Archive for November, 2024

Before leaving Islay,  until our return next June, it would be remiss of me not to mention the bird that first brought us to Islay in 1976 – the Hen Harrier. There can be few better places to see Hen Harriers in Winter than Islay. It is not uncommon to encounter five or six different birds on a trip around the island. In fact you have a better chance to see female Harriers in Winter than in Summer when they are occupied hatching their eggs or brooding their young in the deep heather. In the 48 years since 1976 I count myself lucky to have intensively studied and filmed over sixty pairs of Islay’s Hen Harriers as well as ringing over 200 of their young.

In Winter Islay must have at least twenty Sea Eagles, all attracted to the Island by the abundance of prey in the form of the Geese. As these Eagles move around the island they regularly come into conflict with Islays resident Buzzards. Surprisingly, the Sea Eagles don’t always win these disputes.

The river Sorn on Islay in October looks as good as anywhere else at that time of year.Over the years we have seen day hunting Daubentons Bat and Kingfishers on the stretch of river shown in today’s photo. Some years ago we found the first pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers to nest on Islay, feeding young in their nest-hole and it would be great to repeat that event for Kingfishers . Roll on next June.