Recent Wildlife Sightings in Glendale, Skye

March

10th

There was a merlin hunting along the bottom road in Lower Milovaig at 6pm.

9th

There were at least two pairs of redwings singing in the spruces on the bottom road at 2 Lower Milovaig at sunrise.
The first singing skylark of the year was on Beinn Bhuidhe and a group of 7 lapwings were back, and displaying, on the breeding ground behind Borrodale School, early morning (Clare Gray).
The group of three red-throated divers (two summer, one winter) were off the white beach at Upper Milovaig at mid-day.
The family group of three otters were again fishing the shoreline of the white beach at Upper Milovaig at 12:55pm.

8th

There were a pair of red-breasted mergansers and a pair of goosanders feeding together off the white beach at Lower Milovaig at 6pm.
After a frosty start, it was another very warm day, reaching a balmy 14.6°C. See weather page.

7th

There was another influx of skylarks to Milovaig today, with a flock of 12 on the bottom road in Lower Milovaig and lots of skylarks flying around overhead throughout the day. There were two gannets across the mouth of Loch Pooltiel, mid afternoon.

6th

There was a pair of redwings in the garden at 2 Lower Milovaig, with the male in full song just before dusk. The winter plumage red-throated diver was still remaining very close to Meanish, giving some good views again.
The flowers are just beginning to open on the flowering currants and the daffodils are in bud.
A really nice, warm spring day today, with temperatures reaching 12.4°C, the highest of the year so far.

5th

There were three red-throated divers close inshore at Meanish, late afternoon, giving very good views. Two were in full breeding plumage and one was still in winter plumage. The seabirds are beginning to trickle back now with two gannets across the mouth of Loch Pooltiel and two common guillemots inside the mouth of Loch Pooltiel, late afternoon. Black guillemots are very numerous now on Loch Pooltiel.

4th

A group of 6 whooper swans flew North-East over Milovaig early morning (Clare Gray), the first birds of the year heading back to their breeding grounds. There were a pair of goosanders of the white beach at Milovaig, early morning (Alison Stables).

2nd

There was a lone otter fishing the shoreline of the white beach at Lower Milovaig at 5:10pm.
The first primrose of the year was in bloom at Feriniquire (Kathy Lindsley).

February

28th

Our entertaining family group of three otters were playing on the skerries in Loch Pooltiel and fishing in the water around them between 4:30pm and 5pm.
There were four red-throated divers and two goosanders on Loch Pooltiel, late afternoon.

27th

There were two red-throated divers on Loch Pooltiel, late afternoon. One was almost completely moulted into its summer plumage, except that its throat was only just beginning to show red.

23rd

A pair of siskins were using bird feeders at 2 Lower Milovaig, early morning. There was a woodcock in MacDougal's Spruces, near Meanish Pier, just before dusk.
Still bitterly cold with temperatures down to -3.6°C in Milovaig and -7.5°C in Dunvegan last night. Frozen snow still lying around Glendale down to sea-level  (see Milovaig Temperature Graph).

22nd

A very cold start with temperatures having fallen to -3.7°C overnight. Yesterday's snow-fall remained on the ground all day.

21st

There were two mistle thrushes below the bottom road on croft 2 Lower Milovaig, early morning.
Glendale awoke to 2-3cm of snow, which lay on the ground all day.

20th

A superb day for otters today, as Loch Pooltiel remained like glass throughout. Our family group of three otters were again feeding together off the White Beach at Lower Milovaig at 8am. Another otter was diving over the submerged skerries at 12:20pm and another otter was fishing way out in the sea off Meanish Pier, several hundred yards from land, at 3pm.
There was a single great northern diver on Loch Pooltiel. There was a group of 5 skylarks above the hill road on croft 14 Lower Milovaig. A single gannet was in the Minch just outside the mouth of Loch Pooltiel. There is still a group of 13 greylag geese grazing around Milovaig, which has been in the area for a few weeks now.
Glendale awoke again to a thin covering of snow. Snow showers continued throughout the day, with a particularly heavy fall between 2pm and 3pm, when 2cm fell on Lower Milovaig.

19th

The skylarks are back and two days earlier than last year! There was a group of 4 flying around crofts 2 & 4 Lower Milovaig (on the bottom road) all morning. A nice female hen harrier flew past Carters' Rest, Upper Milovaig, late afternoon, heading in the direction of Borrodale. There were two red-throated divers on Loch Pooltiel, late afternoon.

