**DRAFT**

           Thursday, August 21, 2025- Portree, Isle of Skye, 

                           Inner Hebrides Islands, Scotland 

                                              Part 1 of 2- 

      Another cloudy, overcast and dark morning, not much bird activity. In fact, I didn't see any birds in the air as the ship cruised into the Port of Portree. It was quite unusual based on the trip from Norway and all around Iceland where the seabirds were continual. It was announced on the ship that they would be anchoring on the edge of the harbor since there wasn't a cruise ship dock. We would all be shuttled to the harbor docks by the tender boats. Just as we were approaching the anchoring location, the ship passed by a large Atlantic Salmon farm, which had many floating enclosures. This was interesting, especially since we both enjoy Scottish Salmon and now we get to see firsthand how the fish is grown and ends up in the fish markets at home. 

                                   The Puffin decoy arrives in Portree, Scotland- 

                      The first bird of the morning...... a Hooded Crow 

       

                                            Feeding Time-

                                                       Another Hooded Crow- 

       With all the Salmon tanks in this Farm, I would think the Cormorant presence would be more substantial.....I observed only a few here and there.   

   Also a surprise, only small numbers of Gulls hanging around the tanks, especially at feeding time!- 

       I could identify three species of Gulls at the enclosures: Euro Herring, Lesser Black-backed, and higher numbers of Common Mew Gulls- 

               Feeding frenzy in the tanks......the Salmon became very active and started jumping- 

   At 7:00 am, the anchor dropped, and we were in Portree. Another beautiful location.....the area was stunning! 

     A single first summer Black-headed Gull flew by close to our veranda. It was the first Black-headed Gull I saw in Scotland. 

     Today, we were going on another excursion to enjoy the culture of the Island and the scenery..... birds again, were not the main focus. However, if they had a birding tour available on the excursion list we might have taken that. Our tour began at 8:00 am. and we would meet on the harbor docks, so we had to be down in the World Stage Room to check-in and head to the tender boat station. The tour would be about three hours long and would end back at the harbor docks. The Statendam would leave port at 4:30 in the afternoon, so when the tour was over we still had a few hours to ourselves to explore the town before we had to be back onboard. We had a very early breakfast so we were all ready and anxious to go on the tour. 

     The tour was a bus ride that explored the countryside with its main destination stop being the Isle of Skye Museum of Island Life. It was over an hour drive to the Museum, and the bus would be making two short stop along the way at a good sightseeing location. The shuttle ride from the ship to the docks was a short one..... only a few minutes. There were two or three small docks in a very small harbor where all the guests gathered to go to their buses to start their different tours. As I mentioned, the gathering location was on a small main dock area with only enough space for two busses at a time.....another sardines in a can scenario! After a few minutes of chaos..... we were on our bus (I think we were on the right bus)!! The road down to the harbor area where we were was really quite narrow...... too narrow for a bus and opposing traffic coming down the road. The buses had to leave on a schedule as any vehicles coming down this road had to wait until the buses passed. 

    Waiting for our bus to leave, a single Hooded Crow landed on the harbor light pole. Even though it was through the bus window, it was the best look at this species I had so far.

      And as expected, the mountains and the vast heather moor landscapes were absolutely awe-inspiring!  Such magnificence! 

             Small Lochs and Ponds were scattered across the countryside. 

    Just like in Iceland...... the landscapes and scenery was mesmerizing......treeless, but lush green and violet-colored Heather painted the land.....it was so beautiful!  

  

   First short stop was a small pull-off on the side of this very narrow road. It was a Loch that apparently allowed fishing by permit. This stop gave all of us a few minutes to stretch our legs and enjoy this magnificent scenery. I was of course looking for birds out of one eye and the scenery with the other. I figured maybe I would spot a Red-throated or Common Loon in the Loch, but, unfortunately, I didn't see a single bird. But it was a great opportunity to get good close looks at the Heather, since the only looks we had was through the buses window. 

   During the bus ride, our wonderfully entertaining and knowledgeable Guide told us all about the history of the Island and its local culture...... and folklore.  She talked extensively about the Salmon and Trout fishing, and also the history of subsistence shooting. She talked about the local "Moorbird" shooting in this area.......that was the Red Grouse or "Moorbird".  I was still hoping to get a glimpse of a Red Grouse though, its the right place!! 

     Unfortunately, I never got a glimpse at a Red Grouse, but it was fun looking! Here is a Red Grouse carving I made a few years ago which now resides in the U K. 

       After the short stop at the Loch, we were back on the bus heading to our next location. We drove about fifteen minutes and the bus was slowing down. A large Loch came into view on the left side of the road. The bus turned right into a fairly large parking lot at the head of this Loch. A small inlet waterway came under the road and formed a small pond. The bus pulled up along the edge of this pond and parked. We would be stopping here for another fifteen minutes. On one side of the parking lot was this small  pond, on opposite side was the ocean and cliffs. 

