The Cottage on Holiday - Walking on the Wild Side

It's been a little quiet at Hazel Tree Cottage recently, as we took a week out from the usual routine for a long-awaited holiday in Scotland. Seumas spent much of his childhood in Caithness, where his grandmother lived, and for the last 13 years he's shared his love of the country with me. This year we headed for the opposite side of the country, to a wee croft in South Uist.

A trip to Uist has been a long held wish for me. I have been learning Gaelic for the last two years, and Na h-Eileanan an Iar - The Western Isles- are at the heart of Gaelic culture, and the language is still in daily use there. The islands are also a haven for wildlife of all sorts, and as a birder, the lure of such treats as corncrakes, divers, eagles and seabirds was irresistable.

An Croit

Ronnie's Cottage is a tiny croft on the shoreline of South Uist. It was renovated in 2012 and despite its traditional appearance has all the conveniences you could need, apart from WiFi, which frankly was a bonus, as Seumas and I have a tendency to be wedded to our phones. We fell unashamedly in love with the place, and sat out most evenings looking over the tidal loch. 

In fact, we scarcely needed to leave the garden all week, as the wildlife came to us. On the first morning a Golden Eagle was quartering the moorland to the south, an otter came exploring on the second evening, the local Cuckoo called incessantly from the powerline over the road, and a pair of Short Eared Owls were regular visitors - one came winging round the chimney stack and nearly collided with Seumas. Difficult to know who was more shocked.

Hunting Short-Eared Owl

I drove Seumas mad on the single track roads, constantly demanding he stop so I could check out diver-shaped silhouettes on the many lochs. Most of them were Tufted Ducks or Red-Breasted Mergansers, but persistence paid off, and I finally saw my own Red Throated Diver during a day trip to the most southerly occupied island, Barra. They are beautiful birds, with soft grey plumage that shades into the deep red throat. 'My' bird was floating quietly, apparently unfazed by the excitement over our side of the loch as binoculars, camera and telescope all came into play. Seumas spotted another pair near Ormacleit on South Uist on our last day, which were swimming slowly up and down the loch, occasionally meeting and diving, then resurfacing and separating again.

Red-Throated Divers 

We had hot, clear weather all week, with up to 18 hours of sunshine a day. The sun rises around 4.30 this time of year, and sets at about 22.30, and it never really got dark. I took Thomas out around 3am one morning and it was still twilight, and all the birds were still calling.

The Outer Hebrides are almost devoid of trees, and it was entertaining to see how many birds made use of the power lines that snake all over the islands. Everything from cuckoos to oystercatchers to the usually timid wrens staked out their patch on top of a pole. The wrens are particularly interesting as they are actually a subspecies; they are larger and darker than our wrens and their song differs too. The local starlings are also a subspecies; we noticed that they have much fewer spots on their plumage, and the juveniles are dark brown and much less conspicuous in a flock.

Stonechat embracing modern technology

The birdlife in general is far richer and more accessible than on the mainland. Lack of human interference and fewer ground predators mean they are much less wary of people, and utterly indifferent to cars. Our total 'list' for the week was over 70 species, but plain numbers don't do them justice. This was the best birding I've had in years!


Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Mallard
Tufted Duck
Eider
Red Breasted Merganser
Red Throated Diver
Fulmar
Manx Shearwater
Gannet
Shag
Grey Heron
Little Grebe
Golden Eagle
Buzzard
Corncrake (heard)
Curlew
Redshank
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Lapwing
Dunlin
Common Sandpiper
Great Skua
Arctic Skua
Puffin
Guillemot
Black Guillemot
Razorbill
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Black Headed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black Backed Gull
Greater Black Backed Gull
Common Gull
Kittiwake
Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo
Short-Eared Owl
Kestrel (on mainland)
Magpie
Jackdaw
Jay (on mainland)
Hooded Crow
Carrion Crow
Raven
Rook (on mainland)
Great tit (on mainland)
Coal tit (on mainland)
Skylark
Swallow
Housemartin
Reed warbler (heard)
Wren
Starling
Blackbird
Songthrush
Robin
Stonechat
Wheatear
House Sparrow
Pied Wagtail
Meadow pipit
Chaffinch
Siskin (on mainland)
Twite
Corn Bunting
Reed Bunting