Trip report - west Scotland: Ardnamurchan peninsula, Mull and Skye
06th October 2019
Dates: 28th September to 5th October 2019
Destination: west Scotland
Purpose of trip:
Similar to my trips in September 2015 and September 2016, this was a week long trip to western Scotland, specifically the area west of Fort William, namely Ardnamurchan, Sunart, Morven and Ardgour.
This whole area is often described simply as Ardnamurchan. It is a peninsula which protrudes into the Atlantic Ocean, with the islands of Skye, Rhum, Eigg and Muck to the north and the island of Mull to the south. The Point of Ardnamurchan is the most westerly headland of the UK mainland. In some ways, Ardnamurchan can feel more remote than many other areas of north and west Scotland. There are only 2 ways of approaching it by road: via the Corran ferry, a 5 minute crossing of the narrowest point of Loch Linnhe between Nether Lochaber and Ardgour, and then via the A861 or via a longer route which follows the A830 “Road to the Isles” which passes the Glenfinnan monument and then the A861 from Lochailort.
In addition, Ardnamurchan was an excellent base for day trips to the islands of Mull and Skye.
The purpose of my trip was to hopefully see White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Otter, Pine Marten, Red Squirrel, Scottish Wildcat and much more.
In addition, weather permitting, I hoped to be able to take some photos of landscapes.
Primary target areas:
The primary target areas for wildlife watching and/or landscape photography were the Ardnamurchan peninsula plus the islands of Mull and Skye.
Getting there and getting around:
I travelled up to Glasgow by Virgin Trains on 28th September 2019 and returned on 5th October 2019 having obtained extremely good value first class advance single tickets for £48.20 and £33.65.
In Glasgow, I hired a car from lunchtime on 28th September 2019 to lunchtime on 5th October 2019 from Thrifty for £110.06 reduced by 9% cashback to £101.81.
The island of Mull was reached by Caledonian MacBrayne ferries from Kilchoan to Tobermory (outward journey) and from Fishnish to Locahline (return journey).
The island of Skye was reached by Caledonian MacBrayne ferries from Mallaig to Armadale (outward and return journey).
Accommodation:
As in September 2015 and September 2016, my base for the week was Mingarry, a small community in Moidart close to the village of Acharacle and located between the National Scenic Areas of Loch Shiel and Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan.
Again, accommodation for 7 nights was at the excellent Mingarry Lodges, specifically “Hooting Lodge”.
Mingarry Lodges again provided exceptional accommodation in terms of quality, value for money, location, friendly hosts and on site wildlife watching. Well done Jayne and Andrew on all the ongoing hard work that you continue to put in to make Mingarry Lodges so attractive for guests and resident wildlife and many thanks again for making our third stay so enjoyable. I have submitted a Trip Advisor review here.
Here is a photo of "Hooting Lodge" from an earlier trip ....
The following birds were recorded around Mingarry Lodges during this stay: Tawny Owl (female "kee-wik" calling at 4:30 a.m. on 29th September 2019), Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Siskin, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Jay, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove and Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard only). Nuthatch and Goldfinch were both recorded for the first time during this stay. A Common Buzzard in the woodland behind Hooting Lodge on 3rd October 2019 was also a first record here.
In addition, a flock of c.100 Pink-footed Geese was recorded flying over Mingarry Lodges on 30th September 2019 (presumably inward migrants from their breeding grounds in the interior highlands of Iceland).
Apart from the common birds and as expected, 2 very special mammals were recorded during this stay.
Pine Marten: a single small animal (a juvenile from this year?) visited the verandah table at “Hooting Lodge” at varying times between 7:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. on 6 evenings out of 7 with up to 3 visits per evening and in addition 2 animals (a presumed adult female and the presumed juvenile) visited the verandah table from 6:45 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. on 30th September 2019
Red Squirrel: unlike previous visits to Mingarry Lodges, there were very few records during this stay with only a single individual seen at 7:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on 29th September 2019
Here is a photo plus 2 short videos (all of average quality due to them being taken in low light and through the front window) of the regular visiting Pine Marten at "Hooting Lodge" ….
Here is a rather better photo of a Pine Marten at Mingarry Lodges (taken during my September 2016 stay) ….
In addition, during this stay at Mingarry Lodges, Jayne kindly provided a Bushnell trail camera which captured a Red Deer ….
