrel and hen harrier but not much else. I think, breeding was over and birds had moved away. In spring there would be greenshank and skuas nesting.

Oystercatchers about.

A distant black throated diver, from the A867.

A little further and a pair of red throated diver, not so distant.

Friendly looking natives.

Nice to find a greenshank, a local breeder

Godwits

Snipe

Of agricultural interest, were a few small fields of barley.

Also rye - a local told me they just harvested enough grain to seed next years crop - which sounds a little uneconomic, unless the straw is of value, or more likely, subsidized as good cover for corncrake.