Chough

The Chough is an uncommon resident in Britain with a population of about 310 breeding pairs confined to Wales, the Isle of Man and Islay, Colonsay, Jura and Mull in western Scotland breeding and wintering chiefly on coastal cliffs, feeding on grazed grassy areas.

Certainly not the main reason for choosing to come to Islay, but one that tipped the balance towards Islay was to see the Choughs.

So today we headed to Ardnave where there is a regular wintering colony. We walked the 2.5km to Ardnave Point, lots of Jackdaws & Crows, but no Choughs and of course once we were at the furthest point the heavens opened and we knew from the forecast it wasn't going to stop, so head down and back to the car. Unfortunately our waterproof trousers didn't quite live up to the billing, so we were rather soggy while we had lunch in the car.

Then on the road maybe 100m away from us lands a Chough, then there's another couple in the sand dunes just above it. Over the next half hour a flock of around 15 birds happily fed in the grass around the car, with the pictured one coming within 15m - definitely worth getting a bit soggy for.