Lockdown Birding

28th May 2020

Though I am in the at risk age category, I enjoy my freedom and travel, so the lockdown period has been a bit of a trial, especially when birding is mainly a solo activity. For us, it started on March 13 as we had to make a hasty retreat from visiting family in Barcelona and self isolated. On our local walks around Broadford I started to do complete bird lists on Birdtrack and these have provided a bit of a focus. We have had a regular walk at Camas na Sgianadin and on 10 visits recorded 46 species with an average of 21 different species per visit. Herring Gull and Oystercatcher were recorded on every visit, and Common Crossbill on 60% of visits. I also made solo visits between Ashaig and Lusa, a patch which was larger but also more diverse. This patch has been visited 16 times and a total of 73 species recorded, with on average 31 species per visit. Meadow Pipit and Ringed Plover were recorded on every visit and a total of 17 species were recorded only once. These walks will continue for some time yet and breeding evidence recorded as much as possible. If there is any benefit of lockdown it is that local monitoring has been enhanced and has contributed to national datasets via Birdtrack.

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