Young Birders

THE NEXT GENERATION
company asked. I just about dropped the phone.
Two weeks later I was on the boats exploring some
of the most inaccessible places in Scotland.
Watching as an adult female White-tailed Eagle
blackened the sky over my head for the first time
was a moment I will never forget, and I knew I’d
made the right choice.
In the years that followed, I found out just how
much Scotland has to offer in terms of birding
potential, but I realise I’m probably preaching to
the converted. But there’s one place that I’ve been
working at for the past two years that is a little
different.
This place is a bird paradise. It contains
north-west Europe’s largest seabird colony, and I’m
proud to say we have it right here in the UK. But it
comes at a cost; it’s 100 miles out into the middle
of the Atlantic Ocean. If you know your islands
well then you will know straight away where I’m
talking about – the volcanic archipelago of
St Kilda, in the Outer Hebrides.
It’s the UK’s only dual World Heritage site,
putting it in the same category as Machu Picchu. It
has the UK’s highest sea cliffs and largest sea
stacks, but fewer than 5,000 people land on the
island each year, making it a prime spot for
birding (the last permanent residents were
evacuated back in 1930). It’s also a designated
Special Protection Area, National Nature Reserve,
Site of Special Scientific Interest, and Special Area
of Conservation!
But hey, let’s get down to the cold, hard facts;
what birds can you hope to see there? Well, if
seeing over a million seabirds dotted across a
landscape that looks like it’s come from the lost
world isn’t enough to excite you, then some of the
rarer species certainly will.
First, let’s consider the breeding colonies,
St Kilda has the UK’s largest colony of Puffins,
with round about 155,000 pairs, one of the largest
gannetries in the world, at 50,050 pairs, 94% of
GB’s Leach’s Storm Petrels at 45,000 pairs, 5,000
pairs of Manx Shearwaters, nearly 63,000 pairs of
Fulmars, plus Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Snipe,
Wheatear, and of course the St Kilda Wren.
This wee bird is one you’ll definitely be wanting
to tick off on your life list. The best way to find it
is to walk through the old, abandoned village and
listen for its unique song. The bird itself is a third
larger than the mainland Wren, and its song is,
too, to compete with the nearby by sound of
crashing waves! Searching for this LBJ around the
ruins of an ancient settlement is in itself a rare
birding experience not to be missed.
Some of the rarer finds on the islands include
American Herring Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull,
Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull, White-tailed Eagle,
Waxwing, Night Heron, Purple Heron, Surf Scoter,
Bluethroat, Subalpine Warbler, Laughing Gull,
Green-winged Teal, Yellow-browed Warbler, Hen
Harrier, Baird’s Sandpiper, Buff-bellied Pipit,
Buff-bellied Sandpiper, Common Rosefinch,
Red-backed Shrike, Trumpeter Finch, American
Wigeon, and Red-necked Phalarope. Chatting to
the local seabird warden, Gina Prior, she reminded
me that rare birds on the islands are often facing
Watching as an adult female
White-tailed Eagle blackened
the sky over my head for the first
time was a moment I will never
forget, and I knew I’d made the
right choice
Jules Cox / FLPA
14 February 2016