Outer Hebrides for Oriole Birding - 16th May 2025

The pre-breakfast Daliburgh walk was a little quieter and the Grasshopper Warbler was silent so had perhaps at ;last found a mate but a Corncrake was briefly heard and the Eagle – Owl duo were seen once again!  Snipe were particularly vociferous and one even sat on top of a telegraph pole.

Common Snipe

Post Wars - Snipe & Redshank

Black Bunneh

The first part pf the day was spent checking more waders at Rubha Ardvale where a colour-ringed Dunlin was the only prize but there were now 15 Great Northern Divers across the view along with two Red-throats.  A Bonxie cruised over us and the two Whooper Swans were still on the lochan.  I wonder of they will stay and breed?

Bonxie - Chris Darby

Turnstones & Dunlin

Great Northern Diver

Waders on the strandline

Redshank

The heather moorland of Ard Mhor was now checked for breeding Arctic Skuas with no joy but John found us yet another male Hen Harrier that actually flew through peoples gardens and a feisty male Stonechat sung form a rooftop.

A sudden whoosh and blinding flash was followed by a loud boom as the first of three rockets were fired from somewhere in the direction of Loch Bi and we watched them disappear at supersonic speed into the blue and out to sea where they were obviously part of the on going exercise.  It was faintly terrifying to be honest.

We stayed on the east side and followed a winding road cutting from islet to islet out to Peter’s Port.  I picked up two Twite on the wires on the way down and most people got some sort of view before they flew off.  They were proving to be a tricky species to pin down.

Lunch was taken at an actual picnic area in an old quarry and three Twite flew over us ‘dweeking’ several times and Whitethroat, Wrens and Skylarks were in song.  It felt very Ottery but we could not find any but got distracted by a female Hen Harrier that came up from right alongside us where it must have been minding its own business. 

Hen Harrier - Chris Darby

A naturalised Cotoneaster was attracting many insects including the pesky lucorum agg Bumbles, Moss Carders and several flies including Eristalis arbustorum and intricaria, Calliphora vicina and the imposing Cynomya mortuorum with its orange face.  Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Green Veined White flicked around.

lucorum agg Bumblebee

lucorum agg Bumblebees

Eristalis arbustorum

Eristalis arbustorum

Eristalis intricaria

Cynomya mortuorum

Cynomya mortuorum

We drove past ‘Coot Loch’ where once again we saw both Coot and Moorhen (not sure I mentioned the previous visit) before a session at Stinky Bay where a female Curlew Sandpiper was found amongst the Calidrid throng.  The waders were spooked regularly by inconsiderate dog walkers and even the Eider flock panicked and flew out into the harbour before noisily drifting back in.

Curlew Sandpiper - Chris Darby

Curlew Sandpiper - Chris Darby

Whimbrel

Eider

A short visit back to Loch Mhor gave me a good view of a female Red-necked Phalarope at last but it was the male Ruff who stole everyone’s attention as he strutted, fluffed and posed close to us.  The secretive female was occasionally seen too.

Red-necked Phalarope - Chris Darby

Red-necked Phalarope - Chris Darby

Ruff

Ruff

Ruff

Time for a final island for the day and we crossed onto Baleshare.  Two Corncrakes were heard and we found a Black-tailed Godwit on a creek with two Common Sandpipers and a couple of Teal and Wigeon. The beach here was vast and empty and this time my van decided that it was time to venture forth rather than scan distant waders.  Some paddling in the icy Atlantic was felt to be entirely justified.  Would any of us ever visit here again and see the beaches, sea and sky in such contrasting wonderment?  It really was breath-taking.

Maggie did come back...

A sonic boom swept across us disrupting the revelry and a white contrail erratically wiggled its way up and north west.  Only later on did we discover that it had been the first successful shooting down of such a manoeuvrable rocket by the Navy by a missile launched from the HMS Dragon that we saw off shore the other day.  Amazing. https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2025/may/16/250516-royal-navy-warship-destroys-supersonic-missile-in-historic-first

It goes all the way top the top right of the image towering as it went.

Meanwhile Roger found some new local buddies at a beach party

A diversion north to Claddach Kirkibost did not give us an Icterine Warbler but predictably we did see another male Hen Harrier to round the day up nicely.