The afternoon saw us head out towards Reiff on the West coast. The wind was up and a good sea running. The views over to the Summer Isles are as good as they get from the road to Reiff.
Tag: Scotland
Day Four – The Morning – Achahaird Bay – Assynt
I’ll quote from my diary for today ‘The hardest day yet with heavy pulsing showers, but with that comes drama and interesting light’ We headed out on the ‘Mad wee road’ again and out to Achahaird Bay on the Rubha Mor peninsula.
Day Three – Stornoway to Ullapool – The Way Back
Forty five minutes in the Stornoway terminal (you can’t actually stay on the ferry and must disembark and embark again) and we were once again on our way. A lone Guillemot was close to the shore by the terminal and gave really fine views of its winter plumage.
Day Three – Ullapool to Stornoway – The Way Over
Day three saw us on the Ullapool Stornoway ‘Cal Mac’ ferry as foot passengers. We took the journey over and came straight back and at £20 for the round trip it was a perfect opportunity for a bit of sea watching and to take in some of the coast from a different view point.
Day Two – Part Two – Mellon Udrigle
Mellon Udridgle holds some great memories of time spent with a couple of Red-throated Divers in the lochans on the peninsula behind the settlement. It was the middle of June then and now I was here in early November.
Day Two – Part One – Ardessie Falls
Our second day saw us heading towards Ardessie waterfalls on the south side of Little Loch Broom and taking in a couple of stops on the way. The autumn colours were spectacular and with the dull weather and rain, seemed to glow ever more brightly. We simply couldn’t drive past some of the trees along Strath Beag without giving them some time. Just by the turning towards Badrallach a particular rich area gave us a wonderful hours work and it was here that the rain started.
Day One – Assynt
Checking the forecast on our first morning, it seemed best to walk from the cottage, which was on the shores of Loch Kanaird, a few miles north of Ullapool. Rain was forecast for the morning but with brighter skies in the afternoon.
Assynt and the Ecological Cycle
I’ve just returned from a dramatic week on the North West coast of Scotland. It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this blog, in fact eighteen months, so let’s get going again! I’ve been doing a fair bit of birdwatching which has taken me the length and breadth of the country during those months but also had some heart problems, which resulted in open heart surgery earlier this year. This, coupled with lockdowns, has made it a difficult last few years for us all and we are still a long way from getting back to whatever ‘normal’ is now.
Red-throated Divers in Wester Ross
Mellon Udrigle is a small crofting settlement strung along the western shore of Gruinard Bay. Suilven and the mountains of Coigach dominate the view from a turquoise sea and a pristine beach of broad white sand.
Mull – Part Nine
Rounding Up
There are a few iconic species you hope for when heading to Mull and we were fortunate to see them all. The Otter showed on our last day and the Hen Harriers gave great scope views but were always a little far for photography. Both species of Eagles didn’t disappoint and Red Deer were numerous but better at dawn and late evening.
Mull – Part Eight
Mull – Part Seven
Mull – Part Six
Mull – Part Five
Mull – Part Four
Iceland Gull
On the Saturday we arrived, whilst in the hide at Fishnish we got onto a second winter Iceland Gull whilst scanning the 80 or so gulls around the fish farms a couple of hundred meters or so off shore. It gave fine scope views but was far to distant for any photography.
Mull – Part Three
Mull – Part Two
Mull – Part One
Heading Towards Lockdown
Mull, capricious, at times turbulent and always always changeable. This is an island of light and shade, of brilliance and foreboding often shifting between these extremes within minutes. It is a place that draws you in, holds you and tugs at you as you leave.
Handa Island – Seabirds in Trouble
Handa is an island that simply tugs you back. It has it all; a wonderful evocative sense of loneliness (no Skomer hoards here – although it is still possible to get a quiet spot if you walk in the opposite direction to the Wick); a chance to get close to the ‘pirates’ of the bird world; archaeology and ancient history and a landscape of low coastal reefs to seriously imposing 100 metre Torridonian sandstone cliffs.Continue reading
Sheigra – To the end of what was possible
This was a place we found by simply driving to the end of what was possible. We’d been down all the small roads off the road north from Kinlochbervie; Oldshoremore, Droman, the wonderful Bagh a’ Phollain.