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 Mar 2010 Greenland White-fronted Goose flock of 28 still at Ardnish (A&EH)
30th Mar 2010 White Wagtail View Image 1st report with a single at Halistra, Waternish (AM)
30th Mar 2010 Ringed Birds as spring (yes spring!) approaches, worth keeping an eye open for ringed birds. Alan Mearns has 3 ringed Siskins coming to his garden feeders and he has managed to photograph the ring numbers! Jean Thomas had a colour-ringed Pied/White Wagtail in a garden at Carbost. Twite will soon be arriving back and many will have been colour ringed during the winter. Please keep a close look-out and pass in the details.
29th Mar 2010 Short-eared Owl View Image single at Fairy Bridge, Waternish (AS)
29th Mar 2010 Golden Eagle View Image a good time to see Golden Eagles on the island - three over 'The Three Chimneys' at Colbost and two over the lower Ose river (AS,RMcM)
29th Mar 2010 Chaffinch View Image melanistic bird reported previously at several locations in Dunvegan and Portree, back at feeders at Achacork (CLomas)
28th Mar 2010 Twite View Image pair back at Carr Brae, Dornie - also Meadow Pipits (BN)
27th Mar 2010 Kestrel 5 counted between Portree and Uig (DCJ)
27th Mar 2010 Wheatear View Image 1st female at The Aird, Braes(WM)and another report from Ardnish (DCJ)
27th Mar 2010 Wigeon 32 at Lusa and 30+ at Loch Portree (A&EH)(DCJ)
27th Mar 2010 Great Skua View Image first report of spring with 2 at Staffin Island (DCJ)
27th Mar 2010 Redwing View Image 26 at Kilmaluag (DCJ)
27th Mar 2010 Greenland White-fronted Goose count of 21 at Kilmuir (DCJ)
25th Mar 2010 Wheatear View Image now 3 birds at Lower Milovaig and a single at Skinidin (AS)
25th Mar 2010 Twite View Image 8 at Balmeanach, The Braes (WM)
24th Mar 2010 Lesser Black-backed Gull View Image single at Fasach, Glendale - also two at Dunvegan on 22nd (AS,RMcM)
24th Mar 2010 Wheatear View Image another single at The Aird, Braes(WM)
24th Mar 2010 Black-head Gull 9 at Heatherfield, Portree + 200 Herring Gulls at Clachan, Staffin & 50 Common Gulls at Glen Brittle (MP)
23rd Mar 2010 Blue Tit View Image we rarely carry reports about Blue Tits but Linda Ridsill-Smith has sent a photograph of a bird attending her feeders which has an unusual, and extremely downy back - see Gallery - explanations welcome!
22nd Mar 2010 Black-headed Gull reports are rare in the Glendale area, there was an adult bird at Lower Milovaig (AS)
22nd Mar 2010 Wheatear View Image still 2 at Meanish Pier (RMcM)
22nd Mar 2010 Whooper Swan View Image 35 at Loch Suardal and 23 at Pool Roag, Dunvegan (RMcM)
22nd Mar 2010 Short-eared Owl View Image single at Kilmuir (RMcM)
22nd Mar 2010 Barnacle Goose View Image c25 on Eilean Mor off Lyndale Point (RMcM)
21st Mar 2010 Wheatear View Image two males at Meanish Pier, Milovaig - also first two Twite reported back (AS)
21st Mar 2010 Wheatear View Image two at The Aird, Gedintailor, Braes (P.Dark)
20th Mar 2010 Yellowhammer a pair at Port an Eorna, and 3 at Duirinish Station, Lochalsh (H&M Scott)
20th Mar 2010 Lesser Black-backed Gull View Image first report of the spring with two at Broadford (MB)
20th Mar 2010 Meadow Pipit View Image birds have been conspicuous by their absence since the bad weather but a single was back in Lower Milovaig (AS)
