Trip
Information
Tour
Dates: TBA
Tour Leader: Richard Knapton
Price: TBA
Highlights:
• Superb
scenery, fascinating history and culture, and excellent birding in
well-established
nature reserves and national parks
• Those amazing outer islands – the
Orkneys, Shetlands, Skye, Western Isles!
• Ferry
crossings and short airplane flights to reach those isolated northern
and western
islands
• June
is a delightful month to be in Scotland; mild and pleasant, long fine
evenings. The height of the breeding season for birds
Featured Birds:
• Great
Skua
• Eurasian
Dipper
• Corn
Crake
• Crested
Tit
• Scottish
Crossbill
• Gray
Wagtail
• Atlantic
Puffin
• Razorbill
• Northern
Fulmar
Trip Summary:
• Mild,
pleasant weather
• Short
to moderate ferry crossings between Scotland and the Orkneys, and Scotland
and the Western Isles
• Short
airflight between Orkneys and Shetlands
• Easy
to moderate walking, one fairly demanding walk on the Cairngorms
• Short
to moderate drives, comfortable vehicles.
• 4 to 8 participants with one, 9 - 12 with two leaders
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The
appeal of Scotland is endless. It is a country with a rich culture
and long history, a land
of mountains and moorland, salmon-filled rivers and legendary lochs,
ancient Scots Pine forests and rugged coastlines, and outer islands that
are equally appealing.  On our tour we visit several of the outer islands,
each with its own character and each equally fascinating – the
Orkneys, the Shetlands, Isle of Skye, and the Western Isles including
Lewis and Harris, both North and South Uist and Benbecula. The Orkneys
are low and green, with several remarkable prehistoric sites; the Shetlands
are wilder and windswept, more like Norway; the Western Isles are a string
of rugged islands of peatland, moors and spectacular seascapes. Birding
is equally varied. The lowland forests have Common Redstarts, several
species of tits and warblers, Common Treecreepers and Pied Flycatchers,
the Scots Pine forests hold Common Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Crested
Tit, European Siskin, and Scottish Crossbill, and the rivers and lakes
are home to Dippers, Gray Wagtails, Ospreys and Tufted Ducks. Britain
is internationally important for its seabird colonies, and we visit several
of these for Common Murres, Atlantic Puffin, Black-legged Kittiwake,
Northern Fulmar as well as Common, Arctic, Sandwich and Little Terns
and Common Eiders. The Cairngorms are noted for three high elevation
species – Rock Ptarmigan, Dotterel and Snow Bunting – and
we take a cable car up to the top of the mountain at 1300 m to look for
these species. The islands are famous for nesting Parasitic Jaegers and
Great Skuas, and for species which are declining rapidly elsewhere in
northwest Europe such as Corn Crake and Corn Bunting. An amazing tour
in an amazing country!
See detailed itinerary
below
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Itinerary
Day
1 - Arrival
Our Tour begins
after dinner in the lobby of our hotel near Edinburgh, when our leader(s)
will meet the group and discuss the upcoming trip
and next day's activities.
Day
2 - Scottish
Highlands via Braemar and Tomintoul
Today we travel north through the lowlands of Scotland and head
for the Scottish Highlands where we spend the next three nights. We leave
the historic and striking city of Edinburgh with its dramatic castle
sitting imposingly on an extinct volcanic rock, and travel northbound
over the Firth of Forth into the Grampians. We make frequent stops
at several charming spots, including Braemar and Ballater, then we
head over the moors towards Tomintoul and Speyside. Along the Firth
of Forth we could find European Shag and Black-legged Kittiwake, as
well as Common, Arctic, Sandwich and Little Terns, Common Eider and
Eurasian Oystercatchers. As we travel over the moors, we'll encounter
Eurasian Curlews, Lapwings, Sky Larks, Meadow Pipits Northern Wheatear
and Eurasian Buzzard. Night in Grantown-on-Spey.
Days
3 & 4 - Scottish Highlands: Abernethy Forest, Loch Garten, Cairngorm
and
Insch Marshes
Abernethy Forest and Loch Garten hold several pine forest specialities
not found anywhere else in Britain. We make an attempt to find the
declining Common Capercaillie, as well as Black Grouse, Crested Tit
and Scottish Crossbill (the latter being a debatable split from Parrot
Crossbill). Other breeding birds are European Siskin, Whinchat and
Common Redstart. Speyside has many fast-flowing rivers with White-throated
Dipper, Grey Wagtail and Red-breasted Mergansers. A visit to several
lochs around Grantown may reveal Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe and
Common Merganser. In the evening we have an opportunity to visit Abernethy
Forest for displaying Eurasian Woodcock and the chance of finding Tawny
Owl.
