Tuesday July 16th, 2019
Seabirds of Glendale, Isle of Skye
Gannets
Gannets are very common in Glendale and they can be seen daily, diving close to the shore and Pier in Loch Pooltiel, between April and October.
It is a spectacular sight to watch them plunging head-first into the water from great heights on the long Summer evenings.
Gannet in Loch Pooltiel.
Skuas
Great Skuas, commonly known as 'bonxies', and the daintier Arctic Skuas are now being seen regularly at Neist Point between May and September. Bonxies also regularly come into Loch Pooltiel to harass the gulls.
Shearwaters
Manx Shearwaters feed in huge numbers off Neist Point in late Summer.
Recent Bird Sightings
16th Jul 2019
Yellow-Legged Gull - Milovaig
July 2019
Yellow-Legged Gull - Milovaig
July 2019
Incredibly, on the day that the yellow-legged gull at Lower Milovaig was accepted by the SBRC, the bird re-appeared on the white beach at Lower Milovaig, early evening. This is the first official record for Skye and the third for Highland.
14th Jul 2019
Puffin - Neist Point
July 2019
Arctic Skua - Neist Point
July 2019
Great Northern Diver - Neist Point
July 2019
Ten puffins flew south past Neist Point and there were 6+ bonxies and 12+ arctic skuas out in the Minch off Neist. A great northern diver flew north past Neist Point.
Herring gulls were fledging today at Neist and there were lots of very tame fledglings wandering around beside the path near the herring gull colony.
7th Jul 2019
The Iceland gull has been been absent since the 1st.
More recent wildlife sightings
Black Guillemot at Neist Point.
Auks
In Summer, the stunning coastal waters and cliffs around Glendale are home to many hundreds of guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes and shags.
Puffins are also regularly seen off Neist Point in small numbers, although they do not nest on Skye.
The beautiful black guillemot, with its white wing-patches and red legs, is resident all year round.
Fulmar at Neist Point.