20th Mar 2010 Whooper Swan View Image 29 on Loch Meodal (Rob Ware)
18th Mar 2010 Wigeon c20 at the head of Loch Dunvegan (AS)
18th Mar 2010 Iceland Gull View Image scarce this winter, there was an adult in Mallaig Harbour (SMacD)
18th Mar 2010 Common Crossbill View Image single near the Home Farm, Kyleakin (DCJ)
18th Mar 2010 Merlin View Image single hunting Broadford Bay for the second day (MB)
18th Mar 2010 Lapwing flock of c25 circling over Harrapool/Breakish (DR)
18th Mar 2010 Wheatear View Image report of two see on Raasay on Tuesday 16th - per www.birdguides.org
17th Mar 2010 Waxwing View Image single bird feeding on apples in a Mallaig garden
has probably been around for c10 days (S.MacDonald)
17th Mar 2010 Gannet single bird in Loch Slapin (RMcM) & one off Mallaig on the 18th (SMacD)
17th Mar 2010 Whooper Swan View Image as well as 12 birds on Suardal there was an excellent count of 63 at Claigan (Mayanne)
16th Mar 2010 Whooper Swan View Image 13 at Loch Suardal + a calling Water Rail (Rob Wright)
13th Mar 2010 Whooper Swan View Image c20 on the Black Lochs near Broadford (RC)
13th Mar 2010 Siskin whilst recently only 2/3 birds on feeders sudden increase to c40 around feeders at Kyleakin - (A&EH) - (possibly a sudden influx of new birds)
10th Mar 2010 Turnstone 10 at Loch Eynort + 4 Ringed Plover (HWest)
9th Mar 2010 Whooper Swan View Image more on the move with 30 heading north over Breakish Obbe (A&EH)
9th Mar 2010 Barnacle Goose View Image c130 seen on Isay from Waternish (AM)
8th Mar 2010 Great Northern Diver View Image count of 53 in Loch Slapin at dusk - also 4 Black-throated Divers (RMcM)
8th Mar 2010 Whooper Swan View Image 40+ heading north up Loch Dunvegan (Rob Wright)
7th Mar 2010 Purple Sandpiper View Image 20 on the north side of Pabay - seen from kayak (J.,L. & R. Phillips)
6th Mar 2010 Waxwing View Image only report so far this winter of a single bird on a Hawthorn bush near the Tables Hotel, Dunvegan (Rob Wright)
6th Mar 2010 Skye Bird Race only 62 species recorded this year - highlights included both Eagle species, Grey Plover at Ardnish, 11 Slavonian Grebe between Broadford Bay and the head of Loch Ainort, 13 Whooper Swans at Loch Suardal and also a Water Rail calling there, and Pied Wagtail starting to arrive with birds at Ord and Loch Cillchroisd.
5th Mar 2010 Wigeon 37 at the mouth of the Lusa River, Broadford (A&EH)
4th Mar 2010 Whooper Swan View Image moving north now with 8 over Kilbryde, Strathaird (MMcM)
4th Mar 2010 Hen Harrier View Image probably moving through, a nice adult male at Elgol (RMcM)
3rd Mar 2010 Slavonian Grebe 2 in Broadford Bay (SB)
3rd Mar 2010 Manx Shearwater View Image single seen from the Lochmaddy ferry off Waternish Point (SDuffield) - this is an exceptionally early record.
3rd Mar 2010 Skylark View Image a single bird seen from the Lochmaddy Ferry about half a mile off Waternish Point - the bird was seemingly heading south-west (SDuffield)
2nd Mar 2010 Turnstone 60+ at Ardnish + 12 Bar-tailed Godwit & 11 Lapwing (A&EH)
2nd Mar 2010 Greenland White-fronted Goose 28 flying from Ardnish towards Pabay (A&EH)
2nd Mar 2010 Barnacle Goose View Image 73 at Staffin Island (CMitchell)
2nd Mar 2010 Greylag Goose View Image good counts of 57 at Totscore and 84 at Kilmaluag (CMitchell)

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