Day 9 saw us move westwards from Thurso. We had an unexpected stop at Reay Golf Club. We needed a quick comfort stop, and they had a cafe sign outside so we stopped in, and were made most welcome. Inside the TV was on with the royal wedding. Each time a golfer came in and moved near the screen the lass running the cafe/bar growled and they rapidly took a step back! It was clear who was in charge! Mrs M made it clear that we weren't going to move until she'd seen the dress, so the stop was a little longer than expected!
The scenery around the North coast is spectacular. Sadly this has lead to some problems with traffic - there's now often a continuous stream of vehicles ranging from bicycles to lorry-sized campers. In the main everyone gets on, but you do see sights such as a Bentley owner parking in the middle of a car park, blocking it to all-comers, just so he could get a selfie of the car with the lake behind! While obviously it brings in trade, some of the locals are very unhappy as there isn't enough infrastructure - public toilets are being closed, there are not many proper camping places, and roads can't handle the volume of traffic - especially the larger vehicles. One poor lady we spoke to had closed her cafe one day because she just couldn't cope with the number of people stopping... This is a lovely place, but don't rush!
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| North Coast |
When travelling these isolated roads, it's always worth scanning the phone wires that usually run besides the road. This can be the easiest way of finding Cuckoos, like this young one on the edge of Loch Eriboll. We watched it still being attended to by a pipit, it's foster-parent. We wonder how the pipit doesn't realize and reject the cuckoo-chick, yet the parental instinct is strong. You can almost hear the excuses - "he's not fat, just big-boned"...
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| Cuckoo and 'parent' beside Loch Eribol |
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| Typical Northern beach, tucked away between rocky outcrops |
Before long we had to turn South and start the run down to Lochinver. For a while we ran inland, crossing the corner around Cape Wrath and the bombing ranges. We had a date with Edie tonight, so poor old Betsy got pushed a little harder up some of the hills than her turbo was happy with, but still she hung on...
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| Foinaven (I think!) |
We rolled into Ullapool with about half an hour to spare - to find a mobile cinema set up for a previes showing of 'Edie', a film set locally. This HGV has sliding sides, roof and floor that expanded out to make an 80 seat screen, just like one of the smaller screens at a multiplex. Much of the film was set in Lochionver and on Suilven, and many locals had taken roles as extra. Each time one appeared there would be cheering and clapping - a real sense of community. The next day we heard people in Achiltibuie bemoaning the attention that Lochinver was getting, and claiming Suilven as 'their' mountain!! A good film, worth watching in our view.
The next day (10) was a little windy so we decided to postpone our Handa trip, and head down to Achiltibuie instead. A drive along the Wee Mad Road gave us both a bookshop and a bay with a pair of black-throated divers in, one in breeding plummage, one still in drabber winter colours - an interesting comparison. A Landrover came screaching to a halt - 'What have you got? Oo, Black-throated, where???' Needless to say, the BTD's drifted away, preferring the quiet er side of the bay!
Achiltibuie is home to a good number of Twite (try on the road down to the cemetory), and to the Piping School. a community cafe where excellent Lorne Sausage and Egg rolls can be had for a bargain price - well recommended!
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| Twite in Achiltibuie |
Further up the peninsula we stopped to look offshore. It was very windy, and sheltering between the mainland and the Summer Islands were a number of Merganser and Divers, including a late-staying Great Northern - cue the Landrover screeching to a halt again 'What you've got this time, ooo a Great Northern, first we've seen... Maybe we should follow you around'! Well, perhaps they should have, for around the corner we saw a Gannet offshore, diving for fish, a beautiful sight; swooping gracefully on stiff wings, a flash of white against the grey sea, then pulling the wings back to plunge into the see after a fish.
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| Gannet off Achiltibuie |
The following day (11) brought us one of our few wet days, but the forecast inland was better, so we headed to Lairg, where the rain had reduced to an occasional drizzle. Stopping at a wood on the outskirts we had a good walk - no Crested Tits, but good numbers of Crossbill, incluidng a possible Parrot Crossbill - not very good picture on the other camera, so we'll have to check that out when I can download from it.