18th

Glendale awoke to a thin covering of snow down to sea-level, with about 1cm in the brae. Snowing heavily at Fairy Bridge and Portree before 9am, with some stretches of road there white over.

15th

A flock of around 20 redwings arrived in the spruces at 2 Lower Milovaig overnight and were singing in unison at dawn. This is an annual phenomenon in Milovaig, during the reverse migration, with birds present and singing until mid-April.
There were 119 occupied fulmar nests and 9 occupied shag nests at Neist Point today. No auks or kittiwakes on the cliffs yet. There were just six common guillemots on the water around Neist and a few more heading north past the point. There were a steady trickle of gannets heading North past Neist Point with nine counted in total. A juvenile white-tailed eagle was picked up way out at sea off Benbecula (mid-afternoon) and flew directly across the water to Neist, where it did a number of spectacular low passes around the point, horse's head and car park area before heading across Moonen Bay and landing on the cliff face. There were a great northern diver, a red-throated diver and four eider in Moonen Bay. There were 3 goldeneye on Loch Mor, Waterstein.
Two pairs of red-breasted mergansers were courting on Loch Dunvegan, in front of the Raven Press Gallery at 10am (Kathy Lindsley).

14th

There is still a single great northern diver on Loch Pooltiel, giving good views today off the pier. The hooded crows that nest near Meanish Pier have been patching their nest today. Robins (Clare Gray) and song thrushes have also been seen carrying nesting materials over the weekend. The robins and song thrushes have been singing lustily for a week or so now. Spring is in the air!

13th

A group of 8 siskins flew into Glendale over the brae on the Borreraig-Glasphein road mid-day. There were 12 fieldfares at Glasphein at mid-day and there is just a single redwing at 2 Lower Milovaig. There were woodcock at Scoval, Borreraig and two in the grounds of Husabost House. There is still a single great northern diver on Loch Pooltiel. Two golden eagles were soaring on the Martin Estate in the lovely spring sunshine.

12th

There was a lovely family group of three otters feeding together off the white beach at Lower Milovaig at 5pm.
There was a group of 8 red-breasted mergansers on Loch Dunvegan in front of the Raven Press Gallery (Kathy Lindsley).

7th

There was a female hen harrier quartering below the top road in Lower Milovaig, early morning (Nick Carter). The black guillemots have returned in full force today, with nine on Loch Pooltiel mid-afternoon.

6th

A white-tailed eagle flew West over the bottom road in Lower Milovaig at 9am (Alison Stables). There were two great northern divers in Loch Dunvegan, off Borreraig, at mid-day.
There were 12 grey seals basking on the skerries in Loch Pooltiel most of the day, which is the highest count  of the year so far.

3rd

Snowing heavily in Glendale at 6pm with already 1 cm of powder snow settled down to sea-level. 2cm by 8pm. All gone by the next morning.

January

31st

There were two red deer on the Milovaig common grazings at Rubha Ban, mid afternoon.
Another very cold day with the occasional sleet and snow shower but not settling.

30th

One of our resident pairs of buzzards in Milovaig has begun to build their nest today, another sign that Spring is on the way. There was a summer plumage black guillemot off the skerries in Loch Pooltiel, late afternoon.
It turned very cold again yesterday, with flurries of sleet and snow throughout yesterday and today, although not settling in Glendale.

25th

The first snowdrops have come into bloom in the garden at 2 Lower Milovaig. Only a day later than last year, despite the harsh winter.

17th

There was a dead male red fox on the bottom road in Upper Milovaig, close to Carters' Rest, today. It had apparently been run over and someone had taken its tail as a trophy.

16th

There was a single summer-plumaged common guillemot off Meanish Pier, mid afternoon. This is the first returning bird of the new season. There were two great northern divers off Meanish Pier at the same time.
The big freeze, that started on December 21st, finally ended yesterday, with temperatures reaching 9.3°C yesterday. Graph.

10th

There were unprecedented numbers of woodcock in Milovaig today, with at least 10 birds feeding and flying openly around the loop, early afternoon, including one group of four feeding openly together on an unfrozen patch of ground behind 2 Lower Milovaig. There were also 6 common snipe flushed around the loop and still one jack snipe, today seen on the burn through 6 Upper Milovaig.
This was the coldest day so far of the 'big freeze' with the temperature falling to -4.1°C at 8:30am in Lower Milovaig.

