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. 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. 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.

 

 

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