Three Counties Wildlife: The Western Highlands...part 1

Scotland is a beautiful country, there’s no disputing that. Having visited the central Highlands several times, I thought the scenery there was hard to beat, however a family holiday to the west coast has just surpassed it and it’s pretty darn good for wildlife too!

Based beside Loch Long at Dornie, I had easy access to Skye and the western mainland of Ross & Cromaty and Inverness. The mountains are towering and the vistas dramatic, great country for eagles!

Our first stop after flying from Bristol to Inverness was a night at Loch Ness, just to break the journey. I was immediately rewarded with good views of Red-throated Diver.

First stop, Loch Ness.

Harebell

Red-throated Diver, Loch Ness

Grey Wagtail, Loch Ness

The next morning we continued south for a while before turning west towards the coast and our destination, Dornie. This would be our base for the week in a rented three bedroom cottage on the shores of Loch Long. Dornie might be small but it has Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most photographed castles in Europe and you can see why, it’s set in a stunning location!

Eilean Donan Castle, Dornie, Highlands.

Loch Long and Dornie, looking northeast.
The mountains in the distance are home
to Golden Eagles.

Loch Long looking southwest towards Dornie at sunset.

The first birds seen as we drove along the Loch shore to our cottage was a small flock of Greylag geese and a few Hooded Crows.

Greylag Geese, Loch Long.

Hooded Crow picking through the seaweed.

Loch Long is a tidal sea loch brimming with Grey Heron, Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper and Curlew. The fields on either side of the cottage were full of Meadow Pipits and a small flock of Twite routinely gathered on the telephone wires between us and our neighbours though they proved too flighty to photograph.

Meadow Pipit, Loch Long

Meadow Pipit

Oystercatcher, Loch Long.

The mountain valley beyond the end of the Loch is also home to 1-2 pairs of Golden Eagles. Unfortunately I never got to grips with them there. My best chance would be on Skye.

Skye is somewhere we'd always wanted to visit so we decided that's where we'd head on day two of our stay. The South of the Island is dominated by the Cuillin Mountains, which rise to heights of over 900 m! The road north of the town of Broadford meanders around several sea lochs that cut into the coastal fringes. These are home to good sized flocks of Common Eider. Loch Ainort contained over sixty right by the road.

Loch Ainort, Skye.

Eider, one of over 60 on Loch Ainort.

Eider, Loch Ainort

We were heading for Dunvegan Castle over on the west side of the Island. I'd been told that both Golden and White-tailed eagles had been seen from here. Today though, only a few harbour seals, Spotted Flycatchers and a showy Song Thrush.

Song Thrush, Dunvegan Castle.

We were close to the northwest coast of Skye and decided to drive the road towards Loch Pooltiel and the Neist Point Lighthouse. This yielded a smart male Pied Flycatcher and a Twite but still no eagles. We looped back and stopped where the Hamra River empties into Loch Pooltiel and found my first Scotch Argus of the trip. Being overcast it settled in the grass and wouldn't show properly.

Scotch Argus - never settled in the open.

Hooded Crows are a common sight all around the west coast of Scotland and often sit perfectly for a photograph.

Hooded Crows, western Skye.

Just before we left I scanned the mountain ridges to our north one last time and immediately picked up a White-tailed Eagle as it dropped over the ridge and flew parallel to us about half-a-mile away. As it did so it was joined by two others and they soared briefly before vanishing over the ridges once more. This was pushing the Nikon P900 to its limit but you can still make out what they are.