Over the sea to Skye

02nd November 2018

Whilst the recent westerly winds and driving rain seemed relentless, from a birding perspective bad weather can produce the occasional bonus. American birds will sometimes be blown across the Atlantic and regularly make landfall in the western isles. Birds occasionally penetrate as far as Skye so we were delighted to welcome a Lesser Yellowlegs to Broadford Bay. This is a wading bird which breeds in Canada and normally winters in the southern states of the USA, Mexico and Central America. Though it’s bigger relative the Greater Yellowlegs has been recorded in Skye and Lochalsh, this the first time the Lesser has been recorded here, and only the 3rd time in the Highland recording area. It’s now been around for several weeks and is looking very comfortable in its winter home, largely ignoring the many visitors who have come to see it. An ill wind sometimes blows some good.

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