Wildlife of Trotternish, Isle of Skye, Birds, Part 4

Wildlife of Trotternish, Isle of Skye

Birds - Part 4

Greylag Geese, Duntulm Few birdwatchers visit Trotternish in winter; to do so is the last great adventure. It is surely more rewarding to walk these great open spaces, binoculars in hand, knowing that if you see anything interesting you will probably be the sole spectator, than to follow all the twitchers to some rarity discovered by someone else. If you live in the south of Britain, remember Skye in winter is even more "northern" in character than Skye in summer, owing to bird migration patterns. As their homelands freeze over, the Barnacle Goose and the Whooper Swan, the Snow Bunting and the Waxwing, all make their way to our mild shores, where the ground seldom freezes and the sea never.

In winter large numbers of Eider gather in Uig Bay. Other duck species to be seen are Goldeneye, Wigeon, Teal, Shelduck, Red-breasted Merganser and Scaup. The Little Grebe fishes close inshore, a little further out the Slavonian Grebe rides the waves. The three Diver species are now in their winter plumage to test your identification skills. At Duntulm a flock of Barnacle Geese forage on the shoreline; at your approach they take off and settle on nearby Tulm Island, where they cling to the rock like so many giant barnacles, which Seton Gordon put forward as an alternative to the usual far-fetched explanation of their name. The Snow Bunting is less timid; Turnstones, Uig Pier content to remain one hop ahead of you like the robin, you can fill your notebook with its plumage details to your heart's content. The pebbles of the upper shore and the thick mulch of washed-up kelp on the strandline teem with small crustaceans, which in winter provide a larder for inland birds as well as for the shore's year-round inhabitants such as the Rock Pipit and winter visitors like the Turnstone. The Starling and the Hooded Crow are regular attenders at this feast, but in hard weather anybody is liable to turn up.

Glaucous Gull, Uig Bay Of a winter's night in Uig you can see Turnstone and Ringed Plover taking advantage of the pier lights to feed among the seaweed. It's worth wandering along the pier itself and checking the numerous gulls that sit in the water around the fishing boats; they may include a Glaucous Gull or other refugee from the arctic snows. The picture on the right shows a Glaucous Gull that spent a happy time in Uig Bay last winter. Above, Turnstones roost on the stonework of Uig Pier at high tide.

Even on the high tops in winter there is always something to see. The Golden Plover, seen singly in summer, now form large flocks and, free of nests to guard, roam the hills as the spirit moves them. The Golden Eagle too ranges far and wide; wherever you are, sooner or later its form will appear in the sky. Red Grouse remain on the hills throughout the year, but become more adventurous as the weather closes in, and therefore easier to spot. The picture shows one standing on a roadside crash barrier with its back to the wind.

Halfway between Duntulm and Uig there used to be a loch, the largest on Skye, known as Loch Chaluim Chille after the early monastic settlement on the island in its centre.

Twite Good agricultural land being in short supply, the loch was drained in 1829. Today the site of the loch has reverted to marsh, with a deep ditch all round it and other ditches cutting across. Many local people feel that the loch should be allowed to fill up again, which could easily be achieved by a morning's work with a digger to block the outlet ditch. If this were to take place, the loch would undoubtedly become a magnet for birds, and possibly bring breeding Black-throated Divers back to Skye. On the other hand, it is such an enjoyable birdwatching site as it is, that one could only wish it could continue in both forms!

In spring it is alive with the buzz of Lapwing, the squeal of Twite (picture above), and every kind of "little brown job" that likes reed, sedge or scrub flutters around its borders and disappears just as you get your binoculars to focus. But why would anyone want to sit there on a cold winter's day, perched on the knoll overlooking the loch, rubbing the hands and trying to make the thermos last out?

Before the loch was drained in 1829, it would have been different. Then, large flocks of Whooper Swans wintered on its waters. Seton Gordon quotes from an account written after the fateful event: "In autumn, after the lake was drained, they made their appearance at the usual time, but on observing the destruction of their usual favourite haunt, they hovered with a cry of sadness for a brief period over it, then disappeared, and have seldom since been seen near the place".

Not worth a second glance then. But wait! What are those curvaceous white forms in the centre? The swans are back! Not in such large numbers as before, but a handful. When they want to take to the water, the drainage ditches are now of adequate depth, and the rest of the time they graze the wetland grasses, which they share with a small flock of White-fronted Geese from Greenland who also winter in this spot. You decide to give it half an hour. At the end of that time, a pale grey bird with black wingtips glides in over the loch basin. An unusual gull? - no, a Hen Harrier. You are perfectly positioned to watch its aerial skills as it begins to quarter the area. Time ceases to matter. When the Hen Harrier is gone, a Short-eared Owl takes over. At one point, it perches on a tuft of grass, quite close to you, the short "ears" gratifyingly visible.

Redwing Later an enormous flock of birds falls from the sky like a cloud. Lapwings, Fieldfares, Redwings and Starlings. They eat up everything on the drier grasslands to the side of the loch, then cross to the other side and start again. It is amusing how they all take off, fly and land again as one body, despite the great difference of size between the species. Who makes the decisions; who is following who?

Eventually the chattering of a Blackbird from the scrub-covered burial cairn beneath your vantage-point tells you that evening is coming on. There is still a drop of coffee left in your flask. The sun is setting over the Uist hills across the Minch. As you make for the road, a Kestrel flies overhead, northwards, straight, hard and fast. Like you, she is late getting home.

To find out about the latest sightings, and to report your own, visit Wild Skye

Birds part 1
Birds part 2
Birds part 3
Birds part 4

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