Searching for Sabine's Gull

25th August 2011

Sabine's Gull breeds on arctic tundra from the coast of Siberia to Alaska. It winters in the Atlantic off the south-west coast of Africa and is a regular but scarce passage migrant to Scotland. During the last few years Nick Davies of www.hebridean-whale-cruises.co.uk has found birds annually in August and September in the Minch from South Rona north to the Shiants. There are a number of banks here which provide tremendous feeding for seabirds. I had only previously handled a dead adult Sabine's which was found dead near Torrin in 2008. Nick has found a number of birds recently in Skye waters so I took the opportunity to-day to go out on Orca 1 from Gairloch. Unfortunately we failed to find a 'Sab' in Skye waters but did locate a first summer bird several miles north in the Minch off the 'Burma' bank - a great first for me. There were also about 50 Sooty Shearwaters, good number of Storm Petrels, and several Arctic Skuas. We only managed one Minke Whale and some Harbour Porpoise but yesterday Nick had a small pod of Killer Whales off Rubha Hunish. It is ironic that you have to go to Gairloch to explore the rich waters of north Skye, but with Nick's expertise, it is a trip well worth the effort. I still have to record Sabine's on Skye but thats for another day.

Bob

THE BOOK

"A glorious little gem"

AMAZON

"A book such as this has to look backwards and the author does so succinctly, looking at the work of several of the pioneering naturalists before picking out the publications of JA Harvie-Brown and the Rev. Hugh Macpherson. I know this book fills a real gap in the information available for the Isle of Skye and it will surely sell well at local bookshops."

Andrew Currie Miscellany West Highland Free Press

"A total of 238 species have been recorded, with 14 of those 'red listed' as of high conservation concern ... another innovation has been the inclusion of Gaelic names for some birds. While this is not uncommon in a few other books, the addition of some regional Gaelic names is very unusual and very welcome."

Ray Collier Country Diary 'Up in the Skye' The Guardian

"Illustrated with beautiful photographs of current birdlife on the island, the publication also features sketches by Jean Thomas of The Little Gallery, Portnalong, stimulating the reader's interest further and allowing them to identify species they encounter on Skye."

The Hebridean