We have just got back from a wonderful trip to the Outer Hebrides. We were undecided as to whether we should go on an organised tour that would do all the donkey work for us or should we hire a car and do it ourselves.

Well we chose the former and what a great trip it was. We went with Brightwater tours and it involved crossing from Big to Lochmaddy on North Uist, a tour of the islands and eventually sailing back from Stornaway to Ullapool.

It wasn’t a tour dedicated to wildlife, more one of sightseeing, visiting some ancient places and taking in the breathtaking scenery. I thought I would keep a record of what I saw in any case.

My wife Joanne has always wanted to visit the Outer Hebrides so we looked forward to this trip with great excitement.

On Day 1 we set off from Edinburgh at around 9.30 and after a few stops we made our way towards the Isle of Sky-the scenery getting more dramatic for every mile we went.

There was nothing too dramatic on the way up wildlife wise, although a jay in a roadside tree was nice to add to the list.A red deer on Skye was also nice to see.

The Ferry crossing was on a very calm sea which helped when looking for cetaceans. I saw a few porpoises whilst we were eating our dinner. Looking out from the boat there were a few common seabirds and a small pod of dolphins which I believe were the ‘bottle nosed’ variety following the boat for a short while.

Our base for the first 3 nights was to be the Dark Island Hotel in Liniclate on Benbecula. We arrived at around 8pm and the first bird we saw from the bedroom window was a short-eared owl. We were only 5 minutes from the beach so we had a wander out to watch the sunset-a beautiful azure sea, white sand and a beautiful peach sunset.

Day 1- Edinburgh to Uig

Herring Gull

Common buzzard

Carrion crow

Wood pigeon

Goldfinch

Great Black- backed gull

Rook

Swallow

Swift

Jay

Common gull

Grey wagtail

House Martin

House Sparrow

Oystercatcher

Grey Heron

Pied wagtail

Starling

Hooded crow

Jackdaw

Shag

Rock pipit

Razorbill

Guillemot

Puffin

Gannet

Kittiwake

Short-eared owl

Curlew

Mammals

Porpoise

Dolphin

Red deer

Rabbit

On Day 2 we headed south through Benbecula, on to South Uist, then Eriskay and caught the ferry to Barra.

The morning started off bright and sunny but soon clouded over and stayed mainly dry.

The scenery was amazing, mainly heathland giving way to freshwater lichens and rocky inlets covered in golden seaweed.

More short-eared owls from the coach as well as a couple of ravens.

The crossing to Barra was calm and there were a few seabirds notably black guillemot and arctic tern.

Benbecula-Barra

Additions to the trip list were as follows:

Meadow pipit

Mute swan

Little grebe

Raven

Lapwing

Lesser Black-Backed Gull

Common tern

Common scoter

Linnet

Greenfinch

Wren

Black Guillemot

Arctic Tern

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Greylag goose

Mistle Thrush

Collared dove

Redshank

Day 3 started with another great sighting from the bedroom window-a male hen harrier! Very closely followed by a short eared owl.

The plan was to stay local (relatively speaking) so a trip tome couple of spots in the morning yielded mainly common birds. The afternoon involved a trip to the magnificent R.S.P.B reserve at Balranald. We arrived in pouring rain but not to be deterred, we set off on the 3 mile walk around the reserve. A snipe flew overhead, bar-tailed godwits were in nearby fields and a juvenile stonechat escorted by one of its parents made a brief appearance.It was great to see the famous Machair close up but a combination of bad weather and time of year meant that there were no corncrakes seen or heard. The beach was magnificent and it went away in the distance azure blue sea and white sand looking magnificent despite the bad weather. There were a few common waders on the beach as well as a distant diver and its youngster-from the photos it looked like black-throated. An arctic skua flew by in summer plumage but was too quick for a photo. We carried on around the headland and saw yet more spectacular scenery before heading back to the coach. A wheatear on the beach was the highlight.

It was a shame the weather was so bad but still exhilarating to be out and well worth the drenching.

Hen harrier

Shellduck

Mallard

Black Headed Gull

Cormorant

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Snipe

Stonechat

Dunlin

Eider

Arctic skua

Black-Throated Diver

Wheatear

Day 4 Drive up to Stornoway

Day 4 started as Day 3 finished with torrential rain. Not before we were treat to another great sighting from the bedroom window. The first sign was all of the rabbits on the football pitch and the alarm calls of gulls-then a superb white-tailed eagle flew slowly from left to right about 60m away! It landed on a high point on the dunes for a short while being mobbed by anything that flew by. What a great start to the morning.

We were on our way north heading to Stornaway in very heavy rain and a force 8 gale. This made the crossing from Bernaray to Leverburgh quite interesting. There were lots of seabirds but again nothing of particular note. The environment we wrestle crossing in was hostile to say the least but amazing to see the gannets gliding in the wind and then diving for a fish with almost no effort almost oblivious to the wind and rough sea.

The terrain changed once we got on to Lewis to a far more rugged and mountainous nature. On a better day we might have had a chance of seeing an eagle but not in those conditions.

White tailed eagle

Day 5 Standing Stones etc

Day 5 started with much better weather. Hardly and breeze and some sunshine made for a nice start. We were heading out to Calanais to see the standing stones. There has been a new visitor centre built and it was very impressive. The standing stones were just a short walk and it was here we had our first encounter with midges. Not as bad as it might have been but still uncomfortable at times. The stones were a sight to see, set in a dramatic landscape with views down to the sea. We headed further inland to Dun Carloway Broch-an ancient building made from stone that cut an imposing figure on the rugged landscape. It was here that we had some close up views of a hooded crow-something we don’t see that often at home.

On the way back we called in at Norse Mill and Kiln-a replica of ancient buildings set against a stream with a walk by a loch set in beautiful countryside. It was here that I had some good views of raven and a black darter dragonfly was sunning itself by the edge of the stream. We headed back into Stornaway for a wander round before being picked up and taken back for dinner.

Day 6 was our last day. It was an early start as wee needed to catch the 7am ferry. Again it was overcast and raining-a distinctly Autumnal feel. I managed to find a sheltered spot on the ferry but it was disappointingly quiet given the strong wind and time of year. The highlights being an arctic skua mobbing a great skua and a couple of Manx Shearwaters .

The ride to Inverness produced the last addition to the list in the form of a red kite.

Manx shearwater

Great Skua

Red kite

The trip was memorable in so many ways. The scenery and weather combined to give us a proper flavour of life on these remote islands. The ancient history, the natural history and the culture was just amazing. We were blessed to have arguably the best tour manager in Scotland, his wealthof knowledge was second to none and he wanted to ensure we missed nothing. A true professional. Our coach driver was another one arguably the best in the business getting the coach round some of those narrow roads was no mean feat-he did a marvellous job. Finally the people. We set off as strangers and finished as friends. Everyone sharing a common interest in the beautiful surroundings and enjoying the many experiences together.

Our thanks go to Brightwater, our tour manager Alistair, our bus driver Stuart and to all of the lovely people we met on this trip.

Outer Hebrides

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