Skye Birds - A Birding Guide to the Isle of Skye
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Bird sightings on the Island of Skye and the neighbouring area

The objective of this page 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 Stronach (  who may require a full description before the record was accepted. This website will very much be locally focused but some records will be included in the SOC Highland website www.highlandbirds.scot. and may also reach national sites.  We 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.  Records sent to us are also submitted to Birdtrack.

Date Species Image Details
31st Aug 2009 Common Tern View Image 2 at Meanish Pier + 8 Manx Shearwaters (AS)
29th Aug 2009 Arctic Skua View Image up to 5 in the Sound of Raasay in northerly winds - also 3 Great Skua (WM)
27th Aug 2009 Bar-tailed Godwit View Image good count of 38 between Harrapool and Ashaig + 2 Black-tailed Godwit (RMcM)
27th Aug 2009 Great Northern Diver View Image 2 in Pabay sound (RMcM)
27th Aug 2009 Black-throated Diver View Image two close in at Waterloo (DR)
26th Aug 2009 Whimbrel View Image 14 flew south over Harrapool early afternoon (RMcM)
26th Aug 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image 3 at Ashaig + 2 Sanderling - also a total of 30 Bar-tailed Godwits with 13 at Harrapool and 17 at Ashaig (RMcM)
26th Aug 2009 Sanderling View Image up to 16 at Traigh, Mallaig (SMacD)
25th Aug 2009 Turnstone mixed flock of c25 waders including 6 Turnstone, Dunlin & Ringed Plover at Camus a Mhor, Braes (WM
25th Aug 2009 Manx Shearwater View Image c30 north through Narrows of Raasay (WM)
25th Aug 2009 Storm Petrel up to 20-30 feeding in the wake of trawlers between Arisaig & Eigg - seen from the 'Shearwater' (R.Dyer)
23rd Aug 2009 Little Grebe View Image two well grown chicks being fed at Loch Cill Chriosd, Kilbryde - those involved in Atlas work can continue to update breeding evidence by way of roving records - try and get any late data updated into the system please - Bob
22nd Aug 2009 Bar-tailed Godwit View Image excellent count of 33 in evening with 4 Black-tailed in the morning; also 6 Knot, 6 Sanderling, 130+ Dunlin & 76 Redshank (MB)
22nd Aug 2009 Wigeon first arrivals of the autumn with 22 at Broadford Bay (MB)
22nd Aug 2009 Knot good count of 36 at Ashaig + 100 Common Tern, adults and young (A&EH)
22nd Aug 2009 Great Northern Diver View Image single on Loch Slapin near Glasnakille (RMcM)
21st Aug 2009 Ringed Plover View Image a colour ringed Ringed Plover seen at Traigh near Mallaig on August 3 was an adult female, first ringed as part of a breeding study at Achiltibuie in 2004 and which has bred in the area ever since.(Stephen MacDonald)
21st Aug 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image bad weather is good for birds on Skye!! - 82 Black-tailed Godwits at Broadford Bay is a record count - 7 Bar-tailed Godwit, 8 Sanderling and 2 Whimbrel (MBenson) - also 20 Whimbrel flying over Harrapool later in the evening.
20th Aug 2009 Carrion Crow View Image 2 at Lower Breakish and a Peregrine on nearby Ardnish (A&EH)
20th Aug 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image 3 at Traigh, Mallaig + 2 Whimbrel and 2 Sanderling (SMacD)
19th Aug 2009 Cuckoo single in Broom Place, Portree - probably a sub-adult(AS) - this is a late date and normally adults leave early.
19th Aug 2009 Sanderling View Image at least 10 at Waterloo (MB)
17th Aug 2009 Golden Plover 40+ at Traigh, Mallaig + 3 Knot, 3 Sanderling, 52 Ringed Plover & 20 Dunlin (SMacD)
16th Aug 2009 Ringed Plover View Image excellent count of 130+ as well as 3 Sanderling, 4 Knot, a Black-tailed Godwit and a Merlin in attendance (MB)
