The Wildlife Map of the Hebrides

10. Butt of Lewis and Loch Stiapavat

The area around Ness is one of the most densely populated rural areas in Europe and this is reflected in the closeness of the houses and the narrowness of the crofts, particularly on the road to the Butt. The Butt itself is a fine place to watch passing seabirds, notably gannets which nest on Sula Sgeir, part of a National Nature Reserve some 70 kilometres (45 miles) to the north. The distorted rocks of Lewisian Gneiss just north of the Butt lighthouse demonstrates the immense pressures at work deep in the earth crust some 1700 million years ago. Loch Stiapavat is probably the most fertile loch in Lewis, lying on soil deposited by glaciers which came from the east over the Minch. The varied plant and animal life inhabiting the loch provides a rich source of food for birds. This is one of the best wildfowl sites in Lewis, holding whooper swans, wigeon, teal, mallard, pochard and tufted duck. About 200 pairs of black-headed gulls breed, making this the largest colony of this species in Lewis. Little grebe and moorhen used to breed here but may have fallen victim to introduced mink though they could also have died out naturally. This is also a good place to hear and perhaps see the rare corncrake. The road on the north side offers a good viewpoint.