Scotland trip for birding - advice please

[Keith_Reeder]

[quote author=DavidR]
I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Lunga, one of the Treshnish Islands.[/quote]

I did (or tried to do) Lunga at the end of April last year, and the skipper was far more interested in bouncing around in front of Fingal's Cave than he was in Puffins - in fact he decided not to land on Lunga: "not enough Puffins yet", he said, despite him being happy to take several wildlife photographers' money, and there being birds everywhere.

I've been doing wildlife boat trips and photographing Puffins long enough to recognise bullsh1t when I hear it.

In addition, the boat was seriously (probably illiegally) overloaded with bodies.

I wouldn't use Turus Mara again if you paid me - worst boat/wildlife/photography experience I've ever had in my life.

[quote author=Geonix]These two photo areas are well picked and you see all the birds you want and for a small group there is enough space to move[/quote]

Which in itself makes it better than the Farnes. I still maintain that you have far more options on May than on the Farnes - all of the paths on May have always been accessible in my visits.

 

[geonix]

Hello
I live in Connel, near Oban on the west coast of Scotland.
I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Lunga, one of the Treshnish Islands.
There are organised trips that involve a ferry trip from Oban to Mull then a bus journey and a boat to Lunga and Staffa (famous for Fingal`s Cave).
The most important birds on Lunga are puffins and there will be huge numbers of them there just now, many of them approachable to about 1m! Also shags, guillemots and other sea birds.
If you go to Oban please also look into the Thursday sailings to Coll and Tiree for a visit to these Hebridean islands.
There are also trips to Iona which is very photogenic.

Farther north, consider Handa Island to which there are boat trips. The island has good sea cliffs. I`ve also even seen a lizard there.

However, perhaps the most spectacular place to see birds is on the day trip to St Kilda. After visiting Hirta, the main island, the boat we were on went past Boreray, a huge sea stack which has thousands of gannets. Be aware that this is an expensive trip and needs a lot of planning.

For more ideas look at the Scottish Wildlife Trust website.

Thanks David for this tip. On my next visit to Scotland I will definitely see the west coast. The Scottish Wildlife Trust website I know, very informative.