16th Aug 2009 Common Tern View Image excellent count of 200+ between Broadford & Pabay including adults feeding fledged young (see Gallery) + 4 Arctic Skuas in attendance (MB)
15th Aug 2009 Storm Petrel from the Small Isles ferry - singles on the south side of Rum and off Point of Sleat (Stephen MacDonald)
15th Aug 2009 Knot 14 at Traigh, Mallaig + 14 Golden Plover & 4 Sanderling (Stephen MacDonald)
14th Aug 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image 2 in Broadford Bay + 3 Knot & 2 Sanderling (MB)
12th Aug 2009 Swift single at Broadford (KBryan)
11th Aug 2009 Swallow roost at Loch Cill Chroisd, Suardal, had c500 mainly juveniles at roost + small numbers of Sand Martins + a briefly calling Water Rail. At nearby Camas Malag, Manx Shearwaters and Kittiwake were feeding close inshore. (SWT Members Group field trip)
11th Aug 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image 3 at Harrapool + a Bar-tailed (MB)
10th Aug 2009 Common Sandpiper View Image 8 at Camas Malag, Loch Slapin flew west out to sea at high tide, presumably on the move (RMcM)
9th Aug 2009 Great Skua View Image single off the Black Isles at Badicaul (Susan Smith)
9th Aug 2009 Manx Shearwater View Image probably 1000+ in Loch Slapin - lot of rich feeding around some of our sea lochs at the moment with good numbers of sand eels about (RMcM)
9th Aug 2009 Swift 5 over Traigh, Mallaig (Stephen MacDonald)
7th Aug 2009 Cuckoo though this species is well distributed on Skye we rarely record fledglings - a fledged young being fed by a Meadow Pipit at Aird Bernisdale (see image in Gallery)(Alasdair & Ann Galbraith)
6th Aug 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image re the colour ringed Godwit at Broadford Bay yesterday photographed by Martin Benson (see Gallery) we have now established that the bird was a male, originally ringed at Terrington on the Wash in Norfolk on 31.10.08. It was re-sited at Vogaloekur in West Iceland on 20 & 24.4.09. Its actual breeding site on Iceland is not known and it obviously turned up with us en route to its wintering grounds and possibly a return to the Wash.
6th Aug 2009 Knot 7 Knot, 5 Sanderling, 200 Dunlin + a single Bar-tailed and the colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit - all at Broadford Bay (MB)
6th Aug 2009 Black-headed Gull 5 adults heading west out of Loch Brittle was an interesting movement (MK, RMcM)
5th Aug 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image 2 in afternoon, including one with colour rings, as well as 7 Knot and 3 Sanderling in Broadford Bay (MB)- later a single Black-tailed Godwit at The Obbe, Kyleakin which is unusual (A&EH)
5th Aug 2009 Cory's Shearwater no details available but report of a Cory's Shearwater 2 miles east of Muck - per www.Birdguides
4th Aug 2009 Great Skua View Image territorial birds were present earlier in the summer at Rubh an Dunain, Loch Brittle and report that they have bred successfully (per KC)
4th Aug 2009 Black-tailed Godwit View Image 6 in Broadford Bay & 4 Whimbrel (MB)
4th Aug 2009 Red-throated Diver View Image 2 pairs bred on NTS property in Lochalsh but both failed (RAnderson)
3rd Aug 2009 Grasshopper Warbler still 2 reeling birds at Tote (CHawley)
2nd Aug 2009 Whimbrel View Image 7 at Ashaig + 14 Knot (A&EH)
2nd Aug 2009 Glaucous Gull View Image summering bird still present at Portree (Colin Alston)
1st Aug 2009 Sanderling View Image 16 at Harrapool + 72 Redshank, 180+ Oystercatcher, 5 Greenshank, 180+ Dunlin and 4 Whimbrel - lots of waders coming south on passage (MB)
1st Aug 2009 Swift single reported over Isleornsay (RCottis)

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