Islay & Jura in Autumn

— The Eagle Islands

As seen on Sir David Attenborough’s latest documentary, Wild Isles

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Highlights

Join husband & wife team, Rachael & Dan Brown, who worked on the new BBC documentary ‘Wild Isles’
Experience the stars of the show for yourself: the magnificent White-tailed Eagles
Seven FULL days on Islay & Jura
Daily encounters with Golden & White-tailed Eagles
With as many as 30,000 Barnacle Geese and 6,500 Greenland White-fronted Geese we will be in for a spectacle
Witnessing the arrival of not only geese but Whooper Swans from Iceland
Enjoy communal roosts of Hen Harriers and sightings of Merlin & Peregrine
The shores of these islands are excellent for Otters
Jura is home to as many as 5,000 Red Deer as well as Roe Deer
Common & Grey Seals can be found all around the coast
As well as the geese there are thousands wildfowl & waders including Purple Sandpiper and many seaducks
Beach-combing on white sandy beaches
Stay in high quality accommodation

Red Deer Stag and Hind, by Rachael Iveson-Brown

Overview

Islay, also known as The Queen of the Hebrides, is a wildlife haven with resident Otters, seals and deer and in autumn this rugged island explodes with tens of thousands of birds. Take a short ferry ride to Jura and share the landscape with numerous pairs of Golden and White-tailed Eagles soaring overhead, over 5,000 Red Deer grazing the stark hillsides and good numbers of Otters along the coastline. There really isn’t anywhere better to be in Autumn than on these southern-most Hebrides searching for the best of their wildlife.

Islay and Jura support around 30,000 Barnacle and 6,500 Greenland White-fronted Geese in autumn, the latter around 30% of the world population. Spectacular in itself this huge concentration of birds also attracts predators and the islands have some exceptionally high densities of both Golden and White-tailed Eagles and we expect some good encounters with both.

Hen Harriers, Merlin and Peregrine all occur in good numbers alongside a plethora of waders including Grey Plover and Purple Sandpipers, wildfowl such as Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Eiders and Scoters return to the sealochs and the sheltered bays hold all three divers and Slavonian Grebes. Along the coast Otters are widely scattered and we stand an excellent chance of encountering them. The moors are home to herds of Red Deer whilst the marshes and woodland have Roe Deer. Grey and Common Seals are common around the coast.

Islay is even home to farmland and woodland birds, and we hope to find Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Bullfinch, Redpoll, Skylark and more. The dunes and coasts of Islay support a good population of Chough and we plan on enjoying their sublime aerodynamics along with their larger cousin, the Raven.

Join us for a whole week exploring these magnificent Scottish islands.

Itinerary

Day 1:

Meet in Glasgow and travel west through Argyll to join the ferry over to Islay. We will keep an eye out for interesting animals along the route and the ferry crossing can be good for Porpoises, dolphins and seabirds. We will settle into our base on Islay for the next 7 nights.

Days 2-5:

We will have four full days to explore the magical island of Islay. In autumn it is home to tens of thousands of Barnacle Geese, alongside them hundreds of Greenland White-fronted Geese and also often rarer species such as Cackling Goose and Snow Goose may be found. The estuaries and floods attract flocks of Golden Plovers and Lapwing, up to 2,000 Teal, Pintail, Wigeon and Shoveler, whilst of the mudflats Knot, Grey Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwit and Dunlin will all be actively feeding.

Along the open coast and sand dunes we will enjoy the enigmatic Chough and hopefully Snow Buntings whilst Purple Sandpipers may well be clinging to the rocks. Grey and Common Seals are common along the coast and with a bit of patience we should be rewarded with an Otter sighting or two.

With so many wildfowl and waders it’s not surprising that the island attracts an incredible number of eagles and we can expect to have daily encounters with White-tailed and Golden Eagles, and hopefully with luck, we might witness the ‘Wild Isles’ spectacle of the White-tailed Eagles hunting the geese. At this time of year the White-tailed Eagles can form small aggregations of up to 10 birds (sometimes more) in certain hotspots. Hen Harriers, Merlin and Peregrine are all widespread and at dusk Barn Owls can often be seen hunting the field margins and we may be lucky and find a Hen Harrier roost.

Days 6-7:

In stark contrast to our days on Islay, Jura is a formidable and rugged landscape. Here large herds of Red Deer graze the moors overseen by Golden and White-tailed Eagles soaring from the Paps of Jura. Wild Goats cling to the crags and along the shorelines Otters can be frequently found foraging in the seaweed strewn bays. Our focus will be finding and getting good views of Otters and hopefully some close eagle encounters too.

Day 8:

Depart Islay and make our way back to Glasgow where this tour will finish.

Gallery

Roe Deer are well camouflaged in the Heather moorland

Common Seals haul out along the extensive coastline

Grasslands are filled with monochrome Barnacle Geese

Watch Otters slink their way through seaweed covered rocky shores

Buzzards are a common sight on Islay and Jura

Several pairs of Golden Eagles breed on the islands

Dippers can be seen foraging along the rivers

There are 10 whisky distilleries on Islay and Jura to 'wet your whistle'

Greenland White-fronted Geese join Barnacle Geese to feed during the day

Who we Support on this Tour

RSPB Loch Gruinart Nature Reserve
Trees for Life

RSPB The Oa Nature Reserve
Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust

Dates and Prices

            Set Departure Dates
            Cost
            Availability
       
            2025 Autumn Dates to be confirmed, end Oct/ early Nov
            £TBC
            Spaces