Finding a rare bird

What is the rarest bird you've ever found?

Mine featured on a trip to Scotland one weekend in May. We headed straight from work on Friday afternoon and caught a flight to Edinburgh and picked up our rental at Enterprise at around 11 pm (open 'till midnight!). We drove through the night. Our destination: Handa Island and one of Europe's best seabird colonies. It was going to be a long one: about 6 hours to get to the ferry which does not operate on Sundays. The plan was then to drive down and catch the last ferry to Mull, where we planned to assault Iona Island for Corncrake on Sunday before hastening back to the airport. 

Too much?

After dating for a year, this was our first birding trip together, so effectively a test of how much of my neurotic bird rage Ramata could handle. 

We stopped by a highland lookout to listen to the dawn chorus. Chaffinches, blackbirds, tits and cuckoos sang from all over the valley in the morning mist. This was going to be a good day. 

Ramata was keen on seeing Puffins and myself on seeing Great Skuas, Handa is definitely one of the best places for both! Highlights: 

Great Skua

Great Skua

Crippling views of Great Skua

The main feature: Atlantic Puffins

Northern Fulmar

Parasitic Jaegers (Arctic Skuas)

Pygmy Shrew (?)

Kittiwakes and Common Murres (Guillemots)

Kittiwake

Oystercatchers

Arctic Terns

Handa Island Ferry

Our zodiac trip back to the mainland was later than expected putting our Sunday plans of a Corncrake assault on Iona in jeopardy. Ever determined, I pushed on with a rushed drive down to the ferry to Mull. Unfortunately, we were at least half an hour late and missed the last possible boat. I had definitely gotten too greedy! Oh well, at least we could have a relaxing Sunday. We checked into a local campground and as we drove up the hill I spotted my life White-tailed Eagle flying by, not a bad consolation!

We slept in and began the drive back to Edinburgh for our 9:30 pm flight, but found a really cool trail up some mountain we found on MAPS.ME. It necessitated fording a river and clambering through mud, rewarded by a pleasing view of sheep and fog - very Scottish!



By the end of the weekend, I'd realized that my rarest find by far was not a bird of the feathered variety, but my amazing girlfriend who's company on adventures is second-to-none. Despite driving through the night with nothing but soggy sandwiches and no water, a long-haul road trip having only driven a car a handful of times ever, her stalling in the middle of the road causing a car and caravan jam while I laughed hysterically instead of helping, fording an ice-cold river, boarding the plane with mud-soaked shoes, tromping around in the rain looking at birds, almost getting speeding tickets and missing the last ferry she was still beaming with positivity the entire time.

I mean, most girls would have broken up with me at least 6 times by that point!