T2613 - Landscapes & Legends of the Scottish Isles
- pmh0606617
- 10 hours ago
- 6 min read
The OWE Team comprising Paul, Julia, Anno and Dave met up on the Bolette on the 20th June for the start of an eight night cruise from Liverpool to the Scottish Isles, taking in the Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney with a final shore day at Ullapool.
The Bolette set sail in the late afternoon from Liverpool, sailing out of the River Mersey into Liverpool Bay and along the North Wales coast before turning north to the Isle of Man. Cruising at around 8 knots allowed ample time for viewing in almost perfect conditions; flat calm seas, no swell and great light.
Cetacean sightings were restricted to just two Bottlenose Dolphins, but plenty of gulls and terns were to be seen along with a single Fulmar, over 100 Manx Shearwater and a few Gannet.
Day 1 - 21st June - Scenic Cruising
Our first full sea day and a flat mirror-like sea - perfect for cetacean viewing. The venue for the day was a leisurely cruise up to and around Ailsa Craig and the surrounding islands.
Ailsa Craig houses the largest Gannet Colony in the UK with around 39,000 pairs nesting, with smaller numbers of Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin, so these were obviously going to feature along with large numbers of Manx Shearwater.
The calm conditions made for some good cetacean sightings with twenty Bottlenose Dolphin, 7 Harbour Porpoise and at least 2 Minke whales seen during the day. None though close enough for any photographs.
Day 2 - 22nd June - Scenic Cruising
Another day of cruising taking in the amazing scenery around the Small Isles and Loch Hourn in perfect viewing conditions. Thousands of Auks (Guillemot, Black Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin - Guillemot and Puffin by far the commonest species) were on the sea, whilst Manx Shearwater, Gannet, Skuas and Fulmar were flying around. Sailing in to Loch Hourn, both Grey and Harbour Seal were seen, along with fishing Common Terns. One passenger managed to see two Golden Eagles soaring over the mountains above the Loch - guess which way the OWE team were looking?
Cetaceans were to feature during the day with a dozen Harbour Porpoise, ten Common Dolphin, over forty Bottlenose Dolphin and two Minke Whale seen!
Day 3 - 23rd June - Stornoway
The first of four consecutive port days. We were berthed at the cruise terminal at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, a short shuttlebus ride into the town of Stornoway, or, for the more energetic, a 45 minute walk along the coastal path through moorland, woodland and the grounds of Lews Castle.
The harbour at Stornoway and sea around the cruise terminal held (amongst others) Black Guillemot, Shag, Red-throated Diver and Black-throated Diver. Arctic and Common Terns fished around the boat and several Grey and Harbour seals were seen either in the water or hauled out on the rocks. A Hooded / Carrion Crow (these are now considered to be one species) was watched as it devoured a dead dogfish in the inlet to the harbour.
The OWE team were positioned on Deck 6 for the sail away, the South-westerly Force 4 blowing across the deck; Paul, Anno and Dave soon moved to the shelter of Deck 3, although Julia braved it out on Deck 6, seeing 10 of the 30 Common Dolphin spotted by Dave on the Port side. Anno and Paul on the Starboard side, missed out. As the Bolette sailed out round the east of Lewis, we all returned to Deck 6.
Great and Arctic Skua's were seen along with small numbers of Kittiwake, Fulmar and Gannet, plus the ever present auk species. Further cetaceans were seen in the form of three Risso's Dolphin, purposely working their way towards Stornoway.
Day 4 - 24th June - Lerwick, Shetland
The Bolette was anchored off Lerwick by breakfast, and the first tenders were soon making their way towards the harbour. Scanning from the rear of Decks 3 or 8 revealed the usual suspects - Razorbill, Guillemot, Black Guillemot and Puffin; all flying past with beaks of full of food, or diving and feeding close to the boat. Several Eider were seen, along with Cormorant and Shag.
The OWE team had a leisurely morning before heading off to Lerwick late morning, having a walk around Clickimin Loch. An Icterine Warbler (a rare visitor from Europe), which had been present for quite a while at this location, soon made it's presence known with it's song. It didn't though give us very good views. The Loch also held breeding Arctic and Common Terns, Tufted Duck and Mute Swan plus a singe Red-breasted Merganser.
