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lyskonoh úzkozobý, samice / Red-necked Phalarope, female (Phalaropus lobatus)

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lyskonoh úzkozobý, samice / Red-necked Phalarope, female (Phalaropus lobatus)

lyskonoh úzkozobý, samice / Red-necked Phalarope, female (Phalaropus lobatus)

lyskonoh úzkozobý, samice / Red-necked Phalarope, female (Phalaropus lobatus)

lyskonoh úzkozobý, samice / Red-necked Phalarope, female (Phalaropus lobatus)

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Thursday, 10 September 2009 22:13

Birds of Scotland IV: A few notes from Outer Hebrides

 

1D3_1423PSI was surprised to learn that Scotland had the same total area as my home country Czech Republic! I don’t know why I thought that the northern part of United Kingdom is so large – maybe because it seems so far from my country, maybe because of its rich history. 1D3_1582PSNevertheless, I kept this feeling even after we have left Scotland after our spring three-week trip – it might have been because of the countless narrow roads where you have to give a way to oncoming vehicle for a hundred time in one single day, or it might have been caused by the beautiful but always different landscape that you see on the way. And then, when you think you have seen every possible scenery in the world, then you come to Outer Hebrides to find flat land covered with heather and windburned by the strong storms coming from Atlantic Ocean, to hear the strange dialect of locals and to experience a weird feeling of desolation and rough beauty of landscape. Our only four days on Outer Hebrides meant we could superficially explore the islands but had not much time to watch birds. The little we saw from avifauna is included in this short article.

 

 

1D3_1650PS The bird that became a symbol of Outer Hebrides for us was undoubtedly Corncrake (Crex crex) – not only you find this bird in every leaflet about Hebridean birdlife but you will really meet him somewhere, either during visiting some of the few local nature reserves or simply when taking an early morning or late evening stroll somewhere in a grassland or pasture. 1D3_1195PS Corncrake can easily be tracked because of its distinctive stertorous call roaring from somewhere in the dense grass. Right in the first B&B on the northern tip of Isle of Lewis we have been told that the Corncrakes are so loud in the evening that is almost impossible to fall asleep. It was not that “bad” at the end, we actually did not hear Corncrake at all and I was rather tempted by the small local reserve close to village Fivepenny – the wetland with small lake was a good place to watch a population of Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus), Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) and Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) often being seen to patrol on a poles rimming the reserve. Much more interesting were the islands in southern part of Outer Hebrides – North and South Uist. 1D3_1516PS Not only more varied landscape but also the avifauna made that it was always something to watch there – the ever-present Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) searching for a bit of something tasty in the soft soil with their long red bills; Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) with their fascinating acrobatic flying and rather comic call; Dunlins (Calidris alpina) in beautiful summer plumage resting on the shore of small inlets, Whinchats and Stonechats sitting on the perches around roads or a Quail (Coturnix coturnix) sounding from somewhere behind the dunes in a machair right on the coast of Atlantic.

 

 

map-of-scotland From all the places in Outer Hebrides the most interesting was the Balranald nature reserve at the western coast of North Uist – open towards the Atlantic Ocean and variegated thanks to diverse environments from the regularly cultivated grassland through the machairs and coastal planes with dunes towards the sandy and rocky shore swept by strong winds and waves. Right at the entrance to the reserve close to car park there were flocks of Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and a few Skylarks (Alauda arvensi) were hovering in the sky. The track lead through the fields with numerous Lapwings and Oystercatchers, 1D3_1892PS passing the wetland sounding with the typical call of Common Redshank, towards the sandy coast, where the small flocks of Dunlins were wading in the drifted seaweed. The track then turned north and passing the roaring Oystercatchers we got to a place with Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea). Only a stone cast was a small lake mirroring group of ca 10 Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) resting on a rock. All this would be more than enough for a short walk but the best was at the end when going back to the car park – from different places and directions we could hear Corncrakes calling – I counted about 6 birds but there must have been much more; it was pity we could not spend there one more day so I could try to lure them closer.

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Related articles:

Birds of Scotland I: Bass Rock – wildlife wonder of the world

Birds of Scotland II: east coast – Fowlsheugh and Troup Head

Birds of Scotland III: Cliff colonies of North and West coast

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 01 February 2011 08:21
 
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