9th

Our problem red fox in Milovaig took a hen at Carters' Rest, mid morning and then returned again, just before dusk, to try again (Steve & Julie Carter).
There was an otter feeding off the white beach at Upper Milovaig at 4pm, which gradually worked its way out into the middle of Loch Pooltiel.
There was a group of four lapwings on the bottom road in Lower Milovaig, early morning. The peregrine falcon is still around Milovaig, seen this afternoon below the bottom road in Lower Milovaig in front of Gandhi's caravan. A total of 6 woodcock, 2 common snipe and a curlew were counted along the bottom road between 2 Lower Milovaig and MacDougal's spruces just before dusk.

8th

There was a jack snipe in the middle of the bottom road in Upper Milovaig at 7:50am, brilliantly lit by the car headlights.
A very cold day on Skye with temperatures falling to -2.9°C in Milovaig, -8.0°C in Dunvegan and -12.0°C in Portree.

6th

The diurnal red fox at Milovaig took another three hens from the garden at 12 Upper Milovaig at mid-day (Andrea Cross).
A belated report of killer whales at Milovaig on the 1st has just come in. See below for more details.

5th

At 11am, there was an immature white-tailed eagle carrying pink tags soaring around Leinish Bay, off Totaig (Jim Adams). At 2pm, the peregrine falcon was seen again, coming in off Loch Pooltiel at the allt mor burn, flying behind the Clelands' house and then landing on Beinn Bhuidhe between 15 & 16 Upper Milovaig, giving superb close views (Clare Grey).

4th

Another jack snipe was caught in the car headlights beside the bottom road in Upper Milovaig at 5pm.

3rd

There was a stunning jack snipe in a road-side drain on the seaward end of the Milovaig Loop, early afternoon. This is the first time that we have recorded this species in Glendale. There was a single golden plover below the bottom road on Croft 1 Lower Milovaig, mid-morning. There was a lone male goosander off the white beach at Lower Milovaig all day. There were no divers on Loch Pooltiel today and most of the meadow pipits and continental thrushes seem to have moved on.
We recorded a minimum temperature of -3.8°C in Lower Milovaig last night. This was the coldest night, so far, of the big freeze that we are having. For anyone interested, a graph of the temperatures can be viewed here.

2nd

At around 1:30pm, a peregrine falcon flew low, North along the bottom road in Lower Milovaig. These are very scarce visitors to Milovaig, although they do breed on Glendale Estate. The over-wintering chiffchaff at Lower Milovaig was again seen this afternoon in MacDougal's spruces, near Meanish Pier. The bird was calling repeatedly, which may indicate that there is a 2nd bird present.
Two white-tailed eagles put on a good flying display over Loch Dunvegan, off Totaig, today and spent over an hour sunning themselves on one of the islets. A third bird carrying yellow/orange tags was also seen in the same area (June & Jim Adams).

1st

A pod of three killer whales was seen heading North off Rubha Ban. This was probably a family group, as the individuals were each of different sizes. The large dorsal fin and black/white colouration were clearly visible (Ewan Halley).
There were 3 golden plovers on the white beach at Lower Milovaig all day. A stunning female merlin was hunting along the shoreline at Meanish Pier, early afternoon, before flying across Loch Pooltiel to Ferinquarrie. There were two red-throated divers feeding very close to Meanish Pier, early afternoon. There was a New Year eagle-fest in Milovaig between 3pm and 3:30pm. An immature white-tailed eagle was soaring low over the white beach at Lower Milovaig, gradually drifting towards the pier, where it was joined by an immature golden eagle. The golden eagle stayed with it for around 10 minutes, both swirling around together above the pier, before the goldie flew over to Beinn Bhuidhe for 10 minutes, then headed on towards Lephin. The white-tailed eagle then flew back to Beinn Bhuidhe where it remained soaring low over the houses between Bob & Anna's and Carter's Rest, before it too made off in the direction of Lephin.
Just for interest, these are grainy photos of the eagles, taken at the time, that illustrate the distinct differences between the two species:

Immature Golden Eagle at Lower Milovaig

Immature White-Tailed Eagle at Lower Milovaig

A very happy New Year to all the regular readers of this blog!
2-4cm of snow fell overnight and freezing temperatures made the roads very icy for the whole of, what was, a beautiful, clear sunny day.

 

 

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