Wednesday 28th June

The day started overcast with drizzle, which gave way to a pleasantly bright and sunny afternoon.

Kath Butterworth was birding around the Rhinns today finding ring-tailed Hen Harrier hunting at Saligo, a couple of Tufted Duck on Loch Gorm, 35 Chough at Ardnave and a couple of White-tailed Eagles in a field near Ardnave Loch for half an hour or more this afternoon. She finished with a sighting of a drake Velvet Scoter (presumed to be the Easter Ellister long-stayer) just off Bruichladdich (still watching it as I write this at a little after 9pm, with Malcolm Ogilvie taking a look too as he can probably see it from his office window!).

I spent the day on a brilliant boat trip to Rathlin Island. I was on the island for the first time last August when most of the seabirds had gone. Today, approaching by boat and working our way along the northern cliffs, was very different. The numbers of Guillemots and Kittiwakes nesting is phenomenal. apparently it is the largest Guillemot colony in UK with just short of 150,000. There were plenty of Razorbills, Fulmars and a good number of Puffins too along with a Great Skua. One of the main reasons Islay doesn't have anything like this number of nesting seabirds is, I suspect, largely due to geology. Rathlin's geology provides miles of great cliffs with masses of suitable nesting ledges that just aren't available with most of the type of rocks and formations that we have here.

The middle photo is one of Rathlin's three lighthouses, now a visitor centre run by the RSPB to show visitors the nesting seabirds from a safe distance.