Weather permitting, we ride the cable car to the top of Cairngorm,
the highest mountain plateau in Britain at 1309 metres. Three special
birds breed here: Rock Ptarmigan, Eurasian Dotterel and Snow Bunting.
We will search for each. The landscape is spectacular here and we may
encounter thermaling Golden Eagles and hunting Merlins. Insh Marshes
are an afternoon destination - an interesting mixture of wetland, woodland
and scrub. The marsh attracts nesting Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal,
Northern Shoveler, Common Snipe and even national rarities such as
Wood Sandpiper. More secretive residents are Water Rail and Spotted
Crake the latter often being heard giving its whip-like calls. In the
birch woods a nest box scheme lures Pied Flycatcher and Common Redstart.
Nights at Grantown-on-Spey.
Day
5 - Orkneys
via Dunbeath and ferry from Scrabster
After breakfast we head north along the coast road, looking for Shelduck
in the estuaries and other coastal species we may not have found up
to now. Then we head across the moorlands of Sutherland to the coastal
town of Scrabster to catch the ferry across to Stromness in the Orkneys.
The ferry ride is 20 miles long, and can be rewarding for seabirds,
especially as the ferry rounds the Old Man of Hoy cliffs - Northern
Fulmar, Common Murre, Atlantic Puffin, maybe Razorbill. Overnight Kirkwall.
Day
6 - Orkneys
The Orkneys are fascinating, quite different from Scotland or the
other islands. Consider these goodies - Skara Brae, where drifting
sand buried a stone-age settlement 4000 years ago, and now recently
exposed by ocean storms - Standing Stones at the Ring of Brogar, where
the Twite can be found (twites occur in mountains in west and central
Europe, and then in the Himalayas!) - an Italian Church with its own
human interest story - Broch of Bursay for Red-throated Loons, and
Marwick Head where gorse, broom, heather and orchids cover the land
in a blaze of colour - Maes Howe, over 4000 years old - the Orkneys
have lots to offer! Overnight Kirkwall.
Day
7 - Flight to
Shetlands
After an early morning birdwalk, we fly to Sumburgh in the Shetlands,
which is more like coastal Norway than Britain. We drive along the
coast towards Lerwick, visiting the ancient viking ruin at Jarlshof,
and watching for Common Eider, Arctic Tern and Redshank. The dry
stonewalls, narrow roads, wind-swept moors and easy-paced way of
life put one back
in another time. Overnight Lerwick.
Days
8 & 9 - Shetlands
The promise of exciting days (weather permitting!). We take the
car ferries to the islands of Yell and Unst, and then on to
Mukkle Flugga,
the northernmost
point in the British Isles. We walk across a windswept moor where Great
Skuas and Parasitic Jaegers nest - and will most likely fly
close to inspect us
- and Northern Wheatears flit over the rock-strewn landscape, to
a marvellous
vista of cliffs and open ocean with a multitude of seabirds - gannets,
murres, kittiwakes, guillemots, terns and gulls. A Black-browed
Albatross from the
south Atlantic spent years here until recently. Common Ringed Plovers and
Eurasian Oystercatchers abound. Time permitting, we visit Keen
of Hamar for a wondrous
array of tundra plants.
We also explore
the “Mainland” of the
Shetlands, visiting Ronas Hill and Esha Ness, where Greater Golden-Plover
and Whimbrels nest. There are
frequently vagrants from Europe here - we have seen such unlikely birds
as Subalpine Warbler and Red-footed Falcon on previous trips! European
Quail sometimes
can be heard in low wet meadows. One of the most scenic colonies of Northern
Gannets in Britain is on the island of Noss, an RSPB reserve. Noss is
a small picturesque island, with seals along the shore and Twite,
Northern
Wheatears,
Hooded Crows and Rock Pipits on land, possibly Arctic Loons offshore,
and the seemingly ever-present Great Skuas. We fly back to the Orkneys
in the
late
afternoon on Day 9. Overnight Day 8 in Lerwick, Day 9 in Kirkwall.
Day
10 - From the Northern Islands to Inverness
We leave the Orkneys on the morning ferry back to mainland Scotland.
We then head along the coast and through the Highlands to the attractive
stone
city
of Inverness. We make frequent stops, looking for Whinchat in the broom
thickets, Eurasian Buzzards over the moors, loons on the lochs, dippers
and wagtails
along the streams, and generally absorbing the beautiful scenery. The
nature reserve at Invernaver can be spectacular for wildflowers, including
several
species of orchids. Overnight Inverness.
