A week in the Uists

05th October 2018

We spent a week's family holiday in the Uists based in Benbecula at the end of September, always an exciting time for migrants. Whilst the weather was mixed, as you would expect at this time of the year, we enjoyed some glorious days on empty beaches with lots of birds thrown in. Although our species list was not huge (70+) there was lots of quality and the wader numbers were immense. Highlight amongst the waders was two finds of Pectoral Sandpipers, a bird which has only been recorded once on Skye. Amongst migrant passerines it was good to catch up with a Yellow-browed Warbler at Langass. Both Merlin and Short-eared Owls provided fantastic photo opportunities and there are a number of images on the site. A Lesser Yellowlegs had been found whilst we wwere there but despite an early morning search it could not be relocated. Inevitably it was re-found a couple of days after we returned, and the appearance of an Isabelline Shrike was an added incentive for a quick return trip. Fortune favours the brave, or the daft, and I managed to see both species which can be added to my Scottish List. A bonus was the discovery of an American Golden Plover. The westerlies have brought in a few American waders....although the Shrike had come from the east, near the fringes of Asia. If anything, bird migration can be extremely unpredictable and Barra can be a bit of a magnet.

Bob

THE BOOK

"A glorious little gem"

AMAZON

"A book such as this has to look backwards and the author does so succinctly, looking at the work of several of the pioneering naturalists before picking out the publications of JA Harvie-Brown and the Rev. Hugh Macpherson. I know this book fills a real gap in the information available for the Isle of Skye and it will surely sell well at local bookshops."

Andrew Currie Miscellany West Highland Free Press

"A total of 238 species have been recorded, with 14 of those 'red listed' as of high conservation concern ... another innovation has been the inclusion of Gaelic names for some birds. While this is not uncommon in a few other books, the addition of some regional Gaelic names is very unusual and very welcome."

Ray Collier Country Diary 'Up in the Skye' The Guardian

"Illustrated with beautiful photographs of current birdlife on the island, the publication also features sketches by Jean Thomas of The Little Gallery, Portnalong, stimulating the reader's interest further and allowing them to identify species they encounter on Skye."

The Hebridean