The last sunny and hot day on Uist as the weather changes to more normal wet conditions!
In the morning we explored the north area of North Uist and found one of the famous arcing beaches that must have been two miles in length and without another soul in sight! A fantastic place to exercise the collies even if the bird-life was minimal. Even so, Gannets and Kittiwakes were fishing in the bay out of the strong southerly breeze, and a Great Northern Diver cruised the turquoise waters. A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier and a couple of Common Buzzards hunted the dunes and a singing Corn Bunting and several Twite populated the flat machair on the land-ward side.
After a couple of hours here we drove the single-track roads, stopping and scanning at suitable vantage points. It was another day when the distant outcrops of St Kilda were clearly visible to the west. A summering Whooper Swan had a whole loch to itself but most other birds were mostly repeats of previous days.
Somehow or other we found ourselves back at Balranald, and we went on an extended (6 hour) hike taking in the sandy beaches, fields and machair. It was very enjoyable but we were all very tired and thirsty at the end of it! I don't think we saw any birds different to the previous day and again failed to connect with the elusive Harlequin.
The evening was spent scanning the moorland road to Solas. In fading light we saw three Short-eared Owls and some three or four Hen Harriers and notched up some more Arctic Skuas and a Greenshank.
Regards
Eleanor and Neil
 |
| Swallow |
 |
 |
| Adult Herring Gull |
 |
| Arctic Tern |
 |
| Yet another Oystercatcher! |
 |
| Meadow Pipit |
No comments:
Post a Comment