Scotland Holiday Day 6 – 11th July 2012 : Lunga and Staffa

Scotland Holiday Day 6 – 11th July 2012 : Lunga and Staffa

On the Wednesday we had arranged a boat trip to Lunga and Staffa with Staffa Tours. The island of Lunga is the largest of the Treshnish Islands and is a famous seabird colony with a large Puffinry. Our boat set off from Tobermory and crossed the Sound of Mull to Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsula on mainland Scotland. We picked up a few more passengers and then set out for Lunga all the time looking for sea mammals and birds both on the water and on the island cliffs we passed by. A lot of the passengers on the boat were also bird enthusiasts so there were lots of eyes peeled looking for eagles. As we passed Cruachan Treshnish, the 216 m high mountain at the very edge of the western coast of Mull just past Calgary Bay, we could see two small dark shapes perched on top of the mountain and these were clearly too big to be anything other than eagles and they were, in fact, Golden Eagles, a pair of which are known to have lived in the area for a long time.
The Treshnish nature blog gives more details of this pair – just look at the entries for 10th and 12th July 2012 to find out more. Perhaps we could have wished for closer views but in any case this was one of our target species for the holiday and we had at least seen a couple – if a little far away. Would we get a closer sight of these magnificent birds ? read on !

As we got nearer to Lunga the Guillemots and Puffins on the water increased giving a clue as to the treat coming up. As we sailed around the coast it was so clear that we could make out lots of the nearby islands including Coll and Tiree and, behind them, Rhum and Eigg and that the isle of Skye. As they receded into the distance Fladda started to appear and beyond that, Lunga. Out on the open sea we were thrilled to see a Basking Shark just a few feet from the boat.

After about an hour we reached Lunga which does not actually run to a pier. Instead floating pontoons are lashed to the side of the boat and you have to clamber over the wet rocks for quite a distance before you reach a steep grassy slope which leads to climb to the top of the hill. At the top the Puffins can be seen coming to and going from their burrows apparently quite unconcerned at the presence of people. The suggestion is that the presence of humans deters their natural predators, including Gulls and Skuas, from attacking them either for the sand eels they carry or to get at their chicks – even an adult Puffin is a possible meal for one of the bigger predators. How this sits with the situation at other Puffinries where they are more stand-offish is a mystery to me but they are extraordinarily confiding on the cliff edges of Lunga. You can sit there having your lunch and they will come within a couple of feet of you – and people did, including us.

Moving further along the cliff tops there were colonies of Kittiwakes and Fulmars. In the air the Puffins came and went and Gannets flew by in good numbers. There were also a few Terns flying around and the ever present Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls wheeled around looking for something tasty. As we walked along the path we also saw some smaller birds that appeared to be Stonechats and Rock Pipits. As we turned another bend on the cliff edge we came upon a very large colony of Guillemots with a few Razorbills amongst them. By this time we were in danger of running out of time so we headed back to the boat. On the rocks were Oystercatcher and Cormorant and Shag.

After a couple of hours on Lunga it was time to head off to Staffa and here it was very much more of the same if in lesser quantities. Of course, most people had come to see Fingal’s Cave but after that we climbed up the stairs in the rock to the top of the stack where the view was fantastic. There were Fulmars and Black Guillemots, Shags and so on but this was definitely a short stay so before long we were marshalled on to the boat so it could make way or the next boat in a non-stop armada of tourists some to see Fingal’s Cave.

On the way back to Mull we also saw Manx Shearwaters, Puffins and Black Guillemots on the water and gulls and Gannets in the air. As we neared home we looked closely as we reached Cruachan Treshnish but there were no Eagles to be seen this time. All in all it had been another fantastic day with the prize sighting of the day being, of course, the two Golden Eagles we had seen on our way our from Mull in the morning. Would we have a chance to get closer views of a Golden Eagle before our holiday was over ? We still had a couple of days of our holiday on Mull so we were still in with a chance ! On.
 

Bird Sightings : Lunga, Treshnish Islands