Wildlife Safari

Seasonal Wildlife in the Hebrides

So much of what we have in the natural environment is here all year round but the seasons bring radical changes to the landscape, types of visiting wildlife and wildlife behaviour...

Spring

Spring into summer is a great time to watch seabirds such as puffin, fulmar and gannets. This is when they are most active in terms of breeding, feeding and social behaviour. The weather in the Hebrides is at its best in these months with long daylight hours, (at its height there are only two hours of darkness) sunny, clear skies and calm seas. Later in the spring the machair starts to come into bloom and looks incredibly rich with up to 45 species in any square metre. Flowers such as Orchids, Daisies and Eyebrights fill the sandy soils. Lambing season starts around March/April and the fields are full of leaping baby lambs. Find out more about the machair here.

Summer

There is so much going on in the islands' environment during summer months and it is definitely the busiest season in terms of wildlife activity. The machairs are in full bloom, the cliffs and coasts are home to hundreds of species of seabirds and waders, some breeding and some just stopping over on their migratory path (over 17,000 pairs of waders breed in Uist, during the summer months, alone). The lambs are getting bigger now and are very playful but the birds of prey which soar over the upland hills are always keeping a keen eye on them. This is the season to see species such as the elusive corncrake, the twite, dunlin, redshank and ringed plover. The landscape and seascape is incredible in the summer, with tropical waters, carribean skies and multi-coloured carpet machair flowers. Click here for more on the birds of the Hebrides.

Autumn

Late summer into autumn is a great time to view wildlife activity in the waters surrounding the Hebrides. Whales and dolphins such as the Bottlenose, Porpoise and Minke are most visible during this season. They feed closer into shore and are generally more playful. The slanting golden autumn light also makes spotting dorsal fins and splashes easier. Although there are seals all year round, grey seals breed in October/November, at which time you are not allowed to disturb them or go ashore. Some boat operators may offer offshore interpretation, check with the local SNH office first. Find out more on Cetaceans in the Hebrides...

Winter

There is still plenty of wildlife activity in the winter months in the Hebrides. Seals can still be spotted in the harbour ports and other cetaceans can be viewed offshore. Red Deer move closer to the roads as they are chased off the upland areas in search of food. Artic Hares and Golden Eagles can be seen roaming the deserted moorlands and many migratory birds such as geese, rest on their passage to destinations such as Greenland and Canada. Around 400 to 500 Barnacle geese are thought to winter on the sound of Harris and the Greylag goose, although also a resident, is a passage migrant and winter visitor to the Uists. Read our article about the Greylag Goose to find out more.