Glendale, Skye - Tourist Guide
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 2025
Manx Shearwater - Neist
July 2025
Bonxie - Neist Point
July 2025
A 3-hour seawatch at Neist produced two bonxies south and two puffins north. There were around 300 manx shearwaters off-shore. There was a late wheatear on the point and another a Upper Milovaig.
15th Jul 2025
An arctic skua and a whimbrel went south past Neist Point at mid-day (Sean Morris).
14th Jul 2025
A single arctic skua went south at Neist in the morning.
Pretty catastrophic breeding season for fulmars. Most nests now abandoned and can only see c.6 of the remaining occupied nests that have a chick. Auk ledges deserted and only seen one common guillemot chick on the water this season so far.
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.