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Galana's Fifth - The only way from here is UP!


Galana

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19 minutes ago, Galana said:

Common Snipe.

Yes, I missed that one too :unsure:

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Dave Williams
1 hour ago, Galana said:

 

This last shot was from my kitchen window in 'Lochside'  whilst preparing breakfast whilst staying a week in what I call "The best equipped Birdhide in the UK."  Everything from Eagles, Owls and Hen Harriers to Otters and nesting waders and wildfowl on your doorstep and the large bed is darn comfortable too when on the rare occasions sleep is needed or even possible.  Even a fridge to keep the beer cool.

 

 

Ah, but it hasn't got a toilet!! The place does seem extremely good though.

 

Iceland was the same for birds on posts, there again I also had Snipe on posts at Derwentwater too.

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3 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

Ah, but it hasn't got a toilet!!

Au contraire. This is a fully equipped home with all mod cons. Flushing WC and H&C Shower that worked.

Admittedly there is  no window in the bathroom for viewing and photographing wildlife. Nowhere's perfect.:lol:

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Dave Williams
1 hour ago, Galana said:

Au contraire. This is a fully equipped home with all mod cons. Flushing WC and H&C Shower that worked.

Admittedly there is  no window in the bathroom for viewing and photographing wildlife. Nowhere's perfect.:lol:

 

I was referring to the kitchen Fred! I admit I have to take my preferred beverage with me to my bathroom hide as the facilities are a bit limited:rolleyes:

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Taking time out to enjoy the sunshine I have as suggested started a trip report.

 

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1 hour ago, Dave Williams said:

I was referring to the kitchen Fred!

A toilet in the kitchen? How does that work?

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lucky you - snipes and owls and curlews from your window and patio, and in breeding plumage atop posts. 

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Today we go on a side trip to the Island of Lunga to meet some seabirds on their own turf literally. (Details in my report.)

Almost impossible to sieve out only a few for your enjoyment but here goes.

First of all an indulgence of Puffins.

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110. Atlantic Puffin.  Lunga, Treshnish Islands.

I saw the ultimate use of a selfie stick here with one tourist literally getting in on the act.

A memorable outing indeed.

But Lunga is not just Puffins.

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Razorbills have staked their claim to posterity too. Already counted on IOM but no need to hang by my fingernails over a sheer drop to get them here.

 

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And the ever present Bonxie maintaining a watchful lookout for an easy meal.

111. Great Skua. Lunga, Treshnish Islands.

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Great pictures of the Snipe!

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No such thing as too many Puffin photos 

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42 minutes ago, TonyQ said:

No such thing as too many Puffin photos 

You may be right but space is limited.

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Peter Connan

Beautiful shots of the Puffins and Razorbills!

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Moving on as there is more in the pipeline,

I could not find the expected Red-breasted Merganser at Appin or indeed on Mull apart from a very dodgy glimpse on Loch na Keal but I use it here to preserve chronology whilst adding later better views.

DSCN5551.JPG.f8320e303faff321fab0eba70c3a2c07.JPGLoch na Keal, Mull. Male in eclipse.

Then on North Uist they came along like buses.On a drive along the road to Cheese Bay  I saw this reluctant female and her brood on Loch Dheoir

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and then not ten minutes later I met Martin @Soukousfurther down the road and he drew my attention to this lovely group who posed nicely:-

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112. Red-breasted Merganser. Mull and North Uist. Scotland.

 

And having now left Mull behind I called at a known spot on the Morvern shore of Loch Sunart on the way to our next cottage.

And sure enough the colony was in full swing even though the distance was not ideal.

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113. Common Tern. Loch Sunart, Scotland.

 

 

Edited by Galana
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Many exciting birds on the trip, Fred! The sight of those eagles alone would have been worth it. Agree on the Puffinns, Razorbills and Snipe: excellent photos!

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Now to two easy ones.

We are at Stag Cottage, mainly for Pine Martens, but I am still alert for Avifauna to move the list along as well as general interest.

 

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114. Eurasian Jay coming to share the Pine Marten feast whilst I snoozed on was captured by my ever watchful trail camera. Stag Cottage.

And we had a resident pair of GS Woodpeckers active throughout the day.

First he played hard to get in the foliage...

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but eventually posed in the clear when he left a real tree for the telephone supply.

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But his offspring was much more cooperative.

 

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115. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Stag Cottage, Glen Hurich, Ardnamurchan, Scotland.

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We are about to leave Ardnamuchan to the Outer Hebrides so I better round up the final two birds from Strontian and Stag cottage.

Loch Sunart is usually reliable for Goosander but let us down this year maybe due to us being later in the season and they were attending to breeding duties on fresh water.

However one did eventually oblige and here it is.

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116. Goosander (Common Merganser to other nations) Loch Sunart, Ardnamurchan, Scotland.

 

And finally persistence paid off and a regular flock of Long-tailed Tits lingered long enough in teh conifers of Stag Cottage to allow me to get the lens pointing in the right direction.

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Be honest now. That's a great EBC.:lol:

 

But I did nail it and learned something new. Immature birds have dark heads.

