# Bird Watching on Islay

Bird watching on Islay from the shore of Loch Indaal — Shorefield's own bird hides and wetland, plus RSPB Loch Gruinart, choughs, sea eagles and 30,000 wintering barnacle geese. Where to stay and when to come.

Source: https://portbahnislay.co.uk/explore-islay/bird-watching-islay

> On Islay you can start birding before you've left the house — the loch is on the doorstep, and Shorefield was built by birdwatchers.

## Bird Watching from Your Doorstep

Most birding guides send you out across the island. On Islay you can start before you've left the house. Our three self-catering properties sit on the shore of Loch Indaal — a wide sea loch that pulls in waders, divers and wildfowl through the year — and Shorefield House, in particular, was built by birdwatchers.

Shorefield was built by birdwatchers - the woodland and ponds behind the house were planted and dug by hand, with bird hides looking over them, and the house is still full of bird books, binoculars and a telescope. From the study window or the hide you can watch waterfowl on the ponds and, beyond, the loch and the Paps of Jura. Around a third of our Shorefield guests come specifically for this.

You don't have to be a serious birder to enjoy it. Plenty of guests who'd never call themselves twitchers end up out at the hide for an hour with a coffee, just seeing what turns up.

## What's on Loch Indaal

Loch Indaal, the sea loch our houses overlook, is a birding site in its own right. Through autumn and winter the shallows and mudflats hold waders — oystercatcher, curlew, redshank, dunlin — alongside wigeon, teal and the occasional diver out on the water. Sea eagles work the loch and the hills behind it; we see them often enough that guests stop being surprised.

Time it with the tide. A falling tide exposes the feeding flats and brings the birds close to the shore road and the coastal path; high water pushes them up onto the fields. A scope helps, but a lot is visible from the path along the front of the houses — step out the door and you're on it.

For the full sweep of Islay's wildlife — the eagles in more detail, seals, otters and the seasons — see our [Islay wildlife guide](/explore-islay/islay-wildlife).

## Barnacle Geese on Islay

Every October on Islay, a great spectacle in the birdwatching world takes place — around 30,000 barnacle geese migrate from their Greenland breeding grounds and settle on the fields across the island, particularly around the broad estuary of Loch Gruinart where the RSPB sanctuary is. Standing watching a vast flock lift off in a synchronised ripple, turn and settle again is quite a mesmerising sight.