3 minute read
HIGHLANDS and the ISLE of MAY
SAT 22 JUNE – SAT 29 JUNE 2024
PRICES: £1795pp
Early Birder Prices from £1595pp (subject to availability). Contact us before booking! No single supplement. Full holiday details are available on our website. Please read FIELD NOTES on page 9.
On this two-centre holiday we offer some of the best birding available in the Highlands, including a visit to the wonderful Isle of May. Just over one mile in length, the island is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, about five miles off the coast of Fife, and is owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage as a National Nature Reserve.
During our visit at the height of the breeding season, the Isle of May can host around 200,000 seabirds, including Puffin, Kittiwake, Guillemot, Razorbill, Shag, Fulmar, Eider, Oystercatcher plus several gull and tern species. We plan to spend time on the island, working closely with the Observatory team to search out other the best wildlife including any late migrants. Seabirds will feature highly; the Isle of May is famed for its Puffins and other nesting species and we enjoy birding from both land and sea.
On our three-day adventure south to Fife we’ll also explore coastal hotspots for waders and farmland birds, enjoy summering Common and Velvet Scoter, with Little Gull and Roseate Tern also possible. In the Highlands, summer months are a good time to see many speciality species including Crested Tit. Also present are Scottish Crossbill and summer migrants deep into their breeding season. We’ll look for scarce Black-throated Diver and Slavonian Grebe on local Lochs, plus Golden and Whitetailed Eagle, Osprey and Peregrine in the hills. Capercaillie are increasingly scarce, and we no longer look for them at this time of year, though incidental sightings are possible. We plan to spend a day on the Cairngorm mountain, exploring the plateau for Ptarmigan, Dotterel and Snow Bunting. Five nights at Mountview Hotel. Two nights at a comfortable hotel in Fife.
Combine with:
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
Highlands and Orkney (p19), Highlands & the Isle of May (p20), Highland Wildlife in Early Summer (p21).
SCOTTISH ISLANDS
Islands on the Edge (p35), NEW! Wildlife of Argyll and Inner Hebridean Islands (p37), Shetland and Orkney (p36), North West Scotland Explorer (p38).
Combine with:
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
Outer Limits in Summer (p20), Eagles, Divers & Dotterel (p21).
SCOTTISH ISLANDS
Outer Hebrides and Shiants (p39), Ultimate Outer Hebrides (p38).
HIGHLAND WILDLIFE in early summer
Birds, mammals, insects and plants – ideal for the all-round enthusiast!
SAT 24 JUNE – SAT 1 JULY 2023
SAT 22 JUNE – SAT 29 JUNE 2024
PRICES: from £1595pp
Early Birder Prices from £1445pp (subject to availability). Contact us before booking! No single supplement. Full details and a Trip Report are on our website. Please read FIELD NOTES on page 9.
A cracking celebration of wildlife covering the birds, mammals, insects and plants of this fantastic area. Aimed at the natural history all-rounder and the birder who wants to see something extra, our itinerary is designed to be a leisurely and thoroughly enjoyable exploration at a relaxed pace. Stretching from the high tops of the Arctic-alpine mountains, to the summer plants and birdlife of the Moray Coast, this will be a celebration of all the wildlife of the Cairngorms National Park and beyond. We also visit key sites outside the Park for rare dragonflies, butterflies and flora.
In our hotel grounds you may see Moonwort, Northern Marsh Orchid, Creeping Ladies’ Tresses and Chanterelle. We check our moth trap daily, finding nationally scarce moths, though for many Poplar Hawk-moth is a highlight. We bird for Scottish Crossbill and Crested Tit, and see Twinflower, Serrated and Common Wintergreen, Field Gentian and orchids including Fragrant, Coralroot, Greater and Lesser Butterfly. At the coast we search for orchids and wintergreens plus Scots Lovage. Insects include Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Northern Brown Argus, Dark Green Fritillary, Common Hawker, White-faced and Black Darter, Northern Damselfly, Four-spot Chaser and Northern Emerald.
On the mountain are Ptarmigan, Dotterel, Ring Ouzel, Snow Bunting and Mountain Hare, and rare alpines including Moss Campion, Trailing Azalea, Dwarf Cornel, Alpine Ladies’ Mantle, Alpine Saw-wort, Lesser Twayblade, Scottish Asphodel, Alpine and Interrupted Clubmoss and Climax forest of Least Willow, with a chance of Black Mountain Moth.
We visit Troup Head by boat to see Scotland's only mainland Gannetry with breeding Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin, Black Guillemot, Kittiwake, Shag, Fulmar, and occasional marauding Great Skua or flashing Peregrine. Minke Whale, Bottle-nosed Dolphin and Harbour Porpoise are also possible.
In moorland habitats we seek Osprey, Golden Eagle, Peregrine, Red and Black-throated Diver, Slavonian Grebe and Red Grouse. Orchids include Frog and Small White, plus Grass of Parnassus, Starry Saxifrage, Sundew, Butterwort, Intermediate Wintergreen, Water Lobelia and Stagshorn Clubmoss. Beautiful Yellow Underwing is a speciality moth, and we visit a loch famous for rare dragonflies. We should see Red and Roe Deer, and perhaps White-tailed Eagle.
In Highland Perthshire our top target is Mountain Ringlet butterfly, plus Golden-ringed Dragonfly and ‘scotica’ Large Heath. Later we visit one of the best flower meadows in the UK, hoping to see Small Cow-wheat and Birds-nest Orchid.
The holiday is perhaps focused 25% on birdlife, 10% on mammals, 35% on insects and 30% on flora, though these are rough approximations!
Seven nights at Mountview Hotel.
Please also see ‘HIGHLAND WILDLIFE in high summer’ on page 23, timed just three weeks later. The two tours should witness a marked change in seasonal wildlife.
Combine with:
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
Outer Limits in Summer (p20), Eagles, Divers and Dotterel (p21).
SCOTTISH ISLANDS
Outer Hebrides and Shiants (p39), Ultimate Outer Hebrides (p38).
