Islay Spring Wildlife Expedition: 9th-13th March 2026:

9th - first afternoon

We all met at the Kennacraig ferry terminal and started with the ferry trip to Port Askaig.

Through West Loch Tarbert on the ferry, we had Great-Northern and Red-throated Divers,

Black Guillemots, Red-breasted Mergansers, a Slavonian Grebe, a few Goldeneye, Eiders, a

few Harbour Seals and best of all Ewan spotted an Otter on a rocky island near the shoreline

Down the Sound of Islay there was a small flock of pale-bellied Brent Geese and a fair few

Red Deer on the moors of Jura. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew across the sound and an

immature White-tailed Eagle (WTE) was sitting on a large island. A Golden Eagle soared

high over the moors and nearest peaks, mobbed by a Hooded Crow.

Heading straight off the ferry to Loch Skerrols we had 29 Tufted Ducks and 7 Goldeneye.

Taking advantage of the calm water, we went round to the Blackrock at Loch Indaal finding

Common Scoters, Red-Throated and Great-Northern Divers, Red-Breasted Mergansers,

Eiders, a few Long-tailed Ducks and Slavonian Grebes, 2 of which briefly did some courtship

dance/display! 2 Velvet Scoters were distantly out on the loch, before Theo spotted a

Red-necked Grebe not too far offshore, an Argyll scarcity!

We headed round to Machir Bay seeing lots of Brown Hare enroute, with the sun dropping

the local gulls were gathering on the beach and a few Ringed Plovers, plus a great flock of

13 Chough!

Back to our accommodation at Kilchoman to settle in for night 1.

10th - Day 2

A calm-ish day with bright spells and showers. We started the day with a Chough on the

church at the house. A couple more Chough north of Loch Gorm, a few Fieldfare and small

numbers of geese including a couple of Canada Geese. Heading along the Gruinart flats

road, a Little Egret was flushed by an Immature WTE which sadly landed out of view. Further

on we had superb views of a pair of Hen Harriers hunting over the marsh with the male flying

across the road in front of us.

Down to the SE of the island and to the Oa. On a walk round the Oa we had a distant view of

a pair of Golden Eagles briefly mobbed by a Peregrine and a Gannet over the sea. 2 Twite

were on the feeders and the feral Goats were out on the moors. Leaving the Oa an Adult

WTE flew over the moors and further down Fallow Deer were feeding in the fields.

We headed round to the bays on the SE finding a few Red-breasted Mergansers, Eiders and

a showy Slavonian Grebe.

On our way back north we spotted a single Red-legged Partridge, not a species we see often

on our tours.

Next stop Loch Ballygrant where we had good scope views of a pair of Ring-necked Ducks,

a flock of Tufted Ducks, a Buzzard was carrying prey, and an Adult WTE flew over the loch.

A Grey wagtail was at the car park while we had cake. We headed for home just as the rain

was setting in.

11th - Day 3

A windier but bright day today. Heading around the NW moorlands a ringtail Hen Harrier was

hunting, and further down we had superb views for around an hour of a pair of Golden

Eagles soaring over the near hillside coming to within 20m! A pair of Choughs were calling

and feeding nearby.

Next onto a coastal beach walk at Sanaigmore where we saw Eiders, 3 Common Scoter,

Great-Northern Divers, Kittiwakes, a Gannet, Rock Pipit and a couple more Chough.

En route to the next stop a male Hen Harrier was hunting the nearby moors.

Over to Bruichladdich for a scan of the sea and shoreline and to pick local naturalist Peter

Roberts’ fantastic book on the Birds of Islay and Jura.

Over to Loch Gruinart and to search through the geese on the flats with great success,

finding an adult Russian White-fronted Goose with the Greenlands and a Pale-bellied Brent

goose with the Barnacles, further down the icing on the cake came with great scope views of

the Adult Red-breasted Goose!

We headed to the VC for lunch before a wet and windy walk at Ardnave with a Greenshank

and 2 Chough there the highlights. A quick stop looking over Loch Gruinart centre gave us a

few common duck species, a huge flock of Golden Plover, 12 Whooper Swans and 2 Little

Egrets.

As the weather changed we stuck to more vehicle based birding at Loch Indaal finding LBB

Gulls, Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Greenshank, Dunlin, Turnstone and a great spot of a female

Merlin on a roadside fence!

Enroute back home we had another ringtail Hen Harrier, lots of Brown Hares and a sizable

flock of Greenland Whitefronts to finish the day.

12th - Day 4

A wet and windy day beckoned so we started the day with a few Whisky’s at Kilchoman and

then went down to the Gruinart Hides. An Imm WTE on the pools was a strong start with

another one flying by a little later, lifting all the wildfowl. 2 Peregrines, Golden Plovers, a male

Hen Harrier, Snipe, 6 Black-tailed Godwits, Pintail, Gadwall, Wigeon, Shoveler and Teal.

Amongst the Eurasian Teal, Theo picked out their transatlantic cousin, a drake Green-winged

Teal.

The weather came in in the afternoon so more vehicle based birding included a flyby male

Hen Harrier, Pink-footed Goose, Grey Wagtail and lots more Geese. We stopped in at

Bruichladdich distillery for a tipple and then headed for home, on the way to the house we

saw 25 Brown Hares and a Golden Eagle powered across the moor to finish the day.

13th: Last day

A mixture of hail squalls and sunshine for our trip to Jura today. A dusting of snow on the

roads and hills of Islay was a surprise on the way to the ferry. Straight off the ferry we spotted

a lone Bottlenose Dolphin heading down the Sound of Islay.

There were lots of Red Deer out on the moors. Arriving in Craighouse bay, Turnstones and

Rock Pipits were on the shores, a Harbour Seal was hauled out on the near shore rocks and

a few others swimming around, R-B Mergansers, Black Guillemots, several G-N and a R-T

diver were also out in the flat calm waters.

A toilet stop was very lucrative when Theo heard a Nuthatch calling which showed well, the

1st record for Jura!

Back down to the coast but sadly no sign of any Otters, a pair of Adult WTE’s were patrolling

the coastlines. We headed back over to Islay for the ferry home and some lunch.

Aboard the Finlaggan back to the mainland. We had an Imm WTE perched on an island in

the Sound of Islay. Finishing with West Loch Tarbert from the ferry we had a few Kittiwakes

and a Gannet at the outer entrance and lots of G-N Divers and R-T Divers, 7 Slavonian

Grebes, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, Goldeneyes and R-B Mergansers, Black Guillemots,

Guillemots and Razorbills and an Imm WTE flew across the loch distantly. We said our

goodbyes at the terminal after a successful 5 day adventure.