*** DRAFT**

                                 Continuing..........Part 2 of 3

                                  Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

              Isle of Skye Museum of Island Life .......... The Graylag Geese flocks passed by and landed in some distant farm fields. The majority of the group had assembled by the bus and was ready to start boarding. From within the stand of pines, a single elegant chirping call suddenly filled the air. From a few yards into the stand of pines a single bird could be seen through the tangle of moss-covered branches. It was a beautiful European Robin, my firs encounter with one. At first the bird was nearly hidden in the mass of branches, but it slowly emerged from the dark patches getting much closer offering a few hide-and-seek looks.

           

          After a minute of hide-and-seek, the beautiful Robin flew out in the open and perched on top of a single broken branch- 

       

       Our tour guide noticed that I was busy photographing the beautiful Robin and she approached me. She said the Island name for that bird was "Bru-dhearg". And of course between her thick Scottish accent and the Gaelic name pronunciation, I didn't understand what she had said. I asked her if she would be so kind to please write that name down in my journal book that I had with me in my day bag and she did. I told her that the only name I knew was European Robin......"Of course its a Robin, but we are at the Island's cultural museum"!! We both had a little laugh at that! The name "Bru-dhearg" translates to "red breast".... even though the Euro Robin's chest is Orange! You learn so many new things every day! 

     We said goodbye to the Robin and found our seats on the bus. We would have about a fort-five minute ride back to the harbor in Portree which would be the only stop. The Museum was very interesting and most enjoyable, and actually quite unexpectedly birdy.  Comfortable in our seats it was time to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery and landscape views. 

                                                           Ferry dock-

     Along the way, we passed by the first large estuary. Our guide told us that this large tidal flat used to be a prime location to shoot many "Wader Birds" (aka Shorebird) species which provided food for their families. One of the birds she mentioned was the "Whaup"..... a bird she described as having "long legs and a long curved beak"!  I assumed she was referring to a Eurasian Curlew. She also mentioned that you can't shoot them anymore, not since around 1980. 

      Since I never had a chance to observe or photograph any Curlew which I was anxiously hoping for......here is a flying Eurasian Curlew I caved for a collector of mine a few years ago. 

        Finally arrived back in Portree. Our guide informed us that there was too much pedestrian and traffic congestion down by the harbor, no buses were granted access to the small, narrow road down to the harbor drop-off point. So, instead they would be dropping us off in the town square park which was featuring the local farm market.....perfect!! She said it was only a ten to fifteen minute walk down to the harbor docks, and we had plenty of time. We said our Thank You's and Goodbyes to our wonderful guide and told her how much we enjoyed the tour and just how much she made that tour enjoyable for us. Besides Ari in Hofn, Iceland, She was by far the next best guide we had on any of the trips we had on our entire cruise. 

     The Farm Market was wonderful. One of the wish items that Jen and I wanted to try was a real Scottish Scone! We found a little farm stand featuring their fresh-baked goods and their scones were showcased prominently on their table. Jen and I both chose an oat scone with courants......Jen had tea, I had coffee. Yup.....better than expected,,,,,not too sweet, buttery, and a little dry....perfect!  

      On the slow walk down the streets to the harbor, Jackdaw were busy flying from the tops of building to building. My first sightings of this interesting species. I am still hoping for closer views and good looks at this species.  

       After about ten minutes and ow walking down the small street to the docks, the harbor came into view- A single Gray Heron flew across the harbor-

       The right side of the road along the harbor area next to the docks, small shops lined the road. And one of this small shops........Fish and Chips!! Another "bucket list","must experience", item....real Scottish Fish and Chips!! This is something I have always heard about from Jen and her Dad (who's favorite food was fish and chips) about how wonderful it is in the UK, the time is finally here! At home in New England, all the seafood restaurants tout their "famous" fish and chips entree. Unfortunately, what the call "authentic British" fish and chips is really just badly fried and greasy Cod and awful french fries. A menu item that I don't really like or eat.....I much prefer broiled or baked fish. But for real authentic Scottish F & C..... yes indeed! 