Itinerary and route:
This is a summary of my itinerary and route:
28th September 2019: Glasgow – Loch Lomond – Crianlarich – Tyndrum – Rannoch Moor – Glen Coe – Fort William – Lochailort – Glenuig – Kinlochmoidart – Mingarry
29th September 2019: Mingarry – Loch Moidart (by Castle Tioram) – Acharacle – Salen – Camus Torsa – Ben Hiant area – Kilchoan – Ardnamurchan Point – Kilchoan – Salen – Acharacle – Mingarry
30th September 2019: Mingarry – Kinlochmoidart – Glenuig – Lochailort – Arisaig – Mallaig – ferry to Armadale (Skye) – Tarskavaig – Tokavaig – Ord – Broadford – Sligachan – Bracadale – Dunvegan – Carbost – Portree – The Storr – Portree – Sligachan – Broadford – Armadale – ferry to Mallaig – Arisaig – Lochailort – Glenuig – Kinlochmoidart – Mingarry
1st October 2019: Mingarry – Acharacle – Salen – Kilchoan – ferry to Tobermory (Mull) – Loch na Keal – Loch Scridain – Glen More – Loch Spelve – Loch Don – Craignure – Fishnish – ferry to Locahline (Ardnamurchan) – Strontian – Salen – Acharacle – Mingarry
2nd October 2019: Mingarry – Kinlochmoidart – Glenuig – Lochailort – Glenfinnan – Loch Shiel cruise – Glenfinnan – Lochailort – Glenuig – Kinlochmoidart – Mingarry
3rd October 2019: Mingarry – Acharacle – Salen – Strontian – Sallachan rocks – Ardgour - Kinlocheil – Fort William – Inchree – Corran ferry – Ardgour – Kingairloch – Strontian – Garbh Eilean wildlife hide – Salen – Acharacle – Mingarry
4th October 2019: Mingarry – Acharacle – Salen – Ben Hiant area – Kilchoan – Ardnamurchan Point – Kilchoan – Camus Torsa – Salen – Acharacle – Mingarry
5th October 2019: Mingarry – Acharacle – Salen – Strontian – Corran ferry – Glen Coe – Rannoch Moor – Tyndrum – Crianlarich – Loch Lomond – Glasgow
Weather:
The weather was relatively mild with temperatures averaging around a maximum of 12°C and characterised by a mix of sunny and bright conditions and light rain showers.
Highlights:
During my trip, I was able to record 69 bird species (understandably less than my June 2019 total of 122 species given the departure of summer migrants) and 7 mammal species.
Trip list - west Scotland
With regard to birds, I was able to add the following 2 species to my 2019 UK list bringing this up to 226 species recorded: Merlin and Tawny Owl.
The following summarises the notable wildlife species seen on my trip:
Ardnamurchan: Pine Marten, Otter, Red Squirrel, Badger, Red Deer, Harbour Porpoise, Common Seal, White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Peregrine, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Grey Heron, Gannet, Cormorant, Shag, Pink-footed Goose, Little Grebe, Wigeon, Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Teal, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Stonechat, Siskin, Goldcrest (heard only), Coal Tit, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard only), Raven, Hooded Crow, Jay
Corran ferry (Ardgour to Corran): Black Guillemot
Mull: White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Merlin, Common Buzzard, Grey Heron, Shag, Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Greenshank, Common Redshank, Mallard, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Raven, Hooded Crow
Skye ferry (Mallaig to Armadale): Guillemot, Eider
Skye: White-tailed Eagle, Common Buzzard, Pink-footed Goose, Whooper Swan, Grey Heron, Shag, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Raven, Hooded Crow, Rock Dove, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit
As expected based on previous experience, birds of prey sightings were very good on this trip:
White-tailed Eagle: 1 at Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan, 1 at Calgary on Mull, 1 at Killiechronan on Mull, 2 at Loch na Keal on Mull, 1 at Gribun on Mull, 1 at The Storr on Skye and 2 along Loch Shiel
Golden Eagle: 3 (2 and 1) over Ben Hiant, Ardnamurchan, 2 between Tobermory and Diavaig on Mull and 2 along Loch Shiel
Merlin: 1 female at Loch Beg on Mull
Peregrine: 1 at Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan
Common Buzzard: numerous throughout Ardnamurchan and on Mull and Skye
Kestrel: 1 on Mull
Sparrowhawk: 1 at Inchree
In addition to the Pine Martens and Red Squirrels at Mingarry Lodges, the mammal highlights during my trip were:
Otter: 1 on 2 separate occasions from the Camus Torsa picnic site just west of Salen
Red Deer: c.10 at Ardnamuchan Point
Common Seal: 17 at the Garbh Eilean wildlife hide near Strontian, Ardnamurchan and 6 at Sallachan, Ardnamurchan
Harbour Porpoise: 2 or 3 in Loch Sunart from the Camus Torsa picnic site just west of Salen
Badger: 1 at an undisclosed site
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, I had no sightings of Scottish Wildcat.
Photo: Loch Moidart and Castle Tioram, Ardnamurchan
Photo: Camas nan Geall and Ben Hiant, Ardnamurchan
Photo: view of Skye from the junction of the B8007 road and the unclassified road to Kilmory, Fascadale, Swordle and Ockle, Ardnamurchan
Destination: west Scotland
Purpose of trip:
Similar to my trips in September 2015 and September 2016, this was a week long trip to western Scotland, specifically the area west of Fort William, namely Ardnamurchan, Sunart, Morven and Ardgour.