From there we gave a hide just north of Lairg a try - and while the reportings book seem to suggest a certain amount of wet-day boredom it actually wasn't too bad at all - tree pipits and redpoll on the walk in, dunlin, ringed plover and redshank around the pool, and skylark singing overhead.
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| Sightings book in Lairg hide showed some some colourful local wildlife! |
South of Lairg we tried Shin Falls; most people were looking for Salmon, and were disappointed, while we were looking for Dippers, and were most satisfied; we hard a sudden bout of squeaking, and managed to spy out a nest of young dippers, fed by a pair of attentive parents.
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| Dipper at Shin Falls |
The drive back to the coast yielded a fine pub lunch and a series of sunset vistas, followed by a dusk veiw of a Black-throated Diver in one of the higher lochs, a final treat for the day...
The difference a day makes. The rain cleared, so on day 12 we headed up to Handa Island. A special place, reached only by a 'ferry' that consists of a RIB, an inflatable boat. This island is home to many breeding birds, including both Arctic and Great Skuas. These muscular birds have a reputation as thugs, harassing smaller gulls and terns until they drop their own food. Great Skuas, or Bonxies as they are known locally, are real heavy-weights, powering over the island, while the Arctic Skuas are much more nimble.
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| Arctic Skua over Handa |
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| Great Skua on Handa - locally called a Bonxie |
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| Bonxie - Great Skua |
The cliffs are full of seabirds - loads of Guillemots, but also Razorbill, Kittiwake and Filmar, while on the grass tops to the cliffs are the Puffin burrows. At this time there is a lot of breeding activity, and many pairs bonding - sometimes it's hard to describe the bonding as anything other than affectionate, with Puffins bill rubbing, and Fulmars mutually preening. Not that it's all love - there's such competition for nests space and material that there are also squabbles - I watched two Puffins so engrossed in their fight for nesting material that they seemed not to notice themselves rolling off the ledge, falling onto another ledge, and then falling through the air, still both not letting go of the grass; it was only after they'd fallen some 40 or 50 feet that they let go and separated...
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| Puffins arguing over nesting material while plummeting through clear air |
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| Puffin standing tall |
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| Puffin pair greeting each other with bill rubbing |
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| Razorbill, one of the many seabirds on the cliffs |
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| Fulmars greeting each other with affectionate preening |
Elsewhere on the island there were plenty of Skylark, Meadow Pipits and Wheatear. They had largely got used to human presence, and by and large were very accepting of people; it's not often you see Skylarks hunting through the grass just a few yards away from your feet.
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| Skylark on Handa, unconcerned by human presence |
Another special encounter was with a Snipe. These birds mark their territory by 'drumming' overhead. This peculiar sound is not a call - rather they have special feathers that they can extend that hen vibrate in the air. We've heard the sound several times, but this was the first time we had seen them, and seen the feathers extended - wonderful!!
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| Snipe roding over Handa - note the two small feathers protruding at the rear - it is these vibrating that produce the undulating drumming sound |
As we waited for the inflatable ferry to return to the beach to pick us up, offshore cruised a pair of Red-throated Divers. Low in the water, and often 'snorkelling' (head below the surface looking for fish), they could be hard to pick out, and when fishing would just slide under the water with no fuss - unlike Grebes that often have to jump up to then dive under. Often looking quite reptilian, Divers are one of the oldest species of birds, and fascinating to watch.
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| Pair of Red-throated Divers - note the one 'snorkelling' on the left, barely visible |
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| Pair of Red-throated Divers offshore from Handa |
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| Ferry Terminal on Handa! Waiting for the RIB while Red-throated Divers cruised offshore |
Day 13 saw us on a beach local to Lochinver, a hot-spot for Divers, especially Black-throated, and so we had a wonderful morning watching a good number of Divers moving around the bay in small groups. We also had a great flying display by Common Terns, breeding nearby.
