Boat Trip to the Treshnish Isles (27th July)

Our trip to the Treshnish Ilse's was definitely one of the best outings that we went on during our holiday and undoubtedly the closest I have come to encountering wild birds (with the exception of ringing).  Our guided trip set of from Laga Bay around 9:45am and we spent much of our time traveling from the mainland peninsula to the remote and uninhabited Treshnish Isle's.  On the way we passed small outcrops of rock that had small wrecks of Shags.  dozens of Seals were stretched out on the seaweed and watched the boat pass, however the wavy conditions meant I could not distinguish whether they were Common or Grey.  Outside the loch (and out in the Atlantic Ocean) I came across several small Bazaars of Common Guillemots totaling to 49 birds (32 adults (including 1 Bridled Variety), 2 non-breeding adults and 15 chicks).  The water wasn't still either as we would occasionally see a fin of a Harbour Porpoise emerge only lasting for a second or two before diving again.  Just of the coast of the Islands we cruised alongside large colonies of arctic Terns, their weaving and circling flight over their breeding territory as well as the sheer noise was also an amazing experience even before we had reached our destination.  Sightings of high speed Puffins wiring over the small crests of waves lead us to the ultimate sight of 1000's commuting to and from their home island (the cliff top).

Puffin

Shag

Kittiwake

Puffin + rabbit (soon to inherit the rabbits burrow)

Guillemot

Shag

Fulmar

Puffin

Razorbill pair

Puffin

Other interesting oceangoing birds that we encountered on the way included 3 Fulmar approaching the boat quite tamely as well as increasing numbers of Kittiwake and Black Guillemots hiding amongst the Common Guillemots or on their own rock ledge.  On the Island itself was another totally different experience.  After climbing a small cliff my brother and I suddenly found ourselves amongst huge colonies of Puffins, their behavior seemed more surprising to most people than their unusual clown-like beak.  Taking photos was no issue at all and only after a few shots and some extremely photogenic poses on the puffins behalf I gained spectacular photos.  The hundreds of Common Guillemots and Razorbills were equally tame and produced equally amazing shots (although on the whole they were less numerous as the Puffins).  Other birds that went largely unnoticed and ignored by the visitors (of whom there were 100's) were the occasional Rock Pipits and a small flock of what I presume were Twite.  It was only to soon that we had to leave, but the sea birds didn't stop turning up and it was only as we came down the cliff ledge that a huge Great Skua loomed infront of us along the cliff ledge towards the Puffin colony.  The trip back was equally packed with birds and even a Basking Shark that I briefly glimpsed the tail of only meters from the shore line of the Isles.  Three more encounters of Great Skuas ensued on our trip back to the mainland and Laga Bay, some approaching closely and overtaking the boat whilst others remained only distant.  3 Manx Shearwaters were also a welcome sight as one approached the boat very closely allowing us to observe the detail of its plumage and beak.