Thought I’d try and promote Arran as one of the most fantastic places I’ve ever been to. We stayed at Lochranza for a week on a PGL activity holiday so had to squeeze a bit of birding in between the activities. So here goes;
Sat 26 July
Set off about 03:00 aiming for an early ferry. Nothing much to report on the way up, a Tawny Owl flying in the open was nice and a buzzard on a post by the roadside as we flew past but other than that it was standard fare.
At Ardrossan it started to change with 9 Black Guillemot in the harbour giving me my first lifer of the trip, on the ferry over to Brodick there were Razorbill, Guillemot, Gannet, Cormorant,Shag, LBBG, Herring Gull and three porpoise. Best was large numbers of Manx Shearwater though the views weren’t great as they were generally distant and flying away from the boat.
Once on Arran we had a drive round the northern half of the island finding Common Buzzard, Stonechat, Hoodies (lifer #2), flocks of Jackdaw and once at Lochranza a Red breasted merganser treating the bay as it were a village pond.
Sunday
Had a walk round to Fairy Glen and had 4 raven flying on a small crag that overlooked the sea, best views ever of these birds as they played in the updraft. Loads of willow warbler which over the week seemed to be everywhere and winchat which proved elusive to photography over the entire week.
Monday
Decided to get up early to find some Golden Eagles, the activities meant I had to create a bit of birding time so at 05:30 I set off to find them. Got onto the road outside the centre, looked up and one was soaring over my head. After 5 minutes I decided to wake Lucy so she could see it, as luck would have it it had gone. One of those excitement decisions you look back on and think uh-oh. Anyway I was forgiven. When we were waiting to go for abseiling there was another overhead so at least I shared my excitement this time.
Rest of the day;
12 Black Guillemot near Catacol
2 Common Buzzards
2 Raven
1 Red Breasted Merganser, this time with juvenile
Siskin
Tuesday
Big walk up Goat Fell, a 2800 ft ascent and far too much mist to see anything other than 2 twite and a mipit. Elsewhere though;
Golden Eagle, Bullfinch, Kestrel, Common Buzzards, Raven,
Wednesday
Getting ready for gorge walking we saw Golden Eagle above getting mobbed by Ravens, as it got higher another Geagle came into view so the pair soared around for a while then dropped over the hill.
Another Geagle sighting later on as well as 5 Common Buzzards and 4 Raven at Machrie, 7 RBM’s in Brodick.
Thursday
Went on a cycle ride and took the ferry to Kintyre where there is an ace seafood shack, fresh scallops fried in butter on a really nice salad for a tenner, get’s my vote.
21 RBM, Roe Deer,2 porpoise, Sandwich terns, Knot. Waiting for the ferry I spotted a Black Throated diver just off the jetty but it didn’t want to give me better views and swam off as they generally do – underwater.
Lucy on the other hand came back and said ‘We’ve seen a Golden Eagle fly across the road just in front of us’. I asked them to describe the bird – massive with a golden yellow head which extended down its breast, a bright yellow beak. And its tail? – Didn’t notice one. So I showed them pictures of Golden Eagle and White Tailed Eagle on t’internet and they said it was much more like the latter. Oh well.
Friday
It had tipped down the night before and made my attempts to get inland looking for Divers and Hen Harriers impossible, still I managed Merlin, 2 Geagles, 7RBM, Curlew, Ringed Plover and a diver sp. That had flown past us before I spotted it, no further id was possible.
Saturday
Got up early after being told Hen Harriers were often seen at the top of the hill. So got up at 05:00, walked up a 300m hill and didn’t find Hen Harriers. Did see 2 Geagles and 2 Buzzards having a bit of a fracas, 9 Mistle thrush, loads of willow warblers and a woodcock.
When we arrived at Brodick I was given a real treat. In the harbour was a Red Throated Diver fishing. You could always tell where it was going to surface because it was immediately preceded by little fish jumping out of the water in an attempt to steer clear of the diver. The spectacle could only have been bettered by a higher position allowing the bird to be watched as it swam under the water but you can’t grumble can you?
On the ferry back I stood at the front and got superb views as the ferry bore down on a floatilla of shearwater, as they took off I managed to pick out two Balearics among the manxies (lifer #4). The view of the auks was not as good as the way over but I did pick out a single puffin.
Monday
Bit of a jumpin time but we spent a couple of days in Edinburgh at the festival. Anyway on the route home we stopped off at Coldstream just in time to see an Osprey fly low over the Hirsel and head south. Picked up a few more for the holiday list but made no real effort here.
In all it was a fantastic holiday,I did gorge walking, abseiling, mountain biking fell walking, orienteering and had to fit in a bit of birding around it. They say that Arran is Scotland in miniature and you can see what they mean. I missed Hen Harrier and Ptarmigan but got 4 lifers and loads of superb views of many other species. We’ll be back next year and I’d highly recommend it to others.
[QUOTE=jtw521;1260149]Thought I’d try and promote Arran as one of the most fantastic places I’ve ever been to.
Thanks for a great report. Arran is one of the greatest places on the planet. Did you notice that the Highland Boundary Fault cuts throught the middle of the island? This is the fault that separates the Scottish Highlands from Lowland Scotland, which, in Arran, gives you a huge range of habitats in one small island. So you've got Highland, Lowland, coastal and pelagic habitats at your disposal.
Let's hope your report encourages many more visitors to visit a marvellous island.
Thank you,
Dave
Great report Jim. Seems you had good value with the Goldies.