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117. Long-tailed Tit. Stag Cottage, Glen Hurlich, Ardnamuchan, Scotland.

 

I cannot leave without one or two Pine Marten pictures.

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The car is packed. We can have some peace now.

 

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Dave Williams

The first LTT is a classic EBC but you should have omitted the other two , no doubt about the ID for those who didn't need to see more than the tail!

 

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Fabulous Pine Marten photos!

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Having left the shores of Skye behind we are now established in our comfy bird hide that doubles as an equally comfortable cottage after dark. Not that there is much dark in June.

 

We are now in the realm of some rarities so I can start off with two that are classed as regular finds.

The Hebrides are such a lovely place that many birds that come south to over winter often linger into summer.

Two species of Gull that make a habit of this are Glaucous and Icelandic so it pays to check flocks carefully especially with immature birds. (And be wary of Leucostic large gulls.)

 

No problems with this one.

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118. Glaucous Gull. Stinky Bay, Benbecula, Outer Hebrides.

 

and a drive to Cheese Bay on North Uist produced three of the pure bred Rock Doves that produced the 'town pigeon' (flying rat) of the world's cities. And yes, I am going to count this!

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119. Rock Dove. Columba livia livia. Cheese Bay, North Uist. Hebrides.

 

 

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As we are now on North Uist I will revert to 108B Short-eared Owl.

As I wrote at the time I had split these as the Photo opportunities were different. On Mull the Owls appeared did a fly by and left. Views of perched birds were very distant.

On Uist you can easily find them posing on any suitable perch such as road side fence posts so the 'focus' changes. (I can groan for you.)

Indeed if one drives the north coast road early in the day you would have to be very unlucky not to find one or two. Just draw slowly and quietly to a halt and they will often sit and stare you out.

So having arrived at Lochside and had dinner on 3rd we did our usual short trip to the St.Kilda viewpoint and got straight to work.

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19.46. 3rd July the evening of our arrival and we have our first sitter.

 

Next morning at Loch Sanndaraigh this one was waiting to check us out.

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4th July 9.31.

 

and on our habitual post prandial viewing of St.Kilda the day ended well.

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21.30  St. Kilda view point. Cleitreabhal a Tuath (courtesy of the UK Ministry of Defence.)

 

And so the week progressed.

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St. Kilda track 5th July Three different Owls.

 

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6th July.  Any post will do. Committee Road through the windscreen. It was shy and and a passing car flushed it before I could get the window down.

14.35 so maybe it needed an afternoon nap?.

But there was always the evening.

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21.38 and 21.50 as we left for bed..

 

An Owl a day keeps the Covid at bay.

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8th July. St. Kilda track.

 

That's enough Owls. We saw many more during the week these will do for BY.

108B. Short-eared Owls.

 

120 and 121 follow which will finish our North Uist trip but not our BY2021.

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wow wow wow on those great shots of the owls (and puffins and all). unbelievable that owls would just perch in the day and just pose like that! is it only during summer? 

 

Love the delightful pine martens as well! 

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Well @Galanayou are certainly cementing your claims for EBC of the year with that tit photo :D.  Very jealous of all your owls and the pine martens.

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9 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

unbelievable that owls would just perch in the day and just pose like that! is it only during summer? 

All Raptors love to perch on poles hence the success of the now outlawed 'pole trap' by gamekeepers etc., in controlling them.

I think the phenomena we find in the Hebrides is due to the type of 'crofting' farming where the use of fencing in marking boundaries is more common due to lack of natural boundary markers such as hedges which don't flourish due to gales and or Deer nibbling them off.

SE Owls also migrate south in winter so we only see them on summer visits to Hebrides and populations fluctuate with the success of their main prey of Field Voles. A good 'Vole year' will see many Owls arriving and enjoying breeding success. All this waffle is a long way of saying I don't really know. It just is what it is. Pleased that you like them anyway.

8 hours ago, shazdwn said:

Well @Galanayou are certainly cementing your claims for EBC of the year with that tit photo :D

Really! NO comment.:lol: Runs and hides! Yes I can happily overdose on Owls and Martens so when they turn diurnal it is too tempting.

Edited by Galana
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Coming to the end of the Hebrides sector now and by coincidence persistence paid off and I got two of the usual target birds.

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Due to low water levels the lochan was covered more by sedge growth which made Mrs Phalarope that bit harder to catch in the clear but she obliged eventually. This is a very reliable site for this small breeding bird.

120. Red-necked Phalarope. ~Benbecula Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

 

And finally after numerous EBC shot of iris beds, undergrowth with the occasional feathered part of a bird barely showing I did find  one that was prepared to come out and sing for me.

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Crek crek, crek crek.

121. Corncrake. Balranald, North Uist.

 

I recall @Peter Connansaying he had never heard one let alone seen one so for you Peter and everyone else  here he is in full voice with apologies for the car passing. Some folks just don't care.

That's it for now. Not the end but the beginning of the end.
Edited by Galana
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A wonderful selection of owls. Beautiful Phalarope, and stunning Corncrake!

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