This whole area is often described simply as Ardnamurchan. It is a peninsula which protrudes into the Atlantic Ocean, with the islands of Skye, Rhum, Eigg and Muck to the north and the island of Mull to the south. The Point of Ardnamurchan is the most westerly headland of the UK mainland. In some ways, Ardnamurchan can feel more remote than many other areas of north and west Scotland. There are only 2 ways of approaching it by road: via the Corran ferry, a 5 minute crossing of the narrowest point of Loch Linnhe between Nether Lochaber and Ardgour, and then via the A861 or via a longer route which follows the A830 “Road to the Isles” which passes the Glenfinnan monument and then the A861 from Lochailort.
In addition, Ardnamurchan was an excellent base for day trips to the islands of Mull and Skye.
The purpose of my trip was to hopefully see White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Otter, Pine Marten, Red Squirrel, Scottish Wildcat and much more.
In addition, weather permitting, I hoped to be able to take some photos of landscapes.
Primary target areas:
The primary target areas for wildlife watching and/or landscape photography were the Ardnamurchan peninsula plus the islands of Mull and Skye.
Getting there and getting around:
I travelled up to Glasgow by Virgin Trains on 28th September 2019 and returned on 5th October 2019 having obtained extremely good value first class advance single tickets for £48.20 and £33.65.
In Glasgow, I hired a car from lunchtime on 28th September 2019 to lunchtime on 5th October 2019 from Thrifty for £110.06 reduced by 9% cashback to £101.81.
The island of Mull was reached by Caledonian MacBrayne ferries from Kilchoan to Tobermory (outward journey) and from Fishnish to Locahline (return journey).
The island of Skye was reached by Caledonian MacBrayne ferries from Mallaig to Armadale (outward and return journey).
Accommodation:
As in September 2015 and September 2016, my base for the week was Mingarry, a small community in Moidart close to the village of Acharacle and located between the National Scenic Areas of Loch Shiel and Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan.
Again, accommodation for 7 nights was at the excellent Mingarry Lodges, specifically “Hooting Lodge”.
Mingarry Lodges again provided exceptional accommodation in terms of quality, value for money, location, friendly hosts and on site wildlife watching. Well done Jayne and Andrew on all the ongoing hard work that you continue to put in to make Mingarry Lodges so attractive for guests and resident wildlife and many thanks again for making our third stay so enjoyable. I have submitted a Trip Advisor review here.
Here is a photo of "Hooting Lodge" from an earlier trip ....
The following birds were recorded around Mingarry Lodges during this stay: Tawny Owl (female "kee-wik" calling at 4:30 a.m. on 29th September 2019), Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Siskin, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Jay, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove and Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard only). Nuthatch and Goldfinch were both recorded for the first time during this stay. A Common Buzzard in the woodland behind Hooting Lodge on 3rd October 2019 was also a first record here.
In addition, a flock of c.100 Pink-footed Geese was recorded flying over Mingarry Lodges on 30th September 2019 (presumably inward migrants from their breeding grounds in the interior highlands of Iceland).
Apart from the common birds and as expected, 2 very special mammals were recorded during this stay.
Pine Marten: a single small animal (a juvenile from this year?) visited the verandah table at “Hooting Lodge” at varying times between 7:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. on 6 evenings out of 7 with up to 3 visits per evening and in addition 2 animals (a presumed adult female and the presumed juvenile) visited the verandah table from 6:45 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. on 30th September 2019
Red Squirrel: unlike previous visits to Mingarry Lodges, there were very few records during this stay with only a single individual seen at 7:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on 29th September 2019
Here is a photo plus 2 short videos (all of average quality due to them being taken in low light and through the front window) of the regular visiting Pine Marten at "Hooting Lodge" ….
Here is a rather better photo of a Pine Marten at Mingarry Lodges (taken during my September 2016 stay) ….
In addition, during this stay at Mingarry Lodges, Jayne kindly provided a Bushnell trail camera which captured a Red Deer ….