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| Black-throated Divers near Lochinver |
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| Bay near Lochinver |
The hot afternoon was a little less idyllic - what should have been a lovely walk was spoilt rather by someone letting their dog off the lead to bounce through the heather and around the lochans - whatever leads people to think that it is acceptable to allow a dog to roam freely through a marked and fenced nature reserve scattering nesting birds and trampling nesting birds is beyond me. Clearly this had become quite a problem as there were fencing posts and netting waiting to be installed, so it looks like the footpaths will now be all lined with fencing to keep dogs and people off the heather; its a shame when nature reserves need to become prison camps because of a few thoughtless people.
After a rather nice tea we headed to Achiltibuie to watch for seabirds at dusk, and we were then treated to a series of grand sunsets on the return journey. Only four emergency stops on the way back, two for deer, one for sheep, and one for a sheep dog!
The next day (14) we moved further south, passing through Ullapool on the way to Gairloch. Ullapool saw a new bird for us, an Iceland Gull. Don't worry, they said, you won't mistake it... And they were right - a brilliant white bird, almost with a halo, that looked so bright it really stood out from the more normal Herring (Light grey wings, black tips) and Lesser Black-backed (Dark Grey wings, black wing tips, yellow legs) Gulls.
The day finished with a fine pint in the local in Gairloch. One of the locals engaged Mrs M in conversation; it seemd to go along the lines of "Arr aye arr windswept arr" which we took to be a comment on hair-style!
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| Bins and hat down, beer up! |
The next morning (15) saw us spending most of the morning in bookshops, and then the afternoon in this delightful bay near Gruinyard. At first it seemed empty apart froma single Red-breated Merganser; the gentle rolling waves were enough to hide low-slung divers just a dozen yards or so out in the bay; in the end we say a pair of Black-throated Divers and at least three Red-throated Divers (could have been more, quite hard keeping them all in sight, as they submerge with no splash, and can then reappear a couple of minutes later a hundred yards away). We even saw some displaying, a prelude to mating.
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| Bay near Gruinyard |
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| Red-throated Diver, one of a number cruising around the bay |
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| Red-throated Divers getting ready for 'jiggy-jiggy' |
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| Red-throated Diver |
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| Slightly different view of the most romantic island - Isle of Ewe (say it aloud) from the head of the loch |
The next day (16) was always going to be a long one, yet another nice drive. We saw a speed trap near Kyle; though it was never going to be a problem with Betsy as she is - had plenty of time to give them a wave, and even got a wave back! We stopped at a cafe nearby, and a train went by - not the usual two carriage affair, but a full tourist express hauled by a honking great diesel (class 66 if you know such things) - we could feel the floor of the cafe bouncing up and down!
The traffic was heavy here, so we were glad of an opportunity to take a quieter road alongside Loch Garry for a while, taking time to catch up with breeding Common Scoter. We're used to seeing them in winter, a huge 'raft' of them off the North Wales coast, sometime ten thousand strong and more, black dots on the horizon, so quite different to see them a lot closer and as individuals.
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| Common Scoter in Loch Garry |
We rolled through Fort William, and took the small ferry across to Corran, Here on and in the old pier is a small population of breeding Black Guillemot, known locally as Tysties. Very distinctive with the white patches on their wings, and bright red feet, and often found as individuals or as just very small groups.
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| Black Guillemot - Tystie - at Corran |
Our last treat of the day came with supper - a roll of nice bread from Fort William with cheese and chutney, sat in the car while overlooking Loch Linhe, watching a Harbour Porpoise fishing just offshore. We'd hoped for an Otter, but not complaining!
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| Looking over Loch Linhe |
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| Harbour Porpoise |
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| Harbour Porpoise |
Coming soon - part 3 - Mull, Iona, Ardnamurchan, and then the way home...
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