For those new to lists of this nature, the species list and scientific names which follow are listed in the Voous sequence. Some of the names may be unfamiliar, but follow the recent recommendations of the British Ornithologists Union which have been adopted by the Scottish Ornithologists Club. Historical records have been included where there is a reasonable provenance. Otherwise, rarer species have only been included where the record has been published in official reports such as the Atlases, or accepted by the Local Recorder or, in appropriate cases, the Scottish Records Committee. Three committees oversee rare records. The Highland Records Committee (HRC) for local rarities; the Scottish Birds Records Committee (SBRC) for scottish rarities (http://www.the-soc.org.uk/sbrc.htm); and the British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC) for british rarities (http://www.bbrc.org.uk/). Rarities have been identified in the species list by the use of the appropriate committee initials. In respect of these rare birds, and others not listed, a full description will be required. Photographic evidence can also be extremely helpful.
Because Skye has never been a recording area in its own right, and is part of the wider Highland recording area, it is accepted that this 'list' may be incomplete. We welcome any additions and will update things as we go. As things stand the Skye species list shown below stands at 248, and an effort has also been made to comment on status.
248 results. Displaying 1 to 248. VIEW ALL
A Black Kite seen by Dan Brown west of Portree on 30th May 2010 has been accepted by the SBRC and becomes No.248 on the Skye list. Dan took photographs of the bird, described as a tatty adult, and these were submitted by RMcM to SBRC and the record has now been accepted on the basis of the photographic evidence alone. Whilst this underscores the importance of obtaining images of rare species it is unfortunate that some observers, despite promptings by the Recorder, seem reluctant to submit descriptions.
A Black Stork seen by C&H Lewis at Waternish Point on 31st May 2010 is No. 245 on the Skye list and has been accepted by the BBRC. This bird had been ringed as a chick in northern Hungary in 2007. It was a wandering bird and also seen elsewhere in the Highlands, in the Western Isles and also on Shetland. This was a different bird from one seen later in the year at Kyle of Lochalsh (see Blog)