     The small harbor fish shop didn't open for about fifteen minutes, don't mind waiting at all !

    The cook behind the counter motioned to me out through the open window that he was now open and ready. In about ten minutes, he called my name and I went inside to retrieve my order. He was an interesting, pleasant man and we had a little conversation. He asked me where we were from. He told me he had traveled to New England many times visiting friends. He also said he liked New England, it was similar to his home here on the Island. I had to ask him if the fish he used was Haddock..... and he told me with a little smile and with an expression of being very proud of his product..... what other fish would I use?? That made me happy since Haddock is my favorite fish over Cod, and authentic, traditional F & C in Scotland is made using Haddock with Cod being the choice in England. No salt please and a couple of runs of malt vinegar and we are good to go! Nice man, nice shop and of course Fish and Chips that were off the charts...... more delicious than I ever imagined. Jen also agreed, the best she ever had!! This one is for you Dad!!  It probably sounds a little simple-minded, but I consider this order of fish that Jen and I shared, a big highlight of the cruise!     

      What made this little fish shop even more interesting (besides the incredible meal) was that this shop's space was shared with a Wildlife Adventure Boat Tour company that offered several wildlife viewing tours in the area!! One of the shorter tours for two hours offered a tour that went out to see the White-tailed Sea Eagles that found the cliffs in this area home along with the other wildlife viewing possibilities. I wish the sanctioned tours from the cruise line offered this! We did have plenty of time to go on one of these shorter tours that concluded long before the ship left left later at 4:30. Unfortunately, this was not a cruise line sanctioned excursion, if something were to happen and we didn't make back to the ship at departure time..... they would leave without us; we would have to find our own way to Dover the next morning! Yeah, I think we will pass!

                                   Time to enjoy our lunch overlooking the harbor! 

     We sat along the bulkhead on a wooden bench enjoying our fish. It was low tide in the harbor and the tideline area which was a few feet below was exposed and covered with the usual tideline weed, shells and little bits of potential food items for the birds. And slowly birds started showing up to take advantage of the tidal buffet. The first birds to appear were Hooded Crows. Finally........ good close looks at one of the species I was anxious to observe (hopefully) up close. And suddenly, here they are, literally at my feet.

  

     Herring Gulls noticed the actively feeding Hooded Crows. Since Gulls are sharp-eyed and very curious birds...... they flew in to investigate. Adult European Herring Gull- 

      The Hooded Crows seemed to tolerate us standing above them over their heads......food selection must have been good! 

             A second summer European Herring Gull joined the growing group of feeding birds.

      Another great totally unexpected surprise.......a few Jackdaw flew into the group. Although its quite common here, it is another species that I wanted to experience up close and personal. What a very interesting species!

        Jackdaw do share a definite resemblance to our Grackles here in New England. But they do differ a little, and I find their plumage intriguing....especially their piercing white irids. 

                 Their loose feather structure on the back of their heads reminds me of wool-

A juvenile Jackdaw flies in to join the group which has grown to a couple dozen birds. This was the only juvenile Jackdaw I saw- 

                                  The juvenile gets chased off by the adults- 

       A Hooded Crow crashes the Jackdaw party. Good image showing the anatomy, size and plumage differences- 

       A first summer European Herring Gull flies in to join the group. Good opportunity to see and photograph up close three cycles of Euro Herring Gull in the same location.

                                      Another look at the second summer Gull- 

                                                     And the last look at the adult-

            Thirty minutes later, the Gray Heron that flew into the Harbor while we were walking down the street, decided to leave and flew back out on the same path it had flown in.-

       An eclipse drake Mallard swam down along the shore to see what all the bird activity was about.He didn't find anything to his liking and he swam off- 

                   These Euro Herring Gulls were the last birds we saw while onshore in Portree. 

       A few shots of Portree Harbor- Loved the lines on this fishing boat....especially that high flared bow and stern design! 

         The Nieuw Statendam in the distance.....it was a short tender boat ride from these docks.

              It was now about 1:00 pm.....and waiting in line to board the next shuttle boat.

             Portree Continues............ Part 3 of 3, Isle of Skye- 

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