Day 3 Wed 20
th Feb
Waking up early the following morning Andy cranked up his
phone and for some reason we checked RBA… DRAKE HARLEQUIN DUCK… North Uist… and so
a short debate started… Should we… Can we… Shall we… YES!
We checked a few travel arrangements and worked out the
logistics of the task ahead and off we went. Andy’s sat-nav clearly knew that
Ciaran had given up alcohol and took us on an interesting route along the
Whisky trail… distillery after distillery shone in the sunshine much to his
annoyance.
Stupidly thinking that the only ferry was at 6pm we took a
casual drive over, stopping at Asda for supplies. Later we realised that the
next ferry was actually at 2pm. It was going to be tight and boy oh boy it was
tight… arriving into Uig just as the ferry was pulling into harbour with only
minutes to spare. We quickly booked on and settled in and took a quick watch
from the deck enjoying superb views of Great Northern Divers and several s/p
Black guillies. We discussed plans and directions with a few birders on the
boat and checked a couple of maps in the onboard shop.
With about an hour of light left we disembarked from the
boat and headed straight for RSPB Balranald. Upon arrival we teamed up with a
couple who had also been with us on Shetland… what an odd game this is! We were
greeted at the Balranald visitor centre by the sound of Barnacle Geese in the
fields but we had bigger fish to fry and headed straight to the presumed
location and began scanning the sea. Merganser… Great Northern… Shag... With no
sign of the duck and light fading, Ciaran made a quick call to the warden who
thankfully had left his number in the visitor centre. Then after a quick chat
with a local man in a 4x4 we all bundled into the vehicle. The man had no
knowledge of the duck and seemed bemused at why we were here (especially when
we later told him we had been on Shetland the previous day) but he knew the
name of the location we had been given and did the sterling task of giving us all
an off-road trip in the 4x4.
Almost as soon as we arrived scopes went up and frantic
scanning began… Almost the first bird in my scope was a big black looking duck.
RESULT! For the next half an hour as the light began to fade we enjoyed good
views of this stonking duck. He even gave a little flight at one point.
Flapping fast and looking a little portly before he landed and stood on a small
rocky outcrop. A showy juv Glauc clearly wanted some attention as it flew over
the Harlequin duck at one point, as did two Whooper Swans calling, but nothing
could distract our attention from this true northern gripper of a duck.
Magical!
Thankfully we managed to find a great little hostel on the
island that night. A much needed shower and a good night’s sleep then back for
another sesh with the duck... hopefully in better light.
Day 4 Thu 21st Feb
In the morning we got up early and headed to the roost site
to find the duck sitting in exactly the same place we left him. With the sun
rising and the clarity improving by the second we took in the sights and sounds
of North Uist. As the sun rose and began to illuminate more detail on the
distant drake we snuck down onto the rocks for a closer view. The colours and
detail in the morning sunshine put the previous nights viewing to shame. A few
of us managed to blast of a few shots on the camera, but with a brisk wind the
images represent little more than a record… but what a record!
We took our fill of this stunning bird then made a quick lap
of the island to see what else could be found. Singing Corn Bunting and flocks
of Twite and Linnets fluttered over the Machair and less than 15 minutes later
we were watching a fem Ring-necked Duck, which a local birder had tipped us off
about. Excellent! What else could this stunning location throw up.
A little
further down the road we logged a stunning Grey Male Hen Harrier, and while
scanning the miles of white beaches Andy shouted ‘I think I have a Sea Eagle’.
Initially the bird appeared more like a large stocky mammal sat out on the vast
expanse of sand. Although distant the size of the bird could clearly be seen,
dwarfing a Great black-backed gull which landed next to it. Short wing flaps
and flights revealed the massive wingspan of this fishy konk of a bird. On the
return ferry journey we enjoyed more views of Great Northern’s and Black
Guilles and a distant Golden Eagle soaring high over the hills behind the port
at Uig.
All in all, the trip was stunning in terms of weather,
birds, company and scenery. Thanks guys! This is a trip we will all remember
for a VERY long time! WHAT A TRIP!