Day
11 -
Inverness to the Isle of Skye
From Inverness, we drive leisurely along the shore of Loch Ness, looking
(but not too hard) for the legendary Nessie and likely seeing some
familiar birds
such as Mallard and Mute Swan. We then visit Eilean Donan Castle
at the Kyle of Lochalsh set in delightful countryside. Then on to the
legendary
Isle
of Skye. The road on Skye to Broadford passes by a long-occupied
Golden
Eagle’s
nest and we’ll keep an eye out for soaring adults. Broadford
Bay often has Shelducks foraging in the shallows.
In the afternoon,
we visit Dunvegen Castle - the grounds around the
castle have Bullfinches, Willow and Wood Warblers, and European
Cuckoo, along
with by now familiar birds such as Chaffinches and European Robins.
Common Sandpipers
breed along the shoreline. There is always a possibility of seeing
White-tailed Eagle - introduced many years ago to the island of
Rhum, and evidently
prospering. The moors of Skye are also good places to look for
Stonechat. Overnight Isle of Skye.
Days
12 &13 - Skye
to the Western Isles
We spend most of Day 12 on Skye, visiting several attractions including
the “Old
Man of Storr”, a 160' Basalt monolith, possibly a volcanic
plug. In the late afternoon, we board the ferry at Uig for the
one and a half hour crossing
to Tarbert on the Western Isles. There is a good chance of seeing
Manx Shearwater in the strait (The Little Minch). From Tarbert
we travel to Stornaway, where
we’ll walk the grounds of Stornaway Castle, where Great
and Blue Tits, Goldcrest and Spotted Flycatchers should be present.
We’ll explore the
rocky moonscape of Harris, where we’ve witnessed sheep
herding and sheep-shearing exhibitions in the past. The open
country of Harris is ideal for chats - Northern
Wheatear, Stonechat and Whinchat - we may be lucky and see all
three. The road along the coast passes numerous picturesque coves
and lochs - all photogenic!
The Standing Stones of Callenish are a truly remarkable historical
monument - myths and meanings of what they are abound. We visit
this Hebridean Stonehenge
and also Carloway Broch as we tour the north half of Lewis. The
hay fields of Lewis still hold fairly good numbers of Corncrakes,
a grassland rail that
is fast disappearing from western Europe and one of its last
strongholds are the Western Isles. Their rasping call can sometimes
be heard in the evenings. Nights in Tarbert.
Days
14 & 15 - Benbecula and South Uist
We catch the ferry to North Uist, very different again from
Harris and Lewis. One prime destination is the RSPB reserve
at Balronald,
with its
open grassy
sand dunes - and our target bird is rather plain and chubby
and brown, with a song like the jangling of a bunch of keys
- the
Corn Bunting
- another species sadly declining in Europe. From North Uist
we travel south across
Benbecula
and South Uist, making stops at two excellent birding spots
- the RSPB reserve
at Loch Druidibeg, looking for Hen Harrier and Grey-lag Geese,
and the
Rudha Ardvule peninsula for shorebirds - Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone,
Common Redshank,
Whimbrel, Common Snipe. Nights in South Uist.
Day
16 - Oban to
Loch Lomond and Edinburgh
We take the ferry back to the mainland, arriving in the early
afternoon, and drive down the west coast past Loch Lomond
and then onto Edinburgh. Overnight Edinburgh.
Day
17 - Departure
Our tour concludes after breakfast
What To Expect
On
this unique tour, you can expect leisurely walks in the Lowlands
and on the Islands, following roadways and woodland
and moorland
trails, and hikes
on mountain trails in the Highlands, sometimes for
periods up to three hours. Therefore, a reasonable level of fitness
will
be required.
Most
days will
have a small to moderate amount of driving, with plenty
of breaks during the day
for birding and sightseeing. There will be some early
morning, optional pre-breakfast trips, but usually our day will
start with an early
breakfast and then we
leave for the day with our picnic lunch. Days are long,
as the sun rises
early and
days stay light well into the evening. Weather conditions
during the trip include warm and sunny days, cool and
overcast days,
and possibly
some
rain. The nights
will be cool. It will be cool on deck on the ferries.
You should dress in layers, but be prepared for weather conditions
that
require warm
headwear and gloves.
Waterproof footwear is recommended. During our tour,
we
take several ferry rides, one of which is about five hours
duration
as we travel
from the
Outer
Islands to Oban on the Mainland; however, most of the
time the ferry is in sheltered waters and therefore there should
be little
pitching
and rolling.
We also have a short inter-islands flight as we fly
between the Shetlands and the Orkneys.
In the evening,
we go to a local restaurant where we usually discuss the day’s
activities and review the list of birds seen and heard.
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