DAY ONE
The tour will meet in Norfolk for those wishing to travel with us, with possible pickups en route as we make our way to Scotland. We overnight in Lockerbie and aim to arrive there around 1800.
DAY TWO
We start early for breakfast before embarking on the final four hours journey north to the tiny port of Kennacraig on the Kintyre peninsula. For anyone wishing to join the tour at Kennacraig ferry terminal, cars can be parked here at your own risk in the Caledonian Macbrayne car park. The ferry sails at 1300 and takes approximately two hours to reach Port Askaig on Islay. We will have a cooked lunch on board the ferry before enjoying a spot of sea watching from on deck. Black Guillemots will be seen as we leave harbour, and we can expect close views of many Great Northern and Red-throated Divers along the way. Other seabirds such as Common Guillemot, Razorbill, European Shag, Black-legged Kittiwake, Red-breasted Merganser and Common Eider should also be seen and as we sail alongside the island of Jura, both Golden and White-tailed Eagles are possible. We reach Islay around 1500, then head off south towards our accommodation. The first flocks of Greenland White-fronted and Barnacle Geese will be easily seen en route and we should also note our first Common Ravens and perhaps even a Hen Harrier! Perhaps there will already be a rare goose to dash off for – Red-breasted was our first trip bird in 2023!
DAY THREE
Today we will spend time exploring the North-west corner of the Island, along the northern shore of Loch Indaal and up to the famous RSPB reserve at Loch Gruinart. Due to the nature of the tour, and the lack of public footpaths, most of the birding is done from the roadside, or the vehicle. Loch Indaal hosts a large roost of Barnacle Geese and this makes for a great place to start the day, searching the flocks before they head out to feed. We will of course keep tabs on any news regarding rarer species and this can include the small race Canada Geese (including the now split ‘Cackling Goose’ group) and even Greater Snow Goose. Waders also use the estuary and we may see Bar-tailed Godwits and Dunlin, while white-winged gulls prefer this area for loafing – both Iceland and Glaucous Gulls can be found most years. Heading along the shore of Loch Indaal, we will stop at a couple of points to scan for seaduck. A flock of Greater Scaup is often to be found, and Long-tailed Duck, while scarce, might also be seen. Great Northern Divers are common and can be expected at every place we look, often coming very close to the shore. White-tailed Eagles favour this stretch of coast, and we should check the beaches and offshore skerries for perched birds – often to be found feeding on an unfortunate Barnacle Goose! When we reach the Bruichladdich Distillery, we will check the rocks around the outflow for Purple Sandpipers, one of the most reliable spots on the island to find the species. The afternoon will be mainly devoted to searching for Red-billed Choughs around the beautiful Machir Bay on the west coast, and a flock of up to seventy birds can sometimes be found here. The fields here sometimes hold Twite flocks and of course flocks of Greenland White-fronted Geese as well as the beautiful wild Rock Doves. We should keep our eyes peeled for raptors along this coast, with Peregrine often seen and Hen Harrier frequently encountered over the moorland. Ending the day at Loch Gruinart, we will visit one of the hides and check the flooded grassland for large flocks of Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Shoveler. We might also find European Golden Plovers and Common Greenshank often overwinters. Keeping our eyes peeled for hunting eagles over the surrounding skyline, we may hang on here until dusk to watch the impressive flight of roosting Barnacle Geese.
DAY FOUR
This morning we will concentrate on the southern end of the island. We may spend some time searching goose flocks along the ‘high road’ between Port Ellen and Bowmore first, as this quiet road affords great views of prime goose habitat. Raptors such as Peregrine, Merlin and Hen Harrier are again regular and we may often see flocks of Common Ravens by the roadside. In the south-west of the island, we will first check the shoreline at Singing Sands for Otter before taking the minor road out onto The Oa, a wild peninsula partly managed by the RSPB. We should stop and scan the ridges for Golden Eagles, which are frequent in this area, and once at the end of the road we can enjoy the spectacular views back towards the Rhinns of Islay and Northern Ireland. Red-billed Choughs are again possible here, and we may take a walk to the American Monument if the weather allows in order to increase our chance of seeing them. Back at Port Ellen, we will take a drive along the southern shore of the island, quite different again with its sheltered coves and rocky skerries. These are good spots to find Otters, and White-tailed Eagle also favours this stretch of coast. We will have time at the end of the day to visit the Loch Indaal roost if there are still interesting geese around which we are missing, and of course to just enjoy the general spectacle.
DAY FIVE
Our route this morning will take us up the ‘Glen Road’, into the more mountainous south-east side of the island. Here our main quarry will be Golden Eagle, and often the birds are to be found at low elevations at this time of year. We will probably see more Hen Harriers and geese flocks along the way, while Red, Roe and Fallow Deer might also be seen. Rejoining the main road at Bridgend, we will visit the Islay Mill and take a short walk along the river to look for Dipper and woodland birds. There will be time for people to visit the mill too if they wish, it only takes fifteen minutes and is certainly worth a look – tartans are produced here for many famous films and television shows such as ‘Braveheart’ and even ‘Downton Abbey’! Moving on towards Port Askaig, we will take a drive up to Bunnahabhain, again stopping en route to scan the hills for eagles and take in the wonderful views of Jura to the east. The bay here is good for close ups of Great Northern Diver, Red-breasted Merganser and Black Guillemot and is a perfect lunch stop. Otter can often be found fishing here and we will hope for s close encounter! The afternoon will be spent ‘mopping up’ on any missed species, but will almost certainly involve revisiting the Loch Gruinart area to look for wildfowl and raptors, and check the minor roads around for roaming flocks of finches, larks, thrushes and buntings. Ardnave Loch should add Whooper Swans and both Tufted Duck and Common Pochard, as well as Common Goldeneye. Red-billed Chough also frequent the dunes and the views along this stretch are quite spectacular. Perhaps our route back to base will throw up a white-winged gull or a last minute eagle or otter to round off a fantastic day!
DAY SIX
With some 30,000 Barnacle Geese to search, finding or catching up with any scarcer species is not always easy and takes time and patience. The diminutive Richardson’s cackling Goose is high on the visiting birders wish-list and we will dedicate more time today to finding one if we have not already done so. The larger Todd’s Canada Goose (form interior) is also a regular visitor to the island and can be found among Barnacles or Whitefronts. We will liekly explore the long peninsula heading down beyond Port Charlotte to Portnaven, where good goose flocks often occur and eagles roam over the hills. Back in the centre of the island, there will be time to check Loch Skerrols for ducks (there were five Lesser Scaup here in 2022) and we will no doubt spend some time scanning Loch Indaal from Bowmore, where scarce divers, grebes and seaduck are a regular occurrence.
DAY SEVEN
The ferry departs Port Askaig at 1300 and takes approximately two hours to reach Kennacraig. The journey through West Loch Tarbert will give us the chance to get more close views of divers, hopefully including Black-throated, and Slavonian Grebes.
**Please note if you wish to travel with your guide to and from Norfolk, the return journey will be broken with an overnight stop in Scotland on Day Seven, arriving back in Norfolk the following day (not included in the tour cost)**