      On the back side of this pond along the road, I had spotted a small group of ducks through the window of the bus. The first thing I did when I stepped off the bus was to walk to the edge of the pond. The ducks turned out to be a small group of Mallards; a hen or two and a few eclipse moult drakes.

    However, one of these Mallards suddenly pattered along the water and took flight. I had never seen this Diving Duck species, just the Mallards. I thought at first it was a European Scaup......

     Because the wind was at my back coming from the ocean, this diving duck had to fly directly towards me heading into the wind. It came much closer and I realized it was a drake Tufted Duck! It was the first drake Tufted Duck I had seen up close. Other than the distant looks at them in Iceland, and the few vagrant hen Tufted Ducks in CT in the winter, but never a drake this close. Very exciting! 

     When the drake had finally gained enough momentum and altitude, it turned directly away from me and headed for the large Loch back across the road. 

     After Jen and I watched the Tufted Duck disappear into the distant Loch, we walked to the other side of the parking lot to enjoy the spectacular views of the cliffs and the coast. 

     The views from the edge of the parking lot of the ocean, cliff faces and distant mountains were almost hypnotic! And unfortunately quite, birdless! The only birds we saw were a distant passing flock of Gannets that Jen pointed out. 

     The Heather framing the edges of the parking lot atop the cliffs were lovely though! 

     After our short break, we all got back onto the bus for the ride to our primary stop; the Museum. Nearby, the farm fields attracted small groups of Graylag Geese and Gulls. What I could see from the passing bus were Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, Euro Herring and Common Mew Gulls.

      Everywhere you looked in all directions, the landscapes and scenery continued with amazing splendor. Our Guide told many stories of life on the Isle of Skye. She impressed to us how hard life was and the hardships the early settlers endured to establish their lives on this Island. And finding food and a food source was the toughest. Since there were no large mammals on the Island, they all turned to the large seabird colonies as a possible source for food. Seabird eggs were collected, and of course the Seabirds themselves were a food source. And one of the main birds selected for food were young Gannets.....or "Guga" as they were/are called. They are considered a Scottish delicacy! Guga means young Gannets plumed with their typical brown feathers. The Island name for a mature adult Gannet in their full white and black plumage are referred to as "Solan Goose".

   

      The Guga hunters would climb the cliffs to reach the Gannet Rookery in early August. Only a single remote Island is this practice still allowed with harvest restrictions and limits.  The result is the Guga are prepared  with a complex and timely preparation method (similar to the Greenland Shark in Iceland). In the end, our Guide said that her family still enjoy this tradition......but she also mentioned it took three weeks before the "aroma" left her kitchen! Enough said about that! Although, I would probably want to at least try Guga (just like the Greenland Shark), Even though this is a tradition and I am not upset by this......I'd rather like to think of Gannets flying across the tops of the ocean waves.....or through my carvings........

       We had arrived at the Island Life Museum. The Scottish country side was incredible....  a beautiful oil painting in every direction you looked! 

                 The only birds I saw near the Museum were Ravens......lots of them! 

          Skye Museum of Island Life is located in the beautiful countryside right along the coast- 

          The Ravens were the bird of the day! The perfect setting  and backdrop for them! 

                                          Much better looks at Scottish sheep

              What a painting this would make with this isolated Scottish cottage! 

        The Isle of Skye Museum of Island Life complex is a very unique place. It give you a authentic insight into island life from over a century ago. The Museum includes eight thatched cottages with each one having its own story to tell. One of them, the Old Croft House was lived in until 1957. It is a must-see for anyone visiting the Isla of Skye. Here is a link to the Museums website: 

                                                       https://skyemuseum.co.uk/

                                        Jen especially enjoyed this cottage exhibit! 

                Yup, the Museum also had a wonderful gift shop.......more Scottish wool wraps and scarfs and this cap went home with us.

     We were all gathering by the bus since it was getting time to leave. The bus was parked near a small stand of Scottish Pines which were one of the few stand of trees we saw in this area. A single flying Passerine species flew across the field a little distance away. I was able to take a few quick shots before it vanished over the hill. I really have no idea what this species was......all I knew it reminded me of a Thrush of some kind. Later, long after the trip was over, I sent these two images to a naturalist friend and fellow carver I know who lives in the Netherlands, and he identified it for me as a Mistle Thrush! Thank you!

     The flocks of Sheep were in their perfect setting in the fields of the Island in northern Scotland.....picture perfect! 

      And, with only a few more minutes remaining before we left the Museum, and as if they were on cue...... several flocks of Graylag Geese flew right over the Museum grounds.......

                         Part 2 of 2 Continues...........

 This blog report is in progress. I continue to work on it and am writing the next port destinations. I will post them when each destination page is posted. For now, I am posting them out of order. When I have completed the entire trip report, I will re-post them in order. 

   To go back to the beginning of this in progress trip report, click on "Older Posts" below right