The sail away from Lerwick failed to produce any dolphins or whales, but we were still entertained by the Gannets and stiff-winged Fulmars. Both Great and Arctic Skuas were again seen.
Day 5 - 25th June - Kirkwall, Orkney
Another day, another island. As with Stornoway, the Cruise Terminal at Kirkwall is outside the main harbour, so a shuttle bus ferried is into the town. The OWE team had managed to hire a car for the day and toured round, stopping off at various RSPB reserves, and making at call at Houton Bay to see a long-staying White-billed Diver - a rare visitor from the Arctic. Other birds seen by the team included half-a-dozen Hen Harrier, Short-eared Owl, Red and Black-throated Divers, Golden Plover, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew and Great Skua. Weather during the afternoon deteriorated into heavy rain, making photography a challenge!
The weather cleared as we returned to the Bolette, so we adjourned to Deck 8 scanning the shore and coastal fields. A Kestrel was a welcome addition to the list of birds seen from the ship. Several pairs of Fulmar were seen nesting on the low cliffs to the west of Kirkwall. With no natural mammalian predators such as Fox or Badger on Orkney, hopefully the Fulmars (and other seabirds) will nest successfully.
A wet and windy sail away found the OWE team on Deck 3. Hopes for dolphins were raised when a feed flock of 100 or so "Commic" Tern (Common or Arctic Terns) were seen, but no sign of any fins were seen. Several rafts of Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin were again seen, with many flying away as we approached. Star-bird though was single Whimbrel, giving its-self away with its triple whistle call.
Day 6 - 26th June - Ullapool
Our final port day, the small town of Ullapool. Quite a relaxing day for the OWE team, exploring the small shops and cafe's. Both Harbour and Grey Seals were seen from the Bolette, where the the use of a telescope helped several passengers see one or more of the several White-tailed Eagles that were soaring over the hill-side ridges, at one point 4 of this massive birds of prey could be seen together, albeit rather distant.
We departed Ullapool around 19:00, accompanied by the usual suspects on Loch Broome as we sailed back out to sea. Two Common Dolphin were seen briefly.
Day 7 - 27th June - Sea of Hebrides and homeward bound
For most of our sea days we had been blessed with almost mirror-like conditions, with the wind behind us. That was all set to change on our final day. A brisk Force 5 South Easterly wind met us, with cloudy skies and occasional showers; viewing from Deck 6 was difficult, so we conducted the Wildlife Watch from Deck 3. The morning started with a pre-breakfast raft of about 1,500 Manx Shearwaters, a further 1,000 or so seen throughout the day. Gannets enjoyed playing in the wind alongside the ship, with several non-breeding birds seen. Gannets take several years to mature; first year birds are predominantly brown, getting more white feathers each successive moult, third year birds have only a few dark feathers left in their secondaries, resembling a piano keyboard, but do have the yellow neck of the breeding birds. We started to see Kittiwakes again with many of the birds in immature plumage - birds born last year, spending their first summer at sea before returning to the breeding colonies next year. Other additions to our sightings list were two Sandwich Tern, whilst Guillemot and Razorbill still vied for attention and a handful of Puffin were also seen.
Cetaceans were still hard to spot in the conditions, but two pods of three Bottlenose Dolphin put in appearances around Lunch-time - Paul and Dave were hosting a Guest Speakers Lunch and missed all 6; Julia was preparing for the "Did You See?" presentation, but did see the first pod of three while having lunch with Anno - you can't win them all!
And all too soon we were back in Liverpool! But we had seen Whales and Dolphins:
SPECIES | TOTAL |
Bottlenose Dolphin | 68 |
Common Dolphin | 42 |
Harbour Porpoise | 18 |
Minke Whale | 5 |
Risso's Dolphin | 3 |
Unidentified Dolphin | 1 |
TOTAL | 137 |
Acknowledgements
The Ocean Wildlife Encounters team would like to thank Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the Captain and crew of MS Bolette for their support and looking after us so well.
Most of all we would like to thank all those old and new friends who took the time to share the incredible wildlife that helped make for such a memorable cruise.
Your Ocean Wildlife Encounters team – Paul,Julia, Anno and Dave
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