Islay and Jura in Autumn

ISLAY AND JURA IN AUTUMN

“Wildlife nestled in every corner of these unique islands, from sheltered coastal bays to large expanses of heathland, with hunting raptors and geese galore.” Kate Mennie

Dates Sat 16 - Sat 23 Oct 2021 Experience thousands of wintering geese, Chough and seaduck Price £1,945 on Islay, with a day on Jura’s rugged coastline watching thousands Deposit £350 Single Supp £275 of Red Deer in their autumn rut, plus soaring Eagles and Otter. Spectacle of thousands of Barnacle and Greenland White-fronted Geese Leader Kate Mennie Red Deer rutting with the Paps of Jura as a backdrop Weather Autumn in The Hebrides can be Hunting raptors including Hen Harrier, Peregrine, Merlin, Golden Eagle anything from gloriously calm and Chough, Divers, seaduck, Twite and Rock Doves sunny to quite cool, wet and windy, Abundance of historical sites round every corner with weather quickly changeable. Explore Islay and Jura’s rugged coastlines, lochs and bays for a chance of Otter Come prepared for everything from RSPB Reserves Loch Gruinart and Oa, with a richness of wildlife to enjoy cool, rainy and breezy through to dry, warm and sunny weather (0-15°C) We shall meet in Glasgow and begin our from the door to see Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper Walking Mainly short walks on good tracks, 1 journey towards the Mull of Kintyre and and divers. with longer coastal walks on rougher Kennacraig. Passing the picturesque shores of Loch Our next three days on Islay will be spent exploring ground. Lightweight walking shoes and Lomond, we shall travel west past Loch Fyne and the best wildlife spots and most famously the boots are advisable. You may also wish Lochgilphead, taking our time to stretch our legs to bring walking poles spectacle of arriving wintering geese. Thousands and birdwatch along the way. We shall then reach of Barnacle Geese and Greenland White-fronted Meals All included from dinner on Day 1 our hotel at Stonefield Castle, where we spend our Geese arrive here from the arctic to feed on this to breakfast on Day 8 first night. milder coastline and the view is utterly breathtaking. Insects Unlikely to be a problem at this time We’ll begin the next leg of the journey A highlight of our visit will be the RSPB Reserve of year 2-6 from Kennacraig as we wait to board of Loch Gruinart, where a sea of geese will cover Accom Double, twin and single ensuite the ferry. From the harbour, we shall scan for Black the landscape, a treat for both our eyes and ears. Group 7 Guillemot, Seal, and gull species. The two-hour ferry We shall of course scan for other species such journey will give us time to search the seas for as Pink-footed, Greylag and Pale-bellied Brent Great Northern Diver, cetaceans, seabirds such as Geese. More scarce species such as vagrant ‘wild’ Just some of what we hope to see: Gannet and possibly even a Great Skua. Canada Goose, Lesser Canada Goose, also known as Cackling Goose and Snow Goose will also be Arriving on Islay, we’ll explore for the remainder of searched for. Barnacle Goose Common Seal the first day, before arriving at our accommodation Greenland Great Northern Diver White-fronted Goose Hen Harrier for the next five nights, the Bowmore Hotel with Machir Bay dunes and Ardnave Point give us a great Red Deer Merlin views into the bay. We may not even have to go far opportunity to look for Red-billed Chough, with Chough Peregrine Twite Twite Otter Rock Dove Golden Eagle Glaucous Gull ‘Wild’ Canada Goose Iceland Gull Pink-footed Goose Pale-bellied Brent Goose Long- tailed Duck Scaup Red-throated Diver Grey Seal [email protected] | 01479 812498 www.speysidewildlife.co.uk “Islay and Jura in autumn are like no other islands, with the famous arrival of thousands of wintering geese onto fields and lochs. The rugged Jura is home to thousands of Red Deer, as they perform their annual rut, whilst eagles fly overhead.” Kate Mennie

Scotland’s largest population here on the island. Glaucous and Iceland as well as all three species Loch Gorm will give us more concentrations of of diver, Long-tailed Duck, Common Scoter and geese, Whooper Swan, Snipe, Redshank, Shoveler Scaup. As the light fades, flocks of geese drop into and Brown Hare. We shall also be on the look-out the bay to roost and we may even be treated for raptors here, such as Hen Harrier, Merlin and to a sunset. Peregrine. We shall choose a day to go over on the ferry Down on the south west point of the island, the to Jura to explore this rugged and remote rugged Rhinns of Islay peninsula is a good place island, its single road hugging the east coastline. to look for Golden Eagle and other raptor species With only 200 human inhabitants, the island with Rock Dove, Linnet and Twite all possible too. is home to 6,000 Red Deer and autumn The point is a great place to look out to sea for is the time when these magnificent mammals will cetaceans, Eider and Gannet. Looking onto Loch be bellowing in the annual stag rut. With the Paps Indall from the west side, we shall keep a look out of Jura mountain peaks as a backdrop, we shall also for divers, wintering seaduck such as Long-tailed look out for White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle and Duck and Otter on the rocky shore. Merlin amongst other species. Along the rugged coastline a keen eye may also spot Otter and seals Outline Itinerary The Oa peninsula on the south east corner out on the rocks. Day 1 Meet in Glasgow and drive to is an RSPB Nature Reserve in a remote and rugged Tarbert environment with a good concentration of wildlife. After breakfast we shall say a fond 1 night Stonefield Castle Hotel Looking out towards the American Monument, we 7-8 farewell to this beautiful island as we Days 2-6 Travel to Kennacraig for the 2 hour enter the Reserve with grazed grassland, heath, lochs take the ferry back to the mainland. On our final ferry to Islay. Walking and birding on and cliffs. We shall search for Hen Harrier, Short- day we shall explore the Mull of Kintyre peninsula Islay with a day on Jura eared Owl, Golden Eagle, and Buzzard over the and the wildlife it has to offer. We shall spend this 5 nights at Bowmore Hotel, Islay land and possibly have a further walk towards the time exploring inland lochs, coastal lookout spots for Days 7-8 After breakfast we take the morning point. We should find Stonechat, Twite and Chough, any passing migratory birds and possibly even have ferry back to Kennacraig and travel but we’ll look out for any migratory birds that may a visit to Taynish National Nature Reserve. to Lochgilphead, then travel back to be passing through. If it is a clear day, we should Glasgow the following morning. Our final night will be spent at The Grey Gull be able to see Northern Ireland from the point. 1 night Grey Gull Hotel hotel, where we shall spend the evening reliving Islay has a richness of medieval history, Celtic our highlights of the trip. The next morning, we Pauline Greenhalgh: Red Deer crosses and warrior grave slabs which we shall pass shall continue our travels back through stunning Ian Tulloch: Sanaigmore Bay, Common Seals, on our travels. Islay’s name is famously linked to its landscape to Glasgow, where we shall say our Whooper Swans, Lesser White-fronted Geese whisky export, so there may be a chance to stop farewells. Simon Eaves: Barnacle Geese by a distillery or two. Loch Indall near our hotel Jane Hope: Wigeon is a perfect place to check for gulls such as