News in Brief: Islay & Jura and East Yorkshire: The Magic of Migration

Our 7-day trip to this beautiful pair of islands in the Inner Hebrides was a delight. Typical of this part of the world, we experienced all the seasons during each day, although the rainbows were consistent!

We stayed in the delightful coastal town of Bowmore, where we had wonderful views of Loch Indaal from the dining room windows – excellent birdwatching with outstanding food! The geese were spectacular – huge flocks of Barnacles crossing the dramatic skies over Loch Gruinart were awe – inspiring. But for many, the smaller groups of Greenland White-fronted Geese, dotted here and there around the island, were simply exquisite. Golden Eagle, Peregrine and White-tailed Eagle were also seen; the latter including a group of three talon-grappling over the tip of Jura.

But we had mammals too. Red Deer were in groups of hinds, each accompanied by a stag which had been successful in the rut, and Fallow and Roe Deer were also seen. One magical episode saw us observing two otters in a secluded bay, watched over by a majestic adult White-tailed Eagle in an adjacent tree, and flanked by seals sitting out on the rocks. Simply magical.

Our third Magic of Migration tour of the autumn on the east coast of Yorkshire was another great success. The winds may have shifted away from the easterlies that we were hoping for but that didn't stop us racking up an excellent list of species. Scaup and Slavonian Grebes at Hornsea Mere got us off to a good start and a Short-eared Owl perched in full view was our reward after a walk along the cliffs at Bempton. Scarcer species included a couple of Black Redstarts, a Firecrest in the hand, two different Yellow-browed Warblers and the thousands of waders on the Humber at Spurn provided several memorable experiences. But the highlight of the trip had to be watching a stunning Great Grey Shrike devour a large bumblebee as both Marsh and Hen Harrier quartered the fields in the background, Pink-footed Geese landed over to our right and a Merlin terrorised the waders out on the estuary behind us. One of those moments where you just didn’t know where to look!