Skye Birds - A Birding Guide to the Isle of Skye

Bird sightings on the Island of Skye and the neighbouring area

The objective of these pages is to keep everyone, locals and visitors, up to date with what birds are about. It is therefore dependent on everyone contacting me as quickly as possible to ensure I can update the site so that others might benefit from the observations. In the case of rarer species details would also be passed on the Highland Recorder Peter Gordon (  who may require a full description before the record was accepted. This website will very much be locally focused but has become part of the SOC local recorder system and other networks and we hope we can enhance these systems. We will also have complete discretion as to what information is added to these pages and will try to avoid any details which might reveal breeding sites of vulnerable species.  It is impossible to record everything reported and for the more regularly observed species, we would encourage the use of 'Birdtrack' - http://blx1.bto.org/birdtrack.

Date Species Image Details
30th Jun 2009 Quail bird calling in remote Glen VicAskill, Struan (RMcM) - seem to be several about so listen for their distinctive call.
30th Jun 2009 Manx Shearwater View Image flock of 30/40 in outer Loch Portree from the Brigadoon - the Loch Portree Sea Eagle site has two well grown young. (PE)
30th Jun 2009 Great Skua View Image 4 at Neist Point including a colour ringed bird(I.Tomney)
30th Jun 2009 Blackcap View Image 1 singing Portree (MAustin)
29th Jun 2009 Sand Martin View Image estimated to be 50 active nest holes at Kyleakin Quarry which probably makes it the largest colony on the island (A&EH)
28th Jun 2009 Common Crossbill View Image 8 near Aros, Portree (M.Austin)
28th Jun 2009 Chiffchaff singing birds at Portree - also on 29th (MAustin)
28th Jun 2009 Hen Harrier View Image fewer breeding pairs in 2009 with only 6 nests found. Of these 3 have failed, but the three remaining all have 5 young each, aged c3 weeks. These were ringed to-day (see Gallery) and if all successfully fledge, this will be a major boost. Any sightings still welcome (RMcM)
27th Jun 2009 Greylag Goose View Image another big count of 182 between Clett and Mingay (AMearns) - this is possibly a moulting flock and there ws a significant count in the same area last year.
27th Jun 2009 Chough report via 'surfbirds' of a Chough near the Elgol Road at Suardal - this is an extremely rare record the last report of this species being at Raasay in 2005.
27th Jun 2009 Common Crossbill View Image bit of an invasion taking place with 10+ at Borodale, Raasay on 25/6, 6 at Kyle Farm, Kyleakin on 26/6, 12+ at Greshornish on 24/6 and 30+ at Applecross on 27/6 (DCJ & per RMcM)
26th Jun 2009 Swift another two reported near Dunvegan (AS)
26th Jun 2009 Quail report of a possible calling bird at Ellishadder near Staffin (Gwyn Jones)
26th Jun 2009 Blackcap View Image single male at Clachan, Raasay (DCJ)
26th Jun 2009 Spotted Flycatcher View Image pair at Brochel Castle, Raasay (DCJ)
25th Jun 2009 Swift single over Broom Place, Portree (AS)
25th Jun 2009 Great Northern Diver View Image summering bird in the Narrows of Raasay (WM)
24th Jun 2009 Mute Swan View Image single at riverfoot, Glenelg (Pete Jones)
24th Jun 2009 Greenshank 3 at Camus a Mhor, Balmeanach, Braes (WM)
20th Jun 2009 Common Scoter 4 in Broadford Bay (MB)
17th Jun 2009 Chiffchaff singing bird at Harrapool (JP)and at Broadford Industrial estate, where there was also a Blackcap (MB)
17th Jun 2009 Black-throated Diver View Image pair in Sound of Raasay from Brigadoon (PE)
16th Jun 2009 Great Skua View Image report that 5 Bonxies are regularly visiting the Dunvegan camp site suggests numbers on the island continue to increase (per KLindsley)
14th Jun 2009 Quail calling bird on Waternish has moved to Carnach (AMearns)
14th Jun 2009 Great Skua View Image report of 5 at Loch Mealt, nr Staffin (D.Burt)
10th Jun 2009 Twite View Image continuing on the colour ringed birds - one found dead at Morar on 28th April, 2009 was ringed as a young male at Foveran, nr Newburgh , NE Scotland on 22nd November last year and reported at the same site on 17th January this year. (Stephen MacDonald)
10th Jun 2009 Pink-footed Goose View Image pair flew over Balmeanach, Braes - an interesting record at this time of year. (WM)
8th Jun 2009 House Sparrow View Image a species rarely mentioned on the site but it is worth noting that it remains red listed of high conservation concern due to declining populations - on Skye it has a localised distribution but is common in some settlements such as Ardvarsar, Sleat where 24 excluding fledged young were counted during a tetrad visit (RMcM)
7th Jun 2009 Glaucous Gull View Image long stayer at Dornie is still around and 'garden feeding' (per BN)
4th Jun 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image late passage record of 4 at Ashaig (A&EH)
4th Jun 2009 Whooper Swan View Image 3 flying north at Ullinish is an exceptionally late record (G.Leatherbarrow)
2nd Jun 2009 Twite View Image a colour ringed bird seen at Ramasaig on 13th April may well have been ringed near Montrose in Angus during the last winter. Another colour ringed bird was spotted last week at Greshornish and this may also have wintered in the same area. Please keep a look out for colour ringed Twite and take details of the ring colour combinations - see Gallery
1st Jun 2009 Swift always scarce on Skye, 2 over Ullinish (PE)
1st Jun 2009 Glaucous Gull View Image still a bird at Dornie which may well summer - a very unusual occurrence for this area (BN)
1st Jun 2009 Quail rarely reported there was a calling bird near Trumpan Church, Waternish (I.Mathewson)
1st Jun 2009 House Martin View Image single over the garden at Lower Milovaig - on exactly the same date of the only record in 2008 - (AS)

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