Itinerary and route:
This is a summary of my itinerary and route:
28th September 2019: Glasgow – Loch Lomond – Crianlarich – Tyndrum – Rannoch Moor – Glen Coe – Fort William – Lochailort – Glenuig – Kinlochmoidart – Mingarry
29th September 2019: Mingarry – Loch Moidart (by Castle Tioram) – Acharacle – Salen – Camus Torsa – Ben Hiant area – Kilchoan – Ardnamurchan Point – Kilchoan – Salen – Acharacle – Mingarry
30th September 2019: Mingarry – Kinlochmoidart – Glenuig – Lochailort – Arisaig – Mallaig – ferry to Armadale (Skye) – Tarskavaig – Tokavaig – Ord – Broadford – Sligachan – Bracadale – Dunvegan – Carbost – Portree – The Storr – Portree – Sligachan – Broadford – Armadale – ferry to Mallaig – Arisaig – Lochailort – Glenuig – Kinlochmoidart – Mingarry
1st October 2019: Mingarry – Acharacle – Salen – Kilchoan – ferry to Tobermory (Mull) – Loch na Keal – Loch Scridain – Glen More – Loch Spelve – Loch Don – Craignure – Fishnish – ferry to Locahline (Ardnamurchan) – Strontian – Salen – Acharacle – Mingarry
2nd October 2019: Mingarry – Kinlochmoidart – Glenuig – Lochailort – Glenfinnan – Loch Shiel cruise – Glenfinnan – Lochailort – Glenuig – Kinlochmoidart – Mingarry
3rd October 2019: Mingarry – Acharacle – Salen – Strontian – Sallachan rocks – Ardgour - Kinlocheil – Fort William – Inchree – Corran ferry – Ardgour – Kingairloch – Strontian – Garbh Eilean wildlife hide – Salen – Acharacle – Mingarry
4th October 2019: Mingarry – Acharacle – Salen – Ben Hiant area – Kilchoan – Ardnamurchan Point – Kilchoan – Camus Torsa – Salen – Acharacle – Mingarry
5th October 2019: Mingarry – Acharacle – Salen – Strontian – Corran ferry – Glen Coe – Rannoch Moor – Tyndrum – Crianlarich – Loch Lomond – Glasgow
Weather:
The weather was relatively mild with temperatures averaging around a maximum of 12°C and characterised by a mix of sunny and bright conditions and light rain showers.
Highlights:
During my trip, I was able to record 69 bird species (understandably less than my June 2019 total of 122 species given the departure of summer migrants) and 7 mammal species.
Trip list - west Scotland
With regard to birds, I was able to add the following 2 species to my 2019 UK list bringing this up to 226 species recorded: Merlin and Tawny Owl.
The following summarises the notable wildlife species seen on my trip:
Ardnamurchan: Pine Marten, Otter, Red Squirrel, Badger, Red Deer, Harbour Porpoise, Common Seal, White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Peregrine, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Grey Heron, Gannet, Cormorant, Shag, Pink-footed Goose, Little Grebe, Wigeon, Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Teal, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Stonechat, Siskin, Goldcrest (heard only), Coal Tit, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard only), Raven, Hooded Crow, Jay
Corran ferry (Ardgour to Corran): Black Guillemot
Mull: White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Merlin, Common Buzzard, Grey Heron, Shag, Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Greenshank, Common Redshank, Mallard, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Raven, Hooded Crow
Skye ferry (Mallaig to Armadale): Guillemot, Eider
Skye: White-tailed Eagle, Common Buzzard, Pink-footed Goose, Whooper Swan, Grey Heron, Shag, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Raven, Hooded Crow, Rock Dove, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit
As expected based on previous experience, birds of prey sightings were very good on this trip:
White-tailed Eagle: 1 at Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan, 1 at Calgary on Mull, 1 at Killiechronan on Mull, 2 at Loch na Keal on Mull, 1 at Gribun on Mull, 1 at The Storr on Skye and 2 along Loch Shiel
Golden Eagle: 3 (2 and 1) over Ben Hiant, Ardnamurchan, 2 between Tobermory and Diavaig on Mull and 2 along Loch Shiel
Merlin: 1 female at Loch Beg on Mull
Peregrine: 1 at Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan
Common Buzzard: numerous throughout Ardnamurchan and on Mull and Skye
Kestrel: 1 on Mull
Sparrowhawk: 1 at Inchree
In addition to the Pine Martens and Red Squirrels at Mingarry Lodges, the mammal highlights during my trip were:
Otter: 1 on 2 separate occasions from the Camus Torsa picnic site just west of Salen
Red Deer: c.10 at Ardnamuchan Point
Common Seal: 17 at the Garbh Eilean wildlife hide near Strontian, Ardnamurchan and 6 at Sallachan, Ardnamurchan
Harbour Porpoise: 2 or 3 in Loch Sunart from the Camus Torsa picnic site just west of Salen
Badger: 1 at an undisclosed site
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, I had no sightings of Scottish Wildcat.
Photo: Loch Moidart and Castle Tioram, Ardnamurchan
Photo: Camas nan Geall and Ben Hiant, Ardnamurchan
Photo: view of Skye from the junction of the B8007 road and the unclassified road to Kilmory, Fascadale, Swordle and Ockle, Ardnamurchan
Comments
By Trevor Burns: Hello Richard
Good to see you are still enjoying the wildlife photography